Injustice League Asks: Most Despised Level and Mission Types.

[Eclipse Dragon]

Dear escapist,
we are back with a vengence after our miserable excuse of a thread failed last time
we successfully collected data and erased your memories of our thread's succsess. Now we have a new question!
What is your most hated level theme and most despised mission type?

Injustice League Opinions!

Jojo
Least favourite level theme: Definitely caves, it's no fun being lost in a catacomb of identical tunnels and though it depends on the game, often the darkness of the level will mean it's difficult to see what's around you.

Level favourite mission type: Timed, especially if you fail you have start all over again, by the third or fourth repeat it's often no longer fun.

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T0ad 0f Truth
Least favorite level theme: Water levels. I don't know if I've just never found a good water level or I'm still haunted by getting lost in those maze temples in Majoras Mask and Ocarina of Time, but I hate water levels. The movement in the levels is often different/needlessly difficult and they often have an oppressive drowning feel to them. It's even worse if they try to add the "Deep ocean" elements of darkness/quiet to them. Just horrible D:

Least favorite mission type: Escorts. I don't care what story context they have they're just terrible. Ashley from Resident Evil 4. Enough said...

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Eclipse Dragon (me)
Least favorite level theme: Anything filled with both puzzles and random encounters. I love puzzles on the their own, and I don't really mind random encounters, but to me there's nothing more frustrating than trying to solve a puzzle and having to stop every five steps to fight monsters.

Least favorite mission type: Timed missions, especially if you're at the bottom of a dungeon and they've used the dungeon collapsing excuse. You have to rush all the way back to the beginning of the dungeon with the clock constantly reminding you that you're running out of time. Some games will also throw in random encounters, so you have to fight monsters while the clock is still ticking, and they inevitably throw in a boss with high HP right before the finish line.

[br]

[br]Chief of Propaganda​

 

[Kopikatsu]

Something like 'Resist ancestral, join us'. I don't get it.

Anyway, puzzles with fights interlaced would be the worst (Yay God of War) and forced stealth in games that do not have proper stealth mechanics would be mine.

Edit: For me, 'tail this person without them noticing you' is part of 'forced stealth'. Fuck you, LA Noire.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I'm starting to lose in on rail-shooter levels in shooter games. So many times these are the levels that cause me to lose it. I play very tactically--as in, pick off enemies with accuracy, move slowly, use cover. Most times, rail shooter segments in games are fun and a nice change of pace. But on higher difficulty settings, I throw my controller across the room. There is no cover, no health recharge, and the enemies are insanely accurate. I gave up on Spec Ops: The Line's FUBAR setting because I spent two hours trying to escape with the water trucks and could not do it. There have been many levels in Call of Duty games that have the same problem.

Mission type: Um...I guess "Defend this spot/person." Escorts I can handle fine, but when I have to defend an area and my A.I. teammates are idiots, it gets annoying. Again, lower difficulties it's fun because you can man the machine gun and just cut down waves of enemies. But on higher ones, where they can hip-shoot you while running from a mile away? Not so much. So, while I spend time recovering from an insanely accurate shot, the enemies overrun my useless allies and I get slaughtered.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Worst mission type: Force stealth. Especially if the game works on checkpoint saves.
You'll get to nearly the end of the mission, then someone will spot you, and you have to start again from the fucking beginning.

I also don't care much for stealth, but I've found you can use the checkpoints to your advantage.
Metal Gear Solid 3 has checkpoint saves, I wanted to play it, even though I'm horrible at stealth. Instead of playing it the way it was intended, I got through most of the levels by running for my life while the guards shot at me. I'd make it to a checkpoint, die, and restart from that checkpoint with full health, rinse and repeat. I was rewarded by glorious half hour cut scenes.

 

[Lucem712]

Escort missions. I can not tell you the happiness I felt when Ashley (RE4) was kidnapped. Even though that is one of my favourite RE games, I just hate that *****. President's daughter or not, I would have let the plagua get her ass. -_-'

 

[ZekeTheHobo]

YES MASTER. I SHALL OBEY.

