Biggest plot holes in games

[ecoho]

Okay I know there is more but this one in particular caught my attention.

Part of the job of a writer is to explain not just what the hero(s) are doing, but why. If the audience has to make assumptions on behalf of the story to cover a plot hole then the story is sloppy. What is particularly irritating about this is that the fix is incredibly simple. All we needed was one scene where Anderson goes "Damn, the door's jammed. We'll have to find another way." But because this is Mac Walters we're talking about, attention to details like this is beyond him.

Also, here's something to think of. When we see Shepard first he's looking at some kid from a room that he apparantly lived in based on the fact that there is bedroom stuff in the room. So okay Shepard has been staying here maybe? But wait, there's tons of people in military uniforms running about. So it's a barracks then and Shepard is just in an officer's quarters...Wait, there's a court room too? A court room that also has communications staff and and monitors and all sorts of things like that?...What is this building that has the combined functionality of military command center, courthouse, comms center and a place for keeping people under house arrest? Where is this?

You're right about that, it was an easy fix to an easy problem that was apparently overlooked.

But why can't one structure have different functions? It's got a barracks, which we see Shepard and Vega in, then they meet Anderson and the Virmire Survivor in the hallways, then they take an elevator. The elevator could lead anywhere else in the building. Where Shepard and Anderson decide to go is, as far as we can tell, a command center.

We seem to have made different assumptions about the purpose of this room. You call it a court house, but I call it a command center on the ground. We know Shepard is awaiting a trial, but no one said he/she was going to this proceeding; as I recall, Anderson just said that the Admirals wanted to speak to him/her. Then Shepard is taken to the Admirals in a room filled with displays and monitors and military equipment, which says command center to me. So all I see here is a large military structure that houses officers and serves as a headquarters for the Admirals in charge. Not a stretch to say this could really exist, and I saw no incongruity there.

We don't see a barracks. We see one room. One lone room with one bed. Why? If this is a barracks then why is it located in a high rise skyscraper type building? You can take the assumption of the court house if you like, it still doesn't make things any less confusing. Also, if he wasn't headed to his proceedings, then why even bring it up? What did Shepard do that necessitates proceedings anyway? I didn't play arrival, am I to assume that arrival happened anyway?

So Shepard and Anderson run into a building with a broken door and that stupid kid shows up. How? He was on a completely different building. Did he climb down that building, and climb up ours? Why would he do that? Why can't Shepard help him?
Also we heard him climbing around before, but now he just disappears without a sound. So then we see a dreadnought get blown up even though dreadnoughts aren't supposed to enter atmospheres like that I thought?

So then we're on the Normandy and oh hey Vega, why are you here? Why did you come with us? Did Kaiden say "Hey, Vega! Come with me on the Normandy!" I guess so, but why if he wanted to stay, didn't he just...Stay? Did Kaiden specifically order him to come with? Also let's deal with the fact that as a Major (on par with generals), Kaiden has authority over Shepard who is only a Commander, so why isn't Kaiden giving the orders? So then Liara shows up and after some fights remarks that "The major has become quite competant" or something..Wait, how does she know he's a Major? Nobody told her. I guess she's the Shadow Broker but is this really what she does with her time? Watching Kaiden for some reason?

And the list goes on and on and on. Some are debatable perhaps but all of them are things that bother me.

the reason kaiden folows shepard's comands when he clearly higher rank is because they are in different command structures. A comander in the navy is the equvilent of a major in any other service, just like a captain in the navy is the equivilent of a colonol.

 

[EHKOS]

I highly doubt that the military would allow Vault-Tec to get a hold of F.E.V.

I always thought Vault-Tec was above the law. What with their twisted experiments they don't seem to be burdened by ethics.

Resident Evil 6, Leon and ***** fall constantly fall farther down, from a cliff, to a lab to a mine to catacombs to another type of mine/catacomb, and then slide down a water slide, only to fall into a lake that isn't underground, it makes no fucking sense as they have been falling so much they should be pretty damn far underground at that time.

It was part of Silent Hill (Six minutes in) :

 

[DeimosMasque]

the reason kaiden folows shepard's comands when he clearly higher rank is because they are in different command structures. A comander in the navy is the equvilent of a major in any other service, just like a captain in the navy is the equivilent of a colonol.

