Gaming cliches you can't stand

[Algonquin Assassin]

For the sake of discussion it's probably better to steer clear away from micro-transactions (As RedDagger covers this exceptionally well in his thread) so try to name more specific and unique things thanks.

 

I'll start.

 

-Period piece games (especially open world) and the lack of motorbikes. Don't developers realise motorbikes existed before 1980? I would've thought in the Mafia series motorbikes would be a choice of vehicle by now.

 

I guess motorbikes weren't as common on the roads back then as they are now, but it still puzzles me they seemingly don't exist at all in these games. I would love to see classic Indians, Harleys, Ducatis, Triumphs etc.

 

-Safehouses and locked rooms. Like everyone else I love to buy a safehouse or in some games just acquire them through other means, but I wish every room could be accessible. It would just add that extra touch of ownership I feel.

 

-Jump scares in horror games. Well I don't dislike jump scares entirely just when they're an overused device every 10-15 minutes. Though I think suspense is far creepier than being greeted with a jump scare.

[Homemade Dynamite]

Missions that hold your hand the whole way through and not giving you any room to choose. Especially a pet peeve of mine in open world games, where it's even less justified (looking at you GTA V).

[Audi]

 

-Safehouses and locked rooms. Like everyone else I love to buy a safehouse or in some games just acquire them through other means, but I wish every room could be accessible. It would just add that extra touch of ownership I feel.

 

 

This ^

 

also,

 

platform exclusive titles

Edited July 1, 2017 by Audi

[E•MO•TION]

Zombies.

 

That is all.

[Payne Killer]

Half assed story modes.

[thatstupidbug]

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

[luisniko]

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

While it's a good way to abort a mission seamlessly, it's also really annoying.

 

So yeah, I really hate linearity, obviousness, and restrictions in a video game.

 

I also hate QTE and everything else affected for the sake of cinematic view. I don't mind with cinematic cutscenes, but when a game is 90% cutscenes with button command and the other 10% is a corridor to push your analog stick until the next cutscene, then it's pretty much not a video game.

[Th3MaN1]

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

But why else would you leave the area if you yourself initiated that mission? I completely understand the game having you fail the mission for leaving it.

 

The logic seems flawed to me.

[Mister Pink]

Square-jawed, dude-bro, jabronis that look like (pic below) like some videogame dev nerd's wet dream to look like some college jock and then put him in some whack armour he creams himself over in his dreams to fight bad buys. No.

 

 

Total edge-lord.

 

Over-the-top, future sci-fi armour..

 

 

Cheesy looking sexy bitches in in Sci-Fi videogames or any videogame. You know the ones that are usually some sort of comms woman delivering you some intel over your headset. Stereotypical mission briefing bullsh*t from some double D slut. I just don't think it's realistic. Give me some ugly person with lazy eye and weight problem and I'll probably think they have more character and/or are more realistic than someone that looks like they jumped out of FHM magazine and in to a ranking mission operative role.

 

 

Oh and screenshots of people pointing guns with douchey smug looks on their faces.

[chronic lumbago]

I hate incredibly easy end bosses and last missions. In 80% of games I feel like the missions leading up to the conclusion are more challenging than the end encounter. Some games from the past decided to end it in a quicktime event which is the worst way to have a final bossfight ever.

 

Halo series bosses and final levels are a f*cking joke. Halo 4, worst Halo I played, ended it with a quicktime event. Jesus christ, Telltale QTEs are harder than that.

 

I admire games that make you stuck on the last boss. Sounds weird but I really do. Beyond Good & Evil is the first game that comes to my mind with an incredibly challenging final boss.

Edited July 1, 2017 by fashion

[Leftist Bastard]

 

Over-the-top, future sci-fi armour..

 

 

Cheesy looking sexy bitches in in Sci-Fi videogames or any videogame. You know the ones that are usually some sort of comms woman delivering you some intel over your headset. Stereotypical mission briefing bullsh*t from some double D slut. I just don't think it's realistic. Give me some ugly person with lazy eye and weight problem and I'll probably think they have more character and/or are more realistic than someone that looks like they jumped out of FHM magazine and in to a ranking mission operative role.

 

 

Oh and screenshots of people pointing guns with douchey smug looks on their faces.

Quite possibly the two worst examples to make your points through since Halo armor is pretty low key and Miranda is genetically modified to be as perfect as possible.

[luisniko]

I on the other hand hate it when games nowadays make everyone as ugly as possible.

 

I mean, beauty is subjective. But it's a different matter when the character's look is not even comfortable to see.

[thatstupidbug]

 

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

But why else would you leave the area if you yourself initiated that mission? I completely understand the game having you fail the mission for leaving it.

