I have played through 1 1/2 levels. So far, I don't think it's awful. Actually, I'm having fun. It feels rough, but not any more so than, say, Blood 1 or Shogo. In some ways it has a bit of an Unreal vibe, actually, which I like.

I haven't gotten to the companions yet.

So, be honest... is Daikatana really the worst thing ever? Or was all the negativity just a backlash against the development cycle and the marketing?

Or does it just get really bad once companions come into play?

I don't know how it got this aura of worst ever. I don't think it's great, or even good, but some of the shit that is out there laves Daikatana in the dust when in comes to sucking.

Nope, and I'm well aware that they are going to be annoying and finnicky.

Although according to some people, the 1.2 version + the 1.3 fan patch makes the AI a lot better, so hopefully that will solve the problem.

Examples?

Great, put me on the spot! XD Hold on.

Force Commander
Knights and Merchants
Postal 3
Carmageddon 3

Don't forget Blood 2

What's the worst game in your opinion and why?

I would say Just Cause. Got good reviews from gamespot (why did I rely on them?). Took the thing home and after half an hour I was just sick of it. Bad graphics, horrible story, it just reminded me of Siphon Filter.

On top of that I remember it had a bunch of press for it. Best buy gave out hats with every purchase.

My worst game would be a game I hated because of personal taste, which means overall it might be pretty good. I'd probably end up picking a TBS just because I really can't get into that genre, but that would still be unfair to the game saying it sucks just because of the genre. And I liked Blood 2! XD My point exactly. A terrible FPS for me is a lot better than a good TBS.

I've heard this time and again. maybe part of it is that we're removed from the popular culture at the time which was "it's so fun to shit on daikatana hahaha!" and the other part was we don't remember any promises that were made leading up to the game's release.

also, the media probably was only happy to play up the game and then felt bruised when they had sang the praises of a subpar game after the fact and maybe wanted some reparation or to save face.

I think that's what happened. Ads like "Romero is going to make you his bitch" and the over hype. I mean it was just too much and the bar was set high so anything that's not ground breaking is going to take a lot of flak. Are you going to do a review? Curious... Why TBS? Which have you tried playing?

Here's a recent video from Nerd Cubed. Daikatana isn't even close to the worst game ever. Not even remotely close.

It's the same thing with a lot of the games that people call 'worst ever'. People have lofty expectations and are let down.

What about E.T? Or was that just insanely hard? Not fully fleshed out? What would the worst game be described like?

I'd like to watch that video, but I know just hearing his voice again is going to annoy me :P

I actually like Daikatana, a lot more now that the big community 1.3 patch got released. I would say that for my money personally, Blood 2 was a much worse game (and IMHO, the worst FPS I've ever played was Killing Time).

Does it get *really* bad once your get your companions? I wouldn't say that the game gets terrible, but it does get a whole hell of a lot more annoying. It's not enough to just leave them behind and safely out of harm's way, as they have to actually get to the exit point with you. It wasn't enough of a deal-breaker for me (but YMMV), but it did break the flow, having to periodically clear out a section of the level, and then go back to get my companion.