What's the worst escort mission you've played through?

[Johnny Novgorod]

For me it was trying to protect the priest who was the only one who could read an ancient book in god of war 2. Annoying normally it was downright infuriating in Titan mode it was satisfying that you got to kill him at after protecting him for so long though.

Actually I was all the more outraged that Kratos would kill the guy after putting *me* through all that hell to save him.

 

[mechashiva77]

Resident Evil 4. It's the main reason why I refuse to play the game. I'll shoot some zombies up any day, but dealing with Miss Ashley. Nope.

Captcha: Vegetarian. Fuck you Captcha! I will never give up the flesh of lesser creatures!

 

[Kyrian007]

It goes back really far... It's one of the oldest and the hardest. X-Wing, the Redemption Scenario. It's the Kobayashi Maru for pilots in the Star Wars EU, with one difference. It IS winable... just REALLY hard, so you don't have the comfort of knowing that no one else beat it either. There WAS an exploit that made it easier, but winning without using it was the mark of a superior pilot.

 

[scorptatious]

Pretty much any escort mission in Jak 2. ESPECIALLY the one where you had to protect three of Krew's men and Sig's second escort mission. Mainly because these kinds of missions had no checkpoints. So if you or your escort(s) die at any time, you're kicked back to the start of the whole fucking level.

I remember that I went from liking Sig to absolutely hating his guts by the time I was finally done with his second escort mission.

Say what you want about ICO haters, at least you could had some control over where Yorda goes. Plus she was rather endearing.

Also, I found that XCOM's escort missions were actually pretty tolerable. Once you found your guy, you can have direct control over where he goes and you can have him/her duck his head to avoid getting critical'd. Plus having your guys spread out and on overwatch sometimes causes some pretty satisfying results when the Thin Men jump into the battlefield.

 

[srm79]

Goin' back a ways here ... taking 'escort' a bit literally too ...

... Had a mission in Aces of the Pacific (circa 1991). Me in my A6M-2 Zero, with 2 wingmen, escorting a few Jill torpedo bombers, to attack some troop transports in the Solomons. Flight plan consisted of (WP1) rendezvous, (WP2) attack target, (WP3) back at carrier.

Went to autopilot after take off ... intercepted by 4 F4F-3 Wildcats. Dogfight develops, my wingmen and I prevail with no losses. Proceed to meet bombers - hook up and proceed. Intercept again by 4 F4F-3 Wildcats ... prevail again, losing 2 bombers however. Proceed. Attack transports, only two bombers left so sink a transport and a destroyer escort. Proceed. Intercepted again by 4 F4F-3 Wildcats. Lost one more bomber, and a wingman (who seemed to kamikaze into one of the wildcats). Proceed.

Arrive back at carrier - in the middle of an attack. 4 SBD-Dauntless are diving on the carrier, and 4 Wildcats are screaming to intercept me, my wingman, and a solitary torpedo bomber. As I see massive explosions rock my home carrier as the dive bombers hit their target, the .50 cal machine guns of the Wildcats rip a the beejeezus out of what is left of my flight, our broken wreckage spiraling to splash down in the South Pacific off Rabaul.

*I freakin HATE escort missions!!!!*

It's even less fun in an online enviroment such as IL2: 1946. Or more fun, depending on your point of view. The last co-op bombing mission I played online, I was on the blue (Axis) team and it worked pretty well. We split into two groups, first group dived into the middle of the B-17's and almost all of the escort fighters gave chase to 'em. First group deliberately engages them and draws them lower and slower before turning tail and running using the Fw190's superior preformance to leave them fat, dumb and confused way down near the deck.

Second group meanwhile drops on the now almost unescorted Flying Fortresses and has a field day. The one guy who stayed to protect his charges was dispatched in the first pass with a double pronged attack. Good times.

Similarly, I've been on the receiving end of plenty of kickings because of team mates who, while perfectly competent stick monkeys, have little or no grasp of aerial tactics.

 

[Ultress]

To those above and below ragging on Ashely from RE4, I'd say something butt I'll let this video do the talking



OT:Ninja'd by the OP, and truth be told I wouldn't be as mad at him if there wasn't a direct path to Hunter he could have took.

Also the mission in Devil Survivor where you have Gin and he justs charges on like a moron against some higher level foes. I had to replay it every time he dies and then the first time when he does ok the game freezes.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Say what you want about ICO haters, at least you could had some control over where Yorda goes. Plus she was rather endearing.

She was also nifty at dispelling those shadow creatures once you got to the Idol Gates. I dunno, I always liked her. She made me care and want to protect her. That's what the game was all about, wasn't it?

Resident Evil 4. It's the main reason why I refuse to play the game. I'll shoot some zombies up any day, but dealing with Miss Ashley. Nope.

I dunno, I always found Ashley pretty cooperative. She has the sense to duck and cower behind Leon all the time, provided you take a sec before actually opening fire (which can get tricky at first). I counted a total of four scripted kidnappings (the initial one, the trap, the Novistador, Saddler's mind control), which make for huge breathers in the game. The one part of the game I find unbearable is the "water room" though. There's no dumpster in sight, and what's worse, there's no blind spot for taking cover. You're surrounded 360° all the way and you can't face one way for 2 secs without having Ashley take damage while you're not looking. Otherwise, case in point:

To those above and below ragging on Ashely from RE4, I'd say something butt I'll let this video do the talking

Beautiful!