Hated level type: WATER! Friggn' water! Hydrophobia's been an issue for me ever since Mario 64's rendition of Unagi. The eel thing. Is it bad that I know the name? I think it's bad.

Hated mission type: Timers! Especially when I have to do a checkpoint run in a vehicle, and ten times despised when it's a "get out of here the place is flooding" event!

AWAITING FURTHER COMMANDS

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Escort missions. I can not tell you the happiness I felt when Ashley (RE4) was kidnapped. Even though that is one of my favourite RE games, I just hate that *****. President's daughter or not, I would have let the plagua get her ass. -_-'

Escort missions have stopped me from playing many games, Resident Evil 4 being one of them.
I also didn't like the escort sequences of Ico. I loved the puzzle sequences, but I didn't want to protect the girl. The monsters were frustrating because one hit would send you flying across the room while two more swarmed the girl and dragged her off into the portal. She also couldn't run without tripping.

snip

Reminds me a bit of the Assassin's Creed games.

Quite often when you complete a mission, you'll be under attack from the guards. Now, you can't fail here because you're *between* missions.
Anyway, you're supposed to fight back or flee and hide, but I just stand there and let them kill me.
Why? Because then the game respawns you right on that spot, with full health, and you're no longer under attack. Then I just go on my merry way to the next mission.

It's probably not supposed to be played like that, but I find it's just easier and quicker than the alternative.

Fighting back, fleeing and hiding just sounds like so much needless work.
Your way sounds much better. I'll have to try that next time I play an Assassin's Creed game.

 

[Lucem712]

YES MASTER. I SHALL OBEY.

Hated level type: WATER! Friggn' water! Hydrophobia's been an issue for me ever since Mario 64's rendition of Unagi. The eel thing. Is it bad that I know the name? I think it's bad.

Hated mission type: Timers! Especially when I have to do a checkpoint run in a vehicle, and ten times despised when it's a "get out of here the place is flooding" event!

AWAITING FURTHER COMMANDS

I request ...NO. Command you to assign this .gif as your avatar for 24 hours!

Escort missions. I can not tell you the happiness I felt when Ashley (RE4) was kidnapped. Even though that is one of my favourite RE games, I just hate that *****. President's daughter or not, I would have let the plagua get her ass. -_-'

Escort missions have stopped me from playing many games, Resident Evil 4 being one of them.
I also didn't like the escort sequences of Ico. I loved the puzzle sequences, but I didn't want to protect the girl. The monsters were frustrating because one hit would send you flying across the room while two more swarmed the girl and dragged her off into the portal. She also couldn't run without tripping.

Oh, man. You just brought back memories of the plagua victims in RE carrying off Ashley the moment you turned your back on her to take care of some baddies.

Has there ever been a "good" escort mission?!

 

[Birdfalcon]

Hmm....worst level time for me Platformers with obsticles in the way or my pesronal hell scrolling levels...you know the kind where your on some sort of platforming thing with wide jumps and narrow landing ponits and the screen is thrating to push you off the edge



As for mission types....forced vechile levels like story missions where the character has to street race to advance...i suck in driving in sandbox games and also escort missions wehre you game over if the escortee dies and they are basicly acting as meatsheilds for the cannon fodder thug's bullets. lastly the three alarm limit in early splinter cell games

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Has there ever been a "good" escort mission?!

No... I really don't think there has been...
I also count AI controlled party members and comrades in that list (if them dying means game over).
You're still protecting them, even if they aren't completely helpless, and if the game has bad AI, they're pretty much completely helpless.

 

[Euryalus]

Escort missions. I can not tell you the happiness I felt when Ashley (RE4) was kidnapped. Even though that is one of my favourite RE games, I just hate that *****. President's daughter or not, I would have let the plagua get her ass. -_-'

Hey! That was my example you bastard... oh yeah thats a good thing... er... jerk

The only thing that got me through those parts of that game was My young horny teenage opinion that ashley was hot My indomitable willpower!

OT: In addition to the RE4 example, How 'bout that one level in Jak 2 (Maybe 3?) where you had to protect that fat mechanic! God that pissed me off XD

I can destroy armies and bring countries to their knees, but I lose a war because some fat bastard non-league member dies?!?!?

