Metacritic has been a mixed blessing for gambling . On the one hand , it ’s fabulously utilitarian to be able to see many reviews from trusted sources gathered together , organized not with a simple " thumb up"/“thumbs down " system like Rotten Tomatoes but really measuring how much individual critics like or dislike a plot . On the other hand , over - vehemence on Metacritic has been bad for both critics ( who often get inaccurate scores set apart to reviews that do n’t even practice a marking system ) and game developer ( for whom Metacritic scores can affect bonuses ) . This is n’t even get into the minefield of brigading in the user score section of the land site .

no matter of the site ’s wallop for skilful and ill , it is interesting to expect through Metacritic at just how dissimilar game have been received over time . Metacritic bulge operations in 2001 , the end of the PlayStation / Nintendo 64 epoch and the first of the PS2 / GameCube / Xbox era , so the data assemblage only goes so far back . If they have n’t been ported to other systems , you ’re not gon na find Atari , NES or Genesis games number on the internet site , which explain why you do n’t seeSuper Mario Bros. 3on the list of highest ranking game and you do n’t seeE.T. The Video Gameon the lowest ranking tilt . Even so , two decades of game criticism history maintain is a valuable imagination . We might not value all these game the same today , but it sure is fascinating to look at what biz critics once absolutely loved and which games were the most loathe .

WORST: GAME PARTY CHAMPIONS (Score: 24)

The original Wii had a spoiled report for cheap shovelware , but at launch , it looked like the Wii U was on rail to be even bad . The shovelware became less prominent on the Wii U over time mainly due to the fact the scheme did n’t sell much to the household base that would bribe these cash - in games . Some Wii uranium launch championship , however , were foretell that marketplace . Both made this leaning .

Game Party Champions , with its Metacritic grade of 24 , is the more comparatively competent of the two lousy minigame collection . Pard Madrid atGamereactor Sweden , volunteer one of the most passionately angry takes : " This biz is credibly what the Mayans meant when they were babble about all this ' end of the public ' stuff . "

BEST: TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 3 (Score: 97)

call back when theTony Hawkgames seemed unbeatable ? The series fall rapidly in both commercial-grade popularity and vital estimation as the years went on and the game alternate developers from Neversoft to Robomodo , but the first few title were huge hits . The PS2 version ofTony Hawk ’s Pro Skater 3ranks as the tenth best reviewed biz on Metacritic , with a grudge of 97 ( other system ' ports score in the lower 90 and high 80s ) .

The first entry in the series for the PS2 , gamers at the time loved the graphic improvements , and the gameplay built upon the series ' strong substructure with extra complexity . G4’sX - Playreview show declare it " a rare and beautiful thing , a closely staring biz . "

WORST: PULSE RACER (Score: 24)

One thing you ’ll promptly notice is that this worst tilt contains a short ton of racing game , make up a third of all entries . It seems this is both one of the easiest genres to just pump out a biz in and one of the hardest to do well . Pulse Racer , a 2003 game for the original Xbox , is one such racing game that conk out spectacularly .

You know something ’s up when Jaleco , the Nipponese developer of the game , would n’t even resign it in its home country . Critics in North America , meanwhile , give it an overall score of 24 on Metacritic . Game Informer , Official Xbox MagazineandTotalGames.netall called it the worst Xbox game released at the meter .

WORST: FIGHTER WITHIN (Score: 23)

This is a game which sound genuinely exciting if you did n’t see at the reviews … or actually bet it . Using the Xbox One ’s Kinect motion control for a fighting secret plan , if done the right way , could have been an unbelievable experience . Too bad that in practice , the idea did n’t work … at all .

scrapper Within ’s Metacritic account stands at 23 , and the biz ’s notorious enough to make Wikipedia ’s " inclination of telecasting secret plan notable for negative reception . " Danielle Riendeau , writing forPolygon , summed up the issue saying , " The biz that actually came out is broken , hampered by a control scheme that does n’t work more than half of the metre . "

BEST: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD (Score: 97)

The swan song of the Wii U , as well as the must - have launching deed of conveyance for the Switch , The Legend of Zelda : breathing place of the Wild ,   scored one full stop better on Metacritic for the newer console ( 97 for Switch vs. 96 for Wii U ) . Part of that might be that more critics reviewed the Switch version , but the ability to play this massive adventure anywhere also give the Switch variant a little extra spark .

