Cyberpunk 2077 is out after many years of anticipation. While initially announced when the PlayStation 4 was in its infancy, the finished product barely manages to run on Sony’s fourth console. The frame rate crawls, the gameplay stutters, and bugs are abundant.
On top of that, the image is soft, making it look like a PlayStation 3 game. CD Projekt Red’s most recent title is not the first game to suffer on consoles in this way. In fact it used to be quite common. Console gamers also had to find a way to enjoy these subpar ports for years.
10 Max Payne 2 On PS2
Remedy is always on the cutting edge of technology. Their most recent title, Control, has a hard time on base PS4 consoles. Back in 2003, the sequel to Max Payne almost set PS2s on fire. It looks gorgeous on PC and decent enough on Xbox, but the version for Sony’s console is bogged down by muddy textures and performance issues. Get into a gunfight with more than two enemies and the frame rate severely buckles.
9 Deus Ex On PS2
Considering we’re talking about Cyberpunk 2077, it is only fitting to bring up this early aughts cyberpunk classic. Deus Ex was a revelation upon release for its open levels where players can approach each problem in a multitude of ways. The PS2 version did its best to bring the experience to consoles, but concessions had to be made. Some levels are cut up into chunks and walls are put up to hide draw distance issues. Some fundamentals about the gameplay are also tweaked.
8 Half-Life 2 On Xbox
People often consider Half-Life 2 the first game of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, making it a small miracle that a team was able to get the game running on the original Xbox.
Taking a quick look at this version reveals all the sacrifices made to put the classic first-person shooter on Microsoft’s first console. The resolution is decreased and everything looks more blocky than usual. Considering the rig needed to run it on the PC in 2004, this was the best most players could get upon release.
7 Fallout New Vegas On PS3
Bethesda games always have troubles on consoles, but Obsidian Entertainment fared even worse when working with the engine for Fallout: New Vegas. It does not start out too bad, but as one continues their file the bugs just become worse and worse. After about sixty hours, the game becomes almost unplayable with the combination of frame rate issues, glitches, and crashes. It is a shame too, since most consider New Vegas the best Fallout game since the first two entries.
6 Doom On 3DO
Considering the phenomenon created by Doom, it only made sense for all the other consoles to want a version of their own. Most of the contemporary home platforms were not well equipped enough to run it back in the mid-90s, but 3DO did the worst job of all. The port was done in a ludicrously short timespan by a single person, which is the main culprit for all its shortcomings.
5 Diablo On PS1
This dungeon crawler created a plethora of firsts for the genre and started one of the most popular and long-running PC franchises. Few people realize the first game also made its way to the original PlayStation. Unfortunately, it is just about the last place you’d ever want to play it. The only advantage is the local cooperative multiplayer, but everything else about it is worse, including the 10 blocks of memory it requires on your memory card.
4 Half-Life On Dreamcast
This one is unique because it never actually came out, but builds of the Dreamcast version of Half-Life exist and review copies were even sent out before the project’s cancellation. It served as the basis for the PS2 version, which is actually a solid port, but looks rougher and runs worse. One of the worst parts about it are the load times, which are thankfully improved on the PS2 port. There’s no need for a console version these days, since any PC can run it with ease.
3 Pac-Man On Atari 2600
This one is unique for not being a port of a PC game, but an arcade classic. Many ports in these days were inferior in several ways, but the Pac-Man game on the Atari 2600 takes the cake. It barely resembles the original and is significantly slower. Looking back on it, it is probably the best the Atari 2600 could do, but if this is the case then they never should have made it in the first place.
2 Morrowind On Xbox
Having such an epic RPG like an Elder Scrolls game was nearly unheard of before Morrowind made its way to the Xbox. It makes sense, too, since putting the third game on the console was nothing short of witchcraft.
Bethesda pulled out all the stops in order to run the game back then. Even upon its release, many PCs were struggling to run it. The game started a beautiful partnership which recently culminated in Microsoft buying Bethesda for a hefty sum.
1 Starcraft 64 On N64
RTS games on consoles are always a risky endeavor. In the 90s it was just as much of a technical question as it was a design predicament of fitting the complicated controls on a gamepad. For all it had going against it, Starcraft 64 did okay, but it still suffers in many areas. Blizzard would shy away from console ports for well over a decade after this conversion. PC gaming was not too accessible in the late ’90s, so plenty had to settle for this port.
