The Most Unfair Enemy Placement in a game

[ReverseEngineered]

Pick just about any MMORPG (WoW included). Warhammer Online is probably the worst. There are enemies conveniently placed throughout the entire path that you need to get to the real boss. Each is spaced just close enough that approaching one (for melee) triggers the one behind it. Of course, you're character only has melee abilities, so you don't have a choice but to trigger it. Cue the clearing of the room as one mob chains to the next. Finally, you get to the boss, finish him up (easier than the room before him would have suggessted), and find out the entire room behind you has already respawned.

I think that's the biggest reason I can't stand most MMOs.

 

[ReverseEngineered]

Donkey Kong Country was also really bad for that. Levels that demanded you go really fast (to make all the timed jumps), and they would toss some touch-me-and-die baddy right in the path of your super-fast jump. It either resulted in the level being excrutiatingly slow to advance, or else each new step would induce another death and another attempt at the level, until you had finally discovered the placement of each enemy and could finally run rampant through the level.

I think too many games rely on death as the first step in a puzzle. Death is supposed to be a punishment for getting it wrong -- a good game should always leave you fearing death, but never experiencing it. When each necessarily-nieve step begins with death, you often feel the game is punishing you just for existing. It truly is poor level design -- a good level would make you aware of the danger and only punish you for ignoring it or failing to overcome it. It would be like a teacher giving you a failing grade because you failed to answer the question that you weren't yet told.

 

[RetiarySword]

Vegas 2, T-hunt. The fact that the enemies always spawn when you enter the room, no pre-loading. Its impossible to be ready for them. Also they always seem to spawn next to you, with shotguns...

 

[Digitalpotato]

-IN Guild Wars, there are many areas that not only have you fight 20-30 mobs at once, but it's really really easy to aggro every single enemy in the instance at once during Prophecies and Factions. (in Nightfall, you have to be TRYING to get mobs of 20-30 enemies at once)

-In Valkyrie Profile, a very large enemy in Lezard's Tower is placed RIGHT in front of a door and there's almost no way around him. Not to mention Lezard's Tower is one hellatious dungeon.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

The fact is, he was beside the door. Standing right beside it, not in direct view of the Snake Cam.

It's not like you can move the cam or anything

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

SWAT 4 has random places where it puts enemies (Like Rainbow Six's terrorist hunts) and sometimes you just can't always spot them with that optiwand.

Then you get ass-raped near the end of the mission, and you smash your computer.

 

[Death916]

Snipers in Halo 3...

Nothing like feats of skill on legendary only to be head-shotted from 9 miles away by some jackal so you can have the privilege of doing that shit all over again.

GAH! So frustrating. Legendary with all skulls on is simply impossible with those snipers. Enter their field of fire and DIE.

But i did it... by damn did i do it... only took me 12 hours a level but by lucifers pubic hair did i do it...

damn that's right. they're just cheap shots when its on legendary. it takes away from the game when its that ridiculously hard to get through.

 

[TOGSolid]

I've never sent more troops to die in any game like I used to in Supreme Commander.

Don't worry, they're robots.

Hey man, robots have feelings too.

Big one that comes to mind is the sniping level on Call of Duty 4, I'm sure many can relate!

On veteran especially, it's just plain awful. I can't attribute a specific 'placement', they're just fracking everywhere!

It brought my already limping attempt at beating the game on veteran difficulty to a brutal and unceremonious end!

Yes! Ecpecially at the ferris wheel, once they get close and start chucking 'nades.

I actually didn't have any problems on this one >.> I just hid like a little ***** behind what I think was a carousel (my memory is kinda fuzzy, it may have been a stage, it was that covered area with the guard rails and the steps towards the far back right of the map..anyhoo). So as the waves started showing up, I just sat there and picked them off, since it's not like the AI is coordinated enough to flush you out.
You can just hide back there for the entire length of time and grenades usually get stuck up on the platform keeping you safe. Also, they'll more often than not try to go the long way around making life even easier on you.

