I know this must be hard to even think about bad adventure games, but cmon there must be something like that. I haven't played Simon 3D but after all rewiews and stuff i have been reading about it, i say
it's the worst.

This kind of question crops up from time to time, and begs the further question, if you mean what was disliked or what was put together in a jumble. I really enjoyed Simon 3D, and it was well crafted. Worst for me is no contest - I'll name Fork in the Tale every time.

I am sure I played Simon 3D but the ole memory slips a bit now and then, I think I liked it. For a LOT of us here on GB the "worst game" was Forever Worlds, didn't seem to make much sense and many of us played it all the way thru then said "HUH?" -
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

For me, it would have to be Conspiracies, no contest. Grainy FMV... awful garish & blocky graphics... incomprehensible "puzzles"... ouch, it was almost painful to play the dratted game. So I didn't; I uninstalled it. It's now gathering dust in a corner. An almighty pox on it!

I Loved all the Simon games, and I found Simon 3D to be as enjoyable and hilarious (more so) as the others...OK!...there is one annoying, impossible (in my case) timed sequence, and some arcade puzzles in it...but I will always be grateful to Simon 3D...for helping me to find my way to Gameboomers!!!...Rock on, Simon!

Can't wait for Simon 4.

I haven't played Forever Worlds...so I may have escaped the 'worst' adventure game.

Sue

I think I nominated Conspiracies last time this subject came up - I think Rushes has said it all! - but I had forgotton about Forever Worlds -for me that is No 1! Followed by in no particular order: Conspiracies (but I might finish that one day to find out the ending!), Adventures of the Chateau D'Or and more recently The Forgotton which was obviously intended to have some sequels - it was quite enjoyable but very badly put together! and very annoying to play!

I'm sure it has to be forever Worlds. I've tried to go back and play it several times but get so fustrated with the game I just quit.

For me, The Watchmaker.

But CBSection The Watchmaker won awards! - I don't know who decided this but I enjoyed the game - I thought the story was reasonable - but swapping inventory items when your 'miles' apart just isn't logical (that did happen didn't it? - it was a long time ago I played!) - also the voice acting as I remember was awful - especially the wife! I do remember starting this game and thinking whoever made this hasn't quite got the hang of making adventure games - but I did like it in the end but didn't think it was worthy of any awards!

for me,aura -i was bored with it,didn't get the puzzles,thought my character looked dumb/goofy,and i never did finish it.and that's just to name a few things i didn't like !!but then again,that game was well liked by a lot of people,soo....i guess it does depend on what you mean by worst - glitches,graphics,puzzles,story ??

Forever Worlds. I never felt so ripped off with a purchase before.

The Forgotten. Another rip off, one hour game for $20 that never amounted to anything.

Tac should issue out a free game coupons for anyone who provides proof of purchase for those two games.

Forever Worlds. Ugh. That game really turned me off. Our luck someone will come out with a sequel.... Generally I am pretty tolerant of games but this one came to near impossible to like.

Forever Worlds was a train wreck. I just bought another game on eBay that has one of the worst reputations ever: The Scroll. And I blame my purchase on Syd. Will The Scroll be worse than Forever Worlds? I guess I'll find out.

Hi, everyone!

If we're talking about the game we hated the most, I can't decide between "Conspiracies" and "Missing", so I'll declare it a tie !

I agree with everything Rushes said about "Conspiracies" (I also uninstalled it halfway through), and "Missing" was nothing more than a series of annoying arcade puzzles with a few videos thrown in for good measure. I was really looking forward to playing both of them, and ended up being extremely disappointed.

Susan

Oh yes! How could I have forgotten about Missing? I was never able to play that one for too long once it was apparent that the game was pretty much a series of arcade games.

Never did play Conspiracies. Looks like that's a good thing too!

Chateau d' bore--oops I mean Chateau d'or....

The worst game made would have to be hands down & forever, Forever Worlds. What a ripoff!

Melanie

And I LOVED Conspiracies! Go figure! Had me laughing at some of the antics in it, especially the bra bomb and climbing the fallen light pole then falling off and through the pavement below, quite a view of the sky/stars from under the tarmac! It is a keeper for me and one I will play again, looking forward to the sequel....."to each his own"
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Wow, I never knew it won awards. I guess my opinion is different than most.

