Video games are pretty great – but they can be seriously annoying at times. As the title here alludes, one of the most annoying things – and one of the reasons I stopped playing GTA IV – is that infernally annoying cousin and his perpetual requests to go bowling.
It brings to mind Navi, the fairy from the otherwise incredible Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Annoying to a fault, the little blue bit of light with its incessant “LISTEN! LISTEN! HEY!” very nearly ruined what would be a close to perfect game.
Other great games with minor things that annoyed me? The Last of Us. Yes, I know you all love the thing – but those perfectly formed, whole, conveniently placed pallets every single time there’s a body of water to traverse? That annoyed the hell out of me. Similarly, when it comes to mechanics – I hate missions in games that place you behind a vehicle mounted turret, where all you’ll be doing for the next 10 minutes is a bare-bones rail shooting – removing any sense of strategy or indeed, player agency.
Worse than that? Forced escort missions, and forced stealth in games that aren’t built around those mechanics. There are few things more annoying than having to babysit a character that seems intent on running face first in to bullets. Likewise with forced stealth – where the mechanics just aren’t in place to enable sneaky walking about, so it’s inevitably clunky, usually with instant death that sends you back to the beginning.
I’m sure there are countless more examples; the red jam that covers your face in FPS games when you get shot, only to gradually fade away as you magically heal behind cover. Needing to pick up a billion bits of armour, like in Wolfenstein. Games that let you carry like, 4 bullets – but about a billion guns.
You tell us! What other mechanics and characters in otherwise good games annoy the hell out of you? And afterwards, maybe we can go bowling!
Last Updated: March 6, 2015
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 10:32
The Evil Within…Seb has space for a crossbow and shotty but not enough space for more than 5 matches :/
Hammersteyn
March 6, 2015 at 11:42
What bug me from that game was the useless AI
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 11:45
From? Enemies or Allies? Allies were dumb as shit. Enemies were okay for the most part.
Hammersteyn
March 6, 2015 at 12:05
The Allies. a monster would chow me and the ally would swing and miss in a vain attempt to save me. I could have played the game on easy but that pissed me of so much I traded it two days later.
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 12:14
Haha, yeah, luckily allies only stay with you for like a fraction of the game. It’s much better alone.
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 10:34
Oh and Dragon Age Inquisition quests. Why do you have to split a single quest up into 15 shards spanning multiple maps that are far apart from each other. Dragon Age Shard Collector.
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 10:54
Yeah, but least the Shard finding thing was handled better than in most JRPG. Exists to make you hunt shit across the whole game
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 11:04
It was the same in most RPGs imo. It never handled it any better. Quest about Grey Wardens?…Find documents all over the world in different maps. Every quest is a derivative of shard collecting. The world was nice and big and pretty so most never minded to explore, but at the end of the day, most of the quests just devolved into collect-o-thons
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 11:00
it was fine the first time round when you’re all like “LETS EXPLORE” and stuff.
second time round its a little… less fun
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 11:04
Yeah, the world was nice to explore which is why a lot of people never really cared about it.
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 10:35
The Mako in ME1…Or mining in ME2
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 10:43
Exploring mountainous terrain was the worst! At least it was effectively immune to fall damage 😛
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 10:45
To drive the 20km around the mountain or the 1km over it?
WHICH ONE TAKES LONGER?
the internal debate was real.
Mossel
March 6, 2015 at 10:48
hahaha!! Over is always better!! Is what he said before he spent 1 hour fighting the fucking Himalayas.
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 10:58
being 1/4 of the way up, thinking you can still turn around and make it there faster, but then you think “THIS MOUNTAIN SHALL NOT BEAT ME”
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 10:49
I know man, it just seems like the mountain was fine, IT LOOKS FINE RIGHT? But oh ffs the HORROR
Dutch Matrix
March 6, 2015 at 11:06
They could have made the mining in ME 2 so much more better:
Imagine trying to launch a probe and EDI goes: “Shepard. Jack is trying to stuff Miranda into the probe bay…”
Or
When a probe is launched, EDI goes: “Launching Legion. Wait. What?” It then cuts to a scene with Legion going “Wheeeeeee!!!!” in space.