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

This may not be the worst, but most recently I did the escort level of VVVVVV. It's a very good game, but fuck that level...

I loved that level, even if it was the only one in the game that I needed to find a guide for. Probably the hardest part of the game except for the shiny trinket in the space station, or the gravitron.

I'd say it was done well, but it was still frustrating for me. It was the only part I looked up a guide for as well.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Emma Emmerich, the one idea I will berate Kojima on.

Sooooo you don't like water levels do you? Well how about an escort mission?

...that not do it for you either? Well how about an underwater escort mission with oxygen meters tied to your health?

...yeah this is the worst escort mission ever

 

[SgtMcgee23]

Can't say I have a worst, but the best one for me definitely was "One shot, One kill" in CoD4. Great times.

 

[TheColdHeart]

I remember escorting in Dead Rising caused a lot of anger, especially when they would run into hoards of zombies and die or instead of simply walking through empty space to a door would get stuck on a bin/bench.

There was the girl in Metal Gear Solid 2, (Hal's sister?) who couldn't walk unaided, was scared of everything, and really hated water...in a section where you had to swim through a flooded facility and she had the lung capacity of a kitten. Oh and she cried all the time.

I've never shot so many tranq darts into someone's face in my entire life...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Emma Emmerich, the one idea I will berate Kojima on.

Sooooo you don't like water levels do you? Well how about an escort mission?

...that not do it for you either? Well how about an underwater escort mission with oxygen meters tied to your health?

...yeah this is the worst escort mission ever

A Timed Underwater Stealth Escort Mission, or TUSEM. There should be a tvtropes.com page on this.

Can't say I have a worst, but the best one for me definitely was "One shot, One kill" in CoD4. Great times.

A more positive point of view is always nice.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Who here remembers the Bully Escort missions?

While I don't think the game is notorious for Bad Escort missions, most of them (at least in the school) were very annoying, especially the first one with Algie.

Now, Prefects wander Bullworth Academy, if you break school rules such as not going to class or bullying students, you'll end up "busted" failing any mission you're on.

Now, in one of the earliest missions, you have to escort a fat kid, Algie, to his locker to get his books. Simple right? Well bullies will come and try to harm Algie, so you have to protect him from them. He also has a weak bladder, so you have to get him to the bathroom in time. Now, all of this takes place inside the school, and if you go during the day, there's a good chance classes will start... And the prefects will still try to catch you for truancy. It's nearly impossible to fight them, because if you lay a finger on them, they'll bust you and you'll fail the mission instantly. Want to avoid classes? Well you could go during night... But then they'll catch you for trespassing. The only "Safe" time is in the afternoon, when classes are done... And even then, you'll have to deal with bullies, and if you lay a finger on them, then you will be accused of "bullying" and end up busted for that as well if a Prefect is nearby.

Overall, it's just plain annoying.

Don't forget the game is very touchy about ending the mission on the spot if you so much as stray ten feet away from Algie, regardless of whether you're clearing the route of bullies or holding them off. I agree on the "notorious" disclaimer, though. Fun game!

 

[DFDelta]

dead island. all of them.

+1 internets to you.
When I read the title I planned to write this exact sentence.
Now I can just quote and say "pretty much this".

 

[Aptspire]

I'd like to give mention to MGS 2. Hate escort missions? try an escort mission ­Underwater

 

[Raine_sage]

Any of them in Dragon's Dogma. You are forced to take them waaay too far, basically one side of the continent to another, they are useless in combat, but will charge at anything, and their health is tiny!

They were slightly better playing as a mage. I found out not matter how low their health got I could always heal them back to full because they didn't have a limit on how much magical healing they could get. Still even packing High Anodyne wasn't a garauntee. Once I was doing an escort to hillfigure knoll. Pretty easy I thought to myself. Nothing that way but wolves and harpies. I am almost to the bridge when a griffin drops out of the sky literally right on top of the guy I'm escorting and kills him. No warning, didn't see it coming, just suddenly griffin. I was so pissed.

It also doesn't help that the game treats escort missions like dates and boosts that npc's affinity for you. By the end of the game the entire world was in love with me.

 

[Rooster893]

I don't really know if it counts as an escort mission, but the part of Metal Gear Solid 4 where you have to follow the resistance member is extremely frustrating. Maybe the game is unfair, or maybe I just suck, but I kept getting spotted, no matter what I did. The moron that I was supposed to be following WALKED RIGHT INTO THE GUARDS HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AVOIDING! Oh, I was so relieved when I was finished with that mission.

Another escort mission that sucked was escorting the Little Sister in the first BioShock. Oh look, splicers are going to steal you and suck the life out of you. What are you going to do? Okay, just sit there and put more ADAM into your gun thingy? Yeah, no harm will come to you at all. GRR!