What bothered me most was - as you stated - the voice acting. It was the only game I had to ever quit playing because it was so awful.

Maybe I should give it a second shot.

I thought Watchmaker was a good game too. The voice acting left something to be desired but wasn't worse than some other games I've played. It has an interesting story and great graphics. I think you should give it another shot, CB.

Melanie

Hey ALL....

Missing since Jan.was the worst game I ever played Flush it......What a stupid game.made no sense.and was a bore

For me, it was "Missing", and the title is just how I felt about it.

It was missing everything that I enjoy in adventure games. LOU

Am I the only one that hated "Black Dahlia"? It never seemed to work right & the puzzles were beyond my attention span. I still have it if anyone wants it.

Man , I can't remember the name of that thing , but I hated it . Maybe someone can help me out here .

Your character is a student ( MIT I think ) and he has to rescue this girl from these mafia guys and she leads him on a quest for some artifact having to do with her father who was murdered by the mafia in the opening scene . There was this puzzle that involved turning lipsticks into bullets and....that's where I had to bail.....

I'm going to go out on a limb here with Blown Away. It was supposedly based on a movie of the same name. Anyway, the game promised to be challenging with puzzles that changed. I barely got through the first few scenes.

It's packed away in a box up in the attic somewhere. . . . .

Robert -- I think you are referring to Runaway. It does take awhile to get used to the game's wacky charm.

In addition to Forever Worlds -

Drowned God - gads that game was painful.

A Quiet Weekend in Capri was the worst game for me. It was boring with very little plot. More like a travel log of pictures.

It is so great to get such a variety of tastes on GameBoomers. Viva le differance! Or, however you spell in French.
Intersting because I really liked Simon, The Watchmaker, and LOVED Capri.

I would have to chose Conspiracies because I lasted just 10 or 15 minutes (two tries) into this game and shelved it.

There is another game which I can't remember the name of. Had something to do with the word Night in the title. Was extremely short, didn't seem to be going anywhere and was supposed to be a forerunner to another game. Don't think a whole lot of people played it but remember reading bad comments about it on GameBoomers.

I wasn't Nightlong was it? I played it twice and don't remember a lot about it but it must have been interesting enough to hold my attention, it is on my keeper shelf in the closet......
Love, Betty Lou

Have to agree with Niteowl, Aura was certainly my worst adventure game, but a few have pushed it close to that coverted spot

It's always so interesting to see what people post on this type of thread. I see a few new entries--I don't remember Aura being mentioned before. And I remember when Robert tried to play Runaway! I think I told you not to play Monkey Island if you didn't like that one...

My nominees remain pretty much the same:

Traitor's Gate--clunky interface, really illogical plot, too steep learning curve, just boring. The first game I adandoned.

Thorgal's Quest--whoever said this was an adventure game? I just loved trying to find the exact right pixel on the screen to stand on so I could bean that guy with a rock...

And new additions:

Frankenstein TTEOTM--sorry, Betty Lou, I know you said this was delicious, but I couldn't get through it! The proportion of maze to plot was way too high!

Myst V--never thought I'd put a Myst game on any kind of "worst of" list, but this one resembled a marketing demo that never got properly developed.

WW

hey - robert - i could take runaway off your hands if you still have it, and save you ! let me know...

Threads like this are always interesting. Susie07 had it right. Missing Since January is absolutely the worst game ever, but it doesn't even qualify as an adventure game. Conspiracies would be right behind it.

I don't review games, but I always give a score to a game when I finish playing it and record it for future reference. Here are the worst games on my list with their scores (out of 10).

Missing Since January - 1.7
Conspiracies - 1.8
The C.H.A.O.S. Continuum - 2.0
Azrael's Tear - 2.1
Schizm - 2.9
Crystal Key - 3.6
Drowned God - 3.6
Seven Games of the Soul - 4.0
Riddle of the Sphinx - 4.0

I loved Runaway, it had such a daft sense of humour!

And ohhh WW, you have just brought the horror of Frankenstein TTEOTM back to my memory. This completely addled my brains; it was just one dark, monotonous passageway after another, and the navigation was horrible. I decided to give it a go because the very wonderful Tim Curry appeared in it, but even he couldn't save this dog's dinner of a game.

