Chilean Newspaper Lists Shenmue, Okami as Part of "Worst Games of All-Time"

[Alex Co]

Chilean Newspaper Lists Shenmue, Okami as Part of "Worst Games of All-Time"

Chilean "videogame experts" Marco Bocaz and Tomás Cofré includes Shenmue and Okami in Chilean newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias' "Top 10 worst games of all-time" list.

While gamers around the world have different tastes, most of the time, a good game is considered good regardless of which part of the world the player is in. Apparently, that might not be the case in Chile -- at least according to the two "video game experts" entrusted by Chilean newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias (LUN) to run its "Top 10 Worst Games of All-Time" list. Just this weekend, the newspaper ran a piece about Microsoft's search for the E.T. cartridges. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133509-E-T-Atari-2600-Cartridge-Dig-in-New-Mexico-Cleared-to-Begin] Given that the game was one of the catalysts for the big video game crash of the 80s, well, it's safe to say that the game wasn't a paragon of good video game design. Coinciding with this, the so-called experts who teach video games in Chile -- Marco Bocaz and Tomás Cofré -- have compiled the ten worst video games in history and for some reason, have included both Shenmue and Okami in the list.

1. ET (Atari - 1982)
2. Pac Man (Atari - 1982) *cites bugs for this version as to why it's included*
3. Desert Bus (Sega - 1995)
4. Grim Fandango (LucasArts - 1998)
5. Shenmue (Sega - 1999)
6. Daikatana (Eidos - 2000)
7. Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (Stellas Stone - 2003)
8. Psychonauts (Double Fine - 2005) Ufff...
9. Okami (Clover Studio - 2006) Just unbelievable...
10. Duke Nukem Forever (Gearbox - 2011)

As if including Shenmue and Okami weren't bad enough, the list also includes Pac Man and Double Fine's Psychonauts, too. Granted, taste is subjective, but it's hard to believe that SEGA's highly revered action game is worse than say, Aliens: Colonial Marines. For reference, over on Metacritic, Tomás Cofré's explanation over on his Facebook page if you wish. [http://www.metacritic.com/game/dreamcast/shenmue]

Do you agree with the list that these ten games are the worst of all time? If not, what would your top ten be? And please don't tell me that includes Shenmue or Okami, too, alright?

Source: NeoGAF [http://www.lun.com/lunmobileiphone//Pages/NewsDetailMobile.aspx?x=1&dt=2014-05-04&BodyId=0&PaginaID=2&SupplementId=0]

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[Eric the Orange]

Alex did you really just fall for the click bait article? Are you going to post controversial top 10 blogs as news now as well? Or are you trying to create a click bait article?

 

[Casual Shinji]

One industry darling, maybe. But 4 on one list!?

These guys are just straight up trolling, there's no other way. Even if you don't like Okami, seriously naming it a worse game than Duke Nukem Forever makes me question your sanity.

 

[Mojo]

Do you agree with the list that these ten games are the worst of all time? If not, what would your top ten be? And please don't tell me that includes Shenmue or Okami, too, alright?

Mine would include, maybe ET, most likely Big Rigs and possibly one of the new mobile "remakes" of older games. (See Dungeon Keeper ect...) I guess if you wanted to make an honest "worst ten games" list it would be filled with ten games that are simply not playable.

But srsly, unless that "videogame expert" played nothing else but those ten games in his lifetime, this list has 0 justification. Yes, taste is subjective, but saying you don't like a certain game is something completely different from saying that game is bad, or even one of the worst games ever made.
That whole article is probably just click bait or something.

 

[Signa]

Obviously a troll or clickbait. Every game on there is either undeniable shit, or a cult classic. There's no faster way to get those clicks than to say a cult classic is garbage.

 

[Alex Co]

Alex did you really just fall for the click bait article? Are you going to post controversial top 10 blogs as news now as well? Or are you trying to create a click bait article?

Oh, not really. Just wanted to post something entertaining on weekends. I mean, it's not like the people who made the list are your usual gamers, since they teach video games for a living and all that. Just curious why they'd even include those two in the list at all and thought other people might feel the same. =)

Do you agree with the list that these ten games are the worst of all time? If not, what would your top ten be? And please don't tell me that includes Shenmue or Okami, too, alright?

Mine would include, maybe ET, most likely Big Rigs and possibly one of the new mobile "remakes" of older games.
(See Dungeon Keeper ect...)

But srsly, unless that "videogame expert" played nothing else but those ten games in his lifetime, this list has 0 justification. Yes, taste is subjective, but saying you don't like a certain game is something completely different from saying that game is bad, or even one of the worst games ever made.
That whole article is probably just click bait or something.

Yeah, I agree. It made me my head spin. Maybe that's their intention all along? But for two so-called experts who teach video games, that's highly unprofessional if so, no?

 

[erbkaiser]

If this is not trollbait, it seems like this list counts commercial failures as bad games. In which case yes, Okami, Psychonauts, and Shenmue sadly all qualify.

Edit: as does Grim Fandango for that matter. So this is 6 bad games, and 4 commercial failures that nearly broke their studios.

 

[Deathfish15]

Anyone that labels Psychonauts as worse than Duke Nukem Forever is an idiot...not just an idiot, but an ignorant idiot that's worse than those politicians who try to ban videogames to "save the children". YES! They're that stupid. Sorry, but truth hurts. These "experts" are nowhere near expert enough to judge the stench of their own farts, let alone videogames.