 

The logic seems flawed to me.

two reasons:

 

1- creativity. in DEATH ROW for example (vice city) your only enemy is the time limit of Lance's health, otherwise you can travel where you want, pick any veichle and assault (and escape from) the junkyard the way you like the most. THAT'S the way a sandbox should be!

 

2- Arbitrary restriction

In eflc i was on a rooftop and i had to face lost of mooks and an assault helicopter to escape from the only usable door... but with a couple of lucky jumps i escaped the building FROM THE OUTSIDE.The game didn't punished me.

on the other hand, in MgsV i rescued Kaz and i had to sneak past the Parasites that were blocking the only bridge to the landing zone.

I decided to go AROUND the bridge... but no. "YOU LEFT THE MISSION AREA". In an empty desert, i was forced to pass RIGHT under the only bridge in the middle of nowhere. nonsense...

[Matrelith]

-Jump scares in horror games. Well I don't dislike jump scares entirely just when they're an overused device every 10-15 minutes. Though I think suspense is far creepier than being greeted with a jump scare.

 

Jump scares are to the horror genre what fart jokes are to the comedy genre: cheap.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Matrelith

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

-I hate the generic Nathan Drake type character that many games these days does. They are fine on their own but after using that type of character so many timess it gets boring.

 

-The cliche military stories many games does, COD is the perfect example of this. Each game is about some crazy antagonist doing horrible sh*t and their death is all in slow motion. That also brings another thing that not just COD but many games does. Your partners telling you to do everything like opening a door or taking cover behind something or a scripted event where they show how badass your partner is by showing them killing people in a brutal way. I like doing things my way and without someone telling me what to do or how to do it.

 

I will think of more things since I have more buried in my head.

[Edward Nashton]

Over-the-top, future sci-fi armour..

 

Master Chief's armor is a bad example of that trope since it and most of the human technology in those games look like they could one day exist.

 

Typical Halo space marines

 

Prototype military armor.

Power armor concept.

... looks awfully familiar.

 

 

This is some over the top Sci-fi armor.

 

Furry scarf and all.

 

 

[Argonaut]

- "AK47" weapons that are actually AKMs

- Realistic FPS games that don't feature destruction (let-down)

[The Time Ranger]

Long unskippable tutorials. Especially annoying when you are replaying the game, it's so tedious.

 

Open world games that aren't really open world, locations artifically closed off, items that you haven't "unlocked". Look if it's in stock and I have the cash I should be able to buy it, having it shaded out, not able to get it is just bs.

[chronic lumbago]

-I hate the generic Nathan Drake type character that many games these days does. They are fine on their own but after using that type of character so many timess it gets boring.

 

-The cliche military stories many games does, COD is the perfect example of this. Each game is about some crazy antagonist doing horrible sh*t and their death is all in slow motion. That also brings another thing that not just COD but many games does. Your partners telling you to do everything like opening a door or taking cover behind something or a scripted event where they show how badass your partner is by showing them killing people in a brutal way. I like doing things my way and without someone telling me what to do or how to do it.

 

I will think of more things since I have more buried in my head.

My main issue with COD is that the campaign has absolutely nothing to do with MP. Nothing at all, gameplay wise. You had a lot of tactical missions in MW, for example and we all know that the MP has zero realistic tactics. Zero. The only real tactic is to go camping. For the rest you just go all out guns blazing.

[Matrelith]

Cheesy looking sexy bitches in in Sci-Fi videogames or any videogame. You know the ones that are usually some sort of comms woman delivering you some intel over your headset. Stereotypical mission briefing bullsh*t from some double D slut. I just don't think it's realistic. Give me some ugly person with lazy eye and weight problem and I'll probably think they have more character and/or are more realistic than someone that looks like they jumped out of FHM magazine and in to a ranking mission operative role.

 

 

 

 

I hate this trend of people saying that games should feature more ugly people. f*ck that. I'm playing a game to enjoy myself and I don't want to look at a bunch of ugly faces while doing that.

[Th3MaN1]

 

 

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

But why else would you leave the area if you yourself initiated that mission? I completely understand the game having you fail the mission for leaving it.

 

The logic seems flawed to me.

two reasons:

 

1- creativity. in DEATH ROW for example (vice city) your only enemy is the time limit of Lance's health, otherwise you can travel where you want, pick any veichle and assault (and escape from) the junkyard the way you like the most. THAT'S the way a sandbox should be!

 

2- Arbitrary restriction

In eflc i was on a rooftop and i had to face lost of mooks and an assault helicopter to escape from the only usable door... but with a couple of lucky jumps i escaped the building FROM THE OUTSIDE.The game didn't punished me.

on the other hand, in MgsV i rescued Kaz and i had to sneak past the Parasites that were blocking the only bridge to the landing zone.

I decided to go AROUND the bridge... but no. "YOU LEFT THE MISSION AREA". In an empty desert, i was forced to pass RIGHT under the only bridge in the middle of nowhere. nonsense...

