Believe it or not, there was a time when full motion video-based games were supposedly the future of video gaming. As console manufacturers began harnessing blossoming new technologies (mostly related to the CD format), they attempted to create new game experiences while capitalizing on gamer's thirst for something groundbreaking.

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The '90s saw a shift from pixel-based titles to FMV games which were supposed to create a more theatrical and engaging experience. Although it was only a stopgap until polygon-based gaming took root, it did enjoy brief success - at least until audiences realized how hollow the experiences were. Today we're counting down the 10 most infamous FMV games of the '90s, in all their tarnished non-glory.

10 SEWER SHARK

This Sega CD pack-in game was one of the better FMV games of the '90s, specifically because it offered a level of interactivity that others did not. For all intents and purposes, Sewer Shark was just another on-the-rails shooter, but audiences were sold on it due to the solid production values and the acting talent involved.

Having ILM co-founder John Dykstra onboard probably helped. Digital Pictures would churn out a number of FMV titles over the course of the 90s, but Sewer Shark remains one of the most memorable.

9 TOMCAT ALLEY

The Code Monkeys would attempt to capitalize on the public's lingering fascination with Top Gun by cranking out this little FMV nugget that puts the player in the cockpit of an F-14 Tomcat - at least in spirit.

The game relied heavily on speaker-pumping sound effects, snap-cut video editing and a number of interesting tricks to recreate a cinematic experience, but in reality this was largely a point and click affair. The game would end up getting trounced by the release of the original Ace Combat on the PlayStation just a year later.

8 STAR WARS: REBEL ASSAULT

It would be a long time before we got a decent Star Wars game, but during the 1990s, we had to take what we could get. This LucasArts 1993 release put players in the shoes of a Luke Skywalker clone (minus the Force powers) as they engage a series of semi-interactive environments based on the Star Wars universe.

The game wasn't terrible, at least for its day, but it's quickly become a poster child for the technical limitations of an FMV game. Rebel Assault would push the genre as far as it could possibly go, before running head-first into a canyon. As a nostalgia vehicle, it's excellent, but as an action title, it's positively stone-age.

7 PRIZE FIGHTER

Digital Pictures would branch out into various thematic elements for future FMV titles, and that included sports. 1993's Prize Fighter put players in the first-person video perspective of an up-and-coming boxer who battles his way through real-life opponents using one of the clunkiest, non-intuitive control schemes in history.

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Raging Bull-style black and white video, a gritty atmosphere and some decent acting chops couldn't save Prize Fighter from its own horrid gameplay, which was largely a matter of memory over actual skill. Most players quit in frustration at being beaten to a pulp, while never landing a punch.

6 TIME GAL

Quick-Time events are quickly becoming the bane of today's action titles, but they probably got their start with games like Time Gal. Be sure to pay your hatred forward. The game is a slightly interactive anime short film focusing on time travel to various points throughout history in search of a techno thief.

There's little else to the game besides memorizing a few key button presses at specific points to progress to the next level. While charming at first, its simplistic gameplay quickly loses its appeal, while Reika's death reactions become more and more irritating.

5 CAPTAIN POWER: THE VHS MISSIONS

FMV games weren't restricted to game consoles. In fact, Mattel was one of the first to try and capitalize on the concept with the 1987 release of the Captain Power VHS Missions. In contrast to the live-action TV show, these short games were actually done in traditional anime-style.

The VHS Missions were designed to give kids who owned Captain Power toys the ability to interact with the screen by pretending to fly along while shooting the receptive light patterns on the television to score points. In reality, Mattel might have achieved more success if they had stripped out that gameplay element and focused on a story-driven narrative for kids to watch.

4 PSYCHIC DETECTIVE

This 1995 game could very well be the FMV equivalent of Tommy Wiseau's The Room. The acting is atrociously bad, the production values are so/so, and the gameplay is yet another example of the weakness of the format.

The game relies heavily on timed on-screen cues which indicate the different things the player can interact with. The player may also jump into the bodies of a number of characters around him, which allows him to see and hear their thoughts. Interesting in concept, but dull in execution.

3 IT CAME FROM THE DESERT

This 1991 FMV title was based on the very different Amiga original which was designed to mimic the camp of 1950s B-movies. Unfortunately, someone lost the memo, turning the game into a horror-fest of bad acting, visuals, and gameplay.

The game sports a number of play modes but relies predominantly on FMV. It's notorious for cut sequences involving paralyzed humans screaming in agony while hordes of giant ants tear the flesh off their bodies, right down to the skeleton while the player attempts to shoot them. It's hard to tell what's more horrifying - these disturbing sequences, or the lackluster graphics.

2 NIGHT TRAP

The infamous Night Trap was one of a handful of games responsible for driving U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman up the wall. It later prompted the creation of the ESRB games rating system. In truth, it's a lackluster game made popular mostly due to the controversy it generated, which by today's standards are PG-13 at best.

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The player assumes the role of a member of the Special Control Attack Team (abbreviated hilariously as SCAT) who keeps track of a house full of girls using security cameras (creepy) in an attempt to prevent them from being murdered by vampires. This is accomplished by activating a series of traps strewn throughout the house at appropriate times. The gameplay attempted to seem original but felt stiff and lifeless in the long run.

1 CRITICAL PATH

Perhaps the worst offender on this list is Critical Path, a third-rate short film masquerading as a post-apocalyptic action epic. It's notorious for requiring the player to click a mouse approximately 20 times throughout the course of its entire run.

With the bulk of production values going towards the video footage itself, there was little reason to craft a compelling gameplay experience around it. In the end, Critical Path was praised for the quality of its sound and video, but not much else. Those who forked out $60 dollars for it learned a harsh lesson.

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