Video Games with No Replay Value: Five Popular One-Trick Ponies

Video games with no replay value are the bane of any gaming enthusiast. Second only to titles with no original play value, video games which offer little or no entertainment during a second play-through are little more than a paperweight or dust collector on your shelves. The following list includes five video game titles on various platforms which have little or no replay value; as a general rule, rent these video games instead of paying the purchase price!

Video Games with No Replay Value: Alan Wake - Most games in the survivor horror or action horror genres could be included in this list; the entertainment value disappears after players have unlocked all the secrets and solved the mystery. Alan Wake is no exception to that rule, and although I discussed the game in a genre review and included a guide to all the manuscript pages, Alan Wake simply isn't a video game I would recommend to anyone for purchase thanks to the low replay value. Once you've read through the storyline, learned how to thwart the shadowy attackers, and have mastered the often discouraging combat mechanics, Alan Wake is better left as an opening to a sequel rather than a video game to replay again.

Video Games with No Replay Value: Resident Evil 5 - Although I am a major fan of the Resident Evil franchise, I consider RE5 to be the worst of the series as far as having no replay value. Unlike some Resident Evil fans, I don't enjoy the video games purely for the fun of slaying zombies and monsters; I value the puzzles and storyline over the actual mechanics of the game. Resident Evil 5, much like Resident Evil 4, gradually slips further and further away from the "survivor horror" roots of the RE franchise and moves deeper into the realm of the action adventure genre. Thus, unless you truly care about unlocking every obscure secret and really want access to every exotic, upgraded weapon, Resident Evil 5 truly lacks any real replay value.

Video Games with No Replay Value: Bioshock 2 - Another video game released in 2010, Bioshock 2 is the overrated sequel to the popular original chapter in the series. When I play-tested Bioshock 2 for my review, I was amazed at how unimpressive this video game was despite all the hype; I included Bioshock 2 in my list of overrated video games from summer 2010. The challenges were easier than they should have been, the storyline was vague and twisted-especially to anyone who didn't play the original-and once the puzzles and plot twists have been played-through once the replay value slips to zero.

Video Games with No Replay Value: Heavy Rain - This Playstation exclusive video game is another which manages to deliver an impressive original play-through, only to have no replay value after completion. Very similarly to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which I reviewed earlier this year, the ending of Heavy Rain is determined by how you play the video game. While this could lend a fair amount of replay value to most titles, the same rules which apply to Alan Wake and other mystery or puzzle storylines applies here: gamers don't receive enough changes during a second play to merit another play-through.

Video Games with No Replay Value: Mass Effect - Possibly the video game on this list which would receive the most anonymous arguments from gamers protesting its inclusion, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are often regarded as incredibly frustrating to play-through a second time. The only title on this list from the role-playing game genre, Mass Effect has an elaborate storyline and plenty of potential for alternate decisions during game play. With the release of Mass Effect 2 earlier this year, which I rated generously in my review, many Mass Effect (1) players revisited the RPG title in preparation for the sequel. ME2 allows for the importing of characters from the original, but other than that perk I found absolutely no replay value for the original video game.