 

[dyre]

Alex did you really just fall for the click bait article? Are you going to post controversial top 10 blogs as news now as well? Or are you trying to create a click bait article?

+1. When you're looking to the Chilean equivalent of the New York Post or the Daily Mail as your source to write click-bait articles, you know you're getting a bit too desperate!

 

[deathbydeath]

>says a game isn't that bad
>cites metacritic

>Why the hell am I using greentext on a non-4chan website?

Alex did you really just fall for the click bait article? Are you going to post controversial top 10 blogs as news now as well? Or are you trying to create a click bait article?

Dude, this has been a thing for a while now. I remember some article where the title proclaimed that Miyazaki hates weeaboos and said they need to get a life. In the linked video, however, he just said that inspiration comes from exploration and a lot of anime creators are anime fans who rely on what they've seen for inspiration instead of something new. I'm paraphrasing, but the point stands: Stick to the editorials and webcomics and you won't be disappointed.

 

[direkiller]

Obviously a troll or clickbait. Every game on there is either undeniable shit, or a cult classic. There's no faster way to get those clicks than to say a cult classic is garbage.

Hell one if them is not even a game. It's a mini game of another game, that is suppose to be bad.
And yea this is just click bate.

EDIT: On a side note, they have an uncredited photo in there from LRR

 

[Mojo]

Yeah, I agree. It made me my head spin. Maybe that's their intention all along? But for two so-called experts who teach video games, that's highly unprofessional if so, no?

Oh, absolutely. Who knows what was going on in their heads when they wrote that article.

 

[Falterfire]

Listing Desert Bus seems like cheating. It's a small part of Smoke and Mirrors, which wasn't even officially released.

But yeah, clickbait. Aaaand I fell for it. I'll go sit in the Corner of Shame now.

 

[Objectable]

Oh, wait till Daystar sees this...
Armies will be shattered
Worlds will burn

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

If anybody cares to inspect the list up close you'll notice that the ranking is based chronologically.

1) ET (1982)
2) Pac Man (1982)
3) Desert Bus (1996)
4) Grim Fandango (1998)
5) Shenmue (1999)
6) Daikatana (2000)
7) Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (2003)
8) Psychonauts (2005)
9) Okami (2006)
10) Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

Another good reason not to take the list seriously.

 

[Roander]

Four of these could potentially be on a top 10 games list. Grim Fandango has no business being on this list either - even if you hate point and click adventure there are plenty of games in that genre worse than Grim Fandango. Is there a translated version of Thomas Cofre's explanation somewhere?

In case anyone was wondering Las Ultimas Noticias appears to deal with legitimate news. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_%C3%9Altimas_Noticias "Middle market", so maybe not the highest of caliber, but also not the kind of publication I'd expect to print intentionally slanted material just to get some extra clicks.

 

[RealRT]

>Worst games of all time
>Psychonauts
>Psychonauts
>Fucking Psychonauts on the "Worst games of all time"

Alright. I just can't leave it like that, can I? Looks like I'm buying an axe and a ticket to Chile!

 

[Daystar Clarion]

*Eye twitch*

I see...

No, no, it's grand, I'll just be over here.

[sub]Shattering armies...[/sub]

[sub][sub]Burning worlds...[/sub][/sub]

 

[Shiftygiant]

Agree with the first three (Although with desert bus that's kind of the point). It's when I saw Grim Fandango I realized why people were pissed.

I'm looking at the Facebook comments and apparently this newspaper is the Chilean equivalent of the Daily Mail or Mirror. Make of that what you will.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Four of these could potentially be on a top 10 games list. Grim Fandango has no business being on this list either - even if you hate point and click adventure there are plenty of games in that genre worse than Grim Fandango. Is there a translated version of Thomas Cofre's explanation somewhere?

Tomás has replied on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/LasUltimasNoticias/photos/a.231372700297148.37376.231350380299380/485333034901112/?type=1

He says that he was interviewed by the magazine as a gaming dev, and did not have a hand in writing or co-writing the article. He publishes the questions they sent and the answers he gave back. I don't feel like translating the entire post, it's pretty hefty, but summing it up:

1) He talks about the 1983 game crash.

2) He mentions some of the worst videogames in history are ET "of course", Daikatana - mentioning its "insulting publicities" but nothing regarding the game - and Duke Nukem Forever, "a frankly embarrassing" product that took 15 years to develop.

3) When asked about Desert Bus he explains what we all know, that it was part of a game pack that never got an official release. He also mentions Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.

4) He gives reasons as to why Atari buried the ET cartridges.

Bottom line is Tomás Cofré didn't come up with a Top Worst list for videogames. He was interviewd on a number of subjects and only mentioned ET, Daikatana, Duke Nukem Forever and Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing as being horrible. He does NOT mention Shenmue, Okami, Psychonauts, Pac Man or Grim Fandango at any point.

We have to assume the other guy credited for the article (Marco Bocaz) came up with the other nominees, and/or the magazine just drew names off the "worst commercial failures" bag as a means of quickly coming up with a story in light of the Atari burial site reveal. If you read the actual article you'll notice most of it is about the big reveal of the ET burial site cartridges and the gaming crash of '83. The ranking seems like poorly researched filler.