Handheld gaming can be a miracle. On the bus, on a train, in a waiting room, having some fun on your lunch break, in traffic (OK, maybe not that last one) - handheld gaming is a wonder in such situations. And many, many handheld games are well worth playing.
But not all. We've doubt you've ever heard of the following games, but that's for the better - they are truly dreadful. These games are the worst of the worst, the absolute dredges of a console's creative output.
10 Call Of Duty: Black Ops Declassified - 33
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified was released for the PlayStation Vita back in 2012, at a time when the Call of Duty franchise was going through a bit of a dry spell. And this game certainly didn't help its reputation. Most critics singled out the general lack of polish in the game, which included connectivity problems and numerous glitches and bugs. The painfully short campaign was also criticized, with most calling it little more than an afterthought. To be fair, it probably was.
9 Dave Mirra BMX Challenge - 32
As you can probably guess from the name, Dave Mirra BMX Challenge is a BMX-themed video game. And really, you don't see very many of those. But then again, maybe we don't see many of them because terrible games like this have ruined the sport's reputation. This game was awful in nearly every regard. The production values were cheap, and the game felt woefully unfinished and unrefined. The physics engine was also a total mess, lending the game a feeling of artificiality and relentless frustration. It was a broken disaster.
8 Winx Club: Join The Club - 30
According to its own description, Winx Club: Join the Club is designed for young girls ages 6-11. Therefore, we can't be too harsh on it. But then again, don't young girls aged 6-11 deserve quality entertainment as well? Most of the criticism stemmed from the shallowness of the minigames and the excruciating loading times, which many critics found unforgivable. Join the Club can join the club - the worst games ever made club.
7 Power Rangers Megaforce - 30
No need to worry - young boys get their share of terrible video games, too! For example, Power Rangers Megaforce, which is probably the worst piece of Power Rangers related entertainment ever made. And that's saying something. Nothing in particular was singled out for criticism - it's just all bad.
The gameplay mechanics, the production quality, the overall worth of the game - everything was terrible, and nothing was redeeming. Just seek out old episodes of Power Rangers instead. You'll have way more fun.
6 Dragon Ball: Evolution - 28
And speaking of the worst bits of an entertainment franchise - Dragon Ball: Evolution! This PSP game is horrendous, there's no sugar-coating it. Now, movie tie-in video games are rarely good, but this is a special kind of terrible. This isn't a "rushed to completion to meet the movie's release" terrible. This is a "they probably spent ten minutes on the game before rushing it out" terrible. It's also interesting to note that the game has a user score of just 1.4 - easily one of the lowest user scores on the site. No one liked this game. Not the critics, not the fans. No one.
5 The Golden Compass - 28
The Golden Compass really couldn't get off the ground. And they really did try everything. There was a blockbuster movie that cost $180 million to produce - and which scored just 42% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $372 million. And of course, they made a tie-in video game... and it was even worse. The PSP version was especially awful, with numerous technical bugs that made the game borderline unplayable.
4 Mad Dog McCree - 27
Mad Dog McCree is an old arcade game from the '90s which was notable for including live-action footage. It was also pretty bad. In 2012 it was ported to the Nintendo 3Ds through the eShop, and let's just say that the transition didn't make the game any more enjoyable. Most critics singled out the terrible control system, especially considering that the original game was a light gun shooter. They also singled out its painfully short run time, as it could be completed in under thirty minutes. We don't know if that's a knock against the game or a mercy.
3 Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle - 26
Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle is yet another abysmal tie-in video game. It's based on the anime series Tenkai Knights, which aired on the Cartoon Network between 2014 and 2015. Like most rushed tie-in games, Brave Battle was fiercely criticized for feeling unpolished and unfinished, a shell of the good game it could have been.
It gave the Tenkai Knights brand a horrible reputation (well, among those who played the games, anyway), and it serves as one of the worst tie-in games ever made. It is truly, truly dreadful.
2 Myst - 23
Myst is an all-time classic game. But the 3DS port is just horrible. More than horrible, actually. The game sits at an astoundingly bad 23 on Metacritic, with most critics agreeing that it's less "bad" and just more "heartbreaking." It's a classic example of a port gone wrong, or how hard it can be to fluidly transfer a game's mechanics between consoles. That said, the user score sits at a surprisingly high 6.5, so clearly not everyone hates it...
1 Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers - 21
And here we have possibly the worst handheld game of all time - Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers. This is an ambitious Cartoon Network crossover event (if you even want to call it that), but it squanders all potential with abysmal game design and an astronomically high price point for the barren content that it delivers. It's a disappointment on nearly all accounts, and the user score of 1.2 seals it. This game deserves its horrid reputation.