It's really annoying when you're happily playing a game and then some horrible, trendy game play mechanic suddenly pops up, rammed in at the last minute only because everyone else is doing it. So, out of these, which do you lot hate most?

I personally can't stand the action sequences where you have to perform a complex action by mashing buttons when prompted. I don't mind as much when it reflects the action, but it still pisses me off.

Another is 'RPG elements' crow barred into games that shouldn't have them. I mean, without altering other aspects of game play to make the new elements seem like they belong there. System Shock 2 is an example of doing this right, but most of the time it's just frustrating.

Finally, no-linearality. I know this seems weird, but I need an objective, to strive towards. Like saving the princess or finding the Cabbage of Bringing Out Flavour in Stews +3 or something. I played Oblivion for less than a day before I decided I was bored with it, because there's no sense of urgency. The fact that I can just drop a quest at any time with no consequences makes it seem less worthwhile. After all, why should I bother saving this peasant (or even the entire planet) when it makes no difference, apart from giving me the ability to rescue more peasants (or planets) for no reason?

Escort missions. Or really anything where I have to keep someone or something else alive. It's particularly annoying when whoever I'm escorting is also capable of defending themselves to a degree, and just turns into an idiot as soon as they start relying on me. There are a few games where the AI of your ward is good enough to make keeping them alive an intriguing challenge instead of an unwanted burden, but those are few and far between.

Inkmonkey
Escort missions. Or really anything where I have to keep someone or something else alive. It's particularly annoying when whoever I'm escorting is also capable of defending themselves to a degree, and just turns into an idiot as soon as they start relying on me. There are a few games where the AI of your ward is good enough to make keeping them alive an intriguing challenge instead of an unwanted burden, but those are few and far between.

Yes.

Also, I hate it when developers decide that their series isn't "Innovative" enough, despite the fact that EVERY SINGLE GAME they've made was EXCELLENT, and decide to completely change the formulat into something barely recognizable as part of the series.

I'm looking at you, Resident Evil.

Turnbased gameplay *cough*Final*Hack*Fan*cough*tasy*cough*, I don't care if you do get a chance to think ahead there is just no point in fighting every battle in turnbased format. For example say you are fighting some incredibly weak enemy in turnbased gameplay, you could win the battle in like 19 seconds but your attack just so happens to "miss" and then you have to waste most of your energy on an effortless battle all because of a "miss", the same applies for an incredibly difficult battle make several "misses" and you are screwed.

zgenstru
Turnbased gameplay *cough*Final*Hack*Fan*cough*tasy*cough*, I don't care if you do get a chance to think ahead there is just no point in fighting every battle in turnbased format. For example say you are fighting some incredibly weak enemy in turnbased gameplay, you could win the battle in like 19 seconds but your attack just so happens to "miss" and then you have to waste most of your energy on an effortless battle all because of a "miss", the same applies for an incredibly difficult battle make several "misses" and you are screwed.

What? I have no idea what you just said, but I'll TRY to respond to it.

If you're at a higher level than an enemy, chances are that you'll kill them before they can even do damage. A few misses won't kill you, unless you're fighting Ruby Weapon or something. And even then, that can be overidden with proper leveling and equipment.

And major FF games aren't turn based anymore. Did you ever play XII? Have you been looking at XIII?

I wish they WERE turn based, though.

zgenstru
Turnbased gameplay *cough*Final*Hack*Fan*cough*tasy*cough*, I don't care if you do get a chance to think ahead there is just no point in fighting every battle in turnbased format. For example say you are fighting some incredibly weak enemy in turnbased gameplay, you could win the battle in like 19 seconds but your attack just so happens to "miss" and then you have to waste most of your energy on an effortless battle all because of a "miss", the same applies for an incredibly difficult battle make several "misses" and you are screwed.

I don't think that really counts in this case, though, because this is more about an unnecessary gameplay mechanic added to an otherwise good game. Very few games have sudden turn-based sequences, and basically if you don't like them you can just avoid those kinds of games.

I like turn based RPG games, but I fee they aren't evolving enough with the new generation hardware and emphasis on reality. There are still a few games which like to push the "old school" mechanics and I think they are starting to feel really dated. I'm tired of seeing my party line up on one side of the screen and the enemies line up on the other while they both take turns running back and forth whacking on each other. The gaming industry proved back in the 16-bit era that we can do more with turn based mechanics than that.

Action Sequences

Ick! Spiderman 3 and Heavenly Sword were full of these. Disgusting and annoying.

Escort Missions

''Oh my God, Resident Evil 4 is soooo cool, oh no, what's this?!..I have to watch over this girl while hording off zombie monsters? BS.

