Game Clichés you hate the most

sXeth

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mid-quest spontaneous romances. I mean, you're busy saving the world from whatever demon/dragon/alien/god/plague/zombies is tearing the place up, sure on rare occasion pressure can cause that effect (Which are usually classed as disorders in the real world), but for most people, they aren't going to pick up the love of their life during a few days in the middle of the apocalypse and have a fully developed relationship at the end.

Possibly the fact that its usually shoe-horned in as heck too.
 

MammothBlade

It's not that I LIKE you b-baka!
Oct 12, 2011
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Fighter, Mage, Rogue. I don't like having that triad of classes as a dominant paradigm of RPG character development. What purpose does it serve? It's outdated, it's lazy, it's boring. Let's have wizards who are equally skilled with sword and staff, archers who can hold their own in melee, knights who can cast fireball. And all of the above and more.
Class systems are still relevant, but I'd like to see a lot more inventiveness instead of rehash upon rehash of those three class families.
 

WoW Killer

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Massive breaks in gameplay to progress a narrative. When it's like "Here's a bit of game. Ok, are you done? Now have some story. Alright, time for some more game. Now that we're done with that, would you like some more story? Ring-ring! Hello, yes this is game". It's obtrusive.
 

PsychicTaco115

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Mostly in arcade games, but civilians sticking their heads up and waving their appendages all around

I WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE MIDST OF BATTLE, STAY DOWN

I swear, they do it on purpose...
 

The

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Jan 24, 2012
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Quicktime events. This one explains itself. Need an example?

I've played some Far Cry 3 and have faced some bosses. Did I punch them? No. Did I have a gunfight with them? No. What I did was press buttons in quick succession. It looked cool, it had dramatic buildup to go with it, but it felt very disconnected gameplay-wise. I would have been fine if we were put in different corners and I was allowed to cheaply kill him with a mine, at least I would have been in control.
 

popstopolus

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Sep 17, 2012
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When the game on purpose pads out simple actions for no apparent reason, like "oh there is a door I could press x once to open it or I could mash the freakin x button till my fingers bleed just to open one door."

Also the mantra that look at this our game is so open world: we have so many ways of doing a simple objective so therefore it is the best game evar!! for example Deus Ex and Dishonored although they are good games i wish it didn't tell me about how many different ways i can play just let me discover it.

And most all, motherflipping online Day 1 passes, Yes I am looking at you EA.
 

krazykidd

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MammothBlade said:
Fighter, Mage, Rogue. I don't like having that triad of classes as a dominant paradigm of RPG character development. What purpose does it serve? It's outdated, it's lazy, it's boring. Let's have wizards who are equally skilled with sword and staff, archers who can hold their own in melee, knights who can cast fireball. And all of the above and more.
Class systems are still relevant, but I'd like to see a lot more inventiveness instead of rehash upon rehash of those three class families.
Isn't that for balance? A sneaking mage? overpowered . An archer who can snipe from across the room and take out the hulk with his bare hands? overpowered . A warrior who can heal himself mid fight? overpowered .

Also take into consideration that to be a master mage/archer/fighter takes years and years of dedication to master one style , let alone two or ALL.
 

The Wykydtron

"Emotions are very important!"
Sep 23, 2010
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krazykidd said:
Is "good guy win, bad guy loses" a cliche? Because if it is i choose that . I want the bad guy to win despite all oir efforts just to change shit up .

If that doesn't count then:

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP ! Fuck friendship . Friendship does not triumph over all .
OI! You're indirectly insulting Persona 4's story, characters and theme. I WILL NOT LET THIS STAND UNCHECKED. So yeah, Persona 4 is amazing and you just have no fucking idea what you're talking about XD

It would be nice to see the bad guy win for once though I will give you that. Still that would be pretty much anti-player. What sort of game makes the player character lose as canon? I would love to see it if some studio did it really damn well but it would be shite if not thought through completely and presented well.

OT: Spr srs action hero protagonists are so overdone it's getting boring now, the concept of a serious action hero main character is pretty uninspired to begin with so it being so prevelant does nothing for its appeal.

