Electronic Arts' reputation with gamers seems to yo-yo from critical acclaim to utter disdain. In the mid-nineties, they purchased the likes of Bullfrog Productions and Westwood Studios effectively killing off fan-favorite franchises like Syndicate, Theme Park, Populous, and Command & Conquer.
EA would then bring franchises back like Syndicate and Command & Conquer in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Additionally, they purchased BioWare and seemed to give them all the creative freedom they needed to release mega-hits like the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.
In 2017 EA would come under fire again for their use of pay-to-win loot boxes being present in 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II and 2018’s EA’s UFC 3, where players are encouraged to purchase cards to improve their fighter’s stats.
While EA seems to be working hard to rebuild its reputation among gamers, their recent misgivings aren’t even close to being the worst games that the company has published. Let’s take a look at EA’s ten worst games according to Metacritic.
10 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (Metascore 43)
Golf sim Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters was released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and the PC platforms in 2011. The PGA Tour series by EA was often considered to be the gold standard for golf games until the 2010s.
The last game in series was Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, released in 2015, and it seems that the series’ problems began with PGA Tour 12. In addition, players had no reason to pick up a full-priced game when it felt like a single-player add-on for the free-to-play Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online.
9 Dungeon Keeper (Metascore 42)
The original 1997 Dungeon Keeper developed by Bullfrog Productions is considered by fans to be classic in the real-time strategy game. Unfortunately, for fans, the 2014 iOS free-to-play reboot doesn’t even come close to succeeding in the first game’s legacy.
Just like most games on mobile devices, Dungeon Keeper relied on in-app purchases and it made the game impossible to progress without them. EA was forced by the British Advertising Standards Authority to include the addition of print being open about the game’s microtransactions after ruling that EA deliberately misled consumers.
8 G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (Metascore 41)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a licensed tie-in based on the movie of the same name. It was released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, and the PSP in 2009. Sadly, just like its Harry Potter series, The Rise of the Cobra is another poorly conceived game that was obviously rushed to market.
The game has some interesting ideas with its Gears of War-like co-op gameplay. However, in addition to there being no replay value, the game’s checkpoints don’t save player progress. As a result, in the likely event of the player getting killed, they are forced to restart the level at the very beginning.
7 WCW Backstage Assault (Metascore 40)
After THQ left the WCW wrestling franchise behind to make WWE games, EA purchased the right to produce their games instead. Unfortunately for fans of the brand, they didn’t produce a game that ever came close to the Smackdown! and WCW/NWO series.
The worst of these EA produced wrestling games was WCW Backstage Assault. Not only did it have terrible controls and virtually no collision detection but none of the action took place in a ring. Despite wrestling being performance entertainment, its fans are purists at heart that want to see their favorite wrestlers in matches that resemble the action they see on TV every week.
6 Madden NFL 25 By EA Sports (Metascore 39)
Madden NFL 25 by EA Sports was released on iOS in 2013. It is a freemium American football game that doesn’t come close to the Madden games released on consoles. Its unresponsive touch screen controls make it impossible for players to see what was going on when using the virtual joystick.
What is far worse, however, is the player needs in-game currency to play and players are of course encouraged to pay with real money. Additionally, players also have to pay for a randomized system in hopes of obtaining the players that they want for their team. It’s the same kind of exploitation of its players that made its way on to full-priced games like Battlefront.
5 Disney’s Party (Metascore 39)
Released for the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance in 2002 and 2003 respectively, Disney’s Party is a Mario Party clone that features a collection of mini-games. The game features popular Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck.
Unfortunately, it was nowhere near as good as Nintendo’s own Mario Party games and players had no reason to downgrade to Disney’s Party. Furthermore, despite being aimed at a younger audience, the mini-games can be incredibly difficult and unfair.
4 The Simpsons Skateboarding (Metascore 38)
The Simpsons Skateboarding was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. It was developed by the now-defunct British developer Code Monkeys. It followed the moderately successful Crazy Taxi clone The Simpsons: Road Rage with a game that many consider being one of the worst games on the PS2.
When it comes to skateboarding games, having good controls is everything for players. Unfortunately, The Simpsons Skateboarding is bogged down by gameplay bugs, a lack of tricks, and inaccurate controls which will force players into redoing missions over and over again.
3 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (Metascore 38)
Released in 2010, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was a movie tie-in based on the film of the same name. It was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and mobile devices. Deathly Hallows is a third-person action-adventure game with Gears of War-style cover mechanics.
Unfortunately, despite looking promising with its a darker tone and appealing visuals, Deathly Hallows was just a tacky licensed game looking to cash in on the popularity of the films. The controls are clunky and the cover mechanics are completely inaccurate.
2 NBA Live 14 (Metascore 36)
After a four year break, NBA Live 14 was released on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 in 2013. Unfortunately for fans, the basketball sports sim wasn’t worth the wait and it is by far the worst game in the franchise.
It was made worse by the fact that its rival, NBA 2K14, was so good and outclassed EA’s effort in every department. The graphics still looked like they belonged on the Xbox 360, the physics engine is off and the players are stiff, awkward and horrible to control.
1 Dead Space: Ignition (Metascore 35)
Released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 network services, Dead Space: Ignition is an action-puzzle game set before the events of Dead Space 2. The game’s story and cutscenes are told through interactive comics.
The gameplay was comprised of logic-based puzzle-solving implementing three hacking mini-games called Trace Route, System Override and Hardware Crack. Players didn’t miss out on anything by skipping Ignition and its only real purpose was to charge players to unlock DLC for Dead Space 2 that should have been free.