 

[burningdragoon]

I don't think I have a least favorite level theme.

My least favorite mission type would have to be the button mash to live torture scenes that for some reason are in several Metal Gear games. Not quick time events in general, just the furious button pressing for extended periods ones.

Something like 'Resist ancestral, join us'. I don't get it.

"Resistance is futile" actually. Not that resistance is futile.

Has there ever been a "good" escort mission?!

Yes. It's called Yoshi's Island.

 

[JoJo]

Can someone explain to me what this injustice league is?

We're the Escapist's resident club [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Injustice-League] for super-villains, here to spread chaos and evil across the forums and also perhaps the occasional thread too.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Timed Escort missions, The most horrible amalgamation.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Hmm....worst level time for me Platformers with obsticles in the way or my pesronal hell scrolling levels...you know the kind where your on some sort of platforming thing with wide jumps and narrow landing ponits and the screen is thrating to push you off the edge



As for mission types....forced vechile levels like story missions where the character has to street race to advance...i suck in driving in sandbox games and also escort missions wehre you game over if the escortee dies and they are basicly acting as meatsheilds for the cannon fodder thug's bullets. lastly the three alarm limit in early splinter cell games

Mario games used to do that. The invisible death wall was always chasing you, and you needed to run and jump for your life, for if the wall touched you, you would die.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Has there ever been a "good" escort mission?!

In Fire Emblem (2003), there's one mission where you have to rout the enemy while defending a certain unit. The awesome twist is that said unit you need to defend will literally rout the map himself given the time. You have to race to rescue him before he claims all the exp. and dropped weapons, especially because a certain side quest is only available if you receive at least a certain amount of exp. in that mission.

 

[Euryalus]

Can someone explain to me what this injustice league is?

We're the Escapist's resident club [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Injustice-League] for super-villains, here to spread chaos and evil across the forums and also perhaps the occasional thread too.

You forgot to mention the orphans!

[sub][sub][sub] Also the refreshments we have at orientation...[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[sethisjimmy]

Mission Types:

On rails shooting sections. Or the even lazier and less fun turret gun sections. As in, not moving at all, you just sit at a turret and play point n' click whack-a-mole.

Words can't even begin to describe how lazy and unfun these are. They're painfully obviously just filler. I don't want to just sit there and move my cursor across the screen while things fly around me, I want to actually control my character. For dedicated light-gun on-rails-shooters, fine. Not my cup of tea, but fine. I just don't like it when these are inserted into normally fun games.

Also monster gauntlets. As in, the goal is to kill all of the monsters. And they just keep coming. Resident Evil Revelations has several of these. Nothing like a monster gauntlet to remove all traces of horror or fun from your game.

Funny enough I actually really didn't mind the escort parts of Resi 4. I played on normal and I actually never stored her in any storage things If I can remember. Didn't have to worry about her that much, she sticks directly behind you when you're shooting and she really isn't that troublesome. And the part where you play as her was actually really good.

Level Types:

I've only ever consciously thought the design of the levels was bad in two games. The first being FEAR (1). Most boring levels of all time. Just one boring maze-like office building after another. The second being MGS2. The Big Shell. You spend hours upon hours going back and forth and back again on this oil rig the entire game. From strut to strut. It's not a terrible level all in all, but I just wish the game was more than JUST that one level. I feel like they really fixed that in MGS3, that game had good level type variety.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Timed Escort missions, The most horrible amalgamation.

Oh Sextus you're so crazy.

snip

In Fire Emblem (2003), there's one mission where you have to rout the enemy while defending a certain unit. The awesome twist is that said unit you need to defend will literally rout the map himself given the time. You have to race to rescue him before he claims all the exp. and dropped weapons, especially because a certain side quest is only available if you receive at least a certain amount of exp. in that mission.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...
Good that the unit will do the work for you, bad that he'll take all the goodies and you need to race him before he does. It basically turns an escort mission into a timed mission... I guess that's Fire Emblem for you, inventing new ways to frustrate people.