Gaming Nemesis

[keptsimple]

I hate clunky menu interfaces that are difficult to navigate (and sometimes slow to load). Fable II was terrible for this. Items weren't organized in your inventory. The map was practically useless. Worst of all, if you used an item, the game automatically exits the menus. Oblivion and Fallout 3 were pretty crappy in this regard as well.

I also agree with whoever mentioned time limits.

 

[Shadefyre]

The games that have certain plot points or whatever that strip you of all the weapons/upgrades/powers etc that you've been collecting up to that point. It's like, "Oh, you were saving all those guns for a rainy day, huh? Well I'll just go ahead and TAKE THEM ALL AWAY and make you find them all over again!"

 

[Mikkelet]

as yahtzee: QTEs! @any developers: They are no fun! >:O

 

[Destroy Gundam]

I have to go with escort missions in which the person or thing being escorted cant (or wont) do anything to defend themselves or help you fight in any way.

How about escort missions where the escortee insists on getting into combat despite being several shades of useless in battle?

Also games that ramp up the difficulty level whether you want a bigger challenge or not, and then remain stuck on Very Hard. If I wanted to play a Very Hard game, I'd have chosen it when I was starting out and not have it sprung on me after I play though previous difficulties. And if you beat Very Hard, why not set it back to easy?

 

[Elader]

Escort Missions. I wind up wanting to kill the thing I'm escorting in FIRE.

 

[ygetoff]

Any race game where the AI gets a sudden burst of speed at the very end, or gets all that it needs to beat you, or make you slip off the track for no reason...
I'm looking at you, Mario Kart 64 D:<

For me it's those goddamned Blue Shells... just when I'm about to finish in first and win the tournament, one hits me and I drop back to eighth place.

 

[zauxz]

The games that have certain plot points or whatever that strip you of all the weapons/upgrades/powers etc that you've been collecting up to that point. It's like, "Oh, you were saving all those guns for a rainy day, huh? Well I'll just go ahead and TAKE THEM ALL AWAY and make you find them all over again!"

Really? i usually enjoy these kind of things, because usually, that means a stealth level, or a kick ass new arsenal.

My nemesis are timed missions. GOD how i hate when the game forces you to rush.

 

[Hexadecimal16]

Snipers in any game. I hate them. I hate the cowards that play as them. They have an unfair advantage in every game. One hit deaths are bullshit in any game because you don't have full peripheral vision or auditory abilities to see or hear them approaching.

I also hate the "Specialist" class in Bad Company. Why the fuck does it always seem like their bullets do more damage than yours?!? I've been 2 feet from a guy and had them zeroed with an M-16, and the bastard will turn around while I'm shooting and kill me with their Uzi.

Bullshit.

Because their rate of fire is high as hell. The M16 does a good amount of damage but its rate of fire is lower, so if a Specialist shoots you point blank they're doing more damage than you are. That happens to me all the time, it's annoying. Especially since my favorite class is Assault.

But yeah, like another guy said I hate timers. Time limits make me rage.

 

[SimuLord]

For games I actually play:

- Patches that fix one thing while completely and utterly breaking another. This goes to the nth degree when it's a game that the developer never actually manages to fix, especially if the game had promise (Europa 1400: The Guild is the all-time worst offender in this category.)

- AI cheating that breaks an intended game mechanic. Mostly a problem in the Total War series; why code in stuff like trade blockades when the AI gets infinite money? If it were multiplayer I'd understand but it isn't. It's a pointless, unusable mechanic. Cheating AI is bad AI, no two ways about it.

- Lack of moddability/extensibility in a game. If you give the player a toolbox (as in Capitalism II or Airline Tycoon or any other game in the same genre) and don't provide the means to make more tools to put in the box, you're limiting the replay value of the game for no good reason. Give the SDK to people who have some idea what they're doing.

For games I don't play, and they're the main reason why I don't:
- Unskippable cutscenes. Main reason Xenogears makes most of my "worst game I've ever played" lists is because of the Engrish-ridden unskippables on Disc 2. When the Morrowind developers put an unskippable into Tribunal, it's gotta be the first time I've ever god-moded a game I hadn't legitimately beaten yet. I otherwise never do that.

- Escort missions. I hate them, hate them, HATE THEM!

- Quick-Time Events. When a game has them and I see it in the shop, I'm like "Press X to not buy this game." Funny how in real life I always ace my QTEs.

 

[Syphonz]

1-hit-kill ranged enemies. Like Drones or something. I'm looking at you Resistance 2 and Mass Effect. Most annoying enemies ever.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

People who play Mortal Kombat Armaegeddon online and pick Blaze. Everytime I play against someone using him they always use that roll attack. Cheap.

 

[Martymer]

Aside from the two obvious ones, ie QTE:s and unskippables (game designers, read this thread and take notes!), I'm gonna have to say...

1. Bad AI. I'm looking at you, NWN2...

2. Games that, probably due to publishers being assholes, pass through beta without actually being tested for... Oh, I don't know... Breaking or near-breaking bugs, perhaps? I'm looking at you, NWN2...

3. Poor game balance. I'm looking at you, NWN2...

4. Sequels that basically just take the original game, give it a face lift, and then remove gameplay features from it. I'm looking at you, GTA4. Oh, and NWN2...

5. Patches that fix one problem but create one or more new ones, especially if the new problems are worse than the old one. I'm looking at... Oh let's just say I've given up my modding plans for NWN2... I'll wait for DAO instead, and foolishly hope EA won't fuck it up (as if)...

 

[Antiparticle]

Having to play for a long time without being able to save anywhere. I can live with checkpoints instead of manual saving, but at least make them frequent so I don't have to go through a particularly gruelling 35-minute long level a second or even third time because I keep dying near the end.
Runners-up are cheating AI and indeed unskippable cutscenes.

 

[Chibz]

The hills in World of Warcraft. Most of which look so easily climbable but goddamn they are NOT. More generally speaking: Hills that look climbable but aren't.

That and people who blame EA for "bad games" without realizing that EA (for the vast majority of games they release) are the publishers, not developers. You can NOT HATE A PUBLISHER FOR GAME QUALITY.

 

[Vrex360]

Any game where you have to really on scripted events that then due to a bug never happen and leave you stranded.
Case in point Oblivion when you need a character to tell you where your next objective is and he/she never tells you, they just wander around.

GOD IT MAKES ME SO MAD

 

[doctorwhofan]

Unskippible cutscenes aren't so bad. BUt hwhen half your movie is a cutscene and you can make homemade bread during one of them...it's not a game, it's a long and boring movie!!

Quick time events are another things I hate.

 

[doctorwhofan]

Quick time events are another things I hate.

Thats just using blanket statements

Ok, when I am at a cut scene (so I think) and I go to put the controller down to take a drink, then suddenly! "PUSH X REPEATLY!" I scramble for the controls and spill my drink and usually die.

If they are not called Quick time events, sorry. My husband calls them that.

 

[karmapolizei]

Unskippable cut scenes.
Idiotically placed saving points.
Saving points idiotically placed before unskippabe cut scenes.

 

[Mr_spamamam]

Invisible walls that block off parts of the map that you should by all rights be able to get to.

 

[Cmllo]

Unavoidable vehicle scenes in SO many shooters. I don't want to drive a car in Gears of War and shoot stupid bats. I want to make headshots and stuff.