Game Clichés you hate the most

[Anatoli Ossai]

Any game that gives the Protagonist all the power up at the games beginning then takes them away after some sapping unpleasant story or time travel only to make you work for the mechanics again.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

fortunately for me, narrative/character cliche's don't bug me in the slightest for the most part, what bugs me is when they purposely try to be "edgy" and non mainstream and make this boring/shit piece of thing called a game. If all you do is constantly say "oohhh but that could be considered cliche, let's not do that and do this instead" then i will probably without a doubt not enjoy it (the story/character portions at least.)

Spoiler: the walking dead game

one thing that's bugged me, is that the game specifically says multiple time it adapts to your choices throughout the game, yet there are tons of "choke points" in the game where none of them make a damn difference, such as not being able to save doug/carley, or saving larry, etc...i still love the game but it just irks me about all these things, when realistically the game could've had one or two things here or there that could've prepared you or made a difference for it, it feels like the game just ends up being a linear pop up book after all is said and done.

It does
Editressed post instead of preview, Let me continue!
It does, the characters change their attitude toward you. Some examples:

Spoiler

1. Characters change reactions to you based on your actions.
2. Clementine's drawings change subject.

You don't change peoples actions, unless you physically stop them. You can make your own decisions when they give them to you, like real life.

 

[Squilookle]

Hmmm... How about bullet + red barrel (gas tank, propane) = 10kg of dynamite worth of explosions ?

Or how about this... Even the lowliest soldier knows how to do everything and wield every gun invented. Whether it's driving a nuclear sub to just piloting a bloody jet they can somehow just do it.

Not only do I not find that annoying, I now actively expect it and indeed am disappointed when a good opportunity for such a device is not used. I have no problem with non-explosive barrels in a game, but as far as I'm concerned- having ones that blow up too (especially if there are multiple colour coded types) only ever adds to the game experience.

As for being able to do everything, it's just a streamlined feature for gameplay purposes, because you know what the alternative would be? "You do not know how to operate this vehicle", "You need to reach level 12 before you can use this weapon" or worst of all: you press the use key at a vehicle and nothing happens. All of those alternatives suck, and offer nothing beneficial to gameplay, unless specifically justified by the story.

It was bad enough having to go through the 'schools' in GTA San Andreas. Imagine having to learn how to operate over 100 vehicles and 50+ guns in a game. Tedious and boring as anything.

Humans instantly using alien weapons is a bit odd though- I'll give you that.

 

[Racecarlock]

If a katamari game was made today, it would be grey and brown and probably make you clean toilets or fight child molesting criminal murderer car thiefs because that's gritty and mature and shit. And the opening cutscene would be half an hour long with the king describing his abusive parents because that's dramatic.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but Touch My Katamari was released earlier this year (late last year in Japan), and it's the same old Katamari.

Yeah, but do you get my point? Instead of battlefront 3 or at least a rogue squadron game, we're just getting GTA IV again but with star wars paint on it.

 

[Vern5]

White 30 something brown haired protagonists with a 5o'clock shadow. I don't know why they annoy me so much but they will turn me off from a game.

Also grit, dirt, angst and realism. They always seem to go together, I prefer my fantastical games.

I second these. I cry tears of joy every time I have the option to play a non-white (sometimes non-male) character. Those same tears come back whenever I see warm, vibrant colors or hand-drawn sprites.

Other hated cliches include:

-The shoe-horned romance subplot.

-Black and White morality (unless its being played for laughs)

-Tolkien-esque Fantasy (Must it always be elves and dwarves until the end of time?)

Is there anything -other- than Tolkien fantasy? He pretty much wrote the book on the subject(No pun intended). There's always steam punk I guess, but that's less of a genre and more of a stylistic element.

The nature of Fantasy (in literature) itself is to create settings that defy nature, science, and previously established motifs. Fantasy is whatever you want it to be more akin to the bizarre things you experience when you dream rather than a recycled palette of elves, dwarves, and douchebag humans.

As for games that diverge from Tolkien-established "Standard Fantasy settings", Morrowind takes the cake. No, its not a perfect divergence from Tolkien-esque fantasy but it does exactly enough to set itself apart.

Other fantasy games with unique settings include: King of Dragon Pass, Darklands, Sacrifice, Planescape, WarCraft (open to debate). And that's just off the top of my head.

In short, there is an overabundance of non-Tolkien inspired fantasy in both literature and games. Most people just aren't bothered enough to look.

 

[pspman45]

HEY GUISE
LETS SPLIT UP
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG??
that or
ONLY YOU CAN DO IT
YOU ARE GOD, SAVE US MASTER
this one really bugs me in Far Cry 3, where the entire population seems to be dickriding Jason, who is a massive *****.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I've got six incredibly dangerous Pokemon in my pocket with the abilities to cut down trees, surf across oceans, and push aside giant boulders like they're nothing, and who knows what other kind of powers they have? Yet I can't get in the gym right now because some guy standing in front of the door wants me to go tooting around in some cave or something first.

