The murky world of gaming spin offs plunged to new lows last week when publisher Penguin and Ubisoft announced plans to unleash Assassin’s Creed 2: The Novel! But rather than priming a space on our book shelves and promising to read the book before we slide the disc into our PS3, we’ve primed a top ten of the worst gaming spin-offs ever. Hold onto your night vision goggles, we’ve unearthed some ‘classics’.
The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff
More of a game in its own right than a spin-off, The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff let you deck out your virtual gaff in “stylish designs” by the Swedish furniture fans. As well as giving your place a “contemporary look” there was no mention of rushing through the store for the meatballs or having a nervous breakdown when assembling a flat pack futon.
Assassin’s Creed Renaissance
It’s one of the mostly hotly anticipated games of 2009. But before playing Assassin’s Creed 2, Ubisoft wants you to hunker down in a quiet corner and read the novelisation, Assassin’s Creed Renaissance. We’re promised a book which, “…dovetails perfectly with the appetite of historical fiction fans.” Da Vinci Code fans, this one’s for you.
Assassin’s Creed 2 first play!
Super Mario Bros: The Movie
“This Ain’t No Game. It’s A Live-Action Thrill Ride!” Er, no. Unless you consider taking the fat plumber that caused a gaming craze, dressing him up as Bob Hoskins and putting him up against Dennis Hopper as King Koopa thrilling. Inspired casting aside, it set the standards by which all gaming movies would be judged.
Street Fighter: The Movie
A guilty pleasure whenever we sit down for an action movie binge, the Street Fighter movie remains peerless in the world of gaming flicks. Jean Claude Van Damme, struggling to match peerless previous efforts Timecop and Hard Target, stars with Kylie Minogue sliding towards her mid-90s nadir. Still, who can resist Kylie’s Cammy clobber?
Forza 3 Audi TT
Stumping up an extra 50 notes for some night vision goggles. Slapping down the beat part of £30,000 for a Forza 3 branded Audi TT with an Xbox 360 Elite in the boot is another. The car itself is slathered in Forza branding. Unlike the killer game though, you can’t rewind your colossal driving errors, including flying off cliff faces.
Read our Forza Motorsport 3 review now
Halo 3 Legendary Edition
Ok, we’ll admit to being desperate on missing out on this Master Chief helmet. But like those Modern Warfare 2 night vision specs, just when will you actually use it? To scare the kids? To go down the shops? Or just slap it on and play Halo ODST instead? The options are endless. We suggest spending your cash more wisely.
MW2 Night Vision goggles
It’s not even out yet, but Modern Warfare 2’s Prestige Edition takes some beating as 2009’s most needless spin off. Clamp on the night vision goggles and you won’t be able to see who you’re strafing. Still, you’ll be able to stalk around your gaff with the lights off and be able to see the mess you’ve created since you stopped doing anything other than play MW2.
The Adventures of Sam and Max
The Freelance Police graduated to the small screen in 1997 after a rash of killer comics and gaming classics. Sure, they were for kids, but the cartoons just didn’t have the edge of the games. Perfect for a cartoon hit before heading to school. Not so good if you’d rather be pointing and clicking than watching the animated characters mug up on telly.
Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog
Unlike his Nintendo nemesis Mario, Sonic wasn’t subjected to a live action thrill ride. Instead the blue critter got animated, along with Sonic 2 star Tails. The show chronicled his battles with Dr Robotnik. However, the Sonic Sez segments, where the hedgehog warned of the perils of bunking off school kind of detracted from his speedy cool.
Tomb Raider slot machine
Lara Croft’s propensity to produce pointless add-ons is peerless. Our pick though is this Tomb Raider slot machine. It even packs an LCD screen for “hours of entertainment,” presumably telling you a story of losing cash hand over first to see Lara in ever more compromising positions. We suggest you just buy the game instead.
[...] was browsing gaming headlines when Electricpig’s new article caught my eye. Ten worst gaming spin-offs as the title, with “The Sims 2 Ikea Stuff” in [...]
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