I think checkpoint saves exist due to hardware restrictions on consoles or because the regular save-at-will system is too complicated software-wise for the developers to implement it before the release date. That's why games like Soul Reaver save only the most rudimentary things: only your overall progress. Not even your exact position in the world, not even which enemies you killes, nothing else. Everything is generated anew each time you start the game.

But today there should be no excuse for such things!

I used to get mad about that kind of thing. I've long since realized the importance of a good old "Are you sure?" prompt. I almost constantly click the exact opposite of the thing I mean to click. If a game was made specifically for me it would ask "Are you sure?" after every mouseclick.

+1!

Been there! My "time played" length on Steam for most of my games there is artificially extended because I've had to put my game down but didn't want to, or have time to, save and quit out.

More dumb things found in some games...

- Small text so you can barely read the text or can't read the text depending on how bad your eye sight is...
- No option to change aspect ratio

The most infuriating thing is having to play a trainer and not being able to skip it. One of the Call of Duty games had one of those, the only one I ever tried to play, and it made me not want to play that game. I never picked up that stupid game or any of it's sequels ever again.

The damn blood trail cutscene in the original Max Payne. Who on earth thought that was a good idea. All it did was take me out of the game and piss me off having to watch that stupid thing.

Annoyingly loud and terrible music that it wouldn't let me mute and I couldn't get to my speaker volume quick enough. Then having to drill down into the arcane settings of where to turn off that crappy music. I'm remembering my days with the Madden football series. Annoying as hell rap music with the volume turned up higher than anything I have ever heard on my computer even to this day.

How about if it's not music made especially for the game, you give me an option before you run that crap through my speakers.

I read your posts in Stewie's voice. it is quite funny.

Been there, done that, too! While I think checkpoint can have their merit in creating greater suspense (think horror games or jump'n'runs), at least a game should be pauseable at all times - also in prolonged cutscenes or dialogs! - very few games actually support this. When my wife needs me, or the doorbell rings I can't just let them wait to either play to the next checkpoint or wait another 5 minutes for the cutscene to finish - but I also don't want to end the scene altogether.

As for checkpoints and saving: Operation Flashpoint would always autosave the game when you quit - that was a nice idea.

TwisterBE mentioned escort quests and want to chime in: Escort quests were the escorted person will mindlessly attack every monster in sight with their lowly knife but will die after 1-3 hits.

Another few complaints:
- NPCs blocking doorways
- Games that have a day cycle (NPCs/events available at certains hours only) and no wait/pass-time option
- Broken quest markers lying to you. I don't necessarily need quest marks. But if I have them, they should point at the location where I have to do something or can actually meet the NPC required.
- "Surprise" events taking you out of the current area where you probably weren't finished.
- Jumping puzzles in FPS.
- No subtitles in story based games. This and bad sound design. Some NPC is telling you important information but can't understand a damned thing because of that waterfall in the background.

Completely forgot about useless npcs.
Amount of times I`ve had to kill Lydia in Skyrim, been surrounded by my own heroes in Guild Wars to the point I couldn`t move, npcs in Dark Souls II being all but useless & so on...

The only npc I ever thought was good, was Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite, was really impressed with that one. Well, apart from when she was determined to throw you a coin on something from time to time.


npcs/mobs that can target you from quarter of a mile away, that you can`t target or hit until they`re stood toe to toe against you :$

I hate it whenever I do something, and the game doesn't automatically do exactly what I was expecting.

I also hate this exact same thing about the real world. :p

Other true things!
"Surprise" events inside big areas.. I always prefer to reload and explore the rest, but that breaks immersion.

A million times this!

The top three things that bug me are:

Lack of hud options. Specifically, not letting me play without the hud (or letting me but it makes the game impossible).

Lack of customizable controls. Seriously, wtf?

Not letting me skip cutscenes.



Those three things are make or break for me. I've passed on tons of games because of those three problems. Other things I don't like are:

Black bars during cutscenes or other parts to denote that you can't play yet. I hate that. Use my whole screen. For that matter, NEVER take away control from me.

Lack of freedom to solve puzzles or progress the way I want. Often times I can think of a great way to do something but the game won't let me. You have to play the way they programmed it in.

Quicktime events. Why do they even have these?

Alarms you can't disable.

Lack of difficulty options.

Lack of video / audio options.

Desaturating the screen or making whole screen red when I'm injured.

Oh, and DRM of course.

As I said in another thread, just finished my first complete run of the Mass Effect series. And yeah, the word dumb comes to mind. Over 60 hours of game play, deep interesting relationships, awesome first two games... part 3? Damn good all the way up to the ending... just can't say more.

Joker and EDI as Adam/Eve metaphor? Star child-Reaper thing? Space Jesus-Shep? No... no, Bioware, you didn't just do that. Did you just do that? Well, you go to bed right now. No snacks for you. You're also grounded for two weeks, not internet or video games for you. You go to your room and think about what you did.

Dumb. Heart broken. Pain. Deep thoughts. EA/Bioware got way more emotions from all of us than they deserve.

Or: Rebindung the keys breaks the game. Yes, I'm looking at you, Skyrim! What a dumb bug and never officially fixed.