Oh and i'm not sure what to class this under but... Ok, Uncharted 3. What the fuck? What the ABSOLUTE fuck? Was that? Nathan Drake should have died literally FIFTY times over during the last 2 hours of the game or so. In fact, the time where he gets pinned down underneath some heavy metal (guitar riff) while aboard a sinking ship with water rushing his way is where I offically drawn the line and say he should have died there and then. It goes on for about, god, 3 more hours?

He barely gets out, gets some water and about 2 hours sleep, falls out of a plane, TRECKS THROUGH A DESERT (with no water supply natch) gets into more gunfights, pretty sure he gets shot at some point, he gets drugged... The list goes on. Then lol jk he lives, saves the day, wins the girl GG.

Just... GAH. I've never been so annoyed by a game before. He basically channels the strength and will of Commander Fucking Shepard or something.

I'm not even touting "realism" as the reason, I don't give a fuck about realism. The game betrays its own laws and rules of physics and that is the only thing that ever breaks my suspension of disbelief. I'm completely fine with fantastical anime characters jumping around swinging swords the size of cars because that's normal in THEIR universe. Nathan Drake being a God is out of place in Uncharted at least.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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fortunately for me, narrative/character cliche's don't bug me in the slightest for the most part, what bugs me is when they purposely try to be "edgy" and non mainstream and make this boring/shit piece of thing called a game. If all you do is constantly say "oohhh but that could be considered cliche, let's not do that and do this instead" then i will probably without a doubt not enjoy it (the story/character portions at least.)


one thing that's bugged me, is that the game specifically says multiple time it adapts to your choices throughout the game, yet there are tons of "choke points" in the game where none of them make a damn difference, such as not being able to save doug/carley, or saving larry, etc...i still love the game but it just irks me about all these things, when realistically the game could've had one or two things here or there that could've prepared you or made a difference for it, it feels like the game just ends up being a linear pop up book after all is said and done.
 

IllumInaTIma

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Feb 6, 2012
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When mechanics don't make sense with design. For example, in Dota, "Tiny"-a freaking ROCK giant got zero armor.
 

Grabbin Keelz

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I finally got ahold of Sonic Generations and the worst thing I had to say about it was that all the extra characters were only put in just to have them there. Sure they were always annoying, but at least they had reasons to exist in the other games. These guys were just slapped in with even worse voice actors to please fans.

So yea...that
 

NewYork_Comedian

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One thing I've noticed in a lot of games that have come out recently, specifically the Assassins Creed Franchise, is the emphasis on buying things or doing missions to earn more money when you don't need any more money. I don't care if upgrading the blacksmith or Assassinating this guy will earn me more cash, I already have the max I can hold! This would be an interesting mechanic if you were always tight on cash, but by the time I get 65% into the game Ive already bought every weapon and upgrade I can so now all I can do with that money is toss it in the street.
 

Broderick

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someonehairy-ish said:
Yokillernick said:
My personal favourite is this. In games like Skyrim or World of Warcraft you have animals or beings that carry objects that just don't make any sense. For instance, why is the wolf carrying a supply of health potions ? Did he stuff 'em up his ass?
...they have some weird fetishes in Kalimdor, I wouldn't think about it too much.
I don't like to encounter harpies in Kalimdor without a little protection, if you know what I mean. By encounter, I mean have sex with, and by protection, I mean I like it when my cat watches.

As for the topic at hand, I don't like the "brown haired white male" protagonist cliche, but that is just nit picking. Also the "great hero of old is now a bad guy" cliche; heck, warcraft (and more specifically WoW) did that to death(still loved the game though).
 