It is great to see the variety of tastes here--which is what makes the world go around!

I loved Riddle of the Sphinx and am playing Runaway and think it is a hoot--

Isn't it great that there is something for everyone out there

Not played.

Tried, and couldn't play.

Brilliant, as is the followup Mysterious Journey II, but I don't I couldn't get into Sentinel, which appears to be very similar.

So-so, didn't bother finishing, might return to it.

Not played.

Outstanding and quirky!

Excellent - I loved this.

My second least favourite game that I've actually put any time into would be the follow up to RotS, The Omega Stone - so yawn-worthy I just had to give up.

And the worst? Mystery of the Druids ... total clap-trap.

Gremlin

You're right - it's always interesting to see games you liked are despised by some, and vice versa. However,I have yet to see someone say they liked Fork in the Tale, The Scroll or Forever Worlds, so I have to think those are the winners.

I have to agree with an earlier post about A Quiet Weekend in Capri. I was bored to tears and I felt like I was continually looking for my travel guide. It's definitely no contest that Forever Worlds was the worst every, but (and I know I'm probably going to get a backlash for this one, but here goes)I absolutely hated Alida. Again, boooorrrrrrinnnnng. The graphics were beautiful, but it seemed extremely tedious and way too quiet.

That's the one Becky . It was cute and all that...but I kept having to look at walkthroughs to do those strange illogical puzzles .

Hi WW , yep , that was me . I still have Escape From Monkey Island . I might just give a try when I'm in the mood for a little frustration


Sorry Niteowl , I traded that dude right away .

IMO, the problem with some of the posts on this subject are that people confuse 'games that are awful because I really disliked them and any games like them' with 'games that are awful because they were poorly designed, had a lousy plot, were bug-ridden etc.etc.' The latter premise is appropriate whereas the former isn't.

Take Aura. Aura was well-designed with beautiful graphics, many original puzzles, certainly a fairly limited plot and 1st person, point & click all the way. It was an excellent example of that sub-genre of AGs. So, anyone who really disliked it probably doesn't like games of that sub-genre very much if at all. Drowned God, on the other hand, would also be in that sub-genre, but it had limitations having to do with poor design, non-sensical plot etc. that make it a legitimate choice as a rather poor game (even though I rather enjoyed it).

And I LIKED Azrael's Tear and thought it was a really good game. You need a slowdown program to get it to behave on faster computers, though.

what would the sub-genre be for Aura ? can someone give me other games in the same sub-genre?

All of that in the latter premise of your statement(except bug-ridden) , is of course , subject to ones' opinion . Therefore , the first premise of your statement would also apply . It's symantecs

hey ,robert , can you answer the question i posted for me , since you're still here ?

Hi Niteowl

I already did , but I will again . I traded Runaway not long after I quit and un-installed it . Sorry

no no- what is the sub -genre that aura would be ??

As far as I know niteowl , Aura : Fate of Ages is just simply an Adventure Game . If Adventure games have sub-genres , I guess I would call it a sci-fi adventure

hmmm - interesting - was trying to figure if i was being unfair in my evaluation of it. thanks.

Well, I sometimes waste my time thinking up subgenres.

I would say that Aura fits into the Myst-style subgenre. It's puzzle-driven, set in an alien or fantastical environment/time period with a first person viewpoint and without a great deal of character interaction. Other games in the subgenre would be all the Myst games, the RHEM games, the Mysterious Journey/Schizm games, Sentinel: Descendants in Time. (I'm sure I've missed others. Still thinking.)

Amerzone. Alida. Acalius. ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern. Isles of Derek. Bioscopia. Chemicus. Physicus. (Though the last five games have an edutainment aspect, which might make them a sub-sub genre.)

hah - then the comment about me not liking the sub-genre was incorrect .the game did have glitches,needed a patch, and on a personal note the guy looked wooden,..point being we all have our reasons....thanks becky

I wouldn't worry about it Niteowl . Whatever reason you have for disliking a game doesn't make your opinion any less valid that anyone else's .

