This time I'm giving myself a break from reviewing movies to do something slightly different. Of course, before I begin, I want to personally give credit to my good friend SilverZeo for suggesting that I review certain video games that I know of. I especially would like to give credit to Professorcalculus800 for encouraging me to do this as well. And trust me, in later reviews I will be reviewing a large variety of different video games which I've known and played since my childhood as well as some of the newer games I've played in more recent times. But for my first game review, I'll be going over the top five worst video games I've played in my life. I'm sure that everybody has had their fair share of experiences with games that they loved and praised since their youth, as well as games that they just flat-out hated for how shitty they were. For a lot of us who are gamers, we've had our experiences with a large variety of great classic memorable games that we love and cherish even today, as well as a large variety of crappy games that we'd rather forget about that have no place in our hearts or the history of gaming. Even today, there are games that we just love, cherish, and respect for their quality and value, and there are games that mentally scarred us for life that make us regret ever playing. Those are the kind of games that drove us mad with rage and made us throw our controller against the wall. Anyway, with no further delay, let's begin with the top 5.

1. Monster Bash (Arcade) (1982)
Believe it or not, this was one of the oldest arcade games released in the early 1980s along with Pacman, Galaga, Sinistar, and several other titles known at the time. Not many people remember this game, but it was made by Sega, the same company that gave us Sonic the Hedgehog which is far more popular and successful. But Monster Bash is definitely one of Sega's forgotten games. Anyway, since this is an old arcade game from the early 80s, the game is pretty simple; you play as a red and yellow character simply named "Little Red" and your objective is to kill three monsters; Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and a Chameleon Man. Now usually when it comes to classic horror icons, most people usually think of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. But for some reason, they replaced the Wolfman for a Chameleon. Frankly, I always wondered why they did that, because I thought was an odd decision on their part. Because besides seeing the Chameleon Man in this game, I don't remember seeing him in any comics or theatrical movies. Especially not from the earlier ages of filming. In fact, I don't recall there ever being a film called "The Chameleon Man". Yes, there was the film titled "The Creature from the Black Lagoon", but that's a different story. But I'm getting off track here. Back to my review. Anyway, as I said before, the objective in this game is quite simple; you play through three maze-like levels in the game while the bosses wonder all around the place trying to kill you. They don't throw any projectiles at you or anything, but they can kill you just by running into you. And of course the Chameleon Man has a tongue which he can use to whip you with. The one problem with this game is that it suffers from what plagued a lot of other games back in the day which is the "one hit syndrome". Meaning that if anything touches you, you're dead instantaneously. You start off with three lives. But that makes no difference because if you're not careful, those three lives will be gone in 5 seconds and before you know it, and you'll see the "Game Over" screen.

And of course killing the monsters is no walk in the park either. Because as you wonder around through the levels in the attempt to kill them, their stages are heavily guarded with enemies that can kill you faster than you can say "Game Over". Dracula's stage has bats, Frankenstein's stage as werewolves that can duck under your projectiles, and the Chameleon Man's stage has spiders. You're only means of attack is a tiny lightning bolt which you can use to zap enemies with. But this has no effect on the bosses of the stages. So how do you kill the monsters you ask? Well it's simple; all three levels have a "magical sword" icon located in the middle of the screen which you must touch to power up your zap attack. Once you've touched this icon, the character will glow in bright colors, and you can fire a super charged zap which can instantly kill the monsters in one hit. And that's how you progress to the next level. But it's not as simple as it may sound. Because there's so many enemies on screen, and the bosses are constantly moving. So you have to time your attacks just right in order to be able to hit them at the right time. Because not only will the bosses try to elude your attack, but the lesser enemies will get in the way, and if you miss, you have to wait until the sword icon fully charges up before you can use it again. Because once you shoot, you use it all up in one shot. And yes, you have to go through all that trouble to touch the icon again to be able to use the super zap against the bosses. All while there's a dozen enemies trying to kill you. But the worst part about this game is that there's no end to it. Since this is from the early 80s, there's no story, there's no goal, and there's no special ending after you kill all three monsters. The game is fun for the past five minutes, but it gets boring so quickly. Because this is one of those games that repeats itself in an endless loop in which you're just killing the same monsters over and over again. It really makes no difference how many times you win. The only difference is that the monsters become faster with each round, and the gameplay gets harder. But there's no appeal to it whatsoever. In fact, this is one of those games in which you play for as long as you can until you lose. I remember playing this game at least once or twice in the arcades. But that's as many times as I've played it. After that, I never touched this game ever again. So let's just leave it in the shadows. Because as the old saying goes; "Some things are better left forgotten."

