Glaring plot holes in games

[Trivun]

How did the Pillar of Autumn find Halo if they made a 'blind' jump? Though i think it may have been explained somewhere...

Explained in the books. It wasn't strictly speaking a 'blind' jump, as Cortana used a loophole in the Cole Protocol to make a jump that was still away from the Inner Colonies (so following the rules), but based her 'randomized' jump vector on co-ordinates she translated from Forerunner relics found on Sigma Octanus IV by the Spartans (the site of their, and Jacob Keyes', last battle before the fall of Reach). Those co-ordinates, which only Cortana (and later Doctor Halsey) knew about, led the Autumn to Halo. Cortana didn't even know there would be anything there, it was basically curiosity on her part and the idea that the Covenant were after something there (given their interest in the Sigma Octanus IV relic), which coincidentally happened to be true.

The humans, of course, put it all down to sheer dumb luck (well, your mileage may vary on the 'luck' part), which is also a fairly good and sensible possibility for gamers to use if they don't know the backstory, if a little unlikely.

 

[McNinja]

snip

Pretty much all of Borderlands.

Well, okay, it was just a shit 'story' to begin with. But the biggest plot hole I felt was the fact that they gave all four characters a backstory as to why they came to Pandora in the first place. Then the second that weird blue AI lady starts telling them they should find the vault, they completely give up on their personal reasons for being here and go on this stupid treasure hunt.

The backstory for each character kinda establishes that they have personal reasons to be here, not the Vault, but that becomes irrelevant at the very start and they immediately become drone-like Vault hunters for literally no reason beyond some weird lady telling them they should.

The funny thing is I had no idea about the characters backstory until quite a while after I beat the game and two DLC packs. I just accpeted the Vault-hunter stuff at face value, meaning I thought it was mediocre but trudged through it because me+my friend at 1 am = hilarious commentary.

 

[Trivun]

Most of MW2. Rushed campaign, tacked on, etc.

How did the Pillar of Autumn find Halo if they made a 'blind' jump? Though i think it may have been explained somewhere...

It was. In The Fall of Reach. Wasn't blind. They decided to plug in coords from a Forerunner artifact they had because they knew it would take them far, far away from Human Space.

Ummmmmm, no, the humans didn't know about it. Only Cortana did. And that's explained in the books, as being stuff she was able to translate using Covenant technology from the Forerunner glyphs found on a relic on Sigma Octanus IV by John (the MC), during his last battle before the fall of Reach. The only human who knew anything about the translation of the relic was Doctor Halsey, and she only found out later, when she also had access to Ackerson's notes (including his S-III files), the relic under CASTLE Base, and presumably whatever was still secure under Visegrad after Professor Sorvad was killed...

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Most of MW2. Rushed campaign, tacked on, etc.

How did the Pillar of Autumn find Halo if they made a 'blind' jump? Though i think it may have been explained somewhere...

It was. In The Fall of Reach. Wasn't blind. They decided to plug in coords from a Forerunner artifact they had because they knew it would take them far, far away from Human Space.

Ummmmmm, no, the humans didn't know about it. Only Cortana did. And that's explained in the books, as being stuff she was able to translate using Covenant technology from the Forerunner glyphs found on a relic on Sigma Octanus IV by John (the MC), during his last battle before the fall of Reach. The only human who knew anything about the translation of the relic was Doctor Halsey, and she only found out later, when she also had access to Ackerson's notes (including his S-III files), the relic under CASTLE Base, and presumably whatever was still secure under Visegrad after Professor Sorvad was killed...

*gets books*
*blows 4 years worth of dust off of*
Well I'll be damned...

 

[Carlston]

Why could you phoenix down dead FF7 party member but when flower girl got stabbed Cloud just drowns her...

 

[spacecowboy86]

I'm pretty sure that the neurotoxin flooder mechanism was a total black comedy joke (i.e. it's not really a plot hole because it's not supposed to make sense.)

Playing Just Cause 2 right now (which might not be supposed to make that much sense either,) I'd really like to wonder what Panay wants to do after nuking some of the biggest world powers.

huh... never really thought about that either. Maybe he could... eat a cake?
but in all seriousness thinking about it now, I think the idea was that he would destabilize the other nations and, because of the oil fields panau would also lead the world economically, causing his very small nation with a suprisingly large military force to become... the leading country I guess? wow even if thats the plan it wasn't set up well...


OT:Why was it so easy for Joker to escape in Arkham Asylum? I mean all it took was one kick to the nuts and strangling someone with hand cuffs. If you're dealing with an insane, malicous, killer, clown inmate, you never, ever, ever put him in a situation where he can kick or punch someone, especially when he's famous for just that, killing/attacking people.

 

[DSK-]

Yes, I have one that made me go HERP DERP.

