Sad Tales Of Getting Bad Games As Presents.

When I was 9, on my birthday I got some pretty neat things. I got a Xbox s model controller that fit my little kid hands better than the duke, and a skateboard. I was a pretty happy kid with these things, but my mom bought me one more thing. My mom and my older brother went to gamestop and bought me a game for my birthday. But I wasn't ready for what they got me, they gave me a copy of "Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home." At the time, I didn't even care for wrestling anymore so I literally couldn't get anything worse. Not wanting to be a spoiled seeming kid, I swallowed my disappointment and put this dumb thing in my xbox. Which was also my first experience with Detroit rap group "The Insane Clown Posse" as when you start the game you see the music video for the song "Homies". But then I got to the actual game, and it looked like butts, and just buggy as shit. Like I had fun for a while irish whipping my brother and he would warp through a table and his leg would jet across the map. For being a broken game and exposing me to ICP reserves this game a special dark place in my childhood.

I was given The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian for PS2 ... never been the same since.

For Christmas one year I got Shadow the Hedgehog.

Some time after the PSP was released, my dad went on a business trip and brought back a copy of NFL Street 2 Unleashed. Me, being the one person in this family not giving a shit about sports, especially a sport that barely even exists here in Sweden, just asked him "Why???"

I played this game once, I still think to this day that american football games are fucking stupid.

EDIT: This was about a week or two after my birthday so it was kind of a 'late' present.

I got The Path of Neo and it has become a classic game of my early-teenhood.

I got given Battle Construction Vehicles from an aunt once. There is no justifiable reason for anybody to buy that game for anyone. I played it for about 20 minutes before trading it in.

Now on sale for £3.99 on PSN!

I got Turok the Dinosaur Hunter for N64. Ack.

@Vexxan said:

Some time after the PSP was released, my dad went on a business trip and brought back a copy of NFL Street 2 Unleashed. Me, being the one person in this family not giving a shit about sports, especially a sport that barely even exists here in Sweden, just asked him "Why???"

I played this game once, I still think to this day that american football games are fucking stupid.

EDIT: This was about a week or two after my birthday so it was kind of a 'late' present.

I played the shit out of that game, loved it!

I don't remember what it's called exactly but I got this Lord of the rings game as a present where you controlled Frodo, it was absolutely terrible.

@Simplexity: Is it the Fellowship of the Ring, or just The Hobbit?

Frodo, in the hobbit?!

@MideonNViscera said:

I got Turok the Dinosaur Hunter for N64. Ack.

I loved that game, haha!

This was entirely my own fault but I want to share it anyway! When I was a little 'un I asked my parents for Kirby's Ghost Trap for my birthday and I was so happy when I opened it on the day and quickly rushed upstairs to play it. But only minutes after putting it into the Snes did I realise I had been betrayed by, well, my imagination? I wasn't running around a colourful amazing world catching ghosts (what did I think it would be? Super Mario World?!) I was playing Tetris with bubbles. Well, the upside was my brother (Tetris fanatic) loved it, downside is whenever I hear someone say: "Poppy Brother Senior!" I shudder.

After the first few mishaps I made a list with games I wanted (complete with artwork and such cut out from game magazines) and hang it up in the living room around the holidays/birthday.
 
It still had a few bad gifts but overal the quality improved.
When I got Ocarina of Time from my father one day I was through the roof.
I've forgiven him giving me Defender for the gamecube later.

My girlfriend got me this beauty once:

I was very fortunate growing up that when my parents would get me a video game for my birthday/christmas they'd always ask what ones I wanted and got me one from a list I gave them. Also my relatives knew that I was really into games growing up so didn't buy me any incase they bought me something I already owned. Instead I got money from them

My mum bought me some weird PC game once. It was basically a 2D side-scrolling Sims with Furby-like beings instead of people. I was fucking appalled by the notion that she thought I would be into it.

Also, I rented Superman 64 once. Yeeeeaaaahhh......

I got se F1 racing game for playstation 1 when I was a kid even though I have never shown any interest in it. The game sucked as well even though I played a ton of it.

I remember one Christmas my parents got me a brand new PS2 game, called Eragon. It was based off a Book/Movie that I had never ever shown any interest in, I played for a while just to show them I was grateful but got rid of it a few weeks later saying I'd finished it.

I win.

@S0ndor said:

My mum bought me some weird PC game once. It was basically a 2D side-scrolling Sims with Furby-like beings instead of people. I was fucking appalled by the notion that she thought I would be into it.

Also, I rented Superman 64 once. Yeeeeaaaahhh......

My mom bought me Superman 64 when I was a kid. Probably the worst game I've ever played. At least she got it used, I think. I never got past the first mission.

Anyone remember the name of that Bee game on the N64?

Well, one year I got that stupid thing...

I must've had early developed survival instincts because I never once wished for games, I always bought them on my own.

@Chop said:

Anyone remember the name of that Bee game on the N64?

Well, one year I got that stupid thing...

Buck Bumble ?

Probably The Getaway for me. Just, so god damned awful.

My parents bought me a sega genesis with action 52 at christmas in ye olde time. For those of you who dont know action 52 i suggest checking out avgn's review. It's basically a compilation of 52 really bad "games".

But you know what, my 8 year old self liked it so much that i played more of that rather than Sonic 2

@Chop: I am all about Buck Bumble.