2. Back to the Future (NES) (1989)
Everybody remembers the classic 1985 movie and its two sequels directed by Robert Zemeckis. As all fans know by now, "Back to the Future" was a huge hit back in 80s and is considered by audiences and critics to be one of the most successful film trilogy series of all time. Unfortunately, it's leap to the NES was nothing more than a huge let down. And the reason why is because the game was made by the infamous LJN who we all knew and hated. For those of you who have forgotten, LJN was a video game company that was notorious for making tons of crappy license based games that were commercial failures. And trust me, this game is no exception. I never bought this game when I was a kid. But I "have" played it once on the NES at a friend's house years ago. And well, I have only this to say; the game was extremely atrocious. In fact, it barely had anything to do with the movie in the first place. And I strongly regret ever playing it even though I've only played it once in my life. And believe me, many fans feel the same way I do about this game. There's not one person I know whose found this game enjoyable. In fact, Bob Gale, the screenwriter of the Back to the Future films, has called this game one of the worst NES games ever made, and even insisted in interviews that fans should not buy it. According to Gale, LJN refused his requests to give input while the game was being developed; once he was shown the game, he requested them to make changes, but was told it was too late in the process to change anything. The game itself was deemed as yet another one of LJN's games that were produced for the sole reason of cashing in on a movie. But anyway, let me explain why this abomination of a game was so atrocious.

The first thing you'll notice when you first start the game is the horrible and repetitive background music. It doesn't sound all that bad in the first few seconds. But after about five or ten minutes, it starts annoying the shit out of you. And it's just one single loop that plays throughout the entire game. From the title screen all the way to the end, that's the only song that plays. And trust me, if you subject yourself to this any longer, it will eventually drive you insane. Another reason why this game sucks is because it has little to no resemblance to the movie which it's supposedly based on. I know it's an NES game and all, but I've seen better license based NES games and they're nowhere near as bad as this piece of crap. Now let's talk about the game play. As you start the game, everything is seen from an overhead view, and you're racing against time. Along the way, you collect clocks that give you more time. And of course there are hordes of enemies that are out to kill you. And they can all kill you in just one hit. And yes, everything kills you in this game. From street bullies, to girls with hoolahoops, to bees, to guys holding invisible glass windows that don't show up until you run into them. And also, you have no control over Marty's walking. This is one of those games were you can't stop in your tracks or turn around and you're constantly moving as the screen moves. The best strategy is to avoid all the obstacles and enemies, and to collect a bowling ball which you can use to fight off enemies with. But good luck having the patience to get through the first level because depending on how many times you die, you probably won't have the time or the patience to see if you can get any further in this game let alone endure the rest of it.

And you want to know what's worse? LJN made a sequel to the game that puts together part 2 and part 3 of the trilogy in one package. And it's just as atrocious as the first piece of crap they shat out. Trust me people; no words can describe how bad it was. But you want to know what's really interesting? Most people assumed that there was absolutely no good game based on Back to the Future. But based on what I've seen from one of the AVGN's reviews, there actually was a good game based on the movie, but it was only released in Japan. The game was based on the second movie, Back to the Future II, where Marty and Doctor Brown travel 30 years into the future. It was developed by Daft, and published by Toshiba EMI for the Super Famicom in 1993. Based on what I've seen from a number of YouTube videos, the graphics were great, the gameplay was solid, and it was true to the source material unlike any of those abominations that LJN ever made. And well, I have to say that it's a shame that this game never got a US release. Because I'm sure this would have made all the disappointed fans proud, and it definitely would have blown any of LJN's games right out of the window. But the sad truth is that the game was never released to the United States. And to this day, the majority of American fans who were traumatized by LJN's abominations remain unaware of the game's existence.