That'd be nice but by the lore of the setting it isn't true. The Alliance only uses one command structure:

Spoiler: From the Codex: Systems Alliance: Military Ranks

The Alliance uses a modified version of the ranking system that has been used for hundreds of years. Soldiers are classified into rank-and-file enlisted personal, experienced non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and specially trained officers.

The divide between naval personnel and ground forces ("marines") is small. Ground units are a specialized branch of the fleet, just as fighter squadrons are. This unity of command is imposed by the futility of fighting without control of orbit; without the navy, any army is pointless. The marines, as a matter of pride, maintain some of their traditional rank titles; for example, marines have Privates and Corporals instead of Servicemen.

In ascending order of responsibility, the ranks of the Alliance are:

ENLISTED

Serviceman 3rd Class/Private 2nd Class
Serviceman 2nd Class/Private 1st Class
Serviceman 1st Class/Corporal

NCOs

Service Chief
Gunnery Chief
Operations Chief

OFFICERS

2nd Lieutenant
1st Lieutenant
Staff Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander
Staff Commander
Captain/Major
Rear Admiral/General
Admiral
Fleet Admiral

But it may have been what the writers were thinking when they put it all together

 

[WanderingFool]

Borderlands 2. Why don't they just turn off the new you station? You die once, you're gone for good. Better yet, why wouldn't Jack put his DNA into it so he couldn't die (after all, he has a massive amount of money)?

This never really bothered me because I don't think you're supposed to take the story that seriously (even though I actually thought the story was very good) but it's still a pretty big plot hole. I guess you could just say it's simply a gameplay mechanic and isn't part of the actual story at all.

The first I think I can answer, in spoiler box form:

Spoiler: Borderland 2 spoilers

Jack needed the vault hunter to get the power core from Wilhelm so as to make it seem legit, thus using it to power down Sanctuary's shields and shell the fuck out of it.

After Angel's death, he keeps you in the system because he wants to be the one to kill you, in vengeance.

As for the time between Sanctuary and angel's death, not sure if you noticed, but Jack is a arrogant as all hell bastard! The asshole thinks himself a freaking hero because of all the shit he does. You and your multiple deaths were probably amusing to watch for him, plus when ever you die, Hyperion gets money from you to respawn. Jack probably thought that as hilarious...

That Jack being Arrogant also explains why he didnt have himself in the NewU system, he didnt think he could die.
Though I should mention, we dont know exactly if Jack is actually dead. He could just be hiding in his massive fortress, just waiting for the opportunity to fuck you up.

My be just guesswork, but it sorta makes sense...

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Maybe it's not necessarily a plot hole, but I am led to believe that the romances in Dragon's Dogma take place apart from the main game.

Spoiler

Aelinore is the Duke's wife. You go into her room, the duke arrives and starts choking her. You pop out of hiding and the Duke has you thrown into the dungeon and lashed to bits. Aelinore frees you and she's sent to the Blighted Manse. Here's the problem: The Duke doesn't even say anything about you ever meeting with Aelinore and he even gives you gifts and money just before he sends you to the Greatwall! You'd think that his wife having an affair with you is something that he wouldn't so easily forget, but nooo. It's never once mentioned anywhere.

 

[Roxas1359]

snip

Perhaps, but I think that the experiments were not made aware to the government since they were a private company.
Also to be nit-picky the terminals and Pip-boy are made by Robco and not Vault-Tec! >.<
I like the Fallout lore and while 3 was a good reboot it made many plot holes and took the lore and screwed it all up.

 

[Rancid0ffspring]

halo 4, how did chief and cortana know who the didact was? this with the bad plot and writting in the game is what made its story total shite, it makes no sense, chief was in crystaisis for years and we had never met a forerunner before and it doesnt help that no one in the story asks any question of anykind about the forerunners. just a terrible story.

I did question this at first, on my second play through I noticed how they knew his name.

When The Didact comes out of his Cryptum, all of The Covenenant reverently say "Didact" while bowing down.

I'm not making excuses for poor story telling here, but reading the books gives much more insight into the Didact's motives.

 

[DeimosMasque]

Why is Shepard's quarters in the central command area? Why is the central command area located on a high rise building in the first place? Where is this elevator? When is it ever alluded to?

Shepard is there because she's on lock down pending a court marshal before the admiralty board.

As to why is it in a high rise building? Why not? I suspect that entire building is the Alliance Central Command. Common Sci-Fi Future Earth logic is that all building end up being skyscrapers or arcologies so it doesn't surprise me for the Military to have a huge 100 story complex rather than a spread out fenced off area.

