Gaming Pet Peeves

R

Ryandb2

CAGiversary!
After reading the thread about games being too hard, I realized one thing. The gaming community has a lot of pent up rage towards games that are either illogical or have conventions in them that piss people off.

So with that I think we should kick off a gaming pet peeves thread. These are just examples of what kind of game design elements really make you mad. And even worse piss you off when they are placed in an otherwise great game, leading you to think "geez do they even play their games before shipping them out?"

1) Protecting Stupid AI characters or you loose.
Lesson 1: Mr. Programmer it is not my fault that your AI sucks.
Example 1: Dead Rising. Hey there is a we are in a mall, bloodthirsty zombies are chasing me an old man and a girl. Let's get the f*** outta here. Hey come on... keep running stupid... no don't punch the zombie... nooo run you little b****, Lisa has died...

The only credit to dead rising is that you don't loose, I can think of many games where you do loose.

2) Not enough checkpoints/saves.
Lesson 2: Replaying the same area over and over only to die at some cheap boss at the end does not make a game difficult, it makes it annoying.
Example 1: Devil May Cry 3. I mash and I mash and I mash on buttons until all of these easy to kill little demonic munchkins are dead. At this point my hand is tired but I am happy I have completed this section. Oh what's this? A Boss. Boss pulls out an insanely cheap move that you could not have known he had and you die. Oh great I get to fight all of the little loosers again just so I can try to figure out this bosses insane pattern.

Example 2: Almost every RPG made. Running around for hours in a dungeon, while you need to be doing something in real life because... you can't find a save spot.

3) Games that require a strategy guide:
Lesson 3: If you didn't teach it during the semester it shouldn't be on the test.
Example 1: Earthbound. How am I supposed to know to Pray? We never used the stupid command the whole game... it just sat there staring at me... laughing at me. And now on the final boss I am supposed to know that I need to use it. (luckily most versions of earthbound came with the guide... not mine though.)
 
Guess I might add some.

- Platform jumping in FPS games, it just doesn't mix.

- Timed Puzzles/objectives where the time is so limited you cannot make the slightest mistake.

- Bad Camera!! Especially where camera is crucial to complete the objective. Also, hard to explain, but the "area" where your character walks on screen, can be added to this. Also called invisible walls.
[Example: mostly seen in rpgs] Where you have an entire area, but your character is restricted to a certain path, if you go away from that path, its like running into an invisible wall, even though it would seem like an area you would be able to move in.

Example of bad camera location/invisible wall/time limit. FF-X, the Kimari side-quest collecting the butterlfies. DAMN that was stupid!

- Cheating "catch-up" Racing AI. NFS Underground was notorious for this. You lap the computer, and you barely hit a car, 5 seconds later computer passes you. WTF?

- No limit special moves on CPU characters/ no "charge/hold" limit. Ala street fighter. They are able to chain specials with no limit, while we have to wait or do the motion for moves. Example from streetfighter. They'd be able to do the dragon punch to haduken easily. Or Guile's blade kick, we'd have to hold down for 2 seconds, the CPU can do it instantly

I think that covers some of mine..
 
Having to back track to pick up things you obviously should have been able to pick up in the first place.

I.e. That big honking shiny gem sitting in the middle of the room that you just left there when you were here 1 hour ago because theres obviously not going to be a puzzle that needs it later on.
All this to make the game longer and more tedious/harder.
 
I agree about the save points. Games today take more time to finish than older games (for the most part) and I like to be able to save whenever I want to.
 
Games where you have a grenade launcher, but have to take the detour through the swamps because the wood door with a 3oz Masterlock doesn't have a key. :roll:

RPGs where you have to run around the long way because theres a fuckING STICK 1 inch high you can't just step over in the middle of the road.

Bullet time. Yea, it was cool in Max Payne. Get your own fucking mechanic.

Enemies that emply a clip on full auto at 5 feet and don't hit you, yet get head shots at 100 yards with a pistol.

"Rubber banding" in racing games.

Finding the pot to give the guy to get the level to give the guy to find the widget to give to the person with the flower to give to the kid with the key to the fucking door you could have just kicked in.

Lithe shirtless antagonists with homoerrotic undertones.

Lithe shirtless protagonists with homoerrotic undertones.

Games that give you a handful of skills and make you use them 40 times in the level they're introduced, but never again.

Aditionally, games that not only make it painfully obvious where to use afformentioned skills, but also feel the need to remind you with popups and voiceovers. As if I fucking forgot I had to hit B to jump after reading and watching the 5 minute tutorial I couldn't skip or the other 50 fucking times I jumped to get to this point.