3. X-Men (NES) (1988)
For decades, X-Men has been respected and valued by fans everywhere as one of the most popular and successful superhero franchises in history. When it comes to X-Men, most people think of the ongoing series of comics that started back in the 1960s, and newer issues continue to be sold to this day. Another gem that defined the franchise's success was the 1992 cartoon that aired on Fox Kids. Now, back in the 80s when the NES was all the rage, fans everywhere were hoping for a great game based on X-Men that would be remembered for years to come. And with a big name like X-Men, how could you go wrong? Right? Well, as fate would have it, our expectations for the first X-Men game were disgracefully let down. You want to know why? Because the first X-Men game that came out for the NES was made by none other than LJN, the company that was notorious for their reputation for making horrible abominations out of great franchises. As far as I know, there are very few LJN games I can recall that were any good. And trust me; this game that I will review is no exception. In fact, this is without a doubt one of the worst games I've ever played in my life. And looking back at this only brings back a swarm of disappointing memories that has haunted my childhood. Anyway, let's get down to business. When I first got the game, I was totally misled by the image on the cover. The boxart has that nice retro comic-book look with the X-Men characters posing dramatically. In fact, it looks a lot like something you'd see on the front cover for one of their earlier issues. But don't be deceived; the boxart was what made me want to play this disgraceful abomination, and I ended up paying the price for it as a result. But I can't really blame myself. Because back then, there were no online reviews or internet information. So there was no way to know that a game was bad until you've played it yourself. And trust me, I have played this game back in my childhood. And this is one of those games I'd rather forget about. But as I digress, let's talk about the gameplay.

The game starts off by giving you a stage select screen. And then you start the game by choosing two out of six characters. The six characters include Wolverine, Cyclops, Iceman, Storm, Night Crawler, and Colossus. But here's the kicker; you have to choose two characters even when you play alone. You are accompanied by a computer controlled character. But here's the problem; the AI is so broken in this game. The computer does nothing to help; it just wonders around aimlessly and it does whatever it wants to do. And believe me, you're gonna wish that the computer will die as soon as possible so you can play the game alone. There is a two player option. But good luck trying to get another person to play this piece of shit with you. And I'm like; seriously, what the hell is the point of having the CPU assist you in "1 Player" mode if it just screws around and gets in the way? When you're playing with another player, it's fine. But it's pointless to play the game alone with a glitchy CPU. And this only raises the question, who designed the AI in this game? But even when the AI bites the dust, you're left alone fighting against a bizarre array of uninspired enemies that look nothing like the enemies from the comics or the 1992 cartoon. And what's worse is that the enemies respawn infinitely, and every level in the game is a maze that leaves you asking yourself "What the hell am I supposed to do in any of these levels?" Of course, after 2 or 3 tries, you quickly catch onto the fact that the game is impossible. I never gotten anywhere in this game, and I don't really care. And let me tell you; this game has haunted my childhood, and it's a dark chapter of my life I do not wish to relive. Fortunately however, there does exist good X-Men games. But this is not one of them. The one game I remember most fondly is the arcade game by Konami, which came out in the same year the cartoon was released back in 1992. It was a side-scrolling beat em up that was made in a similar fashion to the TMNT and the Simpsons arcade games which were also made by Konami. It was a fun game and I really enjoyed playing it even though I only got to play it two or three times in my childhood. Unfortunately, the game was never released on a home console, which completely eliminated its availability to fans everywhere. Fortunately, the game can now be downloaded on an emulator. There are other good X-Men games besides this one however. Some of the ones I'd recommend the most include "Spiderman/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge" for SNES, X-Men for the Sega Genesis, and "X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse", which was made by Capcom for the SNES in 1994. Those along with some of the newer X-Men games are the ones I would highly recommend to the fans. But not the disgraceful abomination that was the NES game. I would strongly advise all fans to stay away from that one.

