Poll: What's worse? Forced stealth or escort missions?

[Sieg Firebrand]

Having been a gamer for most of my life, the two biggest downers in games for me are these two, I have no problems with games that actually involve sneaking as a main element but to put them in action games kinda sucks. and there is NO EXCUSE for escort mission, they are crap!

 

[Hazy]

It's a wild card.

In a game with horrendous A.I, it's usually protecting the A.I. that's the harder task versus sneaking past them.

Though, again, that entirely depends upon the game - I can think of a number of games (Call of Cthulhu, anyone?) with horrendous sneaking sections.

 

[RobThePrezodent]

escort missions are terrible, i hate having to protect someone else, especially when they never use any logic and have a pathetic amount of life. THe one in bioshock was by far the worst part of that game

 

[Amnestic]

Escort Missions. Always Escort Missions.

There aren't enough words in the English language to express my hatred for them.

 

[Tartarga]

Escort missions, especially when the person you are supposed to be protecting can't defend themselves at all. Combine that with a bad friendly A.I. and you have a recipe for frustration.

 

[cptawesome]

It kind of depends on the game; if the section is made well, and is entertaining, or perhaps is built to show off a specific mechanic, than both are fine.

However, more often than not, escort missions suck, because the stuff you're escorting rarely has the brains to get the hell out of the way if, say, an attack helicopter is coming at them with missiles primed and guns blazing.

At least forced stealth is reliant on purely player skill, not dumb AI

 

[BlackStar42]

Escort missions. The bloody escort missions. It's like the AI goes out of it's way to commit suicide.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Escort missions killed the Space Combat Sim genre.

There is no amount of logic or evidence to the contrary that can convince me otherwise.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Escort missions, definitely. I'm not great at stealth, and prefer the much simpler (and louder) approach, but I can get by with having the odd stealth section dumped on me. Escort missions, however, always end in retarded AI ending my mission due to no fault of my own. Plus half of the ecort missions have you proceed at the escortee's pace (rather than them keeping up with you) which makes these missions drag on for much longer than is needed.

 

[HoodedPunhist]

Escort missions. Those damn escort missions. Just because if it's forced sneaking it's your own fault if you die. But protection mission... It's just something else. Something evil...

Anyone remembers Spartan Total Warrior Archimedes escort mission on medium or harder?

 

[falcon1985]

Escort missions killed the Space Combat Sim genre.

There is no amount of logic or evidence to the contrary that can convince me otherwise.

Actually the escort missions in Freespace arn't too bad. At least cruisers\Destroyers can defend themselves to some extent. Guarding freighters though still sucks, but then they're freighters, not warships. You can kind of expect them to need a fighter escort to get home alive.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

I'd say forced stealth. I love me some optional stealth - 'Screed 2 is good with that, it's really great to execute an assassination completely unnoticed and vanish into the crowd, but if there's a cock-up, it's good to be able to remedy the situation badass style instead of being forcibly kicked to the start of the mission.

Escort missions are OK if they're well integrated into the story and heavily depend on game mechanics. If it consists of waves of enemies suddenly spawning in and ALWAYS focusing on the three-year old girl you're escorting, then it's just a game of "deal enough damage to them before they deal enough damage to her". And to be honest, I have yet to see a game which doesn't screw up the escort waypoints at some point.

Well done escort is fine. Forced stealth is bad, if it's not a stealth-focused game.

EDIT: Yeah, always the non-conformist!

 

[havass]

Escort missions. The bloody escort missions. It's like the AI goes out of it's way to commit suicide.

IAWTC.

OT:Escorting missions. Just cause most of them time, the person you're supposed to be escorting has no brain, and dies in the stupidest way. Then you have to start all over again.
At least in stealth missions, when you fail, it's your fault. You can't control the bloody brainless AI in escort missions! -.-
And then there're games like Batman Arkham Asylum, who perfectly blends stealth and combat together so seamlessly that I still grouch about it only having ONE forced stealth mission.

 

[Mr.Petey]

Escort missions. At least with stealth sections, you're usually the one making the decisions on how best to navigate the area, whereas your escorted group don't care where they go as long as you're busting a gut chasing after them like some belligerent babysitter

Escort missions killed the Space Combat Sim genre.

There is no amount of logic or evidence to the contrary that can convince me otherwise.

Some escort jobs in Tie Fighter had me swearing at the screen when I'd hear the continuous alert of "Alpha One. Mission critical craft under attack/shields down" and so on

 

[Marter]

I don't really care for escort mission, especially if the game doesn't use them often. If it's worked in, it's usually fine, but they usually involve me driving long distances with an annoying passenger.

 

[Brandon237]

ESCORT ESCORT ESCORT. My brain hurts from the evil it brings. Bioshock has a single escort mission and it was the only part I didn't enjoy. Coincidence, I think not.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Escort missions.

Enforced stealth I can do. I tend to do it anyway, even when the game wants me to run and gun, so it's never that big of an euncumberance.

Escort missions grind my gears rather spectacularly though.