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Ninety-Nine Nights

Also known as: Ninety Nine Nights [UK]

The Top 7... Secret shame games

They made classics. And they made crap. This... is the crap

Words: Heidi Kemps, GamesRadar US

Nobody's perfect. Even the best of the best can run off the rails, and that includes many of the most reputable companies and individuals that have been involved in the games industry. They'd rather focus on their successes, of course, and most of the time they'll try to lock their mishaps away in the closet, hoping they will never be dragged out into the public eye again.

But we at GamesRadar think this stuff needs to be out in the open. We're going to highlight 7 games from top-notch developers that are... lacking, to say the least. It's time for these developers - and their fans - to acknowledge that everyone has made a few big mistakes in their lives.

7. Justice League: Task Force

What the hell is this? Justice League: Task Force is a 2D one-on-one fighter that was released in 1995, three years after everyone was already sick of half-assed Street Fighter knockoffs.

Whose fault is it? Blizzard. They make multiplayer games about orcs and stuff.

What happened? Blizzard has a long history of making solid games. Even before it became lord of the RTS (StarCraft) and MMO (World of Warcraft) on PC, the company made some highly-regarded titles for the SNES and Genesis, including Blackthorne, Rock n' Roll Racing, and The Lost Vikings. With that sort of pedigree, it's no wonder it wants to sweep this DC comics-based turd under the rug; the other three were re-released on the Game Boy Advance.

JL: Task Force treats comic fans to ugly characters, stiff animation, unresponsive controls and some of the most boring combat you'll ever experience. Topping it all off is the atrocious gameplay balance. While we wouldn't expect a game like this to stay 100% accurate to the comic books in terms of superhero strength, it's a complete cinch to beat down Supes using Aquaman. Come on. An embarrassment to both Blizzard and the superheroes it's based upon, Justice League: Task Force should ideally be left to rot in a collector's closet amongst polybagged Youngblood#1s.

Aftermath: Originally, this game was to be published by Sunsoft, but was picked up by Acclaim after Sunsoft went under bankruptcy reorganization. We'd almost say they should have known better than to put this out, but this is notorious shit-peddler Acclaim we're talking about. Thankfully, the game was rightfully ignored, and due to its relative obscurity, Blizzard is almost never subject to mockery for it. Up until now, at least.


 
22 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
AA95mp  - 11 months 19 days ago 
what the hell (stunt race fx).
Slipknot_Boy  - 9 months 2 days ago 
holy crap shaq-fu lmao idiots
Gaffelstein  - 9 months 2 days ago 
I loved Justice League: Task Force when I was a kid. I thought i sucked at it, turns out it was just the game that sucked.
Gaffelstein  - 9 months 2 days ago 
Also, I never played the game, but I would call Stretch Panic "a stinker"

Ign - 7.0 (http://ps2.ign.com/articles/166/166162p1.html)

Gamespot - 7.1 (http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/stretchpanic/index.html)
Gaffelstein  - 9 months 2 days ago 
wouldn't*
cart00n  - 9 months 2 days ago 
I actually LIKED the idea of Shaq Fu, a game based on a sports hero that didn't involve sports. It was unexpected, which I thought was pretty cool. It's just too bad that the game sucked so hard...
midknight8  - 9 months 2 days ago 
Never heard of stunt fx, looks like crap

And ninety nine nights doesn't look so terrible
midknight8  - 9 months 2 days ago 
And holy crap, american pro trucker was sitting next to my computer just now.
I had just found it in a desolate corner of my room, buried under a pile of dirty clothes, pokemon cards and milky way wrappers.

I was going to play it cause i didn't even rmember owning this game now i know not to.
RaIdEn  - 9 months 2 days ago 
i heard of shaq fu from that ultimate showdown video
Heyexclamationpoint  - 9 months 1 day ago 
I actually liked Stunt Race FX, for some reason. I was a dumber kid than I realize.
PreyingMantis  - 9 months 1 day ago 
lol shaq-fu
m_gamer234  - 8 months 29 days ago 
NO...FUCKIN...WAY...LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL....That is so hilarious!
m_gamer234  - 8 months 29 days ago 
oh my bad i forgot to mention i was laughing about that shaq fu game
gdubbs359  - 8 months 27 days ago 
Nice Youngblood#1 reference.
Mrnicelupe  - 8 months 26 days ago 
Stretch Panic? Bad?
Oh dear, this is just not right
Then again, the "Playable tech demo" comment is probably right, but still and good example of what could make a good game!
NevetsNooney  - 8 months 25 days ago 
Who in thier right mind woud make a game about truck racing. I mean come on!
Unoriginal  - 8 months 23 days ago 
Is there anything Shaq didn't put his face on for some cash?
ballplayer27  - 8 months 13 minutes ago 
So wait... Stretch Panic, the terrible terrible terrible game that you are making fun of in this article, is listed as one of the games that we should play before we die on the 59 levels that everyone should play article. eff that. I am not going to intentionally find and play a game that you said is terrible, despite you then immediately saying that I should play it at some point.

Bad GR, do not mess with us like that. (And yes I know the 59 levels article admitted this was a bad game and you should only play it to experience the quirkiness, but still, why should we play it if you say it is so shameful the developer would rather it had never happened?)
AuthorityFigure  - 7 months 10 days ago 
Stunt Race FX is not as bad as all that.
NeoKef  - 7 months 9 days ago 
I remember me and mine friends trying to beat each other on Shaq-Fu. It was who ever pushed the most button under the 2mins.
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