Dethenger

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Easton Dark said:
"You are the chosen one"

I like just being the guy who kicks a lot of ass because I'm cooler than Fonzie x2. I don't want destiny riding me all day making sure I win.
Being "chosen" always seems like a trite replacement for actual motivation, and it usually enforces another thing I myself am starting to dislike in video games: Making the protagonist into some unstoppable, alpha-male badass. The last Spartan, a member of the SAS, or the COGs, or the Assassins, or the Dovahkiin. Unless there's some fucking awesome lore behind it, it's just... bland.
I like this aspect of Dark Souls: People often refer to you as the Chosen Undead, but the first character you meet in the game was another "Chosen Undead" who failed; lots of the characters in the game hint that you are simply the latest of many candidates, and the game very rarely makes you feel like a badass. The entire game is largely unimpressed with you.

Also in a similar vein, black and white good and evil. In Bastion, the Narrator solemnly points out that the monsters you're attacking were just animals that were scared senseless of the Calamity, among other things. [potential spoilers]In Assassin's Creed III, the first few hours of the game are spent doing the exact same thing you'd be doing as Ezio or Altair or Desmond, and you don't question any of it until it's revealed you've been playing as a Templar the entire time; there are loads of subsequent arguments between Haythem and Connor that actually outline the ideological differences and motivations of the two factions.[/spoilers] In Thief, you play as, well...
The point being that these are better ways to approach a conflict than whatever you're shooting at = super bad guy. That is a stale, piss-poor excuse for narrative.
I hear Spec Ops: The Line plays this trope like a fucking violin. I think I need to check it out.
 

Magicman10893

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I hate it when the cutscenes in games don't match up with the actual gameplay. If I went back through the Mass Effect trilogy I could compile a list of at least 40 occasions when Shepard using his Biotics would change the outcome of a scenario. Or any game where you kill literally dozens of people with little trouble, but get surrounded by like 5 people and are arrested/captured. Another one is when I have some pretty good aim in the actual game, but my character has the shittiest aim ever when an enemy is just slowly escaping.

Then there's the reverse: when my character does something totally badass in the cutscene that completely contradicts the gameplay. Master Chief falls from freaking orbit at least twice and survives, but in game falling from around 30 feet will kill him. In Dragon Age: Origins my Mage killed the Archdemon with some fancy tricks with a great sword, but in gameplay, despite the fact that he's an Arcane Warrior, all he can do in is slowly swing the thing like a baseball bat.

The other cliche I hate is hilariously impractical melee weapons. Sure, your sword looks cool enough, but I doubt you would be able to swing it more than three times before you're out of breath, pull a muscle or throw out your back. I get that games being too realistic is a negative sometimes (like Battlefield 3 and the atrocious aerial vehicle controls), but seriously, how the hell is he swinging it that quickly with only one hand? Also, bonus points when the character has the long sword the size of a car door and just has it on their back with no problem as it phases through walls, chairs and everything else.
 

Magicman10893

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Dethenger said:
Easton Dark said:
"You are the chosen one"

I like just being the guy who kicks a lot of ass because I'm cooler than Fonzie x2. I don't want destiny riding me all day making sure I win.
Being "chosen" always seems like a trite replacement for actual motivation, and it usually enforces another thing I myself am starting to dislike in video games: Making the protagonist into some unstoppable, alpha-male badass. The last Spartan, a member of the SAS, or the COGs, or the Assassins, or the Dovahkiin. Unless there's some fucking awesome lore behind it, it's just... bland.
I like this aspect of Dark Souls: People often refer to you as the Chosen Undead, but the first character you meet in the game was another "Chosen Undead" who failed; lots of the characters in the game hint that you are simply the latest of many candidates, and the game very rarely makes you feel like a badass. The entire game is largely unimpressed with you.

Also in a similar vein, black and white good and evil. In Bastion, the Narrator solemnly points out that the monsters you're attacking were just animals that were scared senseless of the Calamity, among other things. [potential spoilers]In Assassin's Creed III, the first few hours of the game are spent doing the exact same thing you'd be doing as Ezio or Altair or Desmond, and you don't question any of it until it's revealed you've been playing as a Templar the entire time; there are loads of subsequent arguments between Haythem and Connor that actually outline the ideological differences and motivations of the two factions.[/spoilers] In Thief, you play as, well...
The point being that these are better ways to approach a conflict than whatever you're shooting at = super bad guy. That is a stale, piss-poor excuse for narrative.
I hear Spec Ops: The Line plays this trope like a fucking violin. I think I need to check it out.
Spec Ops: The Line is an awesome game. The kind of mind-fuckery with the plot is unbelievable.
 

