Bad bits in otherwise good games

[Pug]

Oh yeah, any driving bits in the Batman Arkham games.

 

 

[Wiper]

The enforced combat sections of both Mirror's Edge and Mirror's Edge Catalyst. So close to perfection  

 

Close second: caverns of undead in Thief: The Dark Project. Such a fantastically designed stealth game, with these wonderful, open environments to plan and sneak your way around, and then it throws in these murky, pokey little caverns with enemies you can't knock out. Such a frustrating inclusion. Fortunately, Thief 2 rectified that issue and thus is the greatest stealth game of all time.

 

1 hour ago, Broker said:

 

Wut

 

I'd probably broaden that statement to "every cutscene, 'interactive' or otherwise". Oh, and anything to do with the online mode. In fact I'd not include The Phantom Pain in this thread, as combine the above with its structural issues and it begins to feel more like a succession of good bits in an otherwise bad game.

[Rsdio]

10 hours ago, Jazz Glands said:

For that matter, any escort missions in any game ever...

 

 

Always the first thing to come to mind with this topic.

[Pob]

I’d agree with the hospital opening to MGSV being the ultimate juxtaposition of awful (or, perhaps more accurately, nonexistent) vs exquisite gameplay. They’re totally at odds with each other and, unbelievably, you have to do it TWICE!

 

 

[Qazimod]

Oh, I guess the crawl at the start of Route C in Nier Automata? I kind of give it a pass because it's not a long sequence, but at the same time I see how it can wind up players.  

[fat flatulent git]

The rotating pillar puzzles in Skyrim.  Love the game, but had no idea on them, so googled the answer every single time.

[BadgerFarmer]

2 hours ago, JoeK said:

I’m going to assume that Okami is a wonderful game. 

 

I wouldn’t know however, because the unskippable intro sequence is so long and awful that I never progressed further in it.

 

the chattering ‘voices’ (and I use the term loosely) still haunt my dreams.

I'd extend that to the whole opening section that lasts a good number of hours.

 

It was a great game in the end, but it takes far too long to get going and only has itself to blame if people give uo early.

[Eighthours]

The level in Pool Panic where you have to swing on a crane to hit balls off logs is probably the most badly designed pile of shit I’ve ever encountered. After half an hour of trying to hit the final ball, I gave up. It seems impossible.

[ryodi]

Boss fights that bear no relation to how the rest of the game works. Deus Ex Human Revolution is the more obvious culprit before they fixed it in the Director's Cut and at the same time killed the pacing in the game by putting the DLC into the main story. But in AC Origins it's popped up a couple of times and is by far the biggest letdown in the game.

[wev]

Any time youre forced to walk slowly through a game, usually accompanied by the player character having a good route around for some earwax

[Fletch]

2 hours ago, Eighthours said:

The level in Pool Panic where you have to swing on a crane to hit balls off logs is probably the most badly designed pile of shit I’ve ever encountered. After half an hour of trying to hit the final ball, I gave up. It seems impossible.

 

 

Pretty much all of pool panic. I want to love it the graphics and music are brilliant but the gameplay just doesn't click with me. 

[Isaac]

18 hours ago, cubik said:

Swimming/underwater bits in most games, but especially Mario games

 

What?! Swimming in the 2d games was perfectly fine.

 

Admittedly it suffered when they went to 3D, but it was entirely bearable because you also got to hear one of the best songs in Mario history:

 

 

You could argue that the fish possession in Odyssey was a bit of a cop-out, but it made any underwater section great.

[Mike1812]

Speaking of swimming, the instadeath in GTA3(and Vice City?) if you touch a drop of water. 

[Droo]

Commando levels on Command and Conquer. 

 

Bit old, that one. 

[wev]

21 minutes ago, Mike1812 said:

Speaking of swimming, the instadeath in GTA3(and Vice City?) if you touch a drop of water. 

 

That's just a metaphor

[Trumpets]

1 hour ago, wev said:

Any time youre forced to walk slowly through a game, usually accompanied by the player character having a good route around for some earwax

 

Not sure if Destiny 2 qualifies as a good game, but the very slow walky bit near the start is the worst one of these.

[wev]

1 minute ago, Trumpets said:

 

Not sure if Destiny 2 qualifies as a good game, but the very slow walky bit near the start is the worst one of these.

 

That's exactly what brought it to mind as I started Destiny 2 last night

[Rsdio]

The best part is that if you decide you want to change your character class having played the first game you then have to play through that entire tutorial section again with your new character. So I did that bit twice in quick succession last night all the while cursing my mate for wanting me to co-op through another game in a series I find unbelievably dull.

[teddymeow]

17 minutes ago, wev said:

 

That's exactly what brought it to mind as I started Destiny 2 last night

Phew, not just me then. 

[nakamura]

I hate little bits in games where you have to pick up an item and give it to someone in the same room. Or any type of QTE. 

All infuriating. Just make a quick cutscene so we can move on. Involving me in such menial tasks isn't interactive, it's boring.

[deKay]

4 hours ago, Eighthours said:

The level in Pool Panic where you have to swing on a crane to hit balls off logs is probably the most badly designed pile of shit I’ve ever encountered. After half an hour of trying to hit the final ball, I gave up. It seems impossible.

 

I know it’s not helping, but it’s easy when you realise how to do it.

[BadgerFarmer]

The glass tube in Super Metroid.

 

There's just no reason to think it can be broken in the way it can, when the rules about what kind of blocks react to what weapon have been well established.

[Kryptonian]

The flying races in Lego Marvel Super Heroes.

 

My son couldn’t do it so asked me. No problem I thought as I have decades of experience playing games but Jesus Christ, the controls are total dogshit - a & b to control your height but there’s a delay between pressing them and the character responding. I have never been so disgusted with a game.

[Down by Law]

The Tsar Runner and the immediate bit afterwards wit the hackable robots outside Amada in Binary Domain. A pace and patience killer.

[nakamura]

25 minutes ago, BadgerFarmer said:

The glass tube in Super Metroid.

 

There's just no reason to think it can be broken in the way it can, when the rules about what kind of blocks react to what weapon have been well established.

I guessed it as a 13 year old. 

[Jamie John]

The opening level of Oblivion, when you have to escort Patrick Stewart through the sewers.

 

Also, any level in Oblivion that actually takes place in Oblivion and not Cyrodiil.

[BadgerFarmer]

35 minutes ago, nakamura said:

I guessed it as a 13 year old. 

Fair enough. IIRC I spent ages expecting to find some way to open it. I don't think there's anywhere else in the game where scenery breaks unless it's marked accordingly. But it has been a long time.

[Stanley]

[nakamura]

3 minutes ago, BadgerFarmer said:

Fair enough. IIRC I spent ages expecting to find some way to open it. I don't think there's anywhere else in the game where scenery breaks unless it's marked accordingly. But it has been a long time.

I think given its the only place like it in the game, and the scenery clearly suggests a path down, it's a reasonable clue. 

[sandman]

38 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

The opening level of Oblivion, when you have to escort Patrick Stewart through the sewers.

 

Also, any level in Oblivion that actually takes place in Oblivion and not Cyrodiil.

One of my favourite openings to any game, ever. I replay that bit once a year or so