And a question back When is what eluded to?

As for the kid? Hate to tell you but you're simply not correct here.

If I am, I am. It's not a huge concern to me either way. I'm just trying to help clarify.

It's a completely different building. Shepard up to meeting this kid is on the roof of the building he started on, in fact he never actually leaves the building he started on until the explosion sends him tumbling down the side.

I'll take your word for that because its been a while since I played the opening while sober. I seem to recall a bunch of jumping to other buildings, especially when you first fight the husks which is where you fire meet the kid, but I may be mistaken.

(With no injuries, naturally)

Action series logic, no problems for me there. Though it should be noted that Shepard's uniform is a bit blood covered by the ending of the Earth sequence.

You can say it's possible that he somehow ended up on the side of the building closer to the kid, but then I can say it's equally possible that he ended up on the exact opposite side of the kid. Stories don't stand on "What could have happened" they stand on "What did and did not happen" A story does not stand on conjecture to cover up unanswered questions, inconsistencies ect.

Your right, but stories don't stand to nitpicks and do require a certain level of "go with it" before it could be considered bad. Example: Dark Knight Rises: Batman shows up on the same ice at the same time as Commisioner Gordan and company are being forced to walk it. How'd he know they were there, how'd he get on the ice unseen in 300lbs of body armor with breaking it?

Just go with it, it doesn't destroy the flow it only pushes forward the narrative.

Or to go back to the kid in the vents. The story goes "he ended up in the building where the kid was hiding" You can't say "Well I think he ended up on another building, because the story shows us that's not true.

EDIT: Oh and I wanted to say no matter how we leave this, I truly enjoyed talking about this with you. As a regular on the BSN It's hard to talk about anything in Mass Effect 3 without a half dozen points going "Space Magic" or "Artistic Integrity" or "rEApers did it" or "Yaw Dawg" any other stupid meme that have taken over polite and interesting discussions there.

 

[texanarob]

Prototype: The game where we kill innocents for fun, kill a few more for health, allowing us to fight the bad guys who may be threatening to harm innocents.

 

[DeimosMasque]

I recommend showing them the Smudboy videos. Or is that like garlic to vampires for them?

Lets put it this way. Smudboy was banned from BSN for being a right bastard to anyone who disagreed with anything he said.

 

[invadergir]

The end of Half-life 2. The Vortigaunts show up and Deus ex machina Gordon and Alyx by teleporting them away from the explosion. Ok lets assume they have this power. Why do I spend all my time traveling from one place to the next when I have a enslaved race of aliens who worship me as their savior, available to transport me anywhere in the world?

 

[The Headcrab Farmer]

The end of Half-life 2. The Vortigaunts show up and Deus ex machina Gordon and Alyx by teleporting them away from the explosion. Ok lets assume they have this power. Why do I spend all my time traveling from one place to the next when I have a enslaved race of aliens who worship me as their savior, available to transport me anywhere in the world?

That... is a good question. Especially since Alyx almost gets killed because of on foot travel and she has some really important info on her memory stick.

Now for my contribution. During the events of Portal the run around in the Aperture Science facilities, we see them as average size with GLaDOS controlling the tests to an extent and the facilities themselves seem to be pretty normal too and at the end we see GLaDOS on the ground, outside of the Aperture Science facilities.

In Portal 2, we find her whole inside the now giant Aperture Science facilities where she has full super duper control over the geometry of the whole facility, rebuilding entire testing areas with both speed and resources never hinted about in the old Portal.

I gotta say, you have to love Valve's storytelling techniques, but the story itself might not be of Faberge quality.

 

[Worgen]

The end of Half-life 2. The Vortigaunts show up and Deus ex machina Gordon and Alyx by teleporting them away from the explosion. Ok lets assume they have this power. Why do I spend all my time traveling from one place to the next when I have a enslaved race of aliens who worship me as their savior, available to transport me anywhere in the world?

That... is a good question. Especially since Alyx almost gets killed because of on foot travel and she has some really important info on her memory stick.

Now for my contribution. During the events of Portal the run around in the Aperture Science facilities, we see them as average size with GLaDOS controlling the tests to an extent and the facilities themselves seem to be pretty normal too and at the end we see GLaDOS on the ground, outside of the Aperture Science facilities.

