Have you ever played a bad game? How about a really bad one? Ever play anything that would qualify as abysmal? Well I just did, at least according to GameInformer's review. Ride to Hell: Retribution was given a 2, and after beating it I'm totally inclined to agree with that score. The game is broken mechanically, graphically and narratively, each more offensive to the player than the last. Forcing myself to play it was a pain, especially with The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite sitting on a shelf nearby. Looking back however, I find myself continuously better-off for having played it. In fact, this game has really opened up my eyes as to why Bad games exist, why they are necessary, and most importantly, why I might be playing a few more in the future.

To a certain seedy underbelly of gamer culture, these 3/10's and bellows are an absolute goldmine. The 30 dollar new games and bargain bin deals scratch that itch for everyone who is a member including myself. If you have not guessed already, I'm talking about Achievement and Trophy Hunters. If you get a twisted sense of satisfaction from playing a dreadful game for 10+ hours just to see that final achievement or grandiose Platinum pop, then you know what I'm talking about. From Hannah Montana on PS3 to Avatar: Burning Earth on 360, both systems are full of games we are willing to pay for and suffer through, only to see our ever climbing meta score rise a bit higher.

Now if any of you saw the GI Afterhours Livestream for Ride to Hell, then you have experienced the next great aspect, humor. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing funny about how unplayable the game is, but the fact that everything that is played makes you want to die laughing is the real treasure. From infinite power slides to the overall buffoonery of the plotline, this game is hilarious and fun to watch. Of course this isn't the only funny bad game, take, for example, Deadly Premonition, which many loved for its bizarre zaniness, making it into the cult classic it is today.

Of course some games have neither humor nor the meta game going for them. These are the games that get ones and maybe twos, but even they have something for you to benefit from. As cliché as this sounds, I love how bad games can put things into perspective when it comes to game quality. Every year thousands of people harp on the new Call of Duty, or Assassins Creed, or Battlefield, or any number of franchises for being 'the same game' and 'just a roster update'. Admittedly, a few of the titles might be growing stale, but in the big picture I am immensely excited every year for them. Sure I might have run down a corridor a thousand times now, but at least I can run. At least I can do whatever I'm doing in a believable setting. At least what I'm doing WORKS. Now all of this gets a bit messy when people start saying 'Well they have money to do it', and I'll be the first to say how legitimate that claim is. But when money is the developers excuse for a poor product, and I see games like Gunpoint and Hotline Miami made for a fraction of a fraction of the cost, all I can do is stare in disbelief. The bottom line is that when it comes down to it, your game is either good or not, regardless of budget, iteration or size.

So have I convinced you to go out and pick up Dark? Do you want to run to a Redbox and get the latest movie game? Hopefully I've given you a few new reasons to broaden your gaming horizons. If you want a game to start with my personal recommendation would be Ride to Hell, but I've heard Dark and Fast and Furious 6 are both pretty terrible themselves. So have you ever played a bad game? If so, leave it in the comments and if not, hopefully you won't be missing out for long.

(Originally posted at http://www.gameinformer.com/members/rekoin/blogs/default.aspx)