Spoiler

Legion states that Shepard met Sovereign at Ilos - when in fact he met Sovereign at Virmire

That's not a plot hole. That's a typo. Some of these fictional name's are hard to remember you know?

That's still no excuse! bad Grizzler! bad!

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

How come this guy:

is so fast? Hedgehogs are not speedy creatures.

A gaping plot hole that just makes the entire game unbelieveable.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

anc[is]How Shepard knows about thermal clips after being dead for 2 years. They were invented while s/he was dead. Tiny one, but still there

I was wondering more why they changed their weapons so they are using thermal clips instead of having unlimited ammo like in ME1

 

[Gormers1]

And the best (or worst) one is

Spoiler: Metroid: Other M

The game totally dropping the subplot about the traitor in the team.

I may be misremembering, but wasn't it explained as something the ai made up in order to fool you?

But that game is interesting regarding this topic, because on the surface, the game is bursting with plot holes. However, if you piece it together, its all carefully thought through in order to teach us about how samus is a submissive... well.. this is a very interesting read if youre interested:
http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/blog/gaming/metroid-other-m-the-elephant/article.html
Its actually kind of scary and really sad.

Most of MW2. Rushed campaign, tacked on, etc.

How did the Pillar of Autumn find Halo if they made a 'blind' jump? Though i think it may have been explained somewhere...

It was. In The Fall of Reach. Wasn't blind. They decided to plug in coords from a Forerunner artifact they had because they knew it would take them far, far away from Human Space.

Indeed. It caused me to facepalm at Bungie so bad...

in halo reach it sounds more like cortana is actualy a forerunner ai that we just found cause humans are too stupid to be able to do shit (sounds like the spartan armor was also based on forerunner tech)

Yeah... that kinda [TOTALLY] contradicted the books.

it contradicts the plot of the other games also since if she was a forerunner ai then she would know about the rings so instead of being suprised by them she would have been guiding humans to them but keeping them secret for some stupid reason, not to mention that in halo reach they refer to her as some kind of super weapon and sure shes helpful but she still dosnt really do anything

Im glad Im not the only one that found that part of the game really confusing.

 

[Xaositect]

Mordins magical seeker appearing from nowhere with no explanation is a big one.

Also, while not plot holes, they are bonehead plot devices that showed the writers just didnt give a shit with Mass Effect 2 how EVERYONE on the team boards the shuttle for a mission that DOESNT FUCKING EXIST.

Oh yeah, and someone tell Bioware killing Shepard in a pathetic attempt at drama only to say "and they brought him back" isnt good enough.

Its Mass Effect.

I need FUCKING EXPLANATIONS. That is what the codex is for. I seem to recall a vague hint of nanomachines being involved along with cybernetics, but generally it was just completely lazy cock brained bullshit.

And that game is winning awards for storytelling. And it starts with "you died, but then you came back".

I wouldnt expect shit like that in the worst kind of mary sue fanfiction.

 

[TheDarkestDerp]

Biggest one to piss me off was Fallout 3: The Pitt DLC. So the only way to restore the steel mill is to use slave labour, then they put in a sub plot about how all the workers in this place were getting replaced by robots.
and yes the robots were operational, but you can only use them as cannon fodder for the trogs. In case you wanted to say, Well maybe these people wouldn't know, the leader of the pitt is ex Brotherhood of Steel, those guys tasked with recovering pre-war tech.
it just upset me that there was a perfect everyone wins scenario and you have to ignore it because the developers didn't think about things.

BINGO! Fallout 3 had some doozies. They finally fixed the biggie at the end though, with the option of having your helper start the device. I always wondered why I couldn't send Fawkes, a highly irradiated Super-Mutant or the radiation-proof robot RL-3 into the danger zone, thus risking no one's life and making everybody happy... And why the Enclave could target the Brotherhood's robot Liberty Prime with a pinpoint missile attack to take him out the battle, but not a much larger stationary target like, oh say the Brotherhood home base at the Pentagon?

-SNIP-

They're characters and what they say explain it TO ME, your mileage may vary.

And the enclave WAS planning to hit the citadel, god knows what they were waiting for, but they were ready to flatten the wasteland and start again

"They were planning to..." this is called a convenient plot device. Why they didn't just blow the brotherhood off the map to begin with is the issue. I'm not sure what you're saying by "my mileage" but it sounds somewhat insulting and uncalled for... either way, the reasoning was pretty flimsy, especially when they're basically saying "Well, you have to do it, cause otherwise you're a big chicken" just didn't cut it for me. They'll knowingly sentence you to death, an unecesarry death, one either one could easily prevent with NO HARM WHATSOEVER to themselves... just doesn't work. Fawkes was supposed to be a morally conscious and responsible person, RL-3 a soldier in your employ, either one just saying "tough, you have to do it" is a plot hole, forcing the player to do something to fit the story the writers want.