 

[Hexenwolf]

Tenchu Z (Ninja game for the 360) had this mission where you had to sneak past a forest road checkpoint guarded by other Ninja. I sneakily killed off all the patrols and was gingerly attempting to climb up the side wall of the checkpoint to catch the guards inside by surprise. Unfortunately a bear found me. I both hate and adore that bear at the same time.
On the one hand it broke the perfect score I had going
But on the other hand it's a fucking bear, and that is awesome.

That game drove me to the brink of controller-through-television-set violence more times than I care to remember. It was so bloody frustrating.

I'm surprised O>o

I mean, yes, that game was hard. REALLY HARD. But it was fun. If you were patient, and stealthy, and actually pulled off a succession of perfect kills, there was absolutely nothing more satisfying. I mean, succeeding in that game made you feel like you were incredibly skilled. Because you were xP

 

[CmdrGoob]

I've never sent more troops to die in any game like I used to in Supreme Commander.

Don't worry, they're robots.

Hey man, robots have feelings too.

Big one that comes to mind is the sniping level on Call of Duty 4, I'm sure many can relate!

On veteran especially, it's just plain awful. I can't attribute a specific 'placement', they're just fracking everywhere!

It brought my already limping attempt at beating the game on veteran difficulty to a brutal and unceremonious end!

Yes! Ecpecially at the ferris wheel, once they get close and start chucking 'nades.

I actually didn't have any problems on this one >.> I just hid like a little ***** behind what I think was a carousel (my memory is kinda fuzzy, it may have been a stage, it was that covered area with the guard rails and the steps towards the far back right of the map..anyhoo). So as the waves started showing up, I just sat there and picked them off, since it's not like the AI is coordinated enough to flush you out.
You can just hide back there for the entire length of time and grenades usually get stuck up on the platform keeping you safe. Also, they'll more often than not try to go the long way around making life even easier on you.

Heh, I had a similar approach. 1st wave is easy, and for the second wave I hid to the left, behind the concrete barriers, looking back towards the ferris wheel. Once you've picked off the guys who drop from the choppers as they land, all the enemies come by scripted paths, which doesn't include coming round the back of the concrete barriers and shooting you in the back, so you can just shoot them with the AK as they run past you, and you've got a ton of room to hide from nades in. Great game, but god the AI is shitty.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Going on topic, Fallout tactics had a tendency to place enemies in bizarre places to such a degree that unless you had a party character who was a ninja, or had gamefaq open on your lap, you couldn't possibly survive without save scumming

 

[TaborMallory]

Several moments in Army of Two will reap a manned turret that gives you absolutely no room to shoot or jump from cover.

Also, I remember playing Ravenholm on Half Life 2 for the first time. It was about 3 in the morning. My mind was totally buzzed. Suddenly, I hear an otherworldly howl that I've never heard before (fast zombies). I saw something moving across a rooftop, and next thing I know, a fast zombie jumps down in front of my face, screaming like a banshee! Needless to say, I shat my pants. And never again played the Ravenholm level while my mind was totally buzzed.

I could mention various baddies in Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee/Exxoddus, but I don't think I will.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Ninja. Gaiden. Bird.

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=haZiLLZmz48

Castlevania Medusa.

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=S5a2cjNyQ8o&feature=related

These are supposed to be examples BTW, not just random cute video's. The point is, many Nintendo titles of the NES SNES era were culprits of this.

 

[Blayze]

I Wanna Be The Guy.

[/thread]

 

[stompy]

Halo 3 on Legendary. Arrival. Trying to take on one large Flood on Legendary is enough. Trying to take on THOUSANDS is impossible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Arrival the fist mission in Halo... the cutscene level?

 

[2ndclasscitizen]

The snipers in the Death Star hangar in Force Unleashed. There's a Lucasarts level designer who has a nut punch coming his way.