 

Maybe with the second argument you got a point, I won't deny that.

 

But the first example is something that's present in many open world games.

 

Since you were talking about MGS V, I find it difficult to see how that game restricts you entirely. Maybe in that one point, yes. But what about the other missions you can complete is tens of different ways, using different gadgets or going at it with different appoaches? That's no different than the example you just gave.

[chronic lumbago]

@Matrelith: I agree. We see enough ugly smugs in real life and in the mirror and I sure don't mind a few sexy pixels on my TV screen lol.

Dishonored 2 features some of the ugliest faces I've ever seen in a game. It actually made me stop seeing reason to save Dunwall haha. (It's a great game and the ugliness is by design btw)

Edited July 1, 2017 by fashion

[Th3MaN1]

 

 

"You left the area" Mission failure in open world games.

 

Seriously, it's "OPEN" world, i can go where i want!!!

the worst offender are GTA V and, sadly, MGSV ("you left the mission area" by walking 10 mt off the designated zone!!! in a barren desert!)

But why else would you leave the area if you yourself initiated that mission? I completely understand the game having you fail the mission for leaving it.

 

The logic seems flawed to me.

two reasons:

 

1- creativity. in DEATH ROW for example (vice city) your only enemy is the time limit of Lance's health, otherwise you can travel where you want, pick any veichle and assault (and escape from) the junkyard the way you like the most. THAT'S the way a sandbox should be!

 

2- Arbitrary restriction

In eflc i was on a rooftop and i had to face lost of mooks and an assault helicopter to escape from the only usable door... but with a couple of lucky jumps i escaped the building FROM THE OUTSIDE.The game didn't punished me.

on the other hand, in MgsV i rescued Kaz and i had to sneak past the Parasites that were blocking the only bridge to the landing zone.

I decided to go AROUND the bridge... but no. "YOU LEFT THE MISSION AREA". In an empty desert, i was forced to pass RIGHT under the only bridge in the middle of nowhere. nonsense...

 

Maybe with the second argument you got a point, I won't deny that.

 

But the first example is something that's present in many open world games.

 

Since you were talking about MGS V, I find it difficult to see how that game restricts you entirely. Maybe in that one point, yes. But what about the other missions you can complete is tens of different ways, using different gadgets or going at it with different appoaches? That's no different than the example you just gave.

[Uncle Sikee Atric]

Excessive gore for the sake of excessive gore....

 

Some titles need it, yes. But sheer bucket loads of the stuff in really gritty, dark horror stories? It's like a bloody cartoon half the time and I personally feel the 'mystery of knowing there's tons of gore', without actually showing it? That atmosphere, done right, is far scarier than just shoving the gore down your throat just because devs can....

[Edward Nashton]

Excessive gore for the sake of excessive gore....

 

Some titles need it, yes. But sheer bucket loads of the stuff in really gritty, dark horror stories? It's like a bloody cartoon half the time and I personally feel the 'mystery of knowing there's tons of gore', without actually showing it? That atmosphere, done right, is far scarier than just shoving the gore down your throat just because devs can....

When gore is used as a substitute for genuine tension and suspense in horror games (Evil Within) = Bad.

When gore is used as a satisfying visual enhancer when killing enemies in action games (Wolfenstein, Doom, Fallout etc.) = Good.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Edward Nashton

[Mister Pink]

 

Cheesy looking sexy bitches in in Sci-Fi videogames or any videogame. You know the ones that are usually some sort of comms woman delivering you some intel over your headset. Stereotypical mission briefing bullsh*t from some double D slut. I just don't think it's realistic. Give me some ugly person with lazy eye and weight problem and I'll probably think they have more character and/or are more realistic than someone that looks like they jumped out of FHM magazine and in to a ranking mission operative role.

 

I hate this trend of people saying that games should feature more ugly people. f*ck that. I'm playing a game to enjoy myself and I don't want to look at a bunch of ugly faces while doing that.

 

 

It's not some trend I'm following. I just want people to look like real people. I'll use TV as an example. Some shows like to depict people as all models, clean and preppy and very good looking and then they put them in hard-working, often breaking the law situations. There's a huge disconnect there. Now, you can argue that good looking people commit crimes or end up in unusual adventures just as much as the next person but people getting tough situations like the ones in video games over and over generally have some hardship showing in their face. You can see history and character in a weathered face. They don't have to be ugly people just real looking people, not somebody out of some fashion magazine fighting aliens in space.

 

Because then video games start to become homogenized and preppy like this..

 

 

 

And lot less gritty and realistic as this..

