What turns you off games?

[Mallefunction]

-REALLY cheap sex appeal (Dead or Alive: Beach Volley Ball, Bayonetta, X-Blades...basically, when it's there just for the sake of sex and really nothing else)
-Bad voice acting/HORRIBLY written dialogue (There is a reason I can't play a Male Shep in Mass Effect...)
-Boring combat or gameplay (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta...yeah)
-Lack of story outside of of simple games like Katamari, LBP, etc. (I guess I just need something to work towards in the game)
-Games that just assume you know what to do because it's the 4th or 5th in a franchise and give you very shitty tutorials.

That's pretty much it. I am not a fan of QTEs, but I can deal with them, same with vehicle sections, etc.

 

[GundamSentinel]

- Timed missions
- Underwater missions
- Stealth missions
- Escort missions

Combine any two or more of those and I start swearing at the top of my lungs.

Yup those are my pet hates as well although I should clarify that I only hate stealth missions if they're forced on you in a non-stealth game

I don't really mind stealth myself, but only when combined with any of the others. Like timed stealth missions or stealth escort missions. I'd hate to think what a timed underwater stealth escort mission would be like.
And yeah, a game forcing stealth on you is also one of my great dislikes.

 

[Woodsey]

Forced mouse smoothing. I fail to believe a game has been play-tested even once if that's been left in.

 

[Pearwood]

-Boring combat or gameplay (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta...yeah)

Wow, didn't see that coming... what didn't you like about combat in those? Bayonetta can get a bit hectic but I still think combat in those two are some of the most polished around.

I'll agree that bad combat kills it for me too, if the story is very good or the game offers something else to make up for it I can forgive bad combat but it's always going to be the first thing I notice. I also don't really like games where the sandbox is a little too big with a little too few interesting places to go or no guidance on where you should go next.

 

[mythlover20]

bad writing
bad controls
bad combat
those ridiculous end battle quick-kill cinematics, damn they're aweful.
being on a console i don't have. that's a big one.

 

[Togs]

DRM, DLC and bad story. These are the three main reason for me not to get a game.

I hate tutorials, why not just read the darn manual. If game have a tutorial you are forced to play though it every freaking time and it gets really boring after the ten playthough. On the other hand a manual tell you how to play and if you 6 hours in find something that you have forgotten how to do you can easily find it.

If you reread my post I said "bad tutorials"- this includes ones that are invasive and/or unskippable.

And there's a rather large difference between being told how to do something and being shown how to do it- one is rather more effective than the other, a case of it being easier to learn by doing.

 

[Mallefunction]

-Boring combat or gameplay (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta...yeah)

Wow, didn't see that coming... what didn't you like about combat in those? Bayonetta can get a bit hectic but I still think combat in those two are some of the most polished around.

I'll agree that bad combat kills it for me too, if the story is very good or the game offers something else to make up for it I can forgive bad combat but it's always going to be the first thing I notice. I also don't really like games where the sandbox is a little too big with a little too few interesting places to go or no guidance on where you should go next.

It felt boring to me simply because most of the time, I could never see the 'end' of the fights. More monsters just kept spawning and when that happens to me, I stop bothering with combos and just mash attack to get it over with. Trust me, the fighting style and controls were just fine in my book, but the problem was that I could never tell how many enemies I had. Also, there was very little context or motivation for these fight scenes. I compare them both to God of War where you knew exactly how many monsters you had to defeat at each point in the game. Better yet, you were very rarely just standing in one place, fighting off a horde before moving to the next cut scene. There were a few monsters at each checkpoint and then you moved closer to your goal for that section of the story.

I didn't mind the battle system in Either DMC or Bayonetta, but I was bored after just a few fight scenes. I didn't see the point in making an effort when I could potentially be stuck in that scene for who knew how long. The games also failed to motivate me as a player to want to beat up the baddies. There was nothing outside of "Look, gun-fodder! Go get-em!"

 

[varulfic]

Slow motion. It was cool in Max Payne but the mechanic got old fast. Nowadays when I hear a game features slow motion I just sigh, and I have been known to avoid games that has it.

 

[RedConversation]

Bad writing.

Seriously, if I had a bottle of whiskey and profound lack of talent, I could've written Fallout3 in an hour at most. It doesn't take much to get it right - Beyond Good And Evil had a ridiculous premise, ridiculous names (DomZ? Really?) and by the end of it I found myself actually caring what happens next.

"Interactive Narratives" are still narratives and thus ought to be held to some standards, at least equivalent to their non-interactive counterparts (books, films, et cetera) in emotional appeal, immersion, and depth of plot.

also, the "Magic Compass."

I know I'm alone here, but I miss the good old days of Morrowind, trying to figure out exactly which page my journal my character had written the directions to Balmora on, or Fallout where all of the main goals were, more or less, "vaguely in that direction."

 

[BloodSquirrel]

More and more these days it's the lack of challenged, which usually comes packaged with poor gameplay balance (Hey, if the game is so forgiving that it doesn't matter if you get hit or not, why bother making sure that a skilled player can avoid getting hit?)

 

[spaceman_jan]

An obviously terrible love plot i hate those it stops being for like the glory or to save someone and just becomes a game to impress her

 

[Pearwood]

I could never see the 'end' of the fights. More monsters just kept spawning

Ah that makes sense, especially in the first DMC. I tend to use the accessory that makes spawning enemies stand still for a second or two once they spawn in Bayonetta for the waves, gets rid of the chance an affinity will spawn right next to you and get a shot off.

 

[Nazulu]

A lot of things, most of the stuff mentioned in this thread at the moment. New one is just seeing a samey FPS. I'm literally sick of them, they don't catch my interest at all.

 

[SoopaSte123]

I'm somewhat of a min/max-er, so if I play a game and realize I did something that prevented me from getting the best items or stats, I restart, which can lead to countless hours replaying a game. Perfect Example: FFXII Zodiac Spear. Yes, I did restart the game with a 90 hour save file.

 

[ThePirateMan]

"Press Start to play"

..I'm a PC gamer..

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Vehicle sections...Nuff said.

DISCLAIMER:
(Someguy2300 has played Mass effect hense the hatred for vehicle sections.)

Lack of communication to the player. (and vehicle sections)

In Mass Effect 2 i recently bought all the DLC, I started playing Overlord, whch included a new vehicle and at one section, you have to cross a river of lava by jumping onto rocks.

Except it assumes you've already done a completely seperate tutorial for the vehicle (which i hadnt because i bought all the DLC and went straight to Overlord) So i spent about 2 hours dying over and over trying to cross this river until i got really bored and looked up a guide, and saw the person jumping, i then thought wtf and started pressing random buttons until i jumped, and then i managed to do it.

In conclusion, vehicle sections suck.

 

[nondescript]

Combine any two or more of the following and I start swearing at the top of my lungs:

- Timed missions
- Underwater missions
- Stealth missions
- Escort missions

I don't mind stealth, but yeah, those others suck.
Also, games where you are encouraged (required) to spend 5 hours farming monsters for some ludicrously rare drop.

 

[madmsk]

Poorly balanced gameplay mechanics: a game where the intended strategy can be beaten by a much less fun strategy. Perfect example: some fighting games. Sure you're supposed to learn all these elaborate combos and tricks, but if it can be beaten consistently by the age-old, "mashing A a whole lot", I'm gone.

Also, this is slightly off topic, but am I the only one who is upset with the general trend that the industry seems to focus much more effort into making nicer graphics than more fun or interesting gameplay? When my friends try to sell me on a game, their arguments almost always start with a discussion of how much better the graphics are.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Save spots in certain location in JRPG. Why can't I just save anytime and anywhere I want?!