Exploding enemies and other FPS tropes

[peruvianskys]

Today I was playing Serious Sam and I realized that I hated, hated, hated the enemies that would explode when shot - they weren't particularly more difficult, but something about not being able to have that "escape at the last minute with a close-up shotgun blast" moment made me feel like they were out of place and frustrating because they required a substantially different approach than any other enemy.

I got to thinking and I realized that I hate every explode-on-death enemy in every FPS ever. They just always ruin an experience for me. I remember breezing through Singularity but dying about a hundred times in two distinct spots where exploding enemies swarmed. Painkiller wasn't so bad because their blast radius was so small, but I definitely wouldn't have missed those either. I could think of at least ten more examples throughout my gaming career too.

So first off, does anyone else share my hatred of explode-on-death enemy types in FPS games? And secondly, are there any other tried-and-true video game enemies/hazards that you just can't stand, or that really ruin an experience for you?

 

[FalloutJack]

I never liked kamikaze enemies. I see 'em often enough too.

 

[Nouw]

Do them demons in Doom II which spew out Souls when killed count?

I hate it when they do that!

 

[DJDarque]

I get really tired of the armored in front, vulnerable in back enemies that just about every game has to have.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Oh god I hate the exploding enemies.

Some of the midgets in borderlands explode upon death, and if you kill one and the explosion takes you down you're screwed because there's no longer anything to shoot to revive yourself.