Play The Unknown/Sucky Character

You know when you're playing a game and all of a sudden, you have to play with the character that has no weapons or protection? I hate those. It happened in The Getaway and Resident Evil 4. You can't attack enemies but they sure as hell can attack you.

Bad Camera Angles/Controls

Of course, this was/is a common problem in video games. "'Jeez! Who just bit me in my leg? I can't even see all of the enemies on the screen at one time so I can destroy them.''

Being Really Good But Short

Daxter was an excellent game for the PsP, but it's like once you get into it, it's over.

zgenstru
Turnbased gameplay *cough*Final*Hack*Fan*cough*tasy*cough*, I don't care if you do get a chance to think ahead there is just no point in fighting every battle in turnbased format. For example say you are fighting some incredibly weak enemy in turnbased gameplay, you could win the battle in like 19 seconds but your attack just so happens to "miss" and then you have to waste most of your energy on an effortless battle all because of a "miss", the same applies for an incredibly difficult battle make several "misses" and you are screwed.

Someone loves the Tales of Symphonia/Kingdom Hearts style a lot.

Pushing boxes/crates/big simple polygons to either block the enemy's attack or cross over some other obstacle. Double thumbs down if this makes you move at half speed.

Escorts. The NPC never has a functional AI or script. He either attacks the wrong thing, sits there and gets his head stomped in, won't accept any equipment that would realistically protect him, or picks unnecessary fights. You can't even prepare for the enemies since they'll typically just spawn by script out of nowhere. There's no realism to it. And lets not forget the NPC typically walks dirt slow.

Defending targets. This is the bane of mech games. The targets can't dodge, can't heal, and may or may not have attacks that do basically nothing. You're forced to kill at a pace equal to a pitbull on speed versus superior numbers.

A game of ice and fire. Is it really necessary for every major villain to have elemental minions we have to slide on ice to get and jump on narrow platforms floating over lava?

Racing with scripts. Please, just a little chaos is all I ask. The opponents ride on identical paths, follow set speeds, and some have that nonsensical tendency to 'suddenly catch up and pass you' despite you're in first place on a straight away at max speed.

Pointless time limits. You have 3 minutes to beat this stage. WHY? What's going to happen other than the game over screen? Give me a real reason.

Non-intuitive fights. The boss has phases and repeatedly pulls more powerful moves out of nowhere when he reaches certain hp totals. You must follow the set path the designers have made for you and you have to practice this over and over, or cheat and read a strategy guide because there's absolutely no way to make any sense of it in the beginning. Death can occur in mere seconds for slight miscalculations. If I wanted to jump through hoops like this, I'd reincarnate as Pavlov's dog.

Distant save points. Yay. 15 minutes worth of progress gone from an instant death trap.

Shooter games with 2000 bullets on the screen. Yes, it looks impressive when someone can shave off that 1/8th inch in shoddy hit detection to avoid a flying ship boss who hemorrhages bullets rather than shoots them. No, I don't want to play it.

Chernobog
Defending targets. This is the bane of mech games. The targets can't dodge, can't heal, and may or may not have attacks that do basically nothing. You're forced to kill at a pace equal to a pitbull on speed versus superior numbers.

Racing with scripts. Please, just a little chaos is all I ask. The opponents ride on identical paths, follow set speeds, and some have that nonsensical tendency to 'suddenly catch up and pass you' despite you're in first place on a straight away at max speed.

Non-intuitive fights. The boss has phases and repeatedly pulls more powerful moves out of nowhere when he reaches certain hp totals. You must follow the set path the designers have made for you and you have to practice this over and over, or cheat and read a strategy guide because there's absolutely no way to make any sense of it in the beginning. Death can occur in mere seconds for slight miscalculations. If I wanted to jump through hoops like this, I'd reincarnate as Pavlov's dog.

Distant save points. Yay. 15 minutes worth of progress gone from an instant death trap.

I totally agree with you there.

Let's not forget RTS games do the 'defend the target' crap.

I haven't had much of a bad experience with racing games but I believe I've played one or two like that.

The is a big problem in a lot of games, especially in the RPG genre. I'm going through that right now in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of Lions.

Dude, I can name like 10 games that do the 'distant save points' thing. I tell you, it's a killer. Metroid is well known for pulling that type of crap.

zgenstru
Turnbased gameplay *cough*Final*Hack*Fan*cough*tasy*cough*, I don't care if you do get a chance to think ahead there is just no point in fighting every battle in turnbased format. For example say you are fighting some incredibly weak enemy in turnbased gameplay, you could win the battle in like 19 seconds but your attack just so happens to "miss" and then you have to waste most of your energy on an effortless battle all because of a "miss", the same applies for an incredibly difficult battle make several "misses" and you are screwed.

...What? Dude, that's the HIGHLIGHT of RPG games.

