10 lazy mission-types every gamer hates - gamebasin.com

8/11/2019 10 Lazy Mission-Types Every Gamer Hates - GameBasin.com

1/10

10 Lazy Mission Types Every Gamer

Hates

http://www.gamebasin.com/news/10-lazy-mission-types-every-gamer-hates

Yourereallygettingintoagameitsnarrativeisengaging,itsgameplayisenthralling,andwith

eachnewlevelyoufindmorecausetogiveitpraise.Butwhetheritsinanattempttodiversifythe

experienceor

simply

asadistic

act

on

the

developers

behalf,

you

find

yourself

facing

amission

typesolazilydesignedandinfuriatinglydifficultthatyoubegintoquestionbothyourownsanity,

andthatofthedeveloperswhoputitthere.Stale,banalleveldesignsucks.Sadly,thevastmajority

ofgamesareguiltyofcommittingthiscardinalsinatsomepointovertheirduration.Fromthe

sprawling openworld game desperately trying to inject some variation into its unwieldy

environment,tothehumblecorridorshooterthatwantsnothingmorethantodispelclaimsthat

its repetitive, lazy missiontypes have been shoehorned into just about every genre going.

Interestingly,theresnothinginherentlywrongwithanyofthesemissiontypes.Intherighthands,

theseshifts ingameplaycanprovideawelcomechangeofpacewhilekeepingthegamescore

mechanicsfresh

and

engaging;

this

is

not

often

the

case.

The

issue

is

compounded

by

the

fact

that

thesemissiontypesareusuallyintendedasmeredistractions,andsotheynevergettheattention

theydeserve from theirdevelopers.Eitherway,thesemissions rarelyeveraddanythingtothe

overallexperienceofanygivengame,simplybecauseonanindividualleveltheyresuchaminor

partofthefinalpackage.

10. The Fetch Quest


2/10

Thesurprisingeasewithwhichwearepersuadedtoactaserrandboysissomewhatworrying,and

consideringtheamountofthoughtandeffortthatmustgointodesigningaconvincinggameworld,

youdthinktheremightbemoreinterestingthingstodointhatworldthancompleteaseriesof

slightly elaborate deliveries. Still, its a missiontype that runs rampant through RPGs and

adventuregames,whereas ifto lengthenthetime ittakestocompletethegamecollecting

variousitemsanddeliveringotherscanmakeupanembarrassingamountofthecampaignslength.

Sure,iftheyredonewellfetchquestscanprovidecrucialexpositionofeitheracharactersorthe

plotsbackground.Theissueisthatasgameplaymechanicsgo,goingfromoneplacetoanother

can only take somany forms before it becomes tedious and repetitive. The problem is truly

exacerbatedbyrepeatplaythroughs,wherethefetchquestisessentiallystrippedofanynarrative

gratificationitmightrewardtheplayerwith,leavinggamerswithablandandultimatelypointless

missiontocomplete.Sowhilefewmightvehementlyhatethefetchquest,itsstillalwaysmetbya

collectivesighbytherestofthecommunitytoo.

9. The Turret Sequence


3/10

Whileonrailsshooterscanbeimmenselyentertainingasarcadestylegames,theextendedturret

sequencesthathavebecomecommonplace intheshootergenreareanythingbutentertaining.

Timeandtimeagainwerethrownintosequencesinwhichwemustmountaturret(orfirefrom

thebackofavehicle)inanefforttosuppresstheendlesswavesofenemiesthatcomeatus.Taking

gameplaymechanics that are already fairly simple and simplifying them further by restricting

movement, weapon variety, cover mechanics and recoil might seem like an obviously foolish

endeavour,but thathasntstoppedcountlessdevelopers fromcrammingturretsequences into

theirgamesinordertoprolongtheircampaign.Additionally,therearetheequallyrepetitivetropes

thatarealwaysondisplayinaturretsequence:redexplosivebarrels,quicktimeevents,equipment

health bars and other similarly unimpressive mechanics that are intended to spice up the

experienceofmaiming innumerable foes.AnyonewhoplayedCallofDuty:World atWarwill

happilyregaleyouwithstoriesofhowtiringandwearisometheBlackCatsmissionwas.Herewas

a levelthatsawplayersmountingmultipleturrets inanattempttosavesomeAmericanswhile

simultaneously sticking it to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Mundane and dreary on regular

difficultiesandalmostunplayableon thegameshardestdifficulty setting, thatmission (which

offerednothingtothenarrative)istheperfectindictmentoftheturretsequence.