Jaded_Reprobate
March 6, 2015 at 11:40
“Stuff Miranda in the probe bay” …
Euphemism much?
Dutch Matrix
March 6, 2015 at 11:42
*into* the probe bay. Read! 😛
Jaded_Reprobate
March 6, 2015 at 11:42
selective reading 😉
Valenlord
March 6, 2015 at 14:00
I would love to stuff Miranda in the probe bay!!!!
BacchusZA
March 6, 2015 at 11:46
I’m guessing you traveled to the Sol system in ME2, & scanned Uranus…..?
Dutch Matrix
March 6, 2015 at 11:48
My doctors scanned and probed my anus a while back…
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 6, 2015 at 11:21
I enjoyed the Mako. That mining though, so boring.
Pariah
March 6, 2015 at 12:04
The Mako was fun. The terrain needed work, but it was super fun. Just one of the things I missed about ME1. Which is still my favourite in the series.
That Planet scan though, GOD. Kill me now!
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 10:38
Forced stealth in a non-stealth game, I HATE THAT!
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 10:38
QTE’s in general
ReaperOfSquirrels
March 6, 2015 at 11:00
I agree with this, especially when you don’t know when you’re going to enter a QTE… I’m looking at you Tomb Raider.
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 10:39
BWHAHAHAHA @ “red jam”
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 10:40
In the old infinity engine games such as Icewind Dale and Baldurs Gate, the pathfinding was mostly 100% except when units clumped together. Often you couldn’t leave a bar or house because all your party members were neatly stuck in a clump and held back by 2 bar stools 😛
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 10:53
Path-finding in original Baldurs gate one, in a cave sucked badly.
I would be at one end, the party is scattered around and then I get attacked
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 10:44
Ugh I knew I was forgetting something: The original XCom, when you’re soldiers panicked and dropped their weapons, or went beserk and starting shooting their own team from behind >:|
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 10:53
Part of the strategy…… I think.
Made it more important to choose soldiers with the right moral fibre
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 11:39
Yeah, but it was only later in the game when you could determine a soldier’s psionic strength, or something to that effect, by sending them on a special month long training exercise. That determined how strong he/she was against mind attacks. Up to that time the only hint was that a soldier repeatedly succumbed to those attacks.
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 10:51
Earliest rage-quit game mechanic:
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 6, 2015 at 11:20
Fidgit in Dust, I wanted to strangle that thing. What an annoying voice. Basically any character with a high-pitched squeaky voice, like JRPG characters & Rince.
Games that make you backtrack to previously completed areas to access collectibles or something you couldn’t get the first time you were there because you didn’t have the required tools/levels/magic/whatever. Looking at you Batman games, among others. FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
Escort missions.
Bad stealth. Looking at you Sniper Elite 2 – irritates me that the sounds I’ve been using to cover my shots magically disappear when I cross some invisible boundary.
Enemies that spawn out of nowhere more often than an RKO, usually behind or flanking you. Surprise!
When I can’t rebind my controls. It’s 2015, I can do that with 20 year old DOS games FFS.
Unskippable cut scenes, especially right before a difficult fight.
There’s more, but I’m lazy.
Admiral Chief
March 6, 2015 at 11:24
LOL @ Rince
Umar
March 6, 2015 at 11:41
Yup….Fidget was a horrible character. Encompasses everything that I hate when it comes to stereotypical JRPG characters.
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 11:43
No drag-select in old RTS games 😛 Looking at you Dune2! (amazeballs amazing game nonetheless)
Hammersteyn
March 6, 2015 at 11:43
Unskippable cutscenes, bad checkpoints and useless AI. Also QTE is getting old quite fast.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 11:58
Oh damn, I just said the same thing 🙂
Hammersteyn
March 6, 2015 at 12:04
XD
BacchusZA
March 6, 2015 at 11:44
The occasional bit of platforming you need to do in The Old Republic. I love the game, but it is not an engine that works well for finely timed jumps. Fortunately there aren’t many, but oh man can the ones you need to do drive you to distraction……
Lord Chaos
March 6, 2015 at 11:51
That bastard follower in Fallout 3.