As for escort missions YES. Its like they know they'll be reset if you lose, so they run right into enemies to tick you off. I had an idea for a game where you would actualy PLAY as the escortee and your object would be to kill yourself as many times as possible.

One of the things I'm tired of is games made for all systems, and on the Wii version they make pointless/usless Wii features that don't even fit in, while other parts (where these special Wii controls would be fun) are unchanged.

therealtj
As for escort missions YES. Its like they know they'll be reset if you lose, so they run right into enemies to tick you off. I had an idea for a game where you would actualy PLAY as the escortee and your object would be to kill yourself as many times as possible.

This is a great idea, you should see if you make it with a freeware game maker or something. Or get a job as a game designer.

Chernobog
Pushing boxes/crates/big simple polygons to either block the enemy's attack or cross over some other obstacle. Double thumbs down if this makes you move at half speed.

Hell yes, this is one of the major problems with Broken Sword Three. I could handle the annoying controls and the stupid puzzles, but crate pushing was just taking it too far.

I'm sick of having to monitor too many things at once. Dark Cloud 1 is a perfect example of what I mean. They made it a lot better in Dark Cloud 2. As you can guess, I'm not big on RTS games, but when there is so much to keep in mind at once in a non-RTS game, I get sick of it.

And I agree with the escort mission thing! I just beat Truth and Reconciliation on Heroic (When I never had done before) and it SUCKED!!

Also, a lot of games have had some wonky controls lately. I don't think you should have a sub-standard control system so you can have better graphics! And the focus on good graphics also peeves me! I play more portable gaming nowadays because it's much more fun and challenging. I would have minded if we hadn't advanced beyond Gamecube-quality graphics.

therealtj
One of the things I'm tired of is games made for all systems, and on the Wii version they make pointless/usless Wii features that don't even fit in, while other parts (where these special Wii controls would be fun) are unchanged.

I agree with you there; the same thing happened for the DS for the first couple of years it was out. Once game designers get more used to it hopefully motion mechanics will be used to enhance games, instead of just being shoe-horned in for the sake of having them. There are some companies figuring it out already, but it could be better.

No one's mentioned slow-motion effects yet so I will.

I'm sick and bloody tired of being able to slow down time to go into a "bullet-time" world where everything moves slowly and I can dodge individual bullets. This was innovative and fun back in Max Payne, but it's just a tired old trick now. Why should I slow down time? So many games use it nowadays when it isn't necessary. Games like Call of Juarez, or even FEAR, just didn't really need those effects, no matter how cool they looked.

Otherwise, I'm going to have to agree with what's been said before and say the majority of escort missions and checkpoint saves suck big time. Sometimes an escort mission can be fun, but all too often it's turned into a boring race to keep your idiot AI character alive. And checkpoint saves are never fun.

Chernobog
Defending targets. This is the bane of mech games. The targets can't dodge, can't heal, and may or may not have attacks that do basically nothing. You're forced to kill at a pace equal to a pitbull on speed versus superior numbers.

Ya, this one sucks pretty bad... Especially if you're in some space battle game defending a massive space batle cruiser in a fighter... I mean they base it on bloody outdated idiot WW2 fighter/aircraft-carrier fight ideas to start with when realistically in space your massive battle vessel is going to have the range and armament to stop anything from ever getting within visual contact ever... let alone a manned fighter.

But that aside, defending an objective is dull unless you have decent help.

Chernobog
Pointless time limits. You have 3 minutes to beat this stage. WHY? What's going to happen other than the game over screen? Give me a real reason.

ALWAYS that shits me. I just do NOT care enough about any stupid GAME to want to invest the time to make myself have absolutely perfect rhythm and pinpoint timing when achieving multiple objectives in some arbitrary set time limit.

-If I wanted to do that I'd learn to dance or play a musical instrument, not waste my time in front of a screen.

Ok, one I'll add, I don't know if anybody has said this yet, but RTS games. The AI ALWAYS sucks crap. AI strategy in all RTS I've played: RUSH with weak units, wave upon wave. Rush with mid units wave upon wave. Rush with high strength units wave upon wave.
They never alternate strategy... build up bases and consolidate resources before making a more like a real army might, highly fortify an area in an innovative or clever way... No, defences are always slightly random but extremely predictable. And they almost never invest the resources to build the game's one or two allowed super units, and if they do they just throw them into the fray like any old low level unit or whatever. Ah well... RTS blues.

I. Fucking. Hate. Fumaroles.
Every single action/adventure/platformer/FPS under the frigging sun just HAS to have a level or two that's peppered with harmful steam vents or geysers or fumaroles. The most heinous misuse of this is when such a fumarole knocks your character back should they make contact with the steam, and prevents you from moving any further without somehow blocking the hole.
(yes, Twilight Princess, I'm looking at you...a large, agile wolf is somehow incapable of leaping over a three-foot high steam-jet...riiiiiight...)

