What, if it is present, do you hate most in a video game?

[Fenrir 39]

When I play video games, I love to get real into it. Few things feel quite as satisfying as defeating an impossible boss or finishing a level. However, some video games have qualities in them that make you so angry, you ragequit and throw things. So my question is, what in a video game can make you that angry? I will give my own as an example.

What I hate in video games are one-hit-kills. When you are playing a game, and an enemy or boss just kills you in one hit, when you have full health, it is super annoying to me. I find it unfair that any enemy should ever be able to do that. It totally takes away from the fun. Now, a combo of moves that can lead up to killing you, that I can deal with. But If I start with a fight and the boss kills me in one hit in the very beggining, I get a little angry. But that is just me. This problem can be solved with abilities like second chance from Kingdom hearts, and undershirt from megaman, where no matter how much damage an attack does, it will automatically leave you with 1 hp, so you have a chance to recover.

Now its your turn, tell me what you guys think!

[Fire_Fly 499]

There are 2 things I really hate in a game:

 

* Brevity - I can't STAND short games! I love games with a good storyline that I can really get into, and it really gets on my nerves when a game is too short, and it seems like the developers just got lazy and ended things too quickly. There are a few exceptions to this, like arcade fighters (Tekken, Soul Calibur, etc.), but if I buy a game for plot, I'm looking for something that'll take more than an hour to finish. (Which is why quit Gears of War after the first game)

 

* Ring-Outs - I know this doesn't apply to every game, but it's still a major killjoy. Nothing ruins an epic battle quicker than one guy falling off a cliff or into a lake. Ring-outs have been keeping Soul Calibur from being one of my favorite series ever, because nopony wants to have a fight end anticlimactically just when things get good, because either person makes a mistake and falls off-screen. More games should incorporate a free-fall combat system like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, where even if you get knocked off the edge, the fight continues in midair and you eventually land on another stage.

[Key Gear 6,664]

• Unavoidable one hit KOs
• Endless combos
• Obviously unbalanced characters
• Short gameplay
• Poorly written dialogue
• Pointless unskippable cutscenes that you can't skip
• Having to visit the same place more than twice
• Boring bring me _______ of _______ quests
• Boring kill _______ number of _______ quests
• Unfixed game breaking bugs in console games
• Bugs that cause blue screen of death on windows
• Linear storylines with no sidequests
• DLC that should have been included in the game
• Plot twists that make no sense
• Requiring some other game to unlock something
• A single soundtrack that loops forever
• Not having a pause button
• Not having dedicated servers
• Not including fullscreen mode
• Stupid copy protection that won't let me play a game I paid for
• No car damage in racing games (I just hit a wall at 100 mph, why is my car still shiny?)
• Poorly done cell shading

[Cloud-Kicker 105]

• Unavoidable one hit KOs
• Endless combos
• Obviously unbalanced characters
• Short gameplay
• Poorly written dialogue
• Pointless unskippable cutscenes that you can't skip
• Having to visit the same place more than twice
• Boring bring me _______ of _______ quests
• Boring kill _______ number of _______ quests
• Unfixed game breaking bugs in console games
• Bugs that cause blue screen of death on windows
• Linear storylines with no sidequests
• DLC that should have been included in the game
• Plot twists that make no sense
• Requiring some other game to unlock something
• A single soundtrack that loops forever
• Not having a pause button
• Not having dedicated servers
• Not including fullscreen mode
• Stupid copy protection that won't let me play a game I paid for
• No car damage in racing games (I just hit a wall at 100 mph, why is my car still shiny?)
• Poorly done cell shading

yeah, that just about sums it up. No need for full contribution to the thread anymore.

[Fire_Fly 499]

• Unavoidable one hit KOs
• Endless combos
• Obviously unbalanced characters
• Short gameplay
• Poorly written dialogue
• Pointless unskippable cutscenes that you can't skip
• Having to visit the same place more than twice
• Boring bring me _______ of _______ quests
• Boring kill _______ number of _______ quests
• Unfixed game breaking bugs in console games
• Bugs that cause blue screen of death on windows
• Linear storylines with no sidequests
• DLC that should have been included in the game
• Plot twists that make no sense
• Requiring some other game to unlock something
• A single soundtrack that loops forever
• Not having a pause button
• Not having dedicated servers
• Not including fullscreen mode
• Stupid copy protection that won't let me play a game I paid for
• No car damage in racing games (I just hit a wall at 100 mph, why is my car still shiny?)
• Poorly done cell shading

I have to agree with pretty much all of those...