Dutch Matrix
March 6, 2015 at 11:55
Romance in Mass Effect. I cannot romance Ashley Williams as Femshep. Somewhere, a writer at Bioware is clearly a sadist…
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/094/f/a/ashley_williams_23_by_johntesh-d4v1fdw.jpg
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 11:57
I don’t know if this counts, but some games that only have autosave and nothing else always tend to save right before an unskippable cut scene or an irritating moment that you have to repeat over and over to get to the hard part that you’re actually struggling with.
V@mp
March 6, 2015 at 12:00
Defending your position while waiting for the slowest elevator in the world to stop at your floor.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:00
All I’m thinking now is Left for Dead. 😀
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:02
In racing games AI that gets away with illegal moves that you cannot dare do.
Or just bad AI that simply follows a line and doesn’t respond much to you intersecting and passing.
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 6, 2015 at 12:03
or my favourite, when the AI starts falling too far behind it teleports closer.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:04
Oh wow. Where does that happen? (or am I that bad at it that I’ve never got a big enough lead?)
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 12:10
AI often has a catchup protocol, depending on how its implimented, it can either ruin a game, or just make it more fun.
all the NFS games have it.
pretty sure Driveclub has a bad one, since ive only played one race and i had a 5 second lead at the final checkpoint thing and the 2nd place bot took me on the final straight doing atleast 50km over his cars top speed.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:12
I don’t enjoy catchup much. When I make a mistake in a racing game I have to earn my place again. GRID had it quite right though with the little rewind function. Make things a bit less frustrating.
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 12:27
GRIDs catchup wasnt that intense though, when you finish a race with a 10 second margin, its generally a sign that the catchup is barely evident.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:35
You could put the catchup off though, which I always did.
I don’t mind them putting it in, as long as I have the option to switch it off.
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 6, 2015 at 12:26
not dedicated racers, i’ve seen it in open world stuff that have racing sections
Pariah
March 6, 2015 at 12:09
Cover mechanics in games. Seriously, fuck off. Make it fun (yet to happen) or gtfo.
Also, unskippable cutscenes.
Also, turn-based combat in a real-time environment. Yes, I’m looking at you KOTOR. Hit, wait, hit, wait, hit, wait. Give me control, let me murder shit, or make the whole thing turn-based.
konfab aka derp
March 6, 2015 at 12:11
You are complaining about a 2001 mechanic that has already been fixed (sort of). Dragon Age inquisition seems to do it quite nicely.
Pariah
March 6, 2015 at 12:14
The mechanic still infuriates me. Either make it real-time, or turn-based. Don’t mix the two.
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 12:31
Not sure I agree with you. I think KOTOR did it brilliantly, and this coming from an AD&D paper based roleplaying nerd boy, who has read most of the lore of the entire Forgotten Realms. I am used to that style combat, but I loved KOTOR. Also, LIGHTSABERS!
Pariah
March 6, 2015 at 12:33
Oh KOTOR got almost everything right, it’s just that combat that frustrates me. It was fine before, but now that I have had a lot more control in my combat in RPG’s, I hate the turn-based style.
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 12:43
SO, you hate it now, but liked it then?
Pariah
March 6, 2015 at 12:45
No, I just didn’t mind. Because I had nothing better, and we had just come out of the Baldur’s Gate era, where the combat was almost exactly the same, mechanically. Now that I’ve been given control (ME, Elder Scrolls) there’s just so much more satisfaction in not clicking once and waiting for combat to finish.
konfab aka derp
March 6, 2015 at 12:09
In racing games where they have some “professional” whispering in your ear giving you pep talks about how you should do better. X__X
Any game that does this is shelved.
On a more RPGish note, I find there is a problem with L00t disposal in certain games such as Fallout and Skyrim. There simply is not enough money in the game to liquidate your “assets”. This starts rearing it’s ugly head when you get over encumbered(Like fighting a dragon). Fortunately there are mods to fix it, but it should be addressed.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:10
Yes. I modded my Skyrim and Fallout with leveling merchants. Makes a HUGE difference.
As far as the racing is concerned, that’s one thing that always bothered me a bit with DiRT. Turned it off though, the gameplay was some good fun.