Dethenger

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Magicman10893 said:
Dethenger said:
Easton Dark said:
"You are the chosen one"

I like just being the guy who kicks a lot of ass because I'm cooler than Fonzie x2. I don't want destiny riding me all day making sure I win.
Being "chosen" always seems like a trite replacement for actual motivation, and it usually enforces another thing I myself am starting to dislike in video games: Making the protagonist into some unstoppable, alpha-male badass. The last Spartan, a member of the SAS, or the COGs, or the Assassins, or the Dovahkiin. Unless there's some fucking awesome lore behind it, it's just... bland.
I like this aspect of Dark Souls: People often refer to you as the Chosen Undead, but the first character you meet in the game was another "Chosen Undead" who failed; lots of the characters in the game hint that you are simply the latest of many candidates, and the game very rarely makes you feel like a badass. The entire game is largely unimpressed with you.

Also in a similar vein, black and white good and evil. In Bastion, the Narrator solemnly points out that the monsters you're attacking were just animals that were scared senseless of the Calamity, among other things. [potential spoilers]In Assassin's Creed III, the first few hours of the game are spent doing the exact same thing you'd be doing as Ezio or Altair or Desmond, and you don't question any of it until it's revealed you've been playing as a Templar the entire time; there are loads of subsequent arguments between Haythem and Connor that actually outline the ideological differences and motivations of the two factions.[/spoilers] In Thief, you play as, well...
The point being that these are better ways to approach a conflict than whatever you're shooting at = super bad guy. That is a stale, piss-poor excuse for narrative.
I hear Spec Ops: The Line plays this trope like a fucking violin. I think I need to check it out.
Spec Ops: The Line is an awesome game. The kind of mind-fuckery with the plot is unbelievable.
Well, I recent got some extra cash, so I was thinking of getting either Dishonoured, a new controller, or a lockpick set and the Dark Souls DLC. I guess SO:TL is an option now, too.

Also, the captcha is asking me questions I have no idea what the answers are. What the fuck is "the hopper" and how likely am I to get it from dish?

EDIT: Extremely likely, apparently. Too bad it sounds like slang for an STD or something.
 

Beautiful End

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-Mute heroes. I don't know but they kinda pissed me off. I hated Link for a while. I think I still hate Gordon Freeman. I mean, I'm pretty sure you guys DO have a voice! How about speaking your mind every once in a while? Otherwise, I just feel like the character is just a no-life pushover who just goes along with what everyone tells him. "HEY! Go jump off that cliff and defeat that gargantuan dragon by yourself! That's a good boy!".

-Burly manly men who shoot things. This is especially true in FPS games. You got your rough hero who is rightfully angry but his morale compass is as straight as a stick. He can survive a nuclear holocaust with a toothpick and the power of friendship and righteousness because they're fighting for their country and that's better than anything else. Therefore, they will always triumph over any terrorist. Always.

And also, the heroic manly men who die for a good cause and because of a really evil guy. And then you know the heroes will win because they need to avenge their friend so revenge is justified only then.

-Overly complicated structures. This is especially true in RPGs. I can appreciate a pretty structure but sometimes some buildings are so overly embellished that it's distracting and it doesn't make sense at all.
 

Magicman10893

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Dethenger said:
Spec Ops: The Line is an awesome game. The kind of mind-fuckery with the plot is unbelievable.
Well, I recent got some extra cash, so I was thinking of getting either Dishonoured, a new controller, or a lockpick set and the Dark Souls DLC. I guess SO:TL is an option now, too.

Also, the captcha is asking me questions I have no idea what the answers are. What the fuck is "the hopper" and how likely am I to get it from dish?

EDIT: Extremely likely, apparently. Too bad it sounds like slang for an STD or something.[/quote]

What system would you get it on? I got it for around $35-40 on the 360, but it's listed on Steam for like $15.