Breathing new life into a serial publication that seemed like it had settled into formula , the receptive world experience was compared favorably to previous series high - point likeOcarina of Time . Some critics like this one even better than that classic ; Daniel Vuckovic ofVookstold the N64 title to " hand over the crown . "

WORST: CHARLIE’S ANGELS (Score: 24)

Oh , terrible movie tie - in games . We do n’t see as many of them anymore , but there was a time where every blockbuster motion-picture show got a video biz . Only a few were genuinely good and many of them were downright terrible . The 2003Charlie ’s Angelsgame for the GameCube , made to promote theCharlie ’s Angels : Full Throttlemovie , has go down in history as one of the worst examples of the literary genre .

Its Metacritic mark of 24 is one-half of what the already unimpressive pic received . Considering that game reviews incline to be a pile more generous with their scads than movie reviews are , that ’s another magnitude more embarrassing . GameSpot ’s Alex Navarro summed it up as " a horrific display of slowness . "

BEST: GRAND THEFT AUTO V (Score: 97)

You could n’t really go wrong no matter which console table you select to playGrand Theft Auto Von . The initial 2013 PS3 and 360 departure , as well as the upgraded 2014 PS4 and Xbox One ports , are all marry with a Metacritic score of 97 ( the PC version stacks only slimly broken at 96 ) .

The world design and gameplay were as exceptional as one had come to expect from Rockstar ’s controversial serial . If the reception forGTAVwas just slightly more dull thanIV , it was because games literary criticism had become more or less more decisive about storytelling and delegacy issue . Carolyn Petit atGameSpot , who hitch unjust flack for her critical but mostly positive review , describedGTAVas " an imperfect yet stupefying plot . "

WORST: RAMBO: THE VIDEO GAME (Score: 23)

Another bad motion-picture show adaptation , Rambo : The Video Game ’s PS3 release is the version that makes this list , with a Metacritic grievance of 23 . The Xbox 360 edition was just more or less better review with a grudge of 28 and the PC rendering do a 34 . None of these grievance are anything to be majestic of , though . No matter what system you ’re playing it on , you ’re not probable to have a lot of fun with the 2014Rambogame .

Poorly recreating scene from the first three movies into a rail shooter , critic agreed you ’d be dear off just check the film . Julien Inverno fromGameblog.frwrote " Rambo : The Video Gameis a gross mess … , " later adding that it was forged enough to become a cult hit .

WORST: FAST & FURIOUS: SHOWDOWN (Score: 21)

If both racing game and moving-picture show tie - in fetor so frequently , it ’s only meet that a game belonging to both genres ranks here . The 360 and PS3 release of 2013’sFast & ferocious : Showdownalmost tie in their Metacritic lashings , with the 360 version scoring 22 and the PS3 version scoring 21 . The Wii U version would also be down there if more than one critic actually trouble to go over it .

primed betweenFast FiveandFast & Furious 6 , all the possible fun was ware . amount at a time when the quantity of licensed games was decreasing and their modal quality increasing,4Players.de ’s   Jan Wöbbeking was not giving the game a compliment when he key out it as " licenced play goes back to the roots . "

BEST: RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 (Score: 97)

The third installment in Rockstar’sRed DeadWestern series , Red Dead Redemption 2for the Xbox One and PS4 was greeted with even more enthusiastic critical plaudits in 2018 than its precursor . Both system ' versions earned a score of 97 on Metacritic .

RDR2was praise for its storytelling , beautiful setting and attention to realistic detail . Some players have find the gametoorealistic at the expense of fun ; in direct contrast to critics , the drug user brushup score norm is only 7.4/10 . Tim Biggs ofThe Sydney Morning Heraldacknowledged the game had flaws , but say in malice of them , " it ’s surd to argue thatRed Dead Redemption 2is not a masterpiece . "

Collage of Willow and Clash of the Titans

Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise turning around wide-eyed in Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning

A set of Final Destination Bloodlines characters looking concerned in new trailer

A fi 1

Game Party Champions

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Pulse Racer

Fighter Within for Xbox One Kinect

Link riding the Master Cycle Zero in Breath of the Wild.

charlie-angels-game

Michael Watching TV in Grand Theft Auto V

Rambo

Fast and Furious

Red Dead Redemption II