 

(The Wire)

 

 

 

It's why games like GTA work well because they're not afraid to have the grimey looking Eastern European with the ugly cousin. Or the creepy looking smart guy in the wheelchair. It's the grittiness of Kane & Lynch. They're more believable for me because these people look more day to day. Life has grinded them down. The handsome, no blemishes people I see are less inclined to have had any physically demanding jobs, had less hardship in their lives etc. There's a place for those people in games like Life Is Strange or some other story-driven games that doesn't quite involve, taking down rival gang or fighting aliens in space. I don't want muh games turning in to muh soap opera style stories played by all dudes with six-packs and square jawlines and big breasted, skinny waisted women for every side-character.

 

 

Quite possibly the two worst examples to make your points through since Halo armor is pretty low key and Miranda is genetically modified to be as perfect as possible.

 

@Leftist: I disagree, Miranda, the means doesn't justify the end for me, the end result is still the same. A sexy female informant/comms woman for the horny teenage nerds, is just too cliched in video games.

 

@Leftist, Ed Nashton: Yes, maybe Halo was a bad example to use in my sleepy first post of the morning. Point still stands though, I dislike over the top armour.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Mister Pink

[B Dawg]

It seems you double posted But to follow up on that, I don't really like how the majority of the good guys or player characters are the pretty looking ones, while the bad guys/antagonists are the 'ugly' (hardened looking).

 

Take The Lost And Damned for example. A majority of The Lost MC dudes are young, pretty looking dudes, while The Angels Of Death MC dudes are the rough, hardened looking dudes. The Angels Of Death for me look cooler and more fitting for the whole gang warfare thing and I wish that The Lost looked just as rough as the Angels do. What I hate most is when I want to play the Club Business Co-op mode on Multiplayer, and I end up getting the lamest, pretty looking fags that look like they don't belong, and going onto killing dozens of Angels with ease. I had to mod the gamemode script so that it gives me the battle hardened looking ones R* decided to keep exclusive to the Singleplayer Gangwars side-activity. Don't get me started on the voice lines as well!

 

When you take into account Main characters, only Johnny and Billy look hardened. Terry, Clay and Jim seem like the middleground dudes, not pretty or 'ugly', while Brian is the silly looking fat sissy who doesn't leave Billy's side.

 

I can be real nitpicky when it comes to details.

Edited July 1, 2017 by B Dawg

[Coleco]

 

• Gravelly-voiced. no-neck. quip-dispensing "cool" dudebro/edgelord protagonists

   

• Shady government agencies being the reason for f*cking everything

   

• Clunky exposition and unskippable cutscenes

   

• Sniper rifles

   

• "Crafting"

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

 

-I hate the generic Nathan Drake type character that many games these days does. They are fine on their own but after using that type of character so many timess it gets boring.

 

-The cliche military stories many games does, COD is the perfect example of this. Each game is about some crazy antagonist doing horrible sh*t and their death is all in slow motion. That also brings another thing that not just COD but many games does. Your partners telling you to do everything like opening a door or taking cover behind something or a scripted event where they show how badass your partner is by showing them killing people in a brutal way. I like doing things my way and without someone telling me what to do or how to do it.

 

I will think of more things since I have more buried in my head.

My main issue with COD is that the campaign has absolutely nothing to do with MP. Nothing at all, gameplay wise. You had a lot of tactical missions in MW, for example and we all know that the MP has zero realistic tactics. Zero. The only real tactic is to go camping. For the rest you just go all out guns blazing.

 

This is a big reason many complained about the games being the same game each year back in the MW3 days. People want different gameplay and not a different skin with futuristic era and jetpacks. They need to change everything in the game to make them feel fresh which they seem to not understand from what videos I see of the multiplayer. The new modes like war mode is cool and could be a nice change but it looks too similiar. Hopefully zombies aren't a copycat of the treyarch formula.

[HaythamKenway]

Just a few irritants from the top of my head, major and minor, before I head to bed...

 

Forced multiple endings that muddle the narrative after the game didn't bother with any branching choices throughout the story whatsoever. More often than not, in cases like these, multiple endings feel phoned in and arbitrary rather than something that actually elevates the storytelling.

 

Good/evil choices that boil down to "absolute saint of selflessness" or "reincarnation of Hitler".

 

The protagonist/major supporting characters dying without the deaths being earned or properly capitalized on afterwards - the writers using the emotional response as a crutch.

 

AI rebellion/robot rights. Please, please can we get a story about AIs without them rising against us? It's like 99% of sci-fi franchises dealing with AIs eventually veer in that territory. Most of them didn't even need to. Do we play, for example, Fallout for that when there are tons of better genre fiction dealing with the subject?

 

Tacked on RPG-lite upgrade trees and superfluous cumbersome scavenger hunt systems.

 

Online features grafted onto wholly singleplayer games (not necessarily complete multiplayer modes - just features relying on other players and online connection eg. MGSV's FOBs).

 

Backtracting/mandatory replays of linear missions/scenarios.