4. Double Dragon III (Sega Genesis) (1992)
Back in the late 80s, the Double Dragon series was a big hit in the arcades because it was one of the earliest 2D side scrolling beat 'em ups that had players coming back to it again and again. It wasn't as popular as later beat em ups, but it was one of the best franchises along with other memorable series including Capcom's Final Fight, and Sega's Streets of Rage. And here's the thing; the first two Double Dragon games were awesome. And nearly every port of those games have met with great success. Especially the NES versions of the games, which are considered by fans to be the most remembered. "Double Dragon" and "Double Dragon II: The Revenge" are well respected by fans for their smooth gameplay, great hit detection, addictive soundtracks, and their vast array of basic and special attacks. But the series hit a bottom low with the release of Double Dragon III back in 1990. As far as I'm concerned, Double Dragon III was by far, the worst game in the series. And based on what I remember, every port of it sucked; the arcade version, the NES version, and especially the Sega Genesis version. The NES version was infamous for its unfair difficulty and the fact that you only get one life in the game. Meaning that if you die anywhere within the game, you have to start all the way back to the beginning no matter how far you've gotten. And that's what really killed it for me. However, I'm well aware of the fact that some people have beaten this game. But I'm sure it took a lot of time and effort to do so given the game's unfair difficulty level. But let me discuss the Sega Genesis version which in my opinion is the worst version of the game in existence.

The Sega Genesis version of Double Dragon III suffers from slow and crippled game play. Your character walks incredibly slow, and he can only throw a single punch or kick at a time, which means you can't hit enemies consistently. You can also do a jump kick, but the enemies will always knock you down whenever you try to use it. So it's completely useless. And another thing bad about this game is that the hit detection sucks REALLY BADLY. I've seen some bad hit detection in other games, but depending on whether or not you've played this game, you probably won't even believe that this game has some of the worst hit detection that could ever plague a side scrolling beat 'em up. Half the time your attacks just go right through the enemies like they're ghosts. You can throw as many as 5 or 10 punches or kicks, and only one or two will hit, which means you won't even land half your attacks on the enemies. And what's worse is that the enemies will constantly gang up on you, molest you to no end, and you can't do shit about it. Because the gameplay is so flawed and crippled, you'll constantly be losing lives as you go along. And as far as I know, the only way to beat this game is to adjust your credits in the options mode before you start the game. Since this was modeled after the arcade version, you get limited credits. You start off with 3 credits, but you can adjust it to 25. My one word of advice is don't use up your credits on items or weapons because they're useless. And due to how flawed the gameplay is, you're going to need those credits if you want to get far in the game. I "have" beaten this game before, but it became monotones and boring so quickly. And since the gameplay is so bad and unbalanced, there's no appeal to it whatsoever, and you end up losing half your credits even when you beat the game. The ending isn't even satisfying. So in conclusion, all versions of Double Dragon III have one thing in common; they all suck. They're beatable yes, but they all suck. But in my opinion, the Sega Genesis version is by far the worst version of the game ever. The company failed miserably with this game, and it was a complete disgrace to the Double Dragon franchise.

Luckily, that's not where it ended. Because in the same year this game came out, there was Return of Double Dragon which came out for the Super Famicom in 1992, and was later released to the United States as "Super Double Dragon". Interestingly, the Japanese version of this game is much better. Not only is the hit detection much better than in Double Dragon III for the Sega Genesis, but the gameplay is more balanced, and you have a large array of special moves which you can use against your enemies to inflict some heavy damage. The game has a nice catchy soundtrack, and some of the flaws have been ironed out as well, making Return of Double Dragon an overall solid and memorable game from the SNES era. And it really blows Double Dragon III right out of the window. Take my word for it; this game is far superior to Double Dragon III in every way imaginable. And its way more fun and enjoyable. And of course there was Double Dragon Advance which was made for the Gameboy Advance in 2003. This game was essentially a remake of the first two Double Dragon games with more updated graphics, smooth controls and gameplay, and a decent remix of the original score. Double Dragon Advance has gained generally positive reviews, with a few of the criticisms aimed at the length of the game. But all in all, it was a pretty solid game and well worthy of the praise it has received in the last few years since its release.