Matthew Holliday
March 6, 2015 at 12:24
aye, i struggled getting rid of all the items i had from levelling smithing and enchanting at the same time.
you need to put points into speech to increase the merchants gold and invest gold in a few of them aswell.
its a catch 22 though, if the merchants had enough gold, the gold system would be broken.
they could probably have just fixxed that with some balancing though.
having extra gold makes buying arrows worthwhile, buff the enemies to make better arrows worth it.
or nerf the gold gain from enchanting and smithing bonus.
i reckon its a bit late to consider addressing it though, i suppose their support of mods was their idea of balancing it.
konfab aka derp
March 6, 2015 at 12:35
Oblivion did it quite nicely IMO.
Have merchants with infinite gold, but limit the size of the transaction.
The other issue for people with OCD for collecting things in RPGs is there is never ever enough high level stuff to buy in games .
In Fallout New vegas for example, my bed is covered with Mini Nukes, Missiles, Gold bars and Whiskey.
What I would like is the ability to spend massive amounts of cash in ridiculous ways. For example. Buying out an entire town, or offering to buy people’s houses and businesses.
Ultimate endgame for a Fallout game: establish your own empire. That would include employing people to manage it for you so you don’t have to personally wipe out every bandit.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 12:35
I would buy this
Viking Of Science
March 6, 2015 at 12:09
Not being able to Abandon quests in Borderlands 1 & 2. Man, damn low level quests that I didn’t feel like doing, clogging up my Journal… Skyrim does it too I think, but I’m sure there’s a mod for that.
konfab aka derp
March 6, 2015 at 12:13
In fact by biggest annoyance is when developers don’t bother to animate their sword combat properly(especially in turn based games. I would prefer if they limit the amount of weapons so they can get nice looking combat (looks at KOTOR’s light sabre combat, where the weapons actually hit each other).
Aries
March 6, 2015 at 12:13
Ollie Ollie2 is the most irritating game for me, the margins for perfect or good is to small
Sageville
March 6, 2015 at 12:13
My bug-bear in most FPS or open world games….
I need to get from point A to point B, between them is a mountain or hill.
I have to do this jumping thing where I hope my guy can make it up…. end up jumping around the edges of said mountain and sliding down,making no overall vertical progress…
Surely some new mechanic can let me know “No bru, you ain’t supposed to climb there”.
Matewis Jubilai
March 6, 2015 at 12:16
Morrowind’s journal…
Aries
March 6, 2015 at 12:18
For some reason everytime I read the heading, I read it with a Latino accent
Darren Peach
March 6, 2015 at 12:20
Not being able to vault over things like a garbage bag or a rock…..Objects in games that are stuck in place.
Brady miaau
March 6, 2015 at 12:42
This list can go on and on and I see many, many great comments.
Any game mechanic that breaks game flow or removes the “sparkle” or fun factor feeling you just had in that game.
Sort of like Deus Ex: HR Great game, then first boss fight. Um, what?
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 6, 2015 at 12:48
That reminds me: When a game lets you choose how to play, or plays a certain way, then suddenly says… nope, for this stage you have to play it like this! Or suddenly give you some arb camera angle to work with, often paired with suddenly terrible controls – like pushing forward no longer means forward, but diagonally right. And then you die.
Captain JJ the damned
March 6, 2015 at 13:40
100% with you there with DE:HR
Pofadder
March 6, 2015 at 15:05
GTA V online, when you spawn in the shower, every time you are in a hurry to accept an invite. Or when you are racing and a loose piece of cardboard sends you spinniing off into another country. Or when you fall down and guy gets up with the speed of an arthritic sloth on weed. And if you are on a slope he’s going to complete the slide before taking his sweet ass time to get up!
Skyblue
March 6, 2015 at 15:17
“Worse than that? Forced escort missions, and forced stealth in games that aren’t built around those mechanics. There are few things more annoying than having to babysit a character that seems intent on running face first in to bullets. Likewise with forced stealth – where the mechanics just aren’t in place to enable sneaky walking about, so it’s inevitably clunky, usually with instant death that sends you back to the beginning.”
This is GTA as well and it’s fucking horrible. To imagine ppl get paid to develop these missions
Skyblue
March 6, 2015 at 15:18
The GTA cover system is the funniest/worst/saddest I have ever encountered, absolute rubbish controls