100 Things That Piss Me Off About Video Games

mr dave · 11-18-2009, 05:11 PM

save states really are a double edged sword.

on one hand you're totally right that abusing them cheapens the challenge of the game to the equivalent to an interactive animated gif file.

on the other if you're just playing a game for nostalgic reasons i don't see the point in giving yourself excessive frustrations. especially if it's a game that uses weird passwords or only allows you to save at certain points (if ever).

personally, if i go back and play a classic from my youth like 'mega man2', i don't want to have to dig out graph paper to write down password charts. i don't want to have to start at the beginning of each stage every single time i die. that doesn't mean i'll save state after every jump but i would after most major transitions, or before the boss fight. i already beat that frustration in grade 8, i don't want to have to do it again when i just want a shot of nostalgia. for this reason i think save states are fantastic.

abusing the option to make yourself look 'l33t' is just lame though haha

Alfred · 11-18-2009, 08:32 PM

Will there be one on time limits? Pppplllleeeeaaaassseeee?

boo boo · 11-18-2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abdullah424

In his defense the Lion King was a pretty damn hard game. The controls were horrible.

Really? I think it's a pretty darn good game, the controls are simple enough and I never had much trouble with it even when I was a kid and if a kid can figure it out there's not a whole lot to complain about.

Some of the platform jumping can get pretty fustrating though, but that has more to do with the level design. Like those f*cking girafe heads.

If you want a Disney game with bad controls try Toy Story.

boo boo · 11-18-2009, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

save states really are a double edged sword.

on one hand you're totally right that abusing them cheapens the challenge of the game to the equivalent to an interactive animated gif file.

on the other if you're just playing a game for nostalgic reasons i don't see the point in giving yourself excessive frustrations. especially if it's a game that uses weird passwords or only allows you to save at certain points (if ever).

personally, if i go back and play a classic from my youth like 'mega man2', i don't want to have to dig out graph paper to write down password charts. i don't want to have to start at the beginning of each stage every single time i die. that doesn't mean i'll save state after every jump but i would after most major transitions, or before the boss fight. i already beat that frustration in grade 8, i don't want to have to do it again when i just want a shot of nostalgia. for this reason i think save states are fantastic.

abusing the option to make yourself look 'l33t' is just lame though haha

Using it to save games that you can't beat in one setting is perfectly reasonable and I agree with you that in this modern day of convenience, password systems are a real pain.

I could also approve of using them if you keep trying and trying to beat a certain part that's nearly impossible and you get desperate enough, but it just feels more rewarding to beat the game the old fashioned way.

abdullah424 · 11-18-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

Really? I think it's a pretty darn good game, the controls are simple enough and I never had much trouble with it even when I was a kid and if a kid can figure it out there's not a whole lot to complain about.

Some of the platform jumping can get pretty fustrating though, but that has more to do with the level design. Like those f*cking girafe heads.

If you want a Disney game with bad controls try Toy Story.

That's funny because that's exactly the part I was thinking of. That level used to annoy the crap out of me.

Don't get me wrong though. I think that Lion King might be disneys best game next to Kingdom Hearts.

**Janszoon** · 11-21-2009, 07:41 AM

I'm sure people will laugh at me for saying this but I hate games that are hard. I guess I feel that I have plenty of challenges at work and school and in my various creative projects and I just play videogames to unwind. What I enjoy about games is basically the exploration and immersion element, when a game gets too difficult and I start to feel frustrated it quickly begins to lose its appeal.

Guybrush · 11-21-2009, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I'm sure people will laugh at me for saying this but I hate games that are hard. I guess I feel that I have plenty of challenges at work and school and in my various creative projects and I just play videogames to unwind. What I enjoy about games is basically the exploration and immersion element, when a game gets too difficult and I start to feel frustrated it quickly begins to lose its appeal.

I think the challenges have to be fair to the player and sometimes, hard games are just hard for the wrong reasons.

Take Double Dragon for example, getting hit by a punch or kick would take a little bit away from your big lifebar and with skill, you could punch and kick your way through the levels without dying. However, controls would be kinda ****ty and then they'd make parts of levels where you have to jump between platforms in water and jumping in the water kills you instantly.

