Video games have grown massively over the years but there are some inescapable features and trends of video games that have thus far simply refused to die, and this list will examine 10 of the most irritating trends in video games that we would definitely rather simply disappeared.
Notable mention: First-Day Patches
When they are small, first day patches are inconsequential as they only add around 30 seconds to the first time you play a game. When they are large they are a nightmare, the recent Wii-U first day patch (which bricks your console if you try to skip it) is so horrendously long that Nintendo recommended anyone buying a Wii-U that a friend/family member at Christmas un-package the console and install the patch before giving it.
Here are 10 video game trends we wish would disappear.
10. Escort Quests
Anybody who has ever played World of Warcraft will know the “joy” of escort quests.
While not as boring as gather quests, with their random drops, which sometimes end up taking hours because the mobs simply aren’t dropping the item needed to be gathered, they can be infinitely more annoying based solely on the generally poor AI that plagues the NPCs and trolls/griefers in MMOs.
The worst thing about escort quests is that when done properly they could be incredible. Imagine meeting a young soldier, the lone survivor of an attack on his company, he’s scared but trained, and crucially still capable of following basic squad commands similar to those in traditional third person shooters. You’d be responsible for making sure he doesn’t get too overwhelmed but one-on-one and facing death; he’d have the ability, with a long cooldown, to make the killing shot. As the game progressed he’d start to regain confidence, more squad commands would become available, until eventually, he is a full squad-mate, just in time for the game to take a turn in another direction.
Escort quests have become muddled, frustrating, confusing messes but they rank low on the list because there is scope to change them rather than eliminate them. The Last of Us, scheduled for release in May 2013, looks like a game which could be addressing some of these problems by making the escorted character useful, so I am going into 2013 with high hopes that this trend could already be on the mend.
We are currently seeking Gaming contributors on WhatCulture. To find out more about the perks of being a Gaming contributor, click here.
12 Comments
In Max Payne 3, you could skip the cutscenes halfway through. I thought the story was good enough to want to watch them anyway.
Oh I agree. It was one of the better stories this year, but as I said on repeat playthroughs sometimes you just want to skip the cutscenes.
I chose Max Payne 3 because I thought (happy to be wrong) there were a few that were completely unskippable and because I liked the picture! :D
Don’t get me started on bloomin’ cut scenes… I think dead rising 2 may be one of the worst ever offenders, hardly played that game simply because its cut scenes were too often and too long.
Loading scenes are also one of those little niggles games sometimes can’t get away without having as they get bigger and better like you said, however I feel that assassins creed beats this annoyance by giving me a character to mess about with, occupying my mind whilst I wait… Although assassins creed is also a massive offender of the repeat tutorials :/
Also, don’t get me started on in game girlfriends :|
I love the premise of the Dead Rising games (solely because the original Dawn of the Dead reamins one of, if not the best, best zombie movies of all time) but the biggest stumbling block to me has always been the clunky control system. I’m don’t want a cover shooter but a stealth mechanic and a decent target system would definitely help.
I want cartridges back, they managed to removed load screens. The Assassin’s Creed loading screens used to be better when Altair/Ezio could swing their swords etc. but sadly Connor seems not to be trusted with.
Awesome article!
I don’t mind tutorials in sequels so much. Sometimes it’s been so long since I played, I might need a refresher. But I prefer skippable tutorials (like the ones in Gears of War, if I remember correctly).
I absolutely hate retailer-specific pre-order bonuses. I’m more infuriated when the bonus involves a mission or a level (and not one of those fetch quest that takes 30 seconds to complete). It sorta makes it that any version you buy is gonna be an “incomplete” package.
The trend with DLC is absolutely ruining gaming. Most of it is just a rip off. 2 dollars for a piece of clothing is just retarded. And some decent-length mission DLCs feel out of place too when the DLC story has very little to do with the main story.
I have one peeve.. Video Cutscenes – I hate them. Most of the time they either 1) look horrible compared to the in game engine because of the compression or 2) recorded nicely in HD but takes up insane amount of space. I think Batman Arkham City has a movie folder that is almost 8 gigs (and they don’t look all that great). I think it could have been easily done with the in game engine, and it could have looked much nicer and used less space.
Hey Tim!
Thanks for the comment! I totally agree with the video cutscenes comment although the way that consoles and computers have come along in recent years means they tend to match the quality of in game engine cutscenes a lot closer than they did in the Final Fantasy VII days!
In terms of escorts, I absolutely despise ‘missions’ where you have to escort and protect a vulnerable character through a level from beginning to end. Usually this character is weak and defenseless, has to be repeatedly paused to avoid walking into certain ambushes, and can take only so many hits until it dies. The worst is when you have to guard the escort as it tries to hack into a locked door or the like, while multiple rounds of enemies rush you both.
Guarding whilst they do something is the worse thing about those missions.At least when you are escorting them most games allow you to leave them a couple of yards behind you and clear the next room.
Plus they always seem to have an ability to act as bullet black hole, drawing in bullets from every corner of the surrounding area, unless you kill the assailant the moment they spawn.
Very true, that is the worst part, when they’re taking FOREVER to unlock the door or rewiring something, wave after wave of enemies just come out of nowhere and it gets annoying.
Another one that has only been around for few years is “online passes” it annoys me as for some collectors editions and day one DLC you pay extra to get something pon first day but I think online passes suck since when getting a 2nd hand game you pay have to pay £25 but then an extra £10 for online pass if you want multiplayer to buy the online pass it just sucks :(
I totally blanked on online passes! That’s a good one, it kinda ties into the always online-only DRM point too! It’s just another tool in the publisher’s hand to destroy the second hand market!
Thanks for the comment! ^_^
But I think in Max Payne 3 we weren’t able to skip cutscenes because of this mechanic they created where there would seem to be absolutely no loading time between cutscenes and gameplay, but the loading was actually during the cutscene itself