B-List Video Games

My friend and I have embarked upon an odyssey to play all the poorly rated though not quite totally broken video games we never played. For example, we have almost completed Earth Defense Force 2017 which turned out to be a huge surprise hit.

What we need now is some suggestions of further B-list games to try, with one qualifier: They should have local co-op (i.e. split-screen) play. And be awesome.

I don't know about local co-op, it's not something you're going to find in most b-list videogames tbh.

What we're looking for is games that fall into the "so bad they're good" category

its gonna be hard to find a better b-list co-op experience than EDF2017. as ryan would say, you can't start a show with a showstopper.
perhaps Crackdown? or maybe 50 cent: blood on the sand? or maybe too human? or maybe two worlds?

or maybe army of two?

Yeah we were really interested in Blood on the Sand, it actually sort of inspired this whole thing, but it's only got online co-op. Maybe we should just suck it up and buy two copies so we can find out where 50's skull is at.

I haven't played it myself, but I'd suggest Mercenaries 2.  I heard that your progress in co-op doesn't carry over into your single player game  if you're the second player though.  Again I haven't played for myself so I'm not sure how true that is.

So these should be games that you can enjoy in an MST3K, ironic sort of way. Is it possible to enjoy BomberMan Act Zero ironically? I also feel like Onechanbara should be in here. Don't do X-Blades, I played the demo last week and it is not at all awesome, even ironically.

Kommander and I have both played Mercs 2. We were big fans of Mercs one, but I'd say Mercs 2 definitely fell short of expectations, but definitely into the "so bad it's good" niche. Great suggestions so far guys.

" I don't know about local co-op, it's not something you're going to find in most b-list videogames tbh.

These were surprise hits for me (and super cheap too) Bullet Witch, Dark Sector, Prey, Enchanted Arms, Stranglehold (Condemned if you feel that way, but personally I feel thats an A lister) Lost: Via Domus, Vampire Rain, CSI: Hard Evidence, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.

I honestly think the only coop game on that list is Kane and Lynch. But I enjoyed them all quite a but once they dropped significantly in price.

"

" Escape From Bug Island, though I don't think it has co-op "

You might want to take a look at Brute Force (Xbox 1), Dark Watch (Xbox/PS2), Hunter: The Reckoning/Reckon 2 (PS2), Neo-Contra (PS2), OneChambara: Bikini Samurai Squad (360), The Outfit (Xbox), Timesplitters 2 (Xbox/PS2), Warriors Orochi/2 (Xbox/PS2) and Perfect Dark Zero (360).  These aren't great games but will likely suit your needs.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (360/PS3), Return to Castle Wolfentstein (Xbox),  Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (360/PS3) are good games that can be played local co-op.

I second the Hunter the Reckoning games

The problem with trying to find the "so bad they're good" games is that it requires a certain balance between the laughably bad gameplay and the hysterical periphery elements(story and graphics, or whathave you". Obviously, a game that's terrible because of purely technical reasons (bad framerates and terrible textures), than the game is just going to bad for ordinary, uninteresting reasons. It's for this reason that most people's favorite "B-Games" are the ones with terrible voice acting or a poor translation;games like House of the Dead 2 are certianly....compitant on the techincal aspects, but the game's terrible translation and hysterically horrible dialog have made it legendary, without the game actually being any good.

Earth Defense Force is a game that is profoundly dumb, with terrible voice acting and bad writing and brain-dead, one note gameplay, but it is ABSOLUTLY COMITTED to being as dumb as possible.  That's why the game, on some level, succeeds.

For good B-games, you need the games that are totally comitted to stupidity, or blissfully unaware of their own stupidity.