In complete contrast

Here’s a situation I think every gamer has been in – browsing inside a game shop, only to see somebody pick up a rubbish game and take it to the counter. To add insult to injury, on the same rack of games was something significantly better for the same price.

The decent thing to do here would be to give some friendly advice on their purchase, but this is at a great risk. I can recall suggesting to somebody not to spend £40 on The Scorpion King on PS2. The way that they looked at me you would have thought that I’ve just asked to shit on their shoes.

How games of a very similar nature can vary in quality so much is quite staggering in places. It’s time to make like an obese opera singer and ‘go compare’.

Why play Naughty Bear, when you could play Conker: Live and Reloaded?

Conker’s Bad Fur Day may be knocking on a bit, but it’s still better than Naughty Bear. It’s backwards compatible with the Xbox 360, hence why we’re mentioning it here, although you can’t play online any more. Conker – the original cute, fluffy trouble maker. Unless you count Basil Brush.

Why play Mercenaries 2, when you could play Just Cause 2?

When Mercenaries 2 is good, it’s very good. Blowing up buildings, calling in air strikes and requesting heavy military vehicles to be dropped at your feet. But when it’s bad… you have to lean over and reset your console because the screen has frozen for the umpteenth time. Just Cause 2 is constantly good – it’s the game that Mercenaries 2 would have been if EA hadn’t rushed it out.

Why play Bullet Witch, when you could play Bayonetta?

As the title suggests, Bullet Witch stars a witch who runs around carrying guns. The only thing it was really noted for upon release was for having a rather cheeky achievement – finish it on Hell Mode to boost your Gamerscore by 1 lousy point. Bayonetta on the other hand is remembered for the 10/10 score in EDGE, the 40/40 in Famitsu…

Why play Spider-Man 3, when you could play Crackdown 2?

Spider-Man 3: run along roof tops and leap through the air in a free-roaming game world that’s filled with glitches. Crackdown 2: run along roof tops and leap through the air in a free-roaming game world that’s not filled with glitches.

Why play Bomberman: Act Zero, when you could play Bomberman Live?

A serious contender for the worst revamp ever, Bomberman: Act Zero took away everything people loved about the franchise. Thankfully Bomberman Live brought it all back. Better still it’s available on an Arcade Pack collection along with Geometry Wars Evolved 2 and Lumines, which costs next to nothing.

Why play Motion Sports, when you could play Kinect Sports?

Kinect Sports was one of the few highlights of the Kinect’s launch and showed early adopters that the device works brilliantly when developers spend time and effort with their software. It’s likely that those who took home the near-impossible to play Motion Sports instead thought that their shiny new Kinect was broken.

Why play X-Men Destiny, when you could play X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

Two different games, for sure, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine is everything X-Men Destiny isn’t. Good looking, satisfying, fun to play and super violent thanks to an 18 rating. A very underrated movie tie-in.

Why play Space Invaders Revolution, when you could play Space Invaders Extreme?

We’ll let a Metacritic user review describe Space Invaders Revolution: “I give it a one for 1 middle finger up Atari’s ass. This is pure poop! List price should be 99 cents, not a penny more!” Although it doesn’t have anything to do with Atari (it was published by Rising Star) he does have a point – reviews were dire. Skip forward a couple of years and Square-Enix’s Space Invaders Extreme showed us how a revamp should be done.

Why play Raven Squad, when you could play just about any FPS?

Xbox 360 owners aren’t exactly short on choice for first person shooters, and just about any of them are more welcome than the low budget Raven Squad – a linear, short and simple shooter. Ok, perhaps not the equally duff Sniper: Ghost Warrior. Or Rogue Warrior. Or Shellshock 2. But the rest are pretty spiffing.

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