Unconfigurable controls.

(PC games)- No widescreen resolutions for high profile games or resolutions under 1280x1024.

Integrated voice chat with no mute.

Shooters always having the pistol, SMG and shotgun. I demand more shark cannons.

Traversing the game world to unlock 18 keys for crap I couldn't give a shit about.
 
I would probably have to say a ridiculous amount of leveling up before you can fight the final battles. I think the leveling should be in line with the story, so by the time you've gotten to that point, you should be at an appropriate level.

In shooting games when enemies automatically sense you, although there's no way they could possibly see you.

Sports games that add more flash and pizaaz before fixing basic gameplay shortcomings.
 
i hate games where you shoot enemies in places where they should die instantly and they dont. and its even worse when you play games where it takes 15 to 20 shots to kill one enemy.

im tired of zombie games where zombies die from being shot in the body it should be head shots, and burning and any attack that destroys the brain.


and of course wtf is with games where you have all thes epowerful weapons and you get to a door that wont open without a key even though youd think you should be able to shoot a door open or use an explosive to blow it up.

i know the next gen of systems are still being explored and felt out but i cant wait to play games where you have everything in the game world react as realistically as possible.


and i also cant stand people who brag about beating games using cheat codes. any idiot can beat a game if you use god mode or unlimited ammo beat the damn game with your own skills first then use cheats if you want but i feel strongly that real gamers dont need cheats to get through a game. sure some games you could use help if youre stuck in a sport or with a puzzle so you check out a game faq every once and a while but damn why buy the game if youre just goign to use cheats to beat it?hell play it on easy mode if you suck that bad.
 
Falling into three feet of water and dying as a result. Kyle Katarn is a freaking Jedi, and he can't handle three feet of water in Jedi Outcast?!
 
Yes. "Oh, champion idea. Let me jump to that ledge over there when I can't even see my freaking feet. This will end well."

[quote name='Dark Zero']Guess I might add some.

- Platform jumping in FPS games, it just doesn't mix.

[/quote]
 
[quote name='lokizz']
and of course wtf is with games where you have all thes epowerful weapons and you get to a door that wont open without a key even though youd think you should be able to shoot a door open or use an explosive to blow it up.

i know the next gen of systems are still being explored and felt out but i cant wait to play games where you have everything in the game world react as realistically as possible.

[/QUOTE]


God bless the FALLOUT series. *tears*
 
My #1 is Ryandb2 #1, and everything Kayden said I agree with as well.

[quote name='Ryandb2']
1) Protecting Stupid AI characters or you loose.
Lesson 1: Mr. Programmer it is not my fault that your AI sucks.
Example 1: Dead Rising. Hey there is a we are in a mall, bloodthirsty zombies are chasing me an old man and a girl. Let's get the f*** outta here. Hey come on... keep running stupid... no don't punch the zombie... nooo run you little b****, Lisa has died...

2) Not enough checkpoints/saves.
Lesson 2: Replaying the same area over and over only to die at some cheap boss at the end does not make a game difficult, it makes it annoying.
Example 1: Devil May Cry 3. I mash and I mash and I mash on buttons until all of these easy to kill little demonic munchkins are dead. At this point my hand is tired but I am happy I have completed this section. Oh what's this? A Boss. Boss pulls out an insanely cheap move that you could not have known he had and you die. Oh great I get to fight all of the little loosers again just so I can try to figure out this bosses insane pattern.

Example 2: Almost every RPG made. Running around for hours in a dungeon, while you need to be doing something in real life because... you can't find a save spot.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Kayden']Games where you have a grenade launcher, but have to take the detour through the swamps because the wood door with a 3oz Masterlock doesn't have a key. :roll:

RPGs where you have to run around the long way because theres a fuckING STICK 1 inch high you can't just step over in the middle of the road.

Bullet time. Yea, it was cool in Max Payne. Get your own fucking mechanic.

Enemies that emply a clip on full auto at 5 feet and don't hit you, yet get head shots at 100 yards with a pistol.

"Rubber banding" in racing games.

Finding the pot to give the guy to get the level to give the guy to find the widget to give to the person with the flower to give to the kid with the key to the fucking door you could have just kicked in.

Games that give you a handful of skills and make you use them 40 times in the level they're introduced, but never again.

Aditionally, games that not only make it painfully obvious where to use afformentioned skills, but also feel the need to remind you with popups and voiceovers. As if I fucking forgot I had to hit B to jump after reading and watching the 5 minute tutorial I couldn't skip or the other 50 fucking times I jumped to get to this point.