I really enjoyed Runaway - I even played it twice. I also liked Black Dahlia - I think I played that one three times. As to the games I did not like, Midnight Nowhere would be one because I got stuck at a certain part and couldn't get past it despite many suggestions from 'boomers. Another one would be Legacy Dark Shadows - it had so many glitches that I never made it through the game. Schizm (CD version) was terrible (maybe some day I'll try the DVD version). Last but not least was Alida and that's only because I didn't have the skills to make it through without extensive use of a walkthrough.

tuesday next

tuesday next

hehe - i'm not worried - i was just kinda curious

Hmm, it's funny to me, I don't like that sub-genre (or type of game if you prefer) but I sure did enjoy Aura. But it sounds like I didn't run into glitches like some other folks did, which I know can be an enjoyment suppressor. Of course, I'm in the minority of people that really liked Jazz and Faust, so what do I know.

I thought Tony Tough was one of the worst games because of the assinine comments that constantly drivelled from his lips ... What's a game after you've strangled the main character?

Of Light and Darkness is one of the few games that I couldn't even get past the first sequence. It so confused me that I gave up and uninstalled it and never went back to it.

Also in Koala Lumpur there was an arcade sequence that I couldn't do in the middle of the game and there was no work around so I scrapped it as well.

Those two are at the top of my list.

Betty Lou, it is interesting to note, speaking of worst adventure games, that it speaks volumes when you look at your collection of old games and can't remember, even when reading the manual, anything about the game.
I DO have Nightlong, but don't remember it at all. However, looking at the manual I think Nightlong is too long for this short game I am thinking of. So, not very close to what I thought was part of the title, looking at all my old games I am thinking the game I couldn't think of is The Forgotten. Does anyone remember THAT game? Or, have we all conveniently "forgotten" that one?

The Forgotten Night? A lot of us were unhappy when the promised sequels failed to materialize after the short "The Forgotten". I enjoyed playing it though, just was unhappy that there wasn't more to it.

Rowan -- wanna step outside for a minute? Tony Tough is my favorite.

Okay -- the game that left me feeling the worst when I finally completed it -- Lighthouse. The puzzles gave me an apoplectic fit and I considered inflicting grave bodily harm upon the CD.

The game that had me saying "Tsk, tsk" pretty much throughout -- Cold Case Files.

Now see what you've done, Rowan! Isn't it funny that for almost all the games named as worst, someone else really likes them! Again, if someone liked Fork in the Tale, Forgotten Worlds or The Scroll, I would love to have you speak up and say why you did. No one will be allowed to say bad things about you. And I'll add "9" to the mix, because I think I recall a couple of people saying they did like it, and I thought it was an utter catastrophe.

Hi nickie -- well, Fork in the Tale has a clever title, Forgotten Worlds has a very nice box and CD case, and The Scroll makes me think of Syd, who is loverly.

So I like all of them. Of course, I haven't played any of them, which is perhaps why I still like them.

Uh, Oh, Becky!

You could uncork the bottle whenever you wanted one of Tony's words of um, wisdom.

You know, that was one of my frustrations with Lighthouse.

Ending spoiler -- Lighthouse
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I didn't feel satisfied with my disposal of the villain. I felt it was just a matter of time before he washed up on the beach somewhere where some unsuspecting soul would open up the bottle.

Hmmm. Maybe the Dark Being is a genie?
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I haven't played as many games as most people at Gameboomers.
But for me the worst one is Adventure at Chateau
d'Or. what a waste of time.
I started it yesterday and this afternoon I chucked it in the garbage - went back and retrived it in case someone wants it - all you have to do is pay the postage.

===========================================
The game has been requested by looney4labs
on Sat Jan 21
===========================================

In the future I will be reading reviews and
checking on Topic forums to see what people think about games they are playing.

Retired

If he survived the explosion of the Volcano.... Lighthouse 2 , now that's a game I could get into .

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Forever Worlds.

The only way that I can see anyone NOT saying Forever Worlds, is if they haven't played it. It was the buggiest piece of (euphemism for doo-doo) software that I have ever installed on a computer, as well as the most incomprehensible game I have ever played.

Mike (Still in therapy for having had the Forever Worlds trauma)

This is a fun thread. I wonder if after reading these posts there will be someone who thinks to themselves: "Well now, I really HAVE to buy Forever Worlds to see what all the fuss is about." I haven't played the game, but from all the descriptions here it sounds like a real shocker.

