Moments Where You Almost Gave Up in Great Games

[rob_simple]

I was playing through X-Men Destiny t'other day and had been enjoying it despite the horrendously loose story progression and fuck-ugly character models when I stumbled upon the first real boss fight in the game. It took me three tries to beat on account of the fact that every time I got to the third stage of the battle the camera suddenly went into fixed angle mode meaning it was constantly snapping between focuses when I was trying to dodge attacks, sending my character right into the attack I was trying to dodge and me into a frothing rage.

I eventually beat him and then had a very similar experience with the second last boss, both times I came close to just quitting the game altogether but I wanted to keep going because I enjoyed what I was doing throughout the rest of the game.

So my question to you is: What moments in video games you otherwise loved almost made you walk away from the whole thing, either due to unnecessary difficulty or just piss-poor design?

I'd just also like to throw in:
The spinning blade walls in God of War
The flying missions in San Andreas

 

[DustyDrB]

The Bunker in Uncharted. Yeah...I don't handle horror well in games at all, and that was such a sudden and unwanted shift.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Mount and Blade: Warband. It's so ugly and user hostile and awkward to get started in I almost binned it in disgust after the first hour or two.

Then I decided to give it another chance and ended up lost in it for over 200 hours.

 

[Erttheking]

I came very close to loosing my temper in the Tomb of the Giants in Dark Souls

 

[Neverhoodian]

The goddamn Water Temple in Ocarina of Time. I literally took a year long break because I couldn't figure out what to do or where to go (cut me some slack, I was twelve at the time).

Also, the infamous "Meat Circus" level in Psychonauts DID make me give up on the game. It's bad enough having to endure jump puzzles that demand perfection while struggling with awkward camera angles, but having to escort a helpless, whiny kid is what really pushed me over the edge. It's a real shame too, because I was really enjoying the game prior to that. Perhaps I'll give it another shot some time.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Also, the infamous "Meat Circus" level in Psychonauts DID make me give up on the game. It's bad enough having to endure jump puzzles that demand perfection while struggling with awkward camera angles, but having to escort a helpless, whiny kid is what really pushed me over the edge. It's a real shame too, because I was really enjoying the game prior to that. Perhaps I'll give it another shot some time.

This so much, although I still got through the game.

 

[Lionsfan]

In Ocarina of Time every time I ever played it, I could never get past the freaking Forest Temple. It's really lame I know, but that has always given me problems

 

[Catfood220]

I nearly gave up on Skies of Arcadia quite early on in the game. I got the bit just after your dad has been arrested by Valua and have to go after him and the rest of the Blue Rogues. I got to the bit with all the mist, thought it was a barrier and couldn't find another way through.

I gave up on the game for a few months before deciding to give it another go, but before starting, I checked a guide on the internet and then slapped my forehead as I realised my stupidity. I went on to love that game.

 

[targren]

Ony my first playthrough of The Legend of Zelda - Level 6.

I even skipped it and did 7 and 8. Still couldn't clear that damn room with the Bubbles + Like Likes + Wizzrobes and the door that closes behind you. My little 7 year old mind just snapped.

Two weeks went by and I couldn't even look at my NES. Then I learned that the # of heart containers you had was what convinced that old bastard to give you the magic sword.

Funny how easy it got after that...

 

[Muspelheim]

Metro 2033 is one of my all-time favorites so far, but it was a near miss on that one.

The first time I tried it out, I was dumped into the game's bad level, and... It's odd that such a great game have that big a nadir right in the middle of it.
It was the Frontlines-level, where you attempt to infiltrate the neo-Nazi's territory from the communist tunnels, by sneaking past the frontlines between the two factions at war. It's... Awkward, to say the least. You need to sneak past the reds, find the way through a pitch-dark shaft filled with poisoned air and then gun yourself through half of Tverskaya.

All of the things I liked about Metro 2033, the immersion, the psycological aspect, the ruined vistas... Everything, is absent in that level, and it's just like playing a boring, regular FPS where you get killed alot inside a concrete cupboard. Only to be rendered helpless and getting a beating by two nazis you evidently missed in a cutscene. Uuuughh...

I'm glad I gave it the benefit of doubt when I found it in the sales-bin. That level can go to hell, but the rest of it was worth the tedium.

 

[rob_simple]

Some of these have reminded me of a moment in Dead Island (which doesn't really belong here because the entire game is pure garbage) where you have to rescue some tribeswoman and bring her down a hill and the stupid ***** constantly stands still while zombies attack her and you're just running past them.

THEN when you finally get to the bottom and have to take her to the village the daft bint won't get in your vehicle and instead runs straight to her death like a headless fucktard. The only reason I didn't throw the whole mess in the bin there and then was because I was practically at the end and figured I might as well finish it.

 

[Ljs1121]

I didn't finish Majora's Mask until I was 13, I think. That was mainly due to the fact that I didn't own the game and also because I was stupid and didn't know how to leave the town.

 

[Lilani]

Also, the infamous "Meat Circus" level in Psychonauts DID make me give up on the game. It's bad enough having to endure jump puzzles that demand perfection while struggling with awkward camera angles, but having to escort a helpless, whiny kid is what really pushed me over the edge. It's a real shame too, because I was really enjoying the game prior to that. Perhaps I'll give it another shot some time.

I avoided that for a good year and a half, I'm pretty sure. Maybe even two. Finally I just gave in and spent the better part of an evening ploughing through it, and finally succeeded after pulling only a small percentage of my hair out

Anyway, it was that and the strider battle and the end of HL2: Episode 2. My God. I've always hated those things and hunters in the first place, so having to contend with both at the same time just about drove me to look up the ending on YouTube and forget it. But, then some walkthrough I looked up mentioned running the hunters over with the car, and that was finally my ticket to success.

 

[endtherapture]

In Batman Arkham Asylum when you play the Poison Ivy boss fight and the controls chang and so does the camera angle and it's just a nightmare.

Took me SOOO many tries, I was tempted to give up.

I did give up at the end of Assassin's Creed 1 when I was forced into an unfair fight against like 20 Templars to continue the game.

 

[SpaceBat]

It was the Frontlines-level, where you attempt to infiltrate the neo-Nazi's territory from the communist tunnels, by sneaking past the frontlines between the two factions at war. It's... Awkward, to say the least. You need to sneak past the reds, find the way through a pitch-dark shaft filled with poisoned air and then gun yourself through half of Tverskaya.

I just knew you were going to mention that level. It really was the rotten part of an otherwise juicy apple. An apple that would sometimes partially explode in your face, that is, but delicious when it doesn't.

 

[Racecarlock]

That part in RDR where I had to do farm chores. Don't get me wrong, the mission after that was powerful and dramatic, and I still like free roaming. But god damn, some of those chores were boring. And somehow they were also frustrating. Like the mission where you have to defend your grain silo from a bird swarm.

 

[baddude1337]

The last encounter before the final boss in God of War 3. If you'e played it you probably know the one I mean. I almost stopped playing the game entirely, and settled for lowering the difficulty when prompted.