 

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of the bring me _________ of ___________ quests or anything like them in a while... Maybe they're being phased out of gaming due to unpopularity... I hope so.

[w1kk3d 56]

Games that come out every year OR SOONER with only one or two small tiny changes! That is was absolutely destroeid Guitar hero! They had 5 Guitar hero games come out in one year... WAY too much. And sports games are the worst. I do have some sports games, but when they come out every single year. All they change is the player's names. Rediculous. They may ad one or two small features but it's no where near worth shelling out another $60.

 

That's more of an industry thing though... not sure if it fits :?

 

• Unavoidable one hit KOs
• Endless combos
• Obviously unbalanced characters
• Short gameplay
• Poorly written dialogue
• Pointless unskippable cutscenes that you can't skip
• Having to visit the same place more than twice
• Boring bring me _______ of _______ quests
• Boring kill _______ number of _______ quests
• Unfixed game breaking bugs in console games
• Bugs that cause blue screen of death on windows
• Linear storylines with no sidequests
• DLC that should have been included in the game
• Plot twists that make no sense
• Requiring some other game to unlock something
• A single soundtrack that loops forever
• Not having a pause button
• Not having dedicated servers
• Not including fullscreen mode
• Stupid copy protection that won't let me play a game I paid for
• No car damage in racing games (I just hit a wall at 100 mph, why is my car still shiny?)
• Poorly done cell shading

 

To avoid all of these things, play Alice: Madness Returns. It was VERY under-rated, and an absolutly amazing structured video game! I have never been playing a game and thought "wow! This is f*cking video game! I'm playing a game on the screen" But that is in a good way! I thought that while playing and i loved it! It was amazing!

[Pony Joe 583]

I hate it when introductory/tutorial missions last forever and you don't get into the actual gameplay until a good couple hours into the game. This also applies to when reminders and "tips" pop up constantly throughout the game.

[Legit101 300]

DMR.

2323543436 hour tutorial.

Unskippable tutorial.

Save game limit.

FETCH QUESTS!

Etc.

[Robojot 152]

annoying AI/badly scripted AI

unskippable tutorials

un-editable controls

games that is just ported from console to pc

unskippable cut scenes

Re-makes of shitty games ( the cod series, they make 1 good game and they continue pumping out the same shitty game for years just with some new textures and maps)

[WildCard 1,037]

In racing games, I hate if the AI randomly gets faster to catch up with you and slower when in front of you, It's so annoying when you are driving LeMans in GRID and on the long straight, the guy behind you flies past with a speed his car can't even go and brakes(including braking lights) as soon as he has passed you.

 

In shooter, endlessly spawning enemies that force you to rush forward are a total atmosphere-killer.

 

Also if a game's too easy and has no difficulties to set(In the Forza4 career it's just awkward when you race the others in the ground everytime, especially because F3 had difficulty settings and the game is awesome except the easy AI)

 

Checkpoints that are set very stupid(like for example in GTA4(you drive to a certain point, there is a cutscene with an action scene following. You die and you have to drive there again)

 

In RPGs I hate Kill-Bring missions und boring sidequests

Edited March 19, 2012 by Wildcard

[SrFrog 928]

Unbalanced characters on fighting games, main problem I had with MvsC2 along with it's online mode were everyone spammed the hell out of magneto and sentinel.

Unskippable cut-scenes, I spent approximately four hours watching those damn monologues from the original Kingdom Hearts.

[Discordian 6,018]

I don't know how any of you enjoy any games at all with such long lists of "Dislikes" xD

 

The only things that annoy me are unskippable cutscenes, unPAUSABLE cutscenes, stupid checkpoints (****ing first Ratchet and Clank game), games that practically force you to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over until you finally do it perfectly and get past it. I don't mind it for a little while but eventually it gets old. Games like Resident Evil (Oldschool) or Demon's Souls are the worst offenders of this and as much as I have fun playing the games I'll never beat them because of their asshat difficulty.

[Crispy 5,565]

• Unavoidable one hit KOs
• Endless combos
• Obviously unbalanced characters
• Short gameplay
• Poorly written dialogue
• Pointless unskippable cutscenes that you can't skip
• Having to visit the same place more than twice
• Boring bring me _______ of _______ quests
• Boring kill _______ number of _______ quests
• Unfixed game breaking bugs in console games
• Bugs that cause blue screen of death on windows
• Linear storylines with no sidequests
• DLC that should have been included in the game
• Plot twists that make no sense
• Requiring some other game to unlock something
• A single soundtrack that loops forever
• Not having a pause button
• Not having dedicated servers
• Not including fullscreen mode
• Stupid copy protection that won't let me play a game I paid for
• No car damage in racing games (I just hit a wall at 100 mph, why is my car still shiny?)
• Poorly done cell shading

I just crossed off the ones that I don't agree with.