There is none worse: The Daedalus Encounter

Becky is absolutely correct. The other sub-genre would be 3rd person, plot-based, dialogue-strong games such as Gabriel Knight.

And as far as the Aura issue is concerned: Of course, anyone who so desires can decide that it's a matter of taste or opinion whether it's a lousy game, but FWIW, they would be out of sync with about 99.99% of people who like 1st person, point & clock, puzzle-based games. Also, the fact that it required a patch means nothing. Almost every AG that is released ends up with a patch at some point or other.

Becky :kiss:

Nickie I've tried four times to play A Fork in the Tale - no can do - that game is in a total class by itself.

There's another "game" and I use the word "game" loosely out there called "Gothos" - Has anyone but me tried to play that sucker? I think only four copies were sold and I have one of them

Marian you're going to love, just love, The Scroll

Syd, I'm sure I'll find The Scroll an interesting experience.

Gothos, you say? It just so happens I have one of those four copies. I picked it up on eBay a few months ago. It really looks......cheesy.

You two girls have Baager Syndrome . I'll bet you have more games than shoes .

Oh dear Marian you're further gone than I thought And cheesy pretty much describes it. Maybe we need to have a Gothos-a-thon

Syd, I had no idea you had that charmer in your collection - I should have known! I think it is some developer's nightmare that he put on CD - completely incomprehensible. And hey, I have one of the other Gothos, but I think it is hiding somewhere with Silver (I'd forgotten about those two).

Are we allowed to giggle a little when Marian plays The Scroll?

nickie I think a giggle would be in order - but a dignified giggle Silver, you say? Well..... guess what I have?

Oh nooooooo! I don't have that! Do you happen to have Lords of Tantrazz? I would like to play it someday, but I don't think anyone has ever successfully completed it.

Edit : I first put Lords of Flatbush, got it mixed up with the movie. Don't want to send you on a wild goose chase, Syd!

Lords of Flatbush??? Accck - a game I don't have

Must find game, must find game.

Edit your edit : Lords of Tantrazz???? Accck - a game I don't have

Rowan, I'm playing Tony Tough right now and I think it is hilarious. I can't wait for the second game in the series to come out.

tuesday next

I don't remember the name of my worst game but I recall it's about this middle age techie type guy who's always thinking up these little devious electronic circuits in the basement lab of a police department and he...oh wait....never mined that's my...hmmm...real life....sorry 'bout that. Any who, back to my alternate reality.

Mordack

Journey to the Center of the Earth is definitely one of the worst adventure games ever made.

9 last resort s***ed.there i said it.....

Odd reading these posts. One persons trash is another's treasure.

Oh and Syd, I have the 4th copy of Gothos. I even played it half way through then changed computers and never did install it on the newer computer.

Really sorry to hear that, Retired. I just bought it and have it sitting in my 'immediate' stack.

At least Forever Worlds has some collector viability. I'm holding onto it for posterity. I never saw such a buggy, ridiculous & annoying game before or since. I think it's the most hated newer game around. The Scroll seems to take the prize for the older games but I haven't played that one.

Melanie

Rushes! - you are very right! - I have seen a lot of games mentioned here that will stick in my mind as someone else's idea of BAD! - I would now be tempted to pick them up to see for myself (but only if they were very, very cheap!)

Wow! This thread has really taken off since the last time I checked in.

I like the humour I'm seeing here this time around. Sometimes when a "worst game" thread gets started, it can get mean-spirited--but that doesn't seem to be happening this time. Kudos, everyone.

"The Forgotten" was one of the first games I played and it was so buggy I could barely get through it. Plus, it was short and unfinished. I don't mind planning a game series from the get go, but you should make a distinction between the big story arc and the small story arc. So each installment brings you to a resolution--maybe a cliffhanger, but still some form of resolution-- rather than leaving you feeling like you played a game with a lot of stuff missing.

WW

Robert,

About your comment concerning shoes versus games: you are correct. Let's just say that my shoes are one grain of sand and my games are the entire beach.

Marian! I'm glad I don't have a thing for shoes like I do for games and books and a few other things - geesh, this house is crowded enough! Imelda Marcos I am not.

