8 Amazing Video Games Ruined By ONE Terrible Mechanic

In the ever-challenging attempt to create a balance between video games being fun and challenging for players, a lot of thought has to go into the mechanics of how such a title operates.

After all, even if your idea is sound on paper, if playing through it resembles trying to deliver a speech with a mouthguard in, then it's not going to be fun for anyone involved.

And, likely to the frustration of every video game developer out there, often it can be just one single mechanic that can derail the entire experience, turning what might well have been a critical darling into a critical mistep for the franchise.

From having to work around hardware limitations at the time, or simply a lack of foresight as to how players would react, even great games can get their feet burned from time to time and we're here to toast such marshmallows today for your pleasure.

So gather round as we detail times where just one ill-advised mechanic loosened the bolts on the entire ride, sending players and sometimes publishers careening over the abyss.

When you hear the term "Rubberbanding" used in relation to video games, there's a good chance you'll immediately think of racing titles as it's a common mechanic designed to limit the gap between first and last place by having those trailing behind receive a speed or handling boost, or for the AI controlling them to dial-up its accuracy.

You likely wouldn't think of the NBA2K franchise, yet this too utilizes this mechanic, albeit in an absolutely horrendous manner and under a different name.

These "hot/cold" Momentum Mechanics are at their absolute worst in NBA 2K16, in which the AI will sometimes just say "ok mate, I've had enough of your lead, let me show you every possible meaning of the term dunking" and utterly obliterate you over and over.

On the other side of the field, your players look like they've been eating some rather greasy ham during the ad break, and now can't hold onto the ball to save their lives. It's incredibly apparent and lead many players to roast 2K about this practice, which is made all the funnier as they denied they programmed such a mechanic into the game.