Whether people are interested in review scores or not, it’s hard to deny that the review aggregatorMetacriticis now a significant part of the gaming industry. The site’s scores can affect the sales figures of a new title and significantly alter a game studios' reputation. Metascores can also affect developers' pay, exemplified byFallout: New Vegas' Obsidian Entertainment, whomissed out on royalties due to being one point shy of their 85 target.
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Despite the importance that Metascores can have, it should go without saying that they aren’t necessarily indicative of how much every person will enjoy the game. The ten games on this list all have their issues, and people should go into them with the knowledge that they’re rough around the edges, but every one of them can still provide hours of entertainment for anyone who is a fan of the game’s genre.
10Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly (48 on GameCube)
Spyro and Crash have gone hand in handthroughout their careers; one similarity that they’ll want people to forget is that they both failed to impress with their highly anticipated PlayStation 2 releases,Spyro: Enter The DragonflyandCrash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.
Both games had very similar issues too. They simply tried to recapture their predecessors' magic but lacked the proper execution and didn’t bring any impressive new features to the table. Despite its shortcomings,Spyro: Enter The Dragonflywas still thoroughly enjoyed by many fans of the original trilogy and was likely given such a low score due to unrealistic expectations.
9The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (59 on PS2)
When people look back at some of the memorablemovie-tie in gamesthat flooded the PlayStation 2,Return of the KingandTwo Towersspring to the minds of many, whileFellowship of the Ringis rarely discussed.
The main complaint that people had aboutFellowship of the Ringwas that it didn’t touch upon some of the film’s key moments, and a significant portion of the game is spent in the shire. There’s a good reason for this, as the game’s publisher, Black Label Games, only had rights to make a game about the book. If this was made more clear to people, and the game didn’t release so shortly after the first film, then the game would have been better received, as it’s an enjoyable rendition of Tolkien’s first book.
8Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (47 on 3DS)
WhenSonic Boom: Rise of Lyricwas first announced, many fans hoped that it would be a return to form for the blue hedgehog. Instead, they got a game that somehow received even lower Metascores than the infamousSonic The Hedgehog, a game that had one saving grace: it wasenjoyable in a “so bad it’s good” type of way.
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A Nintendo 3Ds game titledSonic Boom: Shattered Crystalwas released on the day, and although it didn’t receive scores as low asRise of Lyric’s 33, it still didn’t perform well. When the dust finally settled,Rise of Lyricwas still dismissed as a complete flop, butShattered Crystalbegan to receive some retrospective praise. The game is far from being the best platformer on the 3DS, though it will provide a thoroughly enjoyable eight-hour adventure for fans of the genre.
7Pure Football (38 on Xbox 360)
TheFIFAseries is one of thehighest-selling video game franchisesof all time, though much of its player-base would love to seea game come along that will provide serious competitionto EA’s money-machine. Ears were perked when one of the few companies that can challenge EA financially, Ubisoft, announcedPure Football,though a poor reception meant that the game didn’t receive a sequel.
However, when looking past the game’s initial hype and judging it by what it is, an arcade-style spin-off to the more realisticFIFA,there’s a lot of fun to be had withPure Football.This is particularly the case with multiplayer, which can be great fun to play with friends. Many people seem to feel this way as the game has a 7.9 user score on Metacritic, which is impressive as users tend to be quite harsh with their scores on the site; the 7.9 score is the same as the Xbox One editionGrand Theft Auto V, for example.
6Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix (58 on PS4)
Following the disappointment over the originalNickelodeon Kart Racers, many people weren’t expecting to see a sequel. However,Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prixhit stores just two years after its predecessor and managed to improve upon many of its shortcomings.
To say that the game can hold a candle toMario Kartwould be disingenuous. However, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable, causal racer that will provide hours of multiplayer entertainment alongside its single-player Grand Prix events.
5Super Lucky’s Tale (59 on PC)
A 59 score is certainly not as bad as some of the other entries on this list, though it seemed like a very harsh score for a simple but enjoyably well-designed platformer with a marketable roster of characters. The game’s hub areas and levels are littered with things to do and items to collect, which will satisfy fans of classic collectathons such asBanjo-Kazooie.
There’s no doubt thatNew Super Lucky’s Taleis the better game as it fixes many of the original’s problems, particularly the camera issues. However,Super Lucky’s Talecertainly doesn’t deserve to be remembered as a weak platformer, as it’s a fun and engaging game to complete 100%.
4Spy vs. Spy (38 on PS2)
The fourth video game iteration of a comic strip by the same name,Spy Vs. Spyfor the PlayStation 2 is the joint lowest-rated game on this list, with a score of just 38. The main issues that critics had withSpy Vs. Spywere its poor visuals and bland single-player campaign.
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Although it’s hard to argue against these two points, the game does have a saving grace that may have been overlooked in reviews at the time and subsequently earns the game a spot on this list: the multiplayer. The game’s local multiplayer was hilarious fun with friends, and a glance at Google reviews of the game will show just how fondly some people remember it.
3SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated (66 on Switch)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated’s 66 Metascore is the highest on this list, though the game certainly deserves a spot due to the cult classic remake having animpressive user scoreof 8.6, an Overwhelmingly Positive All Reviews mark on Steam, and general high praise from many people who played it.
Gamespot’s video reviewbest exemplifies the divide between fan and critic opinions of the game. The reviewer gave the game a brutal 2/10 score, which resulted in one of the most one-sided like to dislike ratios in the channel’s history.
2Crash Twinsanity (64 on PS2)
Crash Twinsanity’s faults are plain to see. There are many glitches, a short main story, and numerous control issues for players to contend with. Traveller’s Tales has a good excuse for this, as they had to complete the game in an extremely tight schedule after the original plan,a sci-fi adventure titledCrash Bandicoot Evolution,was scrappeddue to its similarities withRatchet & Clank,which hit stores during the game’s development.
Despite the game’s faults,Crash Twinsanitywas a great attempt at creating a more open Bandicoot game. A handful of the stages, particularly the introductory one, are among the franchise’s best. Moreover, the game hassome of the series' best boss fights, such as the tricky battle with Dingodile.
1Sonic Adventure (48 on Xbox 360)
There was once a time when ports, remasters, and remakes were all heavily looked down upon; this may sound odd today when fans are crying out for their childhood favorites to be re-released on the latest consoles, though this wasn’t the case when the classic Dreamcast gameSonic Adventurecame to the Xbox 360.
The Xbox 360 iteration of the game received a brutal 48 Metascore, which is in stark contrast to its respectable 7.5 user score, indicating just how beloved the classic adventure still was in 2010.
NEXT:Every Halo Game, Ranked From Worst To Best (According To Metacritic)