In Portal 2, we find her whole inside the now giant Aperture Science facilities where she has full super duper control over the geometry of the whole facility, rebuilding entire testing areas with both speed and resources never hinted about in the old Portal.

I gotta say, you have to love Valve's storytelling techniques, but the story itself might not be of Faberge quality.

Its rather apparent that the man in black and the vorts are kinda working for cross purposes aside from the fact they both view Gordon Freeman as valuable. So maybe he is blocking their ability to do that.

 

[TheJesus89]

Assassin's Creed 3

Why doesn't Desmond just go through Haythem's memories? Instead of spending 15 hours of going "WHERE IS CHARLES LEE" and not learning anything, you could have gained all the information needed by just going through Haythem's memories. Not to mention direct access to Templar secrets and what not.

EDIT: You know what? Another thing.

They always bring up how you "have" to go through the memories the animus dictates.
Why do Haythem's memories only consist of about one or two missions? Not to mention we skip the entirety of his training, unlike every other person. Except Altair I guess, but that is explained by Clay already unlocking some of Altair's memories.

EDIT: Nevermind again. Clay was an ancestor of Ezio, not Altair.

Plotholes abound, I guess.

 

[wintercoat]

the reason kaiden folows shepard's comands when he clearly higher rank is because they are in different command structures. A comander in the navy is the equvilent of a major in any other service, just like a captain in the navy is the equivilent of a colonol.

That'd be nice but by the lore of the setting it isn't true. The Alliance only uses one command structure:

Spoiler: From the Codex: Systems Alliance: Military Ranks

The Alliance uses a modified version of the ranking system that has been used for hundreds of years. Soldiers are classified into rank-and-file enlisted personal, experienced non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and specially trained officers.

The divide between naval personnel and ground forces ("marines") is small. Ground units are a specialized branch of the fleet, just as fighter squadrons are. This unity of command is imposed by the futility of fighting without control of orbit; without the navy, any army is pointless. The marines, as a matter of pride, maintain some of their traditional rank titles; for example, marines have Privates and Corporals instead of Servicemen.

In ascending order of responsibility, the ranks of the Alliance are:

ENLISTED

Serviceman 3rd Class/Private 2nd Class
Serviceman 2nd Class/Private 1st Class
Serviceman 1st Class/Corporal

NCOs

Service Chief
Gunnery Chief
Operations Chief

OFFICERS

2nd Lieutenant
1st Lieutenant
Staff Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander
Staff Commander
Captain/Major
Rear Admiral/General
Admiral
Fleet Admiral

But it may have been what the writers were thinking when they put it all together

I always figured it was due to Shepard's Spectre seniority. Kaiden may be the higher rank in the Human military, but Shepard was a higher Spectre rank, and as Spectre rank trumps Alliance rank, Shepard was in command.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Dragon Age 2.

All the way through it you get drummed with "Mages are good .... Templars are bad".

Yet all the way through it the Templars are helpful and polite and the Mages are trying to eat my face.....

Kind of hard to follow a plot and take it seriously when it doesn't know what the fuck it's doing itself. In fact, the Templars don't turn "bad" until the very end and even then it's only 1 person .... who turns bad because of a corrupt sword .... made from metal Hawke found.

WHO WRITES THIS SHIT.

The problem is that you interpret each group as good or bad, the mages are an oppressed minority, which you would naturally feel sympathy for, while the Templars are an authoritarian military arm of a church, which you would naturally not like very much, however each group has it's good and bad, the mages are mostly down to earth people who don't want trouble, then there are the Blood Mages who take control of peoples' minds and consort with demons. Then you have the Templars, the majority of whom are zealous oppressors of those born differently, then there are the ones who feel sorry for the mages and try to help them escape the Circle.

And yeah Meredith did go all crazy, but then there's Orsino, who opposes the Templars, and while you're first thought may be "And rightfully so" but you might forget that half the mages you encounter are dangerous Blood Mages who try to kill you, Orsino also seems to forget this, and that the Circle does have a practical purpose, although it's been taken too far.

I think it is wonderfully well written, neither side is correct because they demand the extreme, the major failing of the game in my mind is that they exclude any grey area, both in the story and the character interactions, you're forced to either side totally with the mages or Templars, and you're teammates are the exact same, if you helped an elderly mage across the street Fenris would flip his shit, and it you even smiled at a Templar Anders would do the same.