Annoying Videogame Clichés I could do without.

[PKerr]

You know in this day and age of technology there are certain things (IMO) that should not be accepted by the gaming community any longer.

I dunno, maybe I’ve just become jaded because I’ve played so many games over the years but I’m kinda tired of the same-old-same old, time for some real changes to start taking place.
IMO game developers have gotten far too lazy by using the same old tired Clichés in modern gaming, granted there are some exceptions out there but even the exceptions have some of the annoying Clichés I’ll list here.


So without further adieu and in no particular order…

1. The ultra elite, ultimate badass super soldier (or whatever) that can't swim.
I mean really what is more annoying than getting near water of any kind and instantly dying?
Am I related to the wicked witch of the west or something? I'm melting, I'm meeeeellltinnng..... Ugh.
If you don’t want me in the water then don’t have any in your world.

2. The ultra elite, ultimate badass super soldier (or whatever) that can't jump over a picket fence.
Invisible walls are the worst thing ever invented in video games and nothing is more annoying than wanting to explore an area only to be blocked by a picket fenced invisible wall.
Some of the open world games lately have proved that a game can look stunning and play well without having a linear path, get rid of the invisible walls already.

3. The ultra elite, ultimate badass super soldier (or whatever) that can't get through a door.
You mean to tell me Being the ultra elite, ultimate badass super soldier I can’t get through a door without a key or pass code?
I have in my possession a machine gun, a rocket launcher, a half dozen grenades, fire spells/lightning, shape shifting spells or whatever and I still need a key? Hmmm
It’s also annoying to have a long hallway full of doors that aren’t designed to open, all except that one.

4. Cave-ins, locked doors or drop-offs. Why do paths have to be locked behind me?
There are very few games that will let you re-trace your steps most times a rockslide will happen, a huge, mysterious wind will slam (and lock) doors behind you or you will drop five feet of a broken stairwell or mini cliff…What, being a ultra elite, ultimate badass super soldier (or whatever) I can’t climb back up?

5. Health kits in the strangest places.
Nothing is cooler that discovering a secret cave or forgotten land that man has not set foot in for 100’s or maybe even 1000’s of years and finding that shiny new health kit hanging on the wall when you really need it.
Need I say more?

6. The annoying side kick or squad that is always in need of rescue, blocks doorways, block your bullets or thinks they are Rambo.
What is even worse is when you are personally responsible for them so when they die your game is over…Ugh, Why can’t I just continue on without their annoying @sses if I so choose?

7. Developing your powers along the way.
Don’t get me wrong, everyone likes the challenge of building your character, armor, superpowers, guns or whatever but some games a just annoying with the way they have you do them.
So Batman has to get to 10,000 XP before he can use his Bat-a-rang? Seems silly to me.
Plus the fact you are an ultimate bad @ss by the end of the game with no-one to really fight, Yeah sure you may fight some sort of boss at the end but wouldn’t it have been nice to use those powers throughout the game?

8. speaking of bosses…can’t the devs come up with something different?

So that’s all I have time for right now plus I don’t what to list them all, it’s your turn. J

 

[Artemis]

The ultra elite, ultimate bad ass chick with an armour that conceals and protects absolutely nothing and has the sole purpose of sexing up the game.

Then again, I'm just jealous when I see that. XD

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Most of the ones listed in the OP can be boiled down to, "programmers are lazy and don't want to make the game do any more than it has to."

 

[Showdown]

Quick Time Events. I hate them.

This is more of a complaint than an annoying cliche, but I hate when games won't let you customize buttons on the controllers.

 

[AJBryant]

I hate suicidal "NPCs" who I have to escort. If I have to kill thirty bad guys and keep these fools alive, in the real world I'd say "STAY HERE!" and go kill bad guys -- but these fool AIs crowd in behind me (I swear they want to run ahead sometimes!). Grrr.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

I hate that end-game feel that you get towards the end of pretty much any game that allows you to improve your character over time; every creature except the toughest monsters in the roughest corners of the Overworld is a total pushover.

 

[Kelthaz]

1. Ultra elite, ultimate badass super solders

Yeah, the nameless guy in Doom was cool, but enough is enough. No more space marines.

2. Sword-wielding teenagers.

Add bonus points if they come from a small town that gets destroyed in the first two hours of gameplay.

3. Developing your character.

You want to throw that crap into RPGs? Go nuts. But I hate playing God of War and having to collect orbs to level up my weapons. What next, the more coins you collect the higher Mario can jump? Skill, not EXP.

4. Fetch Quests / Broken Bridges / Padding

If the quest isn't interesting, don't make me do it. If it makes the game shorter, than so be it. Short games are awesome because they aren't padded with pointless filler that kills any and all replay value the game has.

5. Lives

Yes, I love hard games, but lives do not a hard game make. You either end up farming for lives in some earlier level, not caring if you get a game over because you have infinite continues, or ending up with about 8.32 trillion lives by the end of the game anyway.

