Worst trends in video games?

[runequester]

So figured we could have a nice bitch fest

The topic is.. annoying trends in video games, whether new or old.

What brings.. or brought.. you down?

FMV games from the late 90s?
Everything being first person?
Endless side quests?
Quick time events?

[Duce]

Extensively long cutscenes or filler to make up for shitty gameplay/backstory.

[runequester]

Unskippable cut scenes. Bonus points if its immediately before a really gruelling boss fight

[Belial6]

How about all of the joysticks being manufactured left handed.

[Matt_H]

Achievements. It seems to me that these "extra-curricular" developer-/publisher-imposed performance benchmarks are stifling freeform exploration of games.

[foleyjo]

I hate the new trend of being told what to do especially in adventure games.

In the old days you were given an object and had to work out what to do with it.
Now you get an object and the character will say "Maybe I can use this to ...." and then you will be given a cut scene showing where you need to use the item and then when you get close to the location the thing you use it on starts to flash .

[Buzzfuzz]

- Online cheats, just get a life if you use these, NFS is a game where such things are used
 
- Nothing new, it's always based on some older game, there aren't any new ideas brought in
 
- Crappy multiplayer/online, some games just keep lagging/crashing
 
- Prices, games are 50/60 euro's, back in the days it was 50/60 Guilders which means a 200% increase, sure just keep saying everything gets better with the Euro *cough* BULL****

[koshman]

I hate the current (or has it always been like this?) trend of "bigger and better" sequels. This applies especially for bestselling game franchises - e.g. GTA - when GTA3 came out in 2002 it was a small revolution - it might not have been exactly your cup of tea (it wasn't mine...), you can't deny it was groundbreaking in many ways though. But all the newer GTA games play exactly the same and the reviewers still complain about the same things, because the core gameplay hasn't been changed one bit over the years. Still everybody wants and buys the new GTAs, because you get:

- more cities (and they're bigger, too!!!)
- more cars and motorbikes
- more guns
- more houses
- more quests
- more costumes
- more factions
- more stuff to buy in shops
- more ways to pimp your car
- you can drive a bicycle now (just WOW...)
- the main dude is black now (big deal...)
- etc etc etc

You get sooo much new stuff and sooo little new game(play), still every new GTA game is hyped like it's the second coming. This just makes me angry - there are still awesome games being released nowadays - Mass Effect, Bioshock, Fallout etc., but for each of them you get a new GTA, Tomb Raider, FIFA (NHL, NBA...), NFS, Sims, WoW expansion etc.

[koshman]

Also everything has to be online today or at least has some form of multiplayer. Why? I love a good story in a game, I love playing at my own pace.

And the lack of innovation in JRPGs - the genre is basically the same for 20+ years and no one seems to mind. When you get something new it's being heralded as a total revolution - no random fights and..... I can't think of anything else that's been changed in JRPGs. The only thing you get (bigger and better all over again) - even more minigames, even more playable characters, even more totally nonsensical ways to evolve your characters (materia system - what the f*** ).....

EDIT: sorry for the double post...

[kedawa]

QTE's are the worst.
You know, those lame mini-game segments where a button flashes on the screen and you have to press it or else.
I hate that.

[Roj]

Companies insist only on releasing games for consoles and shun PC releases.

Also, it bugs me to no end that, for LAN multi-player games, every player is expected to buy a copy of a game to play it. I know that's pretty much always been the way it is, but it still bugs me. Imagine Toys R Us (pretend the R is backwards) forcing everyone who checks out with a game of Monopoly to additionally pay full price up front for each person they intend to play the game with.

Upon completion of some games, they'd switch from being a game to being a "toy" in that it would open up and allow the player to just explore and have fun with it. Now, with multi-player games and everything being tracked online, that's not allowed and the game remains as closed as it was before it was finished.

[Khephren]

Next gen brown -I blame quake

over normal mapping -games that look like they've been wrapped in shiny cellophane.

No bots anymore   -I don't play multiplayer other than co-op, so those multiplayer maps go waste on my 360. yet games used to have bots. Just microsoft trying to force me to pay for xbox gold.

rubbish or short campaigns- all focus on multiplayer.

best trend- indie games and XBLA, and loads of cool flash games.

[foleyjo]

DLC - You pay £40 for a new game but then find you haven't got the full game and you need to keep paying extra to get all the content.

Timed Exclusives - You get a company claiming they have content that won't be released on other formats. 6 months later it's on other formats.

[lsmart]

Most games today suck when you want to play them together with a visitor. Exception: Guitar Hero.
You have to unlock levels, so if you are not good at the game, you will never see all the artwork.
Online games try to monetize by making the game unbearable to those who don´t want to pay extra. So you end up with thousands of frustrated other players in your world.
You need to update your hardware at least every second year to play current titles. A C64 was good from 1983 to 1989!

[A1260]

crappy pc converts for consoles... simplified, gameplay changed, removed parts of the game etc...

released buggy half asses unfinished games, that you need 10 updates before its playable...

100 useless button mashing/keyboards combos to 100 diffrents sword/fist/gun/strategy etc, when you only need 3 and you cant remember the rest anyway....

insane hard game bosses, typically a game that have nothing going for it. and desperatly need to make the playing time longer.

singel player games(rpg games specially), that could be easly done (2-4) co-op online. but instead you have one or more useless ai character as companion.

releasing singel player games in 2011. gaming is a social affair it is not the ps2 90's anymore. co-op online is where the fun is. every game should have an option to play it  through with a friend.
 
the 'no time to put in the game before release' excuse. then sell it as an expansion/dlc to cashin more on the game later.  (new maps/more levels/new guns etc)