Can't agree more about the AI side of things.

Two words, Dead Rising.

So, I guess I'm the only person on the internet who wasn't bothered by Ashley Graham. For me, she did a good job of staying out of the way and ducking when I wanted to shoot. I only killed her once when I got crazy with the knife.

A few things I'm getting tired of:

- Fixed Cameras for 3D worlds. This was a relic of the past for a time when games were trying to be more than technology would allow. FF7 and RE1-3 are good examples. But now that consoles can render these worlds in 3D realtime, I don't want to be stuck in one view. Luckily this is getting less common.

- Complex button combinations. I'm all for making games simpler to control. God of War had a lot of good, polished things about it, but keeping all the different button combinations in mind becomes tedious, and you'll find yourself just using the same couple of moves anyway.

- Turn based RPG fighting. I agree with what was said before.

- Random attacks from invisible monsters while you're trying to get somewhere on a map. The other reason I quit playing Final Fantasy.

Hawk
- Random attacks from invisible monsters while you're trying to get somewhere on a map. The other reason I quit playing Final Fantasy.

Argh, yes. Random encounters.
They fixed that with XII, though. It'd be great if they went with a happy compromise like in Dragon Quest Monster: Joker; there are monsters running about on the field, touch one and you're in a battle.

Someone
So, I guess I'm the only person on the internet who wasn't bothered by Ashley Graham. For me, she did a good job of staying out of the way and ducking when I wanted to shoot. I only killed her once when I got crazy with the knife.

She was pretty decent as an AI actually in my opinion.

Someone
- Fixed Cameras for 3D worlds. This was a relic of the past for a time when games were trying to be more than technology would allow. FF7 and RE1-3 are good examples. But now that consoles can render these worlds in 3D realtime, I don't want to be stuck in one view. Luckily this is getting less common.

I liked that to an extent. For me, FFX was much better than FFXII. I would rather have the fixed angle for beautiful scenery, than be able to rotate around jagged crap. But with better graphics, rotation would probably be a lot better.

Hawk
- Turn based RPG fighting. I agree with what was said before.

Meh, I don't care for it, but it's kind of the actual GAME for many RPGs so removing it wouldn't be good. If you don't like turn based fighting, I suggest you don't play RPGs.

But invisible enemies suck.

Hawk
So, I guess I'm the only person on the internet who wasn't bothered by Ashley Graham. For me, she did a good job of staying out of the way and ducking when I wanted to shoot. I only killed her once when I got crazy with the knife.

Actually, I'd say that Ashley is one of the rare characters who had a decent AI for escorting her. Not to mention the fact that the game, while action packed, is still slow-paced enough that you don't have to watch her ALL the time. The enemies move pretty slow, and since most of them just try to kidnap her instead of kill her it's not as troublesome to keep her around. I guess really it's half the AI (which essentially amounts to "stay the fuck out of Leon's way") and the fact that the enemies were slow and easy to dispatch.

1 word: Crates.... Who knew that in the past, Crates were EVERYWHERE. Who knew in the future, crates are EVERYWHERE!

Stupid A.I.: Yeah, standing next to the big red oil drum that has the word Flamable on the side in big bold letters makes EXCELLENT cover.

Smart A.I. When the AI is thinking on a Deep Blue level, or basicly was designed to make you want to commit suicide. (Here's to you, Ninja Gaiden Series.)

RPGs from Japan (Well, not all of them.) Let us sum this up with just words, instead of a long paragraph:
Badly made, Bad voice acting, thoughtless plot, cliches (Oh, a main charachter has amnesia? I've never seen that before!), sequels, or the game came that came out in America is just a port from something such as the gameboy, or it is the third game in Japan, but the first game here. (Crud, it's a paragraph)

Repetitive Lines (Here's to you, Oblivion)

I don't think anyone has said this but 'Water Missions.'

I hate you MGS1 and MGS2!

---

I love you MGS2 and MGS2!

Fake Difficulty [tvtropes.org]

games where you have more characters than you can play at one time. It's like, "Yay, I finally got Locke to level 24, oh wait, now I can't use him..."

therealtj
If you don't like turn based fighting, I suggest you don't play RPGs.

Already WAY ahead of you.

Although, I enjoy the turn-based nature of Final Fantasy Tactics and Advance Wars. I think what helped me hate the turn based fights of most other RPGs is that it all boils down to "Use Fire on the ice guys, use Lightning on the water guys, and Heal when you're hurt". I've just had enough of that.

I'm just sick of 9-year-old assholes.

I'm just sick of assholes.

I also hate button mashing. At all.