Man, this thread is beautiful. I don't even know where to begin...
I Don't Know How to Describe This, But it Annoyed the Hell Outta Me.
Does anyone remember Mass Effect Two? And the relationship system? Well, my biggest pet peeve with that game (among many) was the fact that Miranda/Jack could be deeply in love with you a couple missions in-game (To the point where there was no dialogue options left until you headed off on the final mission) and the second you do the other's loyalty mission, they get peeved. Now, if you side with the opposite of your previous love interest in the ensuing (minor) fight, suddenly they hate you and won't speak with you. It makes no sense. So I guess a better title would be "Games that don't keep an accurate record of decisions etc."
Horrible Endings to An Epic Saga
Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3... How many hours did we sink in those series only to have lame endings? The one that really rankled was ME3, because after 60+ hours sunk into the series, ALL MY DECISIONS MEAN NOTHING. I mean, yes, it's hard to please everyone, but you think if you put that much time into making this series, that you'd at least give it a half decent ending.
Useless, USELESS Sequals
Games that don't need sequals being given successions of sequals. Condemned 2 Bloodshot anyone? Fable Three, you are on my shit list. Fable One was amazing, Fable 2 was still pretty good, despite its faults, and three was such a compendium of "Dammit Peter Molyneaux, WHYYY" that it was nearly unplayable. Which brings me to another one...
Useless Game Mechanics Which Companies Use To Hype a Game
Hype: "You'll be king and have full control of your nation!"
Reality: "Let's turn that orphanage into a brothel and then go fight monsters"
I wanted a game that turned me into a king. I fought hard, just to be the same character with the same power in a shittier outfit. (I have a lot of hate for Fable 3). Ya know, Bethesda did this too with V.A.T.S. I never used it, it was super annoying and pointless. You gave me a gun, now you want the game to shoot it for me. How braindead do you think I am?
Happy Endings
This is just a personal thing. You rarely see unhappy endings, or emotionally unsatisfying endings anymore. Endings which leave you empty, and in no way can be considered happy or glorious. I'm just sick of saving the galaxy, or being the hero. And I don't mean the main character dying, but everything still working out for the better (I'm looking at you Rockstar), I mean a downright depressing ending. As a kid, I always wanted Ganon(dorf) to beat Link, or Bowser to beat Mario. I just hated how it was predestined for the PC to win. It'd be even better if there