The Tiger Game.com is objectively one of the worst portable video game devices of all time. If you think systems like the Atari Jaguar and Panasonic 3DO are awful then you’re in for a whole new world of hurt with this one. Before this Tiger was best known for their cheap one-off handheld games. You know, the LCD games you’d get as a stocking stuffer and only play for a few minutes. The next logical step was to make a dedicated video game handheld that could compete with the Nintendo Game Boy. Unfortunately it all went downhill from here. Today we’re going to take a look at the top 10 best Tiger Game.com titles of all time. Believe me when I say this was one of the most difficult lists to make. It was also painful. Either way, let’s take a look at the best Game.com games of all time!
#10. – Indy 500
Remember this arcade hit from Sega? I don’t either which was surprising. Well, here it is starting off our list. Indy 500 is the only racing title for the Tiger Game.com. It’s loosely based off of the IndyCar formula racing series. A 3D racer is a tall order for the platform when it can barely even handle 2D games, but here we are. In Indy 500 you race across a few different tracks trying to reach the checkpoint before the timer runs out. You can only take a certain amount of damage, and you’ll do so by smacking into the barriers and other racers. Sounds fair enough, right? Unfortunately the action moves about as fast as a flip book. It also doesn’t help that the screen is crazy difficult to see. Playing Indy 500 is an exercise in pain despite it being one of the best Tiger Game.com games.
#9. – The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park made dinosaurs cool again, and brought the prehistoric beasts back into the limelight in the early 90s. This is one of the many video games licensed off of this property, and boy let me tell you I’m surprised it made it off of the cutting board. Just because it’s one of the best Game.com games doesn’t mean it’s enjoyable. Rather, it’s just less painful than the others. Working in its favor is the fact that you have two different modes of gameplay. One of these is as a side scrolling action platform game, and the other a 3D view driving experience where you dodge dinosaurs. Both are ugly, move at a terrible framerate, and are borderline unplayable. Things are pretty dire on the Game.com front if slogs like this one can make a list like this.
#8. – Solitaire
How bad does a game have to be when Solitaire is one of it’s best releases? Pretty darn if you ask me. Solitaire was the pack-in with the original Game.com model at launch, and it’s actually one of the better video game renditions of it from the time. This is thanks in large part to the touch screen. Yes, Solitaire is one of the very few games for the platform that actually makes use of it. There aren’t any special quirks or twists here. It’s just plain jane Solitaire. It’s mildly enjoyable if Solitaire is your thing. The touch screen is put to good use. You could always go the other route and simply buy a deck of cards. You’ll get largely the same experience here but with better graphics.
#7. – Duke Nukem 3D
You have to hand it to Tiger. They had ambitions but lacked the hardware to back them up. As far as I’m aware this is the first portable version of Duke Nukem 3D ever released (don’t quote me on that). In screenshots it looks amazing that they were able to replicate the experience on such limited hardware. When you actually dive in though the problems are as apparent as they are abundant. For one thing Duke cannot turn. I know, wild right? What kind of a first person shooter is this? Either way it’s mildly enjoyable in very short bursts. You won’t even mind that this one has only a third of the content because you won’t even want to play this version that long. The voice samples are pretty impressive though.
#6. – Mortal Kombat Trilogy
This is one of the few games we originally owned for the platform. Among them it was the best one. Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a scaled down (let me correct that, VERY scaled down) version of the home console release. You’re missing a ton of characters, and those that did make the cut have several of their trademark moves absent. The animation is also pretty choppy, albeit the game is slightly more playable than other titles on the platform. So why did it make the list of the best Game.com games? Because there’s really not anything better. If you wanted a fighter, and were stuck to the Game.com, then MKT was just about the best you could do. I’m sorry in advance, because not even the voice samples can save this stinker. Don’t even get me started on the collision detection.
#5. – Fighters Megamix
Ahh yes. Another fighting game for the Tiger Game.com. Unlike Mortal Kombat Trilogy this title was released on only this and the Sega Saturn. That has to count for something right? I’ve always been a huge fan of Virtua Fighter, and on the Saturn the game is pure magic. I mean, it combines so many of Sega’s classic fighters into one package. How could you go wrong with a Game.com port, you ask? Fighter’s Megamix suffers from all the nuances of just about every other title on the platform. The animation is choppy, there’s serious input lag, and the hit detection is laughable. If it just ran a little smoother I’d be impressed by how it looks. Alas, Fighter’s Megamix for the Game.com belongs only on the trash heap.
#4. – Centipede
It’s Centipede! Now we’re talking. Here’s a game that the Game.com can finally run! It’s also the first legitimately good game on the list. The problem is almost every platform out there are the time had some iteration of Centipede on it. It’s hardly the big bragging point I’m making it out to be. Either way you guide a ship at the bottom of the screen and your job is to defeat the oncoming centipede creatures. They move from left to right as they slowly make their way to the bottom of the screen. You fire single shots at them, and the strategy comes in both that they’re far away and obstacles block your bullets. It sure is Centipede, and it sure is one of the best Game.com games. You betcha.
#3. – Williams Arcade Classics
Now we’re cooking with gas. Around the time of release just about every console imaginable had an iteration of Williams Arcade Classics for it. Yes, even including the Tiger Game.com. Williams Arcade Classics shines particularly bright on the Game.com because there isn’t much else. Oh, and it’s one of the few completely playable titles for the platform. That alone makes it one of the best Game.com games. Included in the package are pretty decent ports of Defender, Defender II, Joust, Sinistar, and Robotron. Any of these games singularly is better than just about everything else on the Game.com. A package with them all together is pretty sweet to be honest.
#2. – Frogger
Here’s another of the classic arcade ports, and arguably the second best Tiger Game.com game. So why did this one score higher than Williams Arcade Classics? It’s simple; the graphics actually seem to push the hardware. The titles in that collection lacked visual details and were for the most part just solid colors. This time we have actual texture work and tiles. It’s not that I’m the biggest fan of Frogger around, rather, I can appreciate what Hasbro was going for with this release. Here you play as a frog whose simple goal is to just cross the screen and avoid obstacles. Thing is he can only stand on objects like floating logs, and because these move horizontally you have to plan and time well your movements. There’s some slowdown, sure, but it’s nothing like the other titles here.
#1. – Resident Evil 2
Perhaps the most ambitious title in the system’s library is also the best one. Yes, Tiger ported Resident Evil 2 to the black and white handheld. That’s a tall order for a two disc 32-bit game to be crammed into an 8-bit cartridge, but the results are mind boggling. It’s 2D now, but thanks to the pre-rendered backgrounds they were able to make this one actually play like Resident Evil 2. Gone are the flashy FMV sequences, voiced scenes, and even music for that matter. Still, almost all of the game’s scenarios were crammed in for better or worse. It’s one heck of a ride. Maybe it’s just nostalgia speaking here, but in my opinion Resident Evil 2 is the best Tiger Game.com game.
