8 Video Game "Gifts" That Made You Say HUMBUG
Gaming's biggest lumps of coal.
Christmas may or may not be the most wonderful time of the year depending on your personal preferences, but what is it best known for? Togetherness? Food? No - it's gifts and the collective consumerist acquisition of as much Stuff as humanly possible, of course.
But who among us doesn't love receiving a gift? And that's no truer in the digital world of gaming than it is in reality, because a secret prize or reward for going the extra mile in-game can only enrich the overall experience.
Yet not all gifts are created equal, and sometimes those "presents" end up feeling like a giant, stinking lump of being left in your stocking on Christmas morning.
We're talking about the so-called gifts that made you screw your face up in disgust, caused the gameplay experience to be legitimately worse, or were simply anything but a net-benefit to the player's journey through the story.
These rewards sucked enough to tease out your inner scrooge and indeed look the gift horse in the mouth, questioning what you could've possibly done to deserve such a woeful present...
8. Timer B - Metal Gear Solid
Trust Hideo Kojima of all people to thoroughly screw with players after they've just been put through the damn wringer.
In the first Metal Gear Solid, after players have endured or succumbed to Revolver Ocelot's torture, they'll manage to escape and get their possessions back.
But keen-eyed players will notice something new in their inventory - an item suspiciously called "Timer B," complete with a number counting down.
The more astute among us will surely appreciate that Ocelot has sneaked a timebomb into their inventory, having anticipated the possibility that Solid Snake might stage an escape.
In case you don't realise what's going to happen, Colonel Campbell will even call you up on codec when the timer gets close to zero, imploring you to throw the bomb from your inventory before it goes kablam.
In the event you fail to heed Campbell's advice, however, Snake will indeed be blown to smithereens, triggering a Game Over.