5. Terminator 2 (SNES) (1992)
As the title implies, this game was based on the hit film directed by James Cameron. As far back as I can remember, there have been a number of video games based on the Terminator franchise. Probably the one that most fans remember is the shooting arcade game by Acclaim, where you play as a Terminator off screen shooting your way through the levels in the game. And then there are the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis games. And unfortunately, neither of those games even came close to being decent games that people could have enjoyed. The one I played back in my youth was Terminator 2 for the NES. And you probably won't believe this; but this game was made by LJN. And surprisingly, it was the only decent game they ever made. It did have its flaws, and the game was only 5 levels long. But it was an okay game for me. Besides, even the ending stayed true to how the story ended in the movie with the Terminator asking Sarah to lower him into the molten steel, followed by the epilogue. But that's as far as it goes with a decent game based on Terminator 2. Now for the main event;

Terminator 2 for the SNES was probably the worst game based on the Terminator series. And you're about to find out why; this is yet another game that was made by the infamous LJN. They just couldn't leave it alone, could they? But what's worse is that they didn't do such a good job as they did with the NES version. This one was much worse. The graphics in this game are pretty good for an old SNES game, and there's some nice character animation and so forth, but that's where it ends. The music is alright, but it gets boring so quickly because it loops over and over again and it's uninspiring. You play as the Terminator as he appeared in the movie with your motorcycle clothes and dark sunglasses. But the thing is you start from the bar with no weapons and no clue on what to do. And that's the problem with this game; the game gives you no clue on what to do or where to go, and you're constantly guessing on how to progress. So basically, its a guessing game where you're supposed to figure out everything on your own. Your character moves very slow, and the only way to boost his speed is to constantly hit the jump button while pressing right or left on the control pad to make him move faster. But it looks ridiculous because you have to be hopping around like a freaking bunny rabbit all through the game. And another thing bad about this game is that you can keep taking damage, but you have no idea how much damage your taking because there's no health bar indicating how much life you have left before you die. And then there's the overhead sequence where you drive a motorcycle to get to another location. The controls in this sequence are just delayed beyond belief. Because trying to turn around or move is like trying to control a crazy horse and getting it under control. But probably the worst part about this game is that you only get one life. And we all know what that means; no continues, no check points, and you have to start all over again. And also, the game doesn't even stay true to the movie from which it's based on. Yes; you do fight T-1000 at the end. But as soon as you send him falling into the molten steel, you still have to fight him as he turns into some giant lava monster. And I don't remember that happening in the movie. Do you? And when you beat the game, it doesn't stay true to the movie; the Terminator warps back to his own time, and leaves John and Sarah behind as the factory goes up in smoke. I guess we can assume that they somehow survived, but we get no indication that they did. So whatever happens to them in this game is left open to speculation.

As far as I'm concerned, there are only three good Terminator games in existence, Terminator 1 for the Sega CD console, Terminator 2 for the NES, and the Terminator 2 arcade game. But the one for the SNES was a complete disappointment. Because this game could have been awesome if only they had given the rights to someone else. But the thing is they had to give the rights to LJN. And that was a BIG mistake. I'm sure that if they had given Capcom or Konami a chance, they would have done a much better job than LJN ever did. But what's done is done. I can't change the past. So it's time to move on. Still though, the fact that the SNES version was a total disgrace to fans everywhere, that memory haunts me when I look back on it. And it's just one of those things that's better left forgotten. Of course, there are newer and better Terminator games out there today for the PS3 and Xbox 360. And trust me, this game doesn't compare to those in terms of quality. Besides, LJN has long since met their end after releasing Crash Dummies for the SNES in 1994. And it was that game that ultimately led to their downfall in the gaming buisness. So we can rest now that they're out of buisness. Because never again will we hear from them, or suffer from any more of their atrocious abominations. Hopefully now we can look forward to a brighter and better future for video games to come.