The PlayStation 3 saw Sony’s gaming output reach something of a crossroads after its past success with the original PlayStation and PS2. The console was the first high-definition PlayStation and the first that had a built-in modem to allow for online functionality, including gameplay. The console pushed the entire gaming industry forward, even if the initial PlayStation 3 reveal was a huge flop before Sony won back fans. But as with any gaming platform, the PS3 had more than its fair share of clunkers that are best left in the bargain bin.
We’ve already covered the best PS3 games of all time, and now we’re taking a look at the console’s weakest. From rushed projects to licensed properties that came off as clumsily staged cash-ins, these games are a slog to play. Some of these games were improved marginally with post-release patches, but are still largely forgettable at best. These are the five worst PS3 games of all time ranked, each infamous in their own way.
5. Aliens: Colonial Marines
Before it published “Alien: Isolation” the following year, rethinking what was possible for an “Alien” game, Sega had the misfortune of publishing “Aliens: Colonial Marines.” Developed by Gearbox Software, the 2013 game has players battle xenomorphs and hostile human mercenaries in first-person shooter combat. The game allows for four-person cooperative multiplayer while giving players a whole arsenal of weapons from the movies. Its campaign is set weeks after the events of “Aliens,” with a detachment of colonial marines discovering Weyland-Yutani has bred xenomorphs for research.
There are a lot of reasons why “Aliens: Colonial Marines” turned out to be a total disaster, including rushed production even after multiple delays. This resulted in a game with shoddy technical presentation that was filled with bugs, while the gameplay itself felt middling at best. Discouraged by how mediocre the game looked and felt, fans completely turned their back on it after its release. Sega would bounce back in its handling of the “Alien” license, but “Aliens: Colonial Marines” remains a stain on the franchise’s legacy.
4. Damnation
The 2009 game “Damnation” has an interesting enough premise, set in an alternate history where the American Civil War raged on for decades. That leads to the proliferation of steampunk technology as megalomaniacal villain Prescott seizes control of the weakened country, turning it into a totalitarian regime. The game’s protagonist is Hamilton Rourke, a soldier working with a resistance movement to overthrow Prescott’s dictatorship and restore freedom. This is done through wide linear levels that players navigate from a third-person shooter perspective, using an array of steampunk weapons and gear.
While promising in premise, “Damnation” completely falls apart in its execution as one of the worst third-person shooters of its generation. For a game with clear Western aesthetics, the gunplay is frustratingly unintuitive, with a cover system that rarely works, sucking all the fun out of the action. The visuals are another glaring shortcoming, riddled with technical bugs and barely functioning character animations and effects. A steampunk trainwreck that offers gamers a thoroughly joyless experience, “Damnation” is another title that’s best left forgotten to the passage of time.
3. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
As a franchise overall, when “The Walking Dead” is firing on all cylinders, it’s one of the best horror properties around. This includes gaming, with Telltale’s “The Walking Dead” becoming one of the best interactive story games of all time. On the other end of that quality spectrum is “The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct,” an embarrassment for all parties involved. A prequel to the television series, the 2013 game follows brothers Daryl and Merle Dixon as they try to survive the overwhelming zombie apocalypse.
While placing an emphasis on stealth and resource management, “The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct” awkwardly unfolds from a first-person perspective, for which its gameplay is poorly suited. It doesn’t help that this more immersive point-of-view reveals just how cheaply put together the game’s visuals are, with environments and character designs that feel a generation behind. The game flopped hard for Activision, with the franchise’s gaming license quietly taken to other publishers after this. A first-person shooter set in the “Walking Dead” universe starring Daryl Dixon had so much potential, but “Survival Instinct” squandered the opportunity.
2. Rambo: The Video Game
While being an action movie icon, Rambo hasn’t fared all that well when it comes to video games based on the franchise. This dubious distinction extends to the 2014 title “Rambo: The Video Game,” an on-rails action game adapting the first three movies in the series. Players control John Rambo as he progresses through levels dispatching enemies with guns and other weapons, often from cover in arcade-style gameplay. In an effort to recapture the charm of the cinematic source material, the movie uses archival audio from the movies, including from Sylvester Stallone.
“Rambo: The Video Game” earned one of the absolute worst video game Metacritic ratings, and it’s easy to see why. Despite being released after the launch of the PlayStation 4, the game’s graphics look horrendous and its gameplay somehow makes its action set pieces feel boring. The PS3 version of the game supports the use of the PlayStation Move motion sensor peripheral if you somehow want to make the experience even worse. The best thing that can be said about “Rambo: The Video Game” is that it’s mercifully short, but even that feels like players aren’t getting their money’s worth.
1. Ride to Hell: Retribution
Every major console over the past 30 years has its fair share of lackluster driving games, and the PS3 is no exception. But the big problem with “Ride to Hell: Retribution” is that it has no idea what kind of game it actually wants to be. At first glance, it’s an action game centered around biker gangs as protagonist Jake Conway takes on a rival motorcycle club. But the game also incorporates third-person shooter and beat’em-up gameplay as it tries to tell its own “Sons of Anarchy” rip-off story.
For everything that it ambitiously tries to do, “Ride to Hell: Retribution” fails spectacularly in all aspects of its gameplay and presentation. This extends to the story itself, with dead-on-arrival writing and acting and a misogynistic portrayal of women. The only thing of note about the game, beyond its infamous reputation, is that it features Art the Clown actor David Howard Thornton before he starred in the “Terrifier” movies. Other than that, “Ride to Hell: Retribution” is forgettable at best — and a complete travesty at worst.
