The 30 worst video games of all time – part one

Every gamer has a tale of the worst game they ever played. It may have been the utterly catastrophic sequel to a much-loved classic, a rushed tie-in with a favourite movie, or an experimental new release from a favourite studio. But we've all had that moment of excitedly unwrapping the box, shoving the disc (or cartridge) into the machine and then ... then comes the horrific realisation that you have wasted £45 on the interactive equivalent of a late-career M. Night Shyamalan movie. To create this list, four veteran game writers gathered together to relive our own experiences of this gut-wrenching phenomenon. As hundreds of games are released every year, there are certainly thousands of unmitigated digital disasters that very few people have had to suffer because they sank faster than a pair of solid-iron water wings.