What's more frustrating than making it all the way to that level, then you spend all the rest of your lives trying to jump some fooking platforms? Crooks and villains you could handle, but the water got you in the end. Game Over.

I remember many old games suffered from these unfair challenges.

**Janszoon** · 11-21-2009, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

I think the challenges have to be fair to the player and sometimes, hard games are just hard for the wrong reasons.

Take Double Dragon for example, getting hit by a punch or kick would take a little bit away from your big lifebar and with skill, you could punch and kick your way through the levels without dying. However, controls would be kinda ****ty and then they'd make parts of levels where you have to jump between platforms in water and jumping in the water kills you instantly.

What's more frustrating than making it all the way to that level, then you spend all the rest of your lives trying to jump some fooking platforms? Crooks and villains you could handle, but the water got you in the end. Game Over.

I remember many old games suffered from these unfair challenges.

I definitely agree with that. On a similar note, I hate when bosses are super-hard and just turn into an exercise in button mashing. Basically, if it takes me more than a handful of times to beat a boss then it's too hard for my tastes. And what's really annoying is games where you have to go back and replay the entire level if you don't beat the boss.

Zarko · 11-21-2009, 08:32 AM

Difficulty due to cheapness = Crappy game
Difficulty due to actually being made that way = Better game (Not necessarily good but its still fun to play, especially when you beat a bad guy. See Ninja Gaiden and Demon's Souls)

boo boo · 11-21-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

I think the challenges have to be fair to the player and sometimes, hard games are just hard for the wrong reasons.

Take Double Dragon for example, getting hit by a punch or kick would take a little bit away from your big lifebar and with skill, you could punch and kick your way through the levels without dying. However, controls would be kinda ****ty and then they'd make parts of levels where you have to jump between platforms in water and jumping in the water kills you instantly.

What's more frustrating than making it all the way to that level, then you spend all the rest of your lives trying to jump some fooking platforms? Crooks and villains you could handle, but the water got you in the end. Game Over.

I remember many old games suffered from these unfair challenges.

I love Double Dragon but I know what you're talking about.

I love a good hardcore challenge and like I've said earlier, it's becoming more of a rarity. The NES had more of it than any other console I can think of. I know some people think respawning, cheap enemy placement, short life bars and limited continues are too unfair. But I say bring it on. Anyone who confuses demanding difficulty with being "broken" is just pussying out.

I don't think DD's challenge was too unfair and in fact it's not even that hard, I never had any real trouble jumping on platforms, and being able to swim is not something you should expect in a beat em up anyway.

If you want a cruel 8 bit beat em up, give this a try.

Thing is, like I said before, many old games were fairly short, the difficulty was the best way to extend a game that only has 5 stages. Games like Double Dragon could kick my ass when I don't know what I'm doing but it kept me coming back, and when I finally did beat the game it made it much more rewarding. It was a childhood favorite for that reason. And for me that's what made a lot of the older games so great.

Besides, if you suck that much there's always Game Genie.

But of course, when games today have as much content as they do, people find it unacceptable for games to be as hard as they used to be, it certainly would piss me off if I bought a game with like 30 levels and I could never get past the 1st one.

11-18-2009, 08:32 PM	#472 (permalink)
Alfred one big soul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 5,096	Will there be one on time limits? Pppplllleeeeaaaassseeee? __________________ LAST.FM / VINYL COLLECTION / RYM

11-21-2009, 07:41 AM	#476 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	I'm sure people will laugh at me for saying this but I hate games that are hard. I guess I feel that I have plenty of challenges at work and school and in my various creative projects and I just play videogames to unwind. What I enjoy about games is basically the exploration and immersion element, when a game gets too difficult and I start to feel frustrated it quickly begins to lose its appeal. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

11-21-2009, 08:32 AM	#479 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Difficulty due to cheapness = Crappy game Difficulty due to actually being made that way = Better game (Not necessarily good but its still fun to play, especially when you beat a bad guy. See Ninja Gaiden and Demon's Souls)