I just want to grab them and go "YOU SEE THESE POKEMON! THEY WILL MESS YOU UP! GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

 

[Saviordd1]

Oh god a few

-When the only female characters are all useless twats
-Alternatively, when the only female characters all super agile fighters
-When a game sets up good characters and then doesn't put them through any form of arc
-When games make huge promises that are based on technicalities. (Bagillion guns my ass Borderlands)
-Grey and Grey morality where it shouldn't be (Elder Scrolls, Star Wars: Old Republic, etc) the real world is already grey enough, I don't need endless shades of grey when I play a video game.

 

[Saviordd1]

WarCraft (open to debate).

I'm very willing to argue warcraft

The fact that it has orcs, goblins, elves, magic, knights in shining armor, big castles and all of that is enough to put it in Tolkienesque territory.

The fact that the orcs are actually more or less neutral and there's some steampunk doesn't save it from the Tolkien stamp.

 

[clippen05]

You must eat every 30 minutes/gas up your car/wash the dishes/manage a house/drive drunk friends home/any number of chores because realism.

Please, do tell me a game that makes you do any of these things. Right off of merriam-webster= a cliche: something that has become overly familiar or commonplace.

And you know what, I can't think of a single game that makes you do any of that stuff. Do you just hate realism in games and you tried to list examples that don't exist to convey your point? I mean, in Fallout New Vegas you have to eat if you chose to play the hardcore gamemode, buts its entirely optional; that's all I can think of. And don't even think about saying GTA because the whole friend dynamic is entirely optional aside from 1 or 2 mandatory occurences. Please, name me one mainstream game that requires you to do this stuff all the time.

 

[Vern5]

WarCraft (open to debate).

I'm very willing to argue warcraft

The fact that it has orcs, goblins, elves, magic, knights in shining armor, big castles and all of that is enough to put it in Tolkienesque territory.

The fact that the orcs are actually more or less neutral and there's some steampunk doesn't save it from the Tolkien stamp.

True enough. It's definitely down there with the other Tolkien wannabes like Dragon Age and Kingdoms of Amalur.

 

[Pink Gregory]

One thing I've noticed in a lot of games that have come out recently, specifically the Assassins Creed Franchise, is the emphasis on buying things or doing missions to earn more money when you don't need any more money. I don't care if upgrading the blacksmith or Assassinating this guy will earn me more cash, I already have the max I can hold! This would be an interesting mechanic if you were always tight on cash, but by the time I get 65% into the game Ive already bought every weapon and upgrade I can so now all I can do with that money is toss it in the street.

I decided far too late in the series to not loot bodies, I still ended up with hella florins; I know buying a new weapon every time I lost one would be annoying, but this isn't exactly a step in the right direction.

OT; Plot-convenient amnesia is wearing thin on me a little bit; I know it's a good (well, convenient) way of answering questions that a non-amnesiac protagonist wouldn't ask, but give me some credit, if I want to find things out, let me look for them, let me plumb a few libraries or something. Sort of in the way that the Elder Scrolls series handles lore, you've really gotta dig deep (or at least take a look at a book), and even then it won't answer everything. I LIKE that!

And sometimes I'd rather develop a new future, not be stuck piecing together the past.

 

[Pink Gregory]

WarCraft (open to debate).

I'm very willing to argue warcraft

The fact that it has orcs, goblins, elves, magic, knights in shining armor, big castles and all of that is enough to put it in Tolkienesque territory.

The fact that the orcs are actually more or less neutral and there's some steampunk doesn't save it from the Tolkien stamp.

It's disappointing that it's never the elves that have stuff done to them, I like the sort of shamanic aesthetic that Warcraft goes for with the Night Elves, but always with the trees and the forest. It's not so much ripping off Tolkien, considering that he established what is now a fantasy standard; that's like saying all movie romances rip off Casablanca; although there's different levels of it I suppose.

That being said, orcs come from the moon in Warcraft. THAT I like.

 

[Setrus]

Is "good guy win, bad guy loses" a cliche? Because if it is i choose that . I want the bad guy to win despite all oir efforts just to change shit up .

If that doesn't count then:

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP ! Fuck friendship . Friendship does not triumph over all .

Agreed on the first, it gets old...do we even NEED a good guy and bad guy every time? Can't a there be a "executing anyone breaking the law" guy vs a "true anarchist" type character? (For example)

As for the second...agreed too, but you made Fluffershy cry... :-(

I'm sure someone else has said it, but I'll add it none the less: The dangers in a cutscene. "Oh I'm scaaaared...I've taken sixteen rifle rounds to the chest, you really scare me with that little pistol...wait, is this a cutscene? Oh crap!"

 

[museofdoom]

How often female characters have really skimpy or impractical armor. You know, god forbid we have a game with a female character that isn't sexualized to death.

 

[Mr Dizazta]

Final boss battles. Come at me bros.

 

[lucky_sharm]

How often female characters have really skimpy or impractical armor. You know, god forbid we have a game with a female character that isn't sexualized to death.

Then you might as well complain about all male protagonists being unnaturally handsome, witty, fit, and capable. It's shocking how people completely overlook this.