10 Awful Video Game Spin-Offs That Insult The Original

What's not to love about a good spin-off? They're the offshoots of famed franchises that allow developers to tell stories they otherwise wouldn't, try new ideas too risky to include in a mainline series, and offer alternative experiences without having to deal with the pressures associated with bonafide sequels.

Well, that's the idea, at least. By and large, most turn out to be welcome side dishes complimenting the main course - à la Far Cry 3's terrific '80s sci-fi pastiche Blood Dragon - or, as in Final Fantasy Tactics' case - mark the birth of an entirely standalone series.

Sadly, there exists the opposite to that positivity.

Laziness, lack of funding, an eagerness to milk a franchise's popularity by putting in the bare minimum amount of effort: there's no catch-all excuse that explains how some of these bad eggs came to see the light of day, but a universal truth applies to each in that not a single one compliments its parent in any way, shape or form.

Did Link's barebones Crossbow Training further the mythos of Hyrule's Hero? Did Castlevania Judgment indulge loyal fans in a faithful reunion of the series' cast with a well-made fighter? Did Black Ops: Declassified manage to convince anyone that it was more than a rushed job cobbled together from bits and pieces of the console version?

That's three big fat 'nos' already, but the disappointment doesn't end there. We're just getting started.

Arkham Origins Blackgate is a simple case of a great idea with poor execution. A Metroidvania game with a Batman skin draped over it, you'd think the two would be a better fit than Harley Quinn and The Joker, but no, not quite.

Armature Studio didn't utterly embarrass Rocksteady's mainline games with Blackgate, but the entire 2.5D adventure felt ever-so-rushed from start to finish. Due to the weaker hardware, combat - one of the series' defining features - had to be drastically diluted and an excessive amount of backtracking following new gadget unlocks became a chore. Yes, it's to be expected, given the game's inspiration, but in the absence of respawning enemies, constantly retracing steps back to previously cleared areas quickly became tiresome.

And that's assuming you could even find your way to the desired location. Blackgate's map system appears to have been designed to intentionally encourage its players to get lost in its labyrinthine layout and subsequently give up out of boredom.

Stick to the console versions.