WW -- excellent point. Maybe for The Forgotten, adventure developers hadn't quite realized how to do this yet. Now they're doing it. I think the AGON series, the Bone series and the Delaware St. John series manage this feat rather well.

As for the shoes -- if I had as many shoes as I have adventure games, I'd have to add a wing onto my house just to store them.

Games are a lot more fun than shoes .

Shoes - 3 pr.

Games - a lot more

Here we go again. &

I liked The Forgotten and wished there was more. I played on xp and don't remember experiencing any bugs just that it could have been longer but some of the new games like Delaware St John are as short from what I've heard.

Melanie

If I ever see Forever Worlds selling at around the £5 mark, then I don't think I'll be able to stop myself. :lol

Like Becky said, they also take up a LOT more room!

I hope I don't get in trouble for this but , judging from the posts that you ladies have wrote about games and shoes , I would venture to guess that any woman who loves Adventure games , or any genre probably doesn't have many pairs of shoes . Just enough to get by I would think , and maybe even a couple of pairs with holes in them . " These shoes will last a while longer , I want that new game I read about at Gameboomers that's supposed to be awful "

I don't know about that, Robert. We all seem to know how much space a lot of shoes take up.
&

You don't need shoes when ordering on-line.

correct , Rowan

Did someone mention Imelda Marcos? Maybe it's because my father was born in the Philippines but I have loads and loads of shoes to go with my loads and loads of games. I can't really pick a worst adventure game, because somehow I'm mechanically challenged and any game that I have to fix things or get things to work is a worst game for me.

funny someone mentioned alida - i 'm playing this now and am absolutely awe-struck by this game and the mind that created it -wonderful. i am always so amazed by how varied are the tastes of all of us,and i hope i can find shoes to go with this game.....it's gonna be tough tho'

I like this idea of having a pair of shoes to go with each game! No!- I haven't got that many shoes Robert! (but none of them have holes in them) - so I've got quite a lot of catching up to do now!. But I won't find any for the most money I'd pay for a bad adventure game!.

PS Is the idea to wear the shoes while you're playing the game?

Well, I always assumed that sensible people play adventure games while barefoot. But if you're purchasing shoes to go with each game, I suppose you could wear them while playing as a way of "getting into character" for the game.

Becky, then we could do entire outfits--really sink deeply into the secenario--I'd be in trouble tho as not many games feature heros in Pajama pants

Chateau d'Or offer:

The game has been requested by looney4labs
on Sat Jan 21

Retired

hey ,becky - if i were sensible i wouldn't be up half the night playing Alida to begin with....

Developers should look to writers of comic books for ways to handle story arcs. You might have an arc that lasts all year, but each installment is coherent. And then, there might be the entire arc of a character--Batman, say--that has to have continuity over many, many story arcs.

As for shoes, I don't generally wear them in the house, but I definitely have a thing about cute shoes. Don't have a pair to go with every game, as they do take up way more space. But probably shoes are the thing I most accumulate, after games and ball caps.

WW

I would have to put Law & Order: Criminal Intent on the list simply because of the bugs. It was a great game in concept and story line, but the constant crashes and bugs in the game made it absolutely infuriating to play.

I agree about Missing. I think it had a great concept but I didn't see the need for stupid games. The Phoenix is supposed to be so intelligent and he spends his time creating arcade games? Please.

I also found Post Mortem disappointing. I played it after Still Life (which is an awesome game) and didn't find the story nearly as compelling.

Hi Irishgirl

I agree , some of those arcade games were pretty frustrating , especially if your mouse isn't 100% .

Thanks for the welcome! Those arcade games reminded me of Atari 2400, way back in the day.

Luckily there are tons of great games to compensate for the not so good ones.

I have found that if you play a really great game and follow it by another, the second game can appear worse even though it may have scored better if you hadn't just finished that good one.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy does. ;-)

Gremlin (in pajamas at this very moment due to the fact that his jeans are in the washing machine helping to felt a woolen bag his spouse has just knitted!)

You're probably right Rowan. Still Life was really awesome, I was probably bound to be disappointed by the next game. If I had played Post Mortem first, I might have felt differently about it once I finished.

I liked Still Life more than PM partly because Gus's grandaughter had much more personality than he did , I loved her sarcastic humor . She must have gotten it from her mother's side of the family .