 

But really, how do you play old games with a list like this? That's like... all of them.

 

Also, apparently none of you like Super Meat Boy or IWBTG, because one hit kills all over the place.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

So most of what I hate has been mentioned... but you guys appear to have forgotten one thing.

 

Anyone HATE escort missions where you have to protect an absolutely brainless NPC who is utterly unhelpful and runs off into trouble all the time? And the moment you're not watching them, they get killed and you have to do it all over again? Sadly, a lot of games have awful escort missions like these. One of my biggest peeves.

 

Another one is a game that is so hard that it's not fun to play; it's just an exercise in frustration. I like a challenge, but not too much of one to the point where it gets ridiculous.

 

Also, a game with a fantastic story... and horrid gameplay that you have to slog through to get to the good parts. Vice versa doesn't bother me as much, but it is preferred that the games I play don't have an excuse plot.

 

And online multiplayer. A lot of the time, it's just full of douchey people who get waaay too into it and insult you because they can't see your face.

[Discordian 6,018]

I need to make another mention that's a minor peeve more than anything: Having to move menus with a joystick rather than a D-pad. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I always use menus with the D-pad and I hate having to use the joystick for it.

[Evilshy 5,093]

Not being able to skip or pause cutscenes. I've missed out on major plot points more than once because I had to go do something in the middle of an unpausable cutscene >_<

 

Also, save restrictions really bug me. I don't like having to find a save point somewhere or lose an hour of play. If the game has a suspend or quicksave option (quicksave anywhere, but as soon as you load it, it deletes the quicksave.) as well, then save points are fine.

[Key Gear 6,664]

But really, how do you play old games with a list like this? That's like... all of them.

 

Also, apparently none of you like Super Meat Boy or IWBTG, because one hit kills all over the place.

 

You have a good point. Now that you mention it, this may explain why I never played many too many older games outside of a few obvious classics.

 

I have to confess though. I spend a disturbing amount of time playing Roguelike games like Nethack. Looking at my list, I guess this would make me a bit of a hypocrite?

 

Also, I love Super Meat Boy. It may have one hit kills, but I always feel awesome when I get annihilated. I guess that it's kinda like the Spartans would have felt while being cut down in battle.

[Fizz. 1,079]

Do this objective and nothing else games.

 

I'd rather have an open world game then anything, the rest are all boring.

[Kapi 217]

A few of these came from my playthrough of Shenmue.

- Not being able to skip cutscenes. Its really irratating if you die you go back, but you have to watch the entire cutscene again.

 

- Slow and tedious gameplay. Shenmue was very bad with this. It was a big story, but it took waaaaay too long to play through it, mostly because you have to wait for events to occur, and I mean wiat. If the game says "Wait until tomorrow," you're waiting at least half an hour in real time for the game to advance. Its even worse when you have a limited amount of money, or nothing to do except stand in the middel of the road like an idiot. Shenmue 2 fixed this to a degree, but it still feels tedious.

 

And a few others

- CLIFFHANGERS. If you're going to end the game on a cliffhanger, either come out with a new game to end the story, or come up with a book or comic strip that explains the end. It doesn't have to be a game, but at least finish the story.

 

- Autoscroll. I'm looking at Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum here. IIn battles, after yu choose an attack, the text will scroll automatically after a few seconds if you don't do anything. This is nice, but, if you step away for a moment, you'll miss some critical information, and could come back to see a fainted Pokemon. But, when you most want it, like during Cyrus' speech, its not there. You have to manually scroll the text. At least give me the option to autoscroll it so I don't have to sit there and listen to blahblahblah. Goes with cutscenes above.

 

- Use an item, then OHKO. Another Pokemon one. So, the Gym Leader pulls out a Full Restore and uses it. Then you do the same thing to your Pokemon, but immediately after, the rival will use a move which normally won't do much damage, and its a critical. Bam, the Pokemon you just healed is now fainted.

 

-Not taking time to finish a game. If there's one thing I like about Valve, its "Valve Time." It gives them the chance to work on a game until they're ready to release it. Take Sonic the Hedgehog on 360/PS3, and you'll see someone really screwed up. Instead of giving themselves more time to develop a game on a new set of consoles, they set a release date and stuck to it. The game is incredibly buggy and glitchy as a result. If you're not going to change the release date, pull a Sonic & Knuckles, when they split Sonic 3 up into 2 games.

