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[itisnotlogical]

Items that exist for no reason

It's been a few hours since I finally finished up Twilight Princess, but it took me until now to realize: Why is the slingshot even in the game? I've tried it on quite a few enemies and it's useless against everything, except Keese. I don't remember exactly when you get the Bow, but I don't think you need to use the slingshot before then either. Out-of-reach switches can be triggered by the Clawshot in addition to the bow, so it doesn't even save ammo!

[Neonivek]

Items that exist for no reason

It's been a few hours since I finally finished up Twilight Princess, but it took me until now to realize: Why is the slingshot even in the game? I've tried it on quite a few enemies and it's useless against everything, except Keese. I don't remember exactly when you get the Bow, but I don't think you need to use the slingshot before then either. Out-of-reach switches can be triggered by the Clawshot in addition to the bow, so it doesn't even save ammo!

It is because Zelda has always been a game that sort of likes the idea of a point and click adventure and was never sure if it actually wanted to be one.

[Telgin]

That's funny now that you mention it, I don't recall there being any point to the slingshot in Twilight Princess now either.  I'm guessing they originally intended for it to have a more prominent role, but that never surfaced.

Useless items are a pretty annoying thing though.  I have a bad habit of hanging on to obscure items that don't have any obvious purpose with the presumption that they'll be useful later.  Frequently it means I'm wasting inventory space for something pointless.  The first games to come to mind that I've played recently that had a problem with this are Fallout and Fallout 2.  There are a lot of little items like security passes, and even food, which serve little to no purpose and I end up lugging them around forever and ever.  Food can be sold, but it's so low on value as to be pointless.  That's another annoying trend with itemization I suppose.

[itisnotlogical]

That's funny now that you mention it, I don't recall there being any point to the slingshot in Twilight Princess now either.  I'm guessing they originally intended for it to have a more prominent role, but that never surfaced.

Useless items are a pretty annoying thing though.  I have a bad habit of hanging on to obscure items that don't have any obvious purpose with the presumption that they'll be useful later.  Frequently it means I'm wasting inventory space for something pointless.  The first games to come to mind that I've played recently that had a problem with this are Fallout and Fallout 2.  There are a lot of little items like security passes, and even food, which serve little to no purpose and I end up lugging them around forever and ever.  Food can be sold, but it's so low on value as to be pointless.  That's another annoying trend with itemization I suppose.

On my first playthrough of KOTOR, all the items were gibberish to me since I didn't really know how the system worked at the time, so I never sold them because I never knew if I'd be selling something good or not. I ended up having tons and tons of items to sell by the end of the game. Selling all the items I'd saved up over the game let me buy tons of Advanced Medkits, which saved me during the final boss fight since my character was so underdeveloped for saber combat.

[flame99]

Reboots
A sequel is one thing. A prequel is... Well, if done right, it can be good. But completely changing the game world, dropping all of the continuity, and effectively taking a dump on all of our connection to the characters? Please, god, no.

[Neonivek]

Reboots
A sequel is one thing. A prequel is... Well, if done right, it can be good. But completely changing the game world, dropping all of the continuity, and effectively taking a dump on all of our connection to the characters? Please, god, no.

To me reboots can work, especially if the original is still considered canon within its own universe.

It is often either reboot the series or just end it since often series have devolved into a heaping pile of stupidity (the Resident evil series for example).

Then there are games where the reboot happened only because they wanted to make more games but realized the character was pretty much complete... like Devil May Cry. Which frankly might as well be their own independent games.

THEN there are games that are essentially reboots but like to pretend they aren't... Alone in the Dark for example is a reboot to the alone in the dark series but likes to pretend it isn't. (look the ONLY Alone in the Dark that was any good was the very first one)...

Which come to think of it... put me on the band wagon too... I decidedly don't like reboots so much either. For every Mortal Kombat (the only reboot I can think of that did it halfway decently) there are too many others. They are just made so they can "tell their own story" while trying to get "fans of the original".

Alone in the Dark
Person 1: "Ehh we are making a horror game but we aren't sure how to get people to buy it"
Person 2: "Why don't we make it a sequel to Alone in the Dark?"
Person 1: "But it isn't even related to the series and has no real connecting threads"
Person 2: "So?"
Person 1: "We need SOMETHING!"
Person 2: "Uhhh... make the main character a time traveler"
Person 1: "But shouldn't we change his character to match?"
Person 2: "Heck no! Also don't bother trying to match the tone or context of the original either"
Person 1: "So let me get this straight. We are making a completely independent game with no similarities to a game and no connecting threads that we are naming a sequel in order to be associated with one of the heralds of the survival horror genres??
Person 2: "Yep"
Person 1: "GENIUS! Lets also insert Satan into this... He makes everything better! Just ask Castlevania!"

Ps. The Castlevania reboot was terrible too.

[alexandertnt]

I dont have a problem with reboots at all. But then again I have little attachment to IP, so they can go and change whatever they want and I would be fine with it.

[timferius]

I don't mind reboots either (I actually enjoyed the new Tomb Raider, believe it or not). I think your problem may more be:

Using IP for the sake of using IP
We all know the games. Company A has/gets rights to an IP, also has a game idea/half built game. Bah, just slap the two together!
This rarely turns out well (though I did like super Mario 2, but it was easier to justify back in those days). Some of the worst offenders are movie tie-in games, but I'm sure you can all think of 200 games that were unimproved/worsened by the tacking on of an IP.

