Bad Game Weekly: 'Drake of the 99 Dragons'

Bad games are novelties to some people. These titles are so lackluster that it becomes a treat to navigate through every last glitch, awkward camera angle, and underdeveloped texture.

Drake of the 99 Dragons launched in 2003 for the Xbox, and it's one of the worst reviewed titles for the system.

According to Youtube user ProJared, it's legendary for being "one of the worst games of all time." Gamespot called it "abysmal," and it currently holds a score of 22 on Metacritic.

This clashes with what media reported prior the game's launch: Gamespot reported the title was "John Woo meets the Batman animated series" at E3 2003--a veritable blend of martial arts and comic books to satisfy every angst-ridden teenager's need to feel like a badass.

You could run up walls, gracefully fly through the air, and fire guns while feeling like a karate warrior.

The one problem with this game is that it takes already-used mechanics and makes them bad. If you want high-flying martial arts action, you're better off playing Shinobi or Tenchu.

If you want intricate gunplay, look at any other game featuring firearms: They've got to be better than Drake of the 99 Dragons.

Drake is the protagonist of the game, and he must seek revenge for his clan after a mysterious gang murders them. The game's main selling point was its gun firing mechanic: In the days before Halo 2, Drake tried to innovate dual-wielding gun play in video games.

The problem with this was the targeting system. It was clumsy.

You would fire at enemies while running around with your arm completely outstretched at all times.

There is no way to stop this, and it makes Drake--a person supposed to be a disciple of a legendary martial arts clan--look like an inept zombie from The Walking Dead.

If you like shooting an enemy you didn't even know you were fighting because of the horrid camera, then Drake of the 99 Dragons is the game for you.

The awkward camera would have been bearable if you were looking at a wonderful piece of virtually rendered art. But you weren't. Drake is ugly.

Its visuals were advertised as cel-shaded, which is the sixth-generation codeword for lazily developed graphics. There was no texture variation, even for a game released in the early 2000s, and it had a Superman 64-esque haziness about it.

This is likely the worst game of the sixth generation consoles. It was overhyped, unoriginal, and clumsy when it promised style.

Do you think this is the worst game of sixth generation? Let us know in the comments below.