8. The Sewer Level


4/10

Nottotakeanythingawayfromsewers(theyrefantasticatwhattheydo),butdoeseverygame

reallyneedasewerlevel?Becauseasmuchfunaswanderingthroughtunnelsintendedtocarry

humanwasteis,thegameplayisoftenrepetitiveandtheaestheticdesignisinvariablydrab.Weve

seenthesewerlevelinallitsvariousincarnations:thepuzzlesegment,theplatformer,thecorridor

shooter,thestealthsequence,thebossbattleandsoonbutineachofthesescenariosnothing

hasbeenmoreapparentthanthefactthatitis,afterall,asewer.Theinherentproblemofsetting

alevelinaseweristhattherereallyisntthatmuchtodointhem.Onceyouveexploitedthetropes

ofturningvalvesandcrossingbodiesofwater,thesewerislittlemorethanaglorifiedtunnel;a

moresubtleroutethatcharactersoftenuseforgettingfromAtoBwithoutattractingtoomuch

attention.Thentheresthe issuesthatarise fromactuallyhavingto lookatthedamnedthings.

Whetheritswallsaremadeofcobblestonesorconcrete,thecolourpaletteisalwaysthatsame

blendofdismalgreysanddrearybrowns,scarcelyilluminatedbythelevelsfewlightsources.Its

notthatsewersshouldbeluminescentmenageriesofcolourthatdazzleandexciteoursenses,its

morethatgamedevelopersshouldbecomingupwithsomethingelseiftheywanttokeepgamers

investedintheirtitles.

7. The Tailing Mission


5/10

Thismissiontypehasnotpermeatedthegamingworldasmuchastheothers,butthatdoesnt

makeitanylesshated.AfavouriteofstealthandopenworldfranchiseslikeAssassinsCreedand

GrandTheftAuto, the tailingmissionoften involves followinganNPC toanunknown location

withoutlosingsightofthemorattractingtheirattention.Ofcourse,thisinvolvesfollowingthem

at a pedestrian pace, while being sure to act as normal as possible, whichmakes for some

excruciatinglyboringsequencesinagamewheremurderousrampagesandhighspeedchasesare

thenorm.Arguablytheworsttraitofthismissiontypeistheextenttowhichitcanbebrokenand

exploitedtotheamusementofanotherwisedazedgamer.Seeingasthedetectionmechanicsare

basedalmostentirelyontheplayersproximityandhowmanyobjectstheyknockover,inGTAfor

exampletheplayerisstillabletoperformaseriesofdoughnutsinaperformancesportscarsolong

astheydontgettooclosetothetarget.Perhapsworstofall,isthatthismissiontypeoffersalmost

nochallengetogamersbeyondtestingtheirpatience.Whentherestofthegamehasaskedthe

playertoperfecttheirskillsandexplorevariousstrategiesinordertoprogress,thetailingmission

ordersustoshutupandplayballwhileitlazilydeliverssomeexpositionontheplotthroughvarious

sectionsofdialoguealongtheway.

6. The Area Defence Mission


6/10

Often integratedwith theaforementioned turret sequence, theareadefencemission requires

playerstodefendanobjectorzonefromwaveafterwaveofenemies.Thisdifferssomewhatfrom

thegenerally likedhordemission, inthat itasksplayerstopreservesomethingotherthantheir

owncharactershealth.Asaresult,thesemissionsareoftenquitetaxingandcanrequirenumerous

attemptsevenonnormaldifficulties.Theresnothingproblematicaboutamissionbeingdifficult

thesuccessofDarkSoulshasshownushowmuchgamersrelishachallengebutwhenwere

forcedtogothroughthesamewavesofenemieseachtime,thedifficultyandrepetitivenessbegins

tograte.Thisisnothelpedbytheslowprogressionthatthesemissionsoftenemploy,whichcan

makethemunbearablytimeconsuming.Thegameplaymechanicsrarelychangeeither,meaning

thatwhileyoumightbegivenafewtoystoplayaroundwith,youlllikelyberelyingonthegames

corecombatsystemtoseeyouthrougheachwave.Butletsnotalsoforgetthattherewilllikelybe

atimer,orworsestill,ahealthbar,toremindyouhowyourdoingatanygivenmoment.Combine

alltheseandyouhaveabythenumbersrecipeforaparticularlyirritatingmission.