[Loffy09 16]

Hmm, Games where you can get abilities, (Kirby's Return To Dreamland for example) you walk and hit an enemy by mistake. You lose your ability. You chase your ability icon to take it back, but it disappears Thats what i hate about most games that have abilities.

[Fire_Fly 499]

Games that still have a stock system, like most Sonic games! Having a set number of lives is troublesome, and it's a pain to end up back at the start menu after dying so many times. I'm glad most games have evolved beyond that feature, but there are still a few out there that refuse to get with the program...

[Killian Jones 2,655]

A few of these came from my playthrough of Shenmue.

- Not being able to skip cutscenes. Its really irratating if you die you go back, but you have to watch the entire cutscene again.

 

- Slow and tedious gameplay. Shenmue was very bad with this. It was a big story, but it took waaaaay too long to play through it, mostly because you have to wait for events to occur, and I mean wiat. If the game says "Wait until tomorrow," you're waiting at least half an hour in real time for the game to advance. Its even worse when you have a limited amount of money, or nothing to do except stand in the middel of the road like an idiot. Shenmue 2 fixed this to a degree, but it still feels tedious.

 

And a few others

- CLIFFHANGERS. If you're going to end the game on a cliffhanger, either come out with a new game to end the story, or come up with a book or comic strip that explains the end. It doesn't have to be a game, but at least finish the story.

 

- Autoscroll. I'm looking at Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum here. IIn battles, after yu choose an attack, the text will scroll automatically after a few seconds if you don't do anything. This is nice, but, if you step away for a moment, you'll miss some critical information, and could come back to see a fainted Pokemon. But, when you most want it, like during Cyrus' speech, its not there. You have to manually scroll the text. At least give me the option to autoscroll it so I don't have to sit there and listen to blahblahblah. Goes with cutscenes above.

 

- Use an item, then OHKO. Another Pokemon one. So, the Gym Leader pulls out a Full Restore and uses it. Then you do the same thing to your Pokemon, but immediately after, the rival will use a move which normally won't do much damage, and its a critical. Bam, the Pokemon you just healed is now fainted.

 

-Not taking time to finish a game. If there's one thing I like about Valve, its "Valve Time." It gives them the chance to work on a game until they're ready to release it. Take Sonic the Hedgehog on 360/PS3, and you'll see someone really screwed up. Instead of giving themselves more time to develop a game on a new set of consoles, they set a release date and stuck to it. The game is incredibly buggy and glitchy as a result. If you're not going to change the release date, pull a Sonic & Knuckles, when they split Sonic 3 up into 2 games.

 

Cliffhangers are story based, they can be used well in episodic gaming and TV series, but sometimes don't go over well if poorly executed.

 

You shouldn't really be stepping away from a Pokemon game in the midst of a battle. even right after you selected a move, you can't really blame a game designer for adding that option in.

 

You also shouldn't blame RNG's for being biased, you may feel that way, but they don't hate you or like you, they just randomly make numbers.

 

Lastly, deadlines can help to prevent feature creep, one of the main things that did in Duke Nukem Forever initially is that the kept changing the game over and over and adding things, while they should've focused more. I do agree that a game should be fit for purpose and be sold in a working state with all promised features delivered.

[Queen Cassie 3,058]

In games where you have a cover system, I despise cover breakers. Particularly when the AI is extremely well designed so that your enemies are constantly working in tandem to not only flank you but break your cover in ways that cause you to run around like an idiot until you're shot because they also mapped the run key to the same key that puts you into cover, so sometimes you'll go randomly into cover "behind" something that is right in front of the enemies shooting at you so all it does is get you stuck long enough to die.

 

In case you can't tell this happened to me a LOT in Mass Effect 3. Happened sometimes in Mass Effect 2 but it wasn't nearly as prevalent because the AI isn't as good in that game.

[Crazy Misty 654]

I hate games with limited continues, this is mostly the case for older games, but here's an example.

 

Ninja Gaiden 1: Very challenging game buthad unlimited continues from the level you were on.

 

Ninja Gaiden 3: Just as challenging, but you can only use 3 continues

 

I think the first one's hard enough, let alone the 3rd one.

 

I also hate when AI's ONLY aim for you, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, every time the AI gets a smash ball they ALWAYS AND I MEAN ALWAYS aim for you, even when you're dead they wait for you to regenerate (unless you lost all stock).

[Marcato 2,144]

When your playing a part of a video game thatis really intense, but it is so easy to screw up that if you are thinking of something other than that for just 1 second you're screwed.