6. Too Much Story

I like a good story, but I like good gameplay better. When even games such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 has you watch cutscene after cutscene, play tutorial after tutorial, and listen to exposition after exposition before you even play the first level you know something is wrong. I want to jump on Goombas, not listen to Patrick the Starfish tell me how the starship works or talk to me every time I get a star. Shut up and let me play the game. And again, Mario is the light version of this. You don't even do anything in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune until about 2 hours into the game.

7. Tutorials

Gamers aren't idiots. We don't need a tutorial to tell us that the D-Pad moves us and the X button jumps -- we'll figure it out on our own. And no, hitting X twice for a double jump isn't an advanced move. If Civilization doesn't need a tutorial, than it's safe to say that Halo doesn't need one either.

8. Realism

Video games are supposed to be about fun. I don't want to play a game with some photorealistic graphics that simulate driving to work. I want to play a game with a blue hedgehog that turns Super Saiyan and destroys the Death Star. I want to play a game with a gun that shoots lightning shurikens. I want to play a game with a kid who fights zombies with a watergun. Even a sword-wielding teenager space marine would be okay.

 

[I am not Spock]

Explosive barrels everywhere.

Quick time events

Regenerating health system (it was cool at first, but now EVERY FPS DOES IT!)

Limited to carrying two weapons (again, realistic does not always mean FUN)

Too many cutscenes. I don't mind a story, but I want some gameplay as well.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Trying to tell the story like it's a goddamn movie.

Being immature about sexuality.

Shallow characters/plots.

Being the most uber powerful character in existence.

 

[eastman23]

I've had this bookmarked for years and it's always good for a chuckle.

The Grand List Of Console Role Playing Game Clichés

Not all of them are annoying, and it doesn't just apply to RPGs!

 

[Canadave]

8. Realism

Video games are supposed to be about fun. I don't want to play a game with some photorealistic graphics that simulate driving to work. I want to play a game with a blue hedgehog that turns Super Saiyan and destroys the Death Star. I want to play a game with a gun that shoots lightning shurikens. I want to play a game with a kid who fights zombies with a watergun. Even a sword-wielding teenager space marine would be okay.

I agree with most of your list, but this one I have to take some umbrage with. There are a number of simulation games that I'm a big fan of—the Silent Hunter games, for instance. For me, it can be quite fun to spend half an hour or an hour stalking a convoy, carefully sneaking past the escorts, and setting up the perfect shot. It's a different kind of fun from a Mario game, but it definitely has its appeal.

I'll also echo your thoughts on space marines. I rarely play many action games these days because I'm so bloody sick of space marines. It's just stupid, lazy character design, and usually not very compelling, either.

 

[Mr Light]

the non-speaking hero

the hero with amnesia

the hero who's the new recruit to the squad (coughs Halo ODST coughs Halo Reach)

 

[SPCTRE]

Being immature about sexuality.

That seriously bugs me as well.

The way games (even the ones that tell great stories) tend to treat love, romance, sex in general is lackluster in most cases, to say the least.

 

[Mr Light]

Halo 3 had a good love story in it between Master Chief and Cortana. No, seriously!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

There's one area where RPGs tend to offend a lot: you have this super-powerful character who can win just about any battle... except when the plot dictates they must die by a knife to the chest or something.

 

[SPCTRE]

Halo 3 had a good love story in it between Master Chief and Cortana. No, seriously!

Indeed. Funny as it may seem to people who aren't as invested in the Halo lore, that was a comparatively mature approach to a love story.

 

[Artemis]

Realism is overrated anyway.

8. Realism

Video games are supposed to be about fun. I don't want to play a game with some photorealistic graphics that simulate driving to work. I want to play a game with a blue hedgehog that turns Super Saiyan and destroys the Death Star. I want to play a game with a gun that shoots lightning shurikens. I want to play a game with a kid who fights zombies with a watergun. Even a sword-wielding teenager space marine would be okay.

What he said.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Realism is necessary in some games. Racing sims, flight sims, wargames--those hinge on having a reasonable degree of realism.

Where you don't want realism is in things that are boring. No one wants to play an air combat sim where you spend hours flying from A to B. You want to get up in the air and shoot some bad guys down. But many people do want realistic flight physics, avionics, and weapon behavior. You just want the right things to be realistic, and to take out the boring ones.

 

[SPCTRE]

Realism is necessary in some games. Racing sims, flight sims, wargames--those hinge on having a reasonable degree of realism.

Where you don't want realism is in things that are boring. No one wants to play an air combat sim where you spend hours flying from A to B. You want to get up in the air and shoot some bad guys down. But many people do want realistic flight physics, avionics, and weapon behavior. You just want the right things to be realistic, and to take out the boring ones.

QFT

Realism and fun aren't mutually exclusive concepts. It's all about the genre.

 

[Arrqh]

There's one area where RPGs tend to offend a lot: you have this super-powerful character who can win just about any battle... except when the plot dictates they must die by a knife to the chest or something.

That's just a +10 knife