5. The Mandatory Stealth Sequence


7/10

Nothingdestroysawellconstructedsenseof immersionmorecompletelythanfailingtheexact

samestealthsequencehundredsof timesover.Unlikewithstealthgames,stealthmissionsare

often found in games which have not been specifically designed for suck things, as the

implementation is poor at best. So when players are forced to comply with an unexpected

gameplayshift,itsrarelymetwithanysemblanceofjoy.Theplotdevicethatusuallyaccompanies

thismissiontypeusuallyinvolvesbeingimprisonedinaneasilyescapablejailcell,strippedofall

yourweaponsandthushavingtosneakyourwayoutofwhateverscenarioyouvefoundyourself

in.Youwillofcoursebefacinganarrayofguardswhowereseeminglyhiredspecificallybecause

theylackbothperipheralvisionandasenseofhearing.Ofcoursethismightnotalwaysmatteras

theleveldesignisfrequentlysubstandardandbroken,meaningthatnomatterhowdumbtheNPCs

are,youllstillbecaughtoutbysomeotherterriblyexecutedgameplaymechanic.Moreirritating

though,isthenotionthatthereisnootherapproachtothescenario,thatregardlessofhowmany

otherroutestherecouldbe,youllhavetoblindlyfollowordersanddowhateverthegametells

youuntilyouroutofthispurgatorialmess.

4. The Timed Mission


8/10

Therecanbe few things in lifemore infuriatingand stressful than the ticking clock.Themere

appearanceofatimerinagameisenoughtoturnsomegamersoffcompletelyandwhocould

blame them? A timer is essentially an easy way to instantly make any given mission more

interesting,andleveldesignersarentfoolinganyone.Thereasonsthataregiventotheplayerare

usuallyarbitraryandtheamountoftimethatyourgiveniseithersuspiciouslyconvenientorjust

plainsadistic.Ifthelatteristrue,gamerswillfindthemselvesreplayingthesametimedmission

over and over again, failing by the narrowest ofmarginswith each successive attempt. Its a

missiontypethatcomesbearinganinherentaspectoffrustrationinthateveryobjectivebecomes

centredaroundacapricioustimelimit.Wherebeforeagamehasallowedyoutoexploreitsevery

nookandcranny,thejarringappearanceofatimerforcesusontoablandandnarrowpath,where

themeansofcompletionarelimitedtowhatevertoolsaremostefficient.

3. The Underwater Level


9/10


10/10

Becausebabysittinginrealityissomuchfunthattheyjusthadtomakeamissionoutofit,right?

The escortmission has been realised properly on only a handful of occasions, in every other

circumstanceithasbeenthecauseofuntoldlevelsoffrustration.EscortinganNPCwhostumbles

throughtheworldlikeablindturkeyisagamersworstnightmare:theydiefromnominaldamage,

run into enemies, block your line of sight and offer you nothing but grief in return. This is

exacerbatedbythosestingydeveloperswhogleefullystarveplayersofcheckpoints,forcingyouto

relivetheagonyrepeatedlybeforefindingsuccess.Theescortmissionalsoprovidesplayerswitha

veritablesmorgasbordofgamingtropesrangingfromthedastardlyhealthbartothesurreptitious

paththatourNPCadoptsalloftheseareofcourseintendedtomakeourcombinedexperience

asnegativeaspossible.Onoccasionthesemissionsaresoshoddily thrown together that their

completioncanonlyeverbeattributedtoluck.

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10 lazy mission-types every gamer hates - gamebasin.com

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