[SealyStar]

Non-platforming games that suddenly have very difficult platform segments near the end

This is doubly so for me because platformers are the only genre that I consistently suck at.

Translation: Half-Life.

That's probably why Xen sucked.

[SealyStar]

I'm sure you can all think of 200 games that were unimproved/worsened by the tacking on of an IP.

#1: "Metroid: Other M"

So technically it was always supposed to be a Metroid game, which is why it also sucked from the start. They could have made it a totally generic sci-fi title and it would be better for it.

[Glloyd]

I am starting to think the vast majority of gamers are stupid people and game developers are trying to relate to their poor underdeveloped minds by creating characters who are so dumb that the players feel smart by comparison.

The problem is of course that you created characters so dumb that now I feel so dumb for even playing the game.

Hahaha, I was wondering how long it would take someone to say it. I agree 100% with you, but I`d like to go more in depth. The problem is the same problem that is present in public school. They teach to the status quo, which make more intelligent students feel like they`re surrounded by complete morons. This was basically my entire childhood. (No thanks, I don`t want to go play football with the other kids teacher, I`m quite content staying inside and reading). Getting back to games, it`s the same issue. The games you`re talking about are AAA games, so they have to make them appeal to the status quo if they want to turn a profit. This is why people like us feel as if the games are designed for idiots, by idiots, because the are designed to appeal to the average level of intelligence. This is not to say that Mass Effect and Dragon Age are bad games. Not at all. Despite my many many qualms with both, I still enjoyed them to some degree. Yet, they are designed to appeal to a lower intelligence quotient, and thus feel... what`s the word... flat... Yeah, I`ll go with that. They just feel flat to us. This is primarily why I`ve stopped playing AAA RPG`s and FPS`s. I still play Paradox strategy games, but I dunno if you could call that a AAA game anyways. Most of my gaming nowadays is comprised of roguelikes, SS13, and at the moment, StarMade.

[Werdna]

Haven't read whole thread, apologies if this is mentioned:

Excuse me, mind if I come in and loot your house?

Pretty much every RPG has this to some degree, but I'm playing Witcher 2 and there it is rather pronounced in an otherwise pretty immersive game.  I can have a menacing convo with the local thug running a town, and afterwards proceed to casually loot his office while his goons look on.  A prostitute might make you pay for information, but no worries, they don't think twice about you looting their room to get some coin back.  No guards are called, no conversations become hostile, no need to wait for backs to turn - like dodos that allowed hunters to walk up and club them, this world is oblivious to the concept of a thief apparently.  To be fair most games are rather half-assed about their "thief" detection, but it appears to be a race to the bottom now.

Just once I'd like to see a game mess with you:

"Aye, its a tragedy - somebody's been stealing Timber from their woodpile for days straight.  Froze to death, they did.  A real monster, that thief!  Oy, Witcher, want a real job?  Hunt down the monster that did this!"

"Thanks Witcher, well done with the Drowners, mate.  About the reward we promised; the reward money was stolen right out of my desk!  I tried to put together a collection, but the locals have been reporting spare Orens missing from their houses too.  You find that thief, and you'll have that coin and our thanks, my friend."

[scrdest]

Haven't read whole thread, apologies if this is mentioned:

Excuse me, mind if I come in and loot your house?

Pretty much every RPG has this to some degree, but I'm playing Witcher 2 and there it is rather pronounced in an otherwise pretty immersive game.  I can have a menacing convo with the local thug running a town, and afterwards proceed to casually loot his office while his goons look on.  A prostitute might make you pay for information, but no worries, they don't think twice about you looting their room to get some coin back.  No guards are called, no conversations become hostile, no need to wait for backs to turn - like dodos that allowed hunters to walk up and club them, this world is oblivious to the concept of a thief apparently.  To be fair most games are rather half-assed about their "thief" detection, but it appears to be a race to the bottom now.

Just once I'd like to see a game mess with you:

"Aye, its a tragedy - somebody's been stealing Timber from their woodpile for days straight.  Froze to death, they did.  A real monster, that thief!  Oy, Witcher, want a real job?  Hunt down the monster that did this!"

"Thanks Witcher, well done with the Drowners, mate.  About the reward we promised; the reward money was stolen right out of my desk!  I tried to put together a collection, but the locals have been reporting spare Orens missing from their houses too.  You find that thief, and you'll have that coin and our thanks, my friend."

Again, commendably, DX:HR did that at one point. If you've been breaking into offices at Sarif Enterprises and looting them, when you return there next time you get e-mails from your coworkers requesting that you, Head of Security, investigate the recent thieving incidents you, player, caused. It's actually useful, since you get the door codes.

[Lightningfalcon]

I don't mind reboots either (I actually enjoyed the new Tomb Raider, believe it or not). I think your problem may more be:

Using IP for the sake of using IP
We all know the games. Company A has/gets rights to an IP, also has a game idea/half built game. Bah, just slap the two together!
This rarely turns out well (though I did like super Mario 2, but it was easier to justify back in those days). Some of the worst offenders are movie tie-in games, but I'm sure you can all think of 200 games that were unimproved/worsened by the tacking on of an IP.

I believe that this was what happened to Tiberium Twilight.  It was originally going to be a different game, but they decided to tack on the Command and Conquer title to it.  Hence why it doesn't play as a command and conquer game. 

[UristMcDwarf]

big hp bars.

In Maplestory, monsters have like, 10s of thousands of HP, and your hits do like 4000 each

why is there so many hp, when your damage is scaled anyway