@Serpentenema: Sooo, no Juggalo you, eh? Do you even care how magnets work?

@stryker1121: I do not rep the hatchet

I got The Simpsons Wrestling for christmas. That game is absolutely horrible. I really tried to like it but I just couldn't. I cringe just thinking about that piece of shit.

When I first got my PS2 I got given the Finding Nemo game, It was pretty traumatic.

@GideonAmos said:

My parents bought me a sega genesis with action 52 at christmas in ye olde time. For those of you who dont know action 52 i suggest checking out avgn's review. It's basically a compilation of 52 really bad "games". But you know what, my 8 year old self liked it so much that i played more of that rather than Sonic 2

hahahaha! I had fucking Action 52! So horrible in so many ways.

I don't think I've ever received a bad gift from anyone. In fact, Final Fantasy VII, Diablo II, Starcraft, Vandal Hearts, Metal Gear Solid and Prince of Persia were all gifts I got from my mom and probably wouldn't have played otherwise. Fuck, without her, I probably wouldn't be into games at all. Man, I'm gonna have to call her now.

Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol for the PS1 was pretty bad. I swear that I've received something worse, though. Most of the terrible games I've played were games that I bought. Army Men, Enter the Matrix, and others were all my fault. My dad, who never plays games, bought me games like Metal Gear Solid and ICO for Christmas.

Also, this thread title makes me think about Namco RPGs.

@Serpentenema: Haaa..but have you seen some of ICP's female fans? If you have a fetish for pregnant girls that smoke, you need look no further.

For one of my birthdays I asked for Enclave.

Instead I got Phantom Crash.

Ugh.....

Weird - so many people buying stuff they had no business buying. Nobody ever bought me a game when I was kid, that I hadn't written down on a letter to Santa or outright mentioned that I wanted it.

The way people I know buy gifts, is by using gift cards or buying stuff they know the recipients want/need. Only cheap and/or silly stuff is purchased on a whim. I never waltzed into a store to buy dolls for my nieces without calling up my sister and checking with her, what the little brats wanted. Nothig worse than a bad present - makes you feel bad for sucking at gift-shopping, disappoints the recipient and worse, makes them feel bad for feeling disappointed.

@Serpentenema said:

When I was 9, on my birthday I got some pretty neat things. I got a Xbox s model controller that fit my little kid hands better than the duke, and a skateboard. I was a pretty happy kid with these things, but my mom bought me one more thing. My mom and my older brother went to gamestop and bought me a game for my birthday. But I wasn't ready for what they got me, they gave me a copy of "Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home." At the time, I didn't even care for wrestling anymore so I literally couldn't get anything worse. Not wanting to be a spoiled seeming kid, I swallowed my disappointment and put this dumb thing in my xbox. Which was also my first experience with Detroit rap group "The Insane Clown Posse" as when you start the game you see the music video for the song "Homies". But then I got to the actual game, and it looked like butts, and just buggy as shit. Like I had fun for a while irish whipping my brother and he would warp through a table and his leg would jet across the map. For being a broken game and exposing me to ICP reserves this game a special dark place in my childhood.

This account, coupled with your icon made me honestly laugh out loud. Thank you for brightening my day lol

I've never gotten games as a gift. But, this guy I dated a couple of times once told me that I'd probably like Bejeweled, "lots of girls do," not knowing the far-reaching depths of my gamer persona. That was the last date we went on.

I once asked for Super Mash Bros. for the N64, around when it came out. My grandpa game me a used SNES cart of Super Mario All-Stars. An amazing game, but I was like 6 and didn't even own a SNES.

I actually had the greatest amount of luck when it came to game presents: for the N64 my parents bought me Jet Force Gemini, Golden eye, STarfighter 64 or whatever that was and this weird Winnie the Poo game. The Winnie the Poo game wasn't that bad, so overall that was good. On the GameCube my parents bought me Wind Waker, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Super Smash Bros, DouBle Dash, Mario Sunshine and a few others, all good games in my opinion. I was a lucky kid, because my parents know nothing about games, and they got me some goodshit.

I got Medal of Honor: Airborne from my dad along with some sweet games I asked for. That game is pretty bad.

Never had one. My parents and relatives thought/ still think that those video games aren't something useful at all (although I am now earning money by playing/testing them) so they never gave me one as a present.

I only received games as a present when I was really begging for them and then those were handpicked by me... Of course it is another story if those requested games were always good ;)

I only have ever got games that I have asked for as gifts so I have never got a bad one. Other than one time a buddy bought me a game for my birthday. The game he bought me was the original Splinter Cell, which was an amazing game. That dude was awesome, too bad he moved away a year later.

I'm thinking of buying the NCIS game for someone...but that's only because they have a PS3 they have used maybe once and love NICS.

@S0ndor: http://www.giantbomb.com/creatures/61-12154/ This it?

I purposely bought a friend Other M for his birthday.  He still talks to me, for some reason.

My wife bought me the recent Bionic Commando game last year, and not the sidescrolling remake. That game was horrible. I know some people liked it, and I even gave it the benefit of the doubt and played for a few hours. I couldn't stomach much more than that.

I wanted Onimusha for christmas, and instead got Soul Reaver 2. Not the worst game I guess, but man I was not in to those types of games back then.

Bram Stoker's Dracula for the SNES

I got Sonic Unleashed for Christmas. I hate Sonic. This didn't help.