 

[OrokuSaki]

What are the bizarre lapses in logic in a game's story that just leave you wondering 'Why'? For me, I was completely dumbfounded in Portal (Warning: mild spoilers ahead) as to why they'd even have a system for flooding the place with a neurotoxin, much less give control of it to a supercomputer of dubious sanity, or at the very minimum remove the capability after she tried it once.

So, your examples?

A bigger question concerning that same subject: If they imposed a morality core on GLaDOS to stop the flooding of the Aperture Science Research Center, then why is everyone dead?

Maybe Glados figured it was better to kill everyone to let them live, because they might fell guilty over what they had done in the past of research lab or something like this.

Like some people get the idea that they want to kill their loved ones so they wouldn't have to suffer for any reason. It is completely ethical, if you think it. Is it right to let someone suffer instead of ending their suffering? It can be considered moral to kill them, depending on your personal standpoint tho.

That may be true, but morality was forced on her, so you'd think they would pre-program it against such thoughts.

 

[Wayneguard]

anc[is]How Shepard knows about thermal clips after being dead for 2 years. They were invented while s/he was dead. Tiny one, but still there

Why there were even thermal clips at all considering the previous alternative was INFINITE AMMUNITION CAPACITY WITH UPGRADES THAT POTENTIALLY DAMPEN HEAT FASTER THAN IT CAN BUILD. I really hope they go back to the me1 guns for me3.

 

[soren7550]

2. Its a game, that less of a plot hole and just for a character design, the game doens't have to be 100% realisitc like everyone says it tries to be.
3. The boat wasn't in the same place it was when you first saw it.
4. Wait what?
5. Again, its not 100% realistic, last time I checked, they never strived for realism and plus its a video game.

As for the first one, I can't really say.

2.) It's not a character design; Weaver losing his eye is a part of the plot. And in the 1960s, you'd be thrown out of the military for much lesser injuries. Missing an eye is a flat out disability and a severe hindrance for aiming a weapon (a skill that comes in mighty handy while fighting a war).
3.) The boat was in Cuba when you first see it. When you see it again, it's still in Cuba.
4.) See numero seven. [http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-top-7-awful-fake-accents/a-2010112910717643040]
5.) The Call of Duty games have always been rooted in realism though (save for World at War and Black Ops).

 

[teutonicman]

ME2 and here is some1 very boring to explain the plot of mass effect 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR558wTjOUU

I was looking for something to do for an hour, thank you. Something tells me I'm going to regret watching this....

 

[Korten12]

2. Its a game, that less of a plot hole and just for a character design, the game doens't have to be 100% realisitc like everyone says it tries to be.
3. The boat wasn't in the same place it was when you first saw it.
4. Wait what?
5. Again, its not 100% realistic, last time I checked, they never strived for realism and plus its a video game.

As for the first one, I can't really say.

2.) It's not a character design; Weaver losing his eye is a part of the plot. And in the 1960s, you'd be thrown out of the military for much lesser injuries. Missing an eye is a flat out disability and a severe hindrance for aiming a weapon (a skill that comes in mighty handy while fighting a war).
3.) The boat was in Cuba when you first see it. When you see it again, it's still in Cuba.
4.) See numero seven. [http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-top-7-awful-fake-accents/a-2010112910717643040]
5.) The Call of Duty games have always been rooted in realism though (save for World at War and Black Ops).

Yeah they used to, even Infinity Ward said during the development of MW2 that they strived for Hollywood-like.

also back on 2, they're Black Operatives, so that could have had an effect onto why.

3. It was in cuba, last time I checked and from what I saw, the ship was quite a way, near Cuba, but not on the dock like it was the first time.

4. Voice actors fault.

 

[lee1287]

Spoiler: Red Dead Spoiler

John Marston steps out of a barn to meet his death at the hands of a bunch of lawmen at the end of the game, despite having multiple fire bottles and sticks of dynamite in his possession. With the building/roof climbing skills he displayed in previous quests, he could have easily just climbed up to the hay loft of the barn and taken out all of his attackers with a single throw. Then maybe we wouldn't feel totally gypped at having spent the entire game trying to reunite with the family and getting all of five minutes with them before being shot to a bloody pulp.

Or, Hell, he could have just shot them all. It's not like he's never faced uneven odds before... his whole character is built around his ability to take out ridiculously large hordes of armed men without a suffering scratch.

He wanted to stop running. He knew they wouldnt stop huntign him down, and he was protecting his family.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Building on from the OP: How would they add a morality core? Isn't everyone dead from the first neurotoxin flood?

 

[Terminate421]

The end to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 1

Why the fuck did they:
A. Erase my memory
B. Turn me into a pokemon
C. Tell me nothing about my objective

When my job was to TELL SOMEONE to fire a hyperbeam at a meteor.

The 2nd one (Explorers of time) was such a masterpiece.......