Worst games of 2005: garbage to avoid
What is the very worst game released in 2005 for each of the current gaming platforms? Here's
the tally of the year's biggest wastes of shelf space, as determined by their Metacritic scores.
Winner: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That may not be chocolate in those vats, judging from the sour critical reception.
Read on for the rest.
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Game Boy Advance: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2K Games): “There isn’t really any fun to be had past an hour, if you can even get that far without replacing the cartridge slot with something more… fun.” — Nintendo Power
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GameCube: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2K Games): “The controls are awful, the camera is beyond appalling, the graphics are hideous, the environments are bare, the gameplay is unbearably repetitive and the whole thing is an utter chore to play.” — Eurogamer
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Nintendo DS: Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action (Ignition Entertainment): “Anyone older than 3 that picks this game up for themselves should really have their head examined. The reason is simple: Animaniacs is a child’s game through and through, but the gameplay is way too frustrating for the intended audience.” — Game Chronicles
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PlayStation 2: Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction (Oxygen Interactive): “Conspiracy is a messy doodle of a game, characterless like a mushed slab of wet soap. There’s no hook, no gimmick, not a single hint that even the tiniest shred of imagination has been expended during its creation.” — Computer and Video Games
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PC: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2K Games): “This game is terrible in every area, with unresponsive controls, choppy graphics, and uninteresting minigames that look and feel a lot like the free Java/Flash games available on the Web.” — GameSpot
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PSP: Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory (Konami): “Here’s how Rengoku works: take something cool and mess it up. It’s that simple. They took robots and they made them boring and stupid.” — Thunderbolt
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Xbox: Chicago Enforcer (Kemco): “It sucks in a vomitous, spirit-crushing kind of way.” — Game Informer
[Updated to change attribution of Chicago Enforcer quote. Thanks, Gary.]





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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Bennet Ramsey @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Damn looks like Ol charlie gets no love. But couldn't you find a lot of other real crappy games. I mean I dont see why Ping Pals wasnt up there. In fact ping pals has become a inside joke amongst Nintendo fans. While I was at the Nintendo World Event there was all kinds of d/l single cart play and all that. Then the guy next to me was joking around and yelled "Anyone got ping Pals" and everyone started busting out laughing.
Sean @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Yeah, i'm also suprised Ping Pals isn't up there. However, at the price I got it at, $3 is [somewhat] worth it. ;)
zorniki @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Yep, Ping Pals definitely is meh²!!! :-(
Alex K. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
ping pals was from last year
Gary @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Gamespot was credited in this article for the quote, "Chicago Enforcer stinks in a vomitous, spirit-crushing kind of way."
If you check the Gamespot site, that quote in reality came not from Gamespot but from a user review by someone with the handle "idontevencare89".
Digi_005 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Smart Bomb gets honorable mention for worst PSP game.
vc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Ping Pals was released in 2004.
Lite @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
why list the same title across multiple platforms? shouldnt that count as a single bad game?
vc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Because I took the lowest-rated game for each platform. Charlie and the Choco Factory ranked lowest for multiple platforms.
White Rose Duelist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Yeah, but none of these can hold a candle to Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.
http://www.netjak.com/review.php/537
Nathaniel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Tommy Tallarico gave Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a 9/10, while he was wearing a golden ticket t-shirt...
Pay off anyone?
Cambob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
Ping Pals was 2004.
eebra82 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:07PM
haha that reminds me of when I watched the GameSpot list of lowest ranked games. Man, what some developers do is just unthinkable to me..