Unconfigurable controls.[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='The Crotch']
Bullet Sponges - Typically useless grunts in the enemy army, these guys have only one redeeming quality: their faces can absorb more rounds than your guns can hold.[/quote]


:rofl:
 
Some good ones being posted. I just remembered another:

4) Inconsistancy
Lesson 1: Cut-Scenes should not defy game logic.
Example 1: Just noticed this one in FFXII. Step One: Fight Your way through hundreds of guards. Step Two: Enter Cut Scene where three guards appear. Step Three: Get captured and taken away in chains.

WTH? I just kicked the crap outta these can-opener grunts and all of a sudden we drop our arms and have them lock us up? grr... lack of consistancy hurting brain.
 
[quote name='Ryandb2']Some good ones being posted. I just remembered another:

4) Inconsistancy
Lesson 1: Cut-Scenes should not defy game logic.
Example 1: Just noticed this one in FFXII. Step One: Fight Your way through hundreds of guards. Step Two: Enter Cut Scene where three guards appear. Step Three: Get captured and taken away in chains.

WTH? I just kicked the crap outta these can-opener grunts and all of a sudden we drop our arms and have them lock us up? grr... lack of consistancy hurting brain.[/QUOTE]


Ah the fabled cut-scenes that don't have consistancy with said game. RPG's are horrible at this like you mentioned. We hack away at hundreds of enemies, take all these death hits and revive. Then in cut-scenes, a character dies, kiss them goodbye. I'm looking at you FF7!!! PHOENIX DOWN that stupid bitch!!! (not like i cared, but yah, it made no sense)
 
[quote name='The Crotch']
Bizarre Level Design - As much as I loved Sands of Time, you have to admit: the guy that built that castle was fucking insane. Who the hell requires a person to run across a wall, jump from pillar to pillar, break down a wall, and re-arrange a series of conveniently placed mirrors just to open a door?[/QUOTE]

I always wondered who the hell designed that police station in RE 2 and how anyone ever made it anywhere for work.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']Ah the fabled cut-scenes that don't have consistancy with said game. RPG's are horrible at this like you mentioned. We hack away at hundreds of enemies, take all these death hits and revive. Then in cut-scenes, a character dies, kiss them goodbye. I'm looking at you FF7!!! PHOENIX DOWN that stupid bitch!!! (not like i cared, but yah, it made no sense)[/quote]

Funny because I was saying that about 5 minutes into FF XII, what gives??
 
At least in Phantasy Star 2 when Nei died, they at least made some attempt to explain why she was gone for good and you couldn't revive her. Final Fantasy 7 made no attempt at this despite the fact that it came out like 8 years later
 
Fetch quests-- this is why I can't play any of the old Resident Evil games...I'm not running across the whole fucking game to get 3 pieces of a crank that is used to open a door that has the key to the door that you need to open, which is all the way across the game again.

Shitty secrets-- hand in hand with fetch quests. I'm not going to waste my time trying to find the hidden 792 objects to open up a sound test at the end of a game. Make it rewarding like the scarabs in like Ninja Gaiden-- every couple objects you find, you get something cool for it.


The lightning bolt dodging quest in FFX-- do I even need to describe this atrocity?
 
[quote name='Roufuss']I always wondered who the hell designed that police station in RE 2 and how anyone ever made it anywhere for work.[/QUOTE]

Wasn't originally a police station I think. I think it was the chief that bought an art museum from his bribe money and turned it into the new Police Station.
 
[quote name='SMMM']Wasn't originally a police station I think. I think it was the chief that bought an art museum from his bribe money and turned it into the new Police Station.[/QUOTE]

But the point still stands, who the hell designs an art museum so insane like that? You can even look at Resident Evil 3 and how Raccoon City was set up with this whole system of cranks, medallions, fetch quests and all of that just to open a door into a store?

Just imagine if you worked in the art museum / police station and had to get upstairs to your locker, but you needed to find the medal to put into the fountain to get the key to open the door just to get your things to go home.
 
[quote name='Apossum']
The lightning bolt dodging quest in FFX-- do I even need to describe this atrocity?[/QUOTE]

FFX was loaded with stupid crap like this. I mentioned in another thread the Kimari butterfly catching side quest. People should get shot for shit like that.

[quote name='Roufuss']But the point still stands, who the hell designs an art museum so insane like that? You can even look at Resident Evil 3 and how Raccoon City was set up with this whole system of cranks, medallions, fetch quests and all of that just to open a door into a store?

Just imagine if you worked in the art museum / police station and had to get upstairs to your locker, but you needed to find the medal to put into the fountain to get the key to open the door just to get your things to go home.[/QUOTE]

Nah nah, you got that mixed up. The medallion is for opening the box when you have to WALK all the way back home, get the key to open a puzzle box across the street from your neighor to get the combination to your locker back at work to finally get your key to your car to go home for the day.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']FFX was loaded with stupid crap like this. I mentioned in another thread the Kimari butterfly catching side quest. People should get shot for shit like that.



Nah nah, you got that mixed up. The medallion is for opening the box when you have to WALK all the way back home, get the key to open a puzzle box across the street from your neighor to get the combination to your locker back at work to finally get your key to your car to go home for the day.[/QUOTE]


Don't forget the piece of fried chicken that has the key to your neighbor's house lodged inside, which you need to bring to the boiler room 3 states over to burn off all the chicken, which leaves the key behind. but then you have to turn off the furnace to get the key...and the switch is all the way back in Racoon City. but the furnace is an industrial size one and you need certification to operate it, so you have to go through the training to get the degree that lets you turn off the furnace that gets the key to your neighbor's house.

god old resident evil sucks :lol:
 
[quote name='Apossum']

god old resident evil sucks :lol:[/QUOTE]

RE 4 was full of asinine puzzles just like this one... I remember there was some kind of "I have to put the medallion in the door to open it" puzzle, and I remember thinking how does anyone get inside?
 
[quote name='Roufuss']RE 4 was full of asinine puzzles just like this one... I remember there was some kind of "I have to put the medallion in the door to open it" puzzle, and I remember thinking how does anyone get inside?[/QUOTE]


They were right in line with the rest of the game though. You find what you need along the way, so those puzzles never felt like a huge inconvenience.
 
[quote name='Apossum']They were right in line with the rest of the game though. You find what you need along the way, so those puzzles never felt like a huge inconvenience.[/QUOTE]

It dosen't make them any less stupid though... it's like what Kayden said, Leon is a walking arsenal yet the door won't open unless he finds some stupid crest to put into the wooden door.

You think a bazooka or shotgun would make quick work of the doors, or maybe the windows, but nope.
 
Escort Missions. The only game that has ever done this right is RE4.

Not being able to pause cut scenes.

If it's something that can take a lot of tries, not having a way to quickly restart is a carnal sin. Having to completely finish something out, that you know you screwed up is infuriating.

Censoring a sequel. I'm, looking at you Xeno 3. 1 and 2 were plenty bloody, but none of the gore played a role in the story. In 3 there is a very important scene that is actually built on the blood that is wonderfully censored out of the US version. Kiss my ass namco.

Ruining redeeming features in a games sequel. I loved Baten Kaitos for it's battle system, but in BKO they pretty much dumbed it down to one deck and made it 1/10th as fun.

Having to replay a game 5-10 times to see everything. Really, NIS, I love you, but fucking stop making me play through your damn games a half dozen times just to get all the secret characters or endings.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']It dosen't make them any less stupid though... it's like what Kayden said, Leon is a walking arsenal yet the door won't open unless he finds some stupid crest to put into the wooden door.

You think a bazooka or shotgun would make quick work of the doors, or maybe the windows, but nope.[/QUOTE]

All those puzzles added to the suspense......ummmm errrr :bomb: Nothing like 'oh shit it finally unlocked after 5 days worth of collecting useless junk to fill up my inventory that could have been used up by my precious ammo!"

Thus, why 'FALLOUT' was great, door in the way, blow that crap up! That little kid gave you a smart comment, BLOW HIM UP! *ah memories*
 
[quote name='Roufuss']It dosen't make them any less stupid though... it's like what Kayden said, Leon is a walking arsenal yet the door won't open unless he finds some stupid crest to put into the wooden door.

You think a bazooka or shotgun would make quick work of the doors, or maybe the windows, but nope.[/QUOTE]


totally does. imo, the whole complaint is about the tediousness of carrying out the whole task-- how you have to run around the whole game just to put 2 pieces together to unlock some door (and meanwhile nothing happens to advance the story.) you don't have to spend an hour searching for things to open a door in RE4.

otherwise, almost every game is guilty of having artificial obstacles. ;)
 
I just hate it when my NES gives me the Frazzled screen O' Death. I remember I played up to World 8, Without the Whistle (Take that Fred Savage!), and all of a sudden it freezes on me and tries to give me an epilliptec Seizure. Damn you, 15 year old dust bunnies!
 
[quote name='Apossum']
otherwise, almost every game is guilty of having artificial obstacles. ;)[/quote]

"Synthetic Longevity"
 
[quote name='hohez']Escort Missions. The only game that has ever done this right is RE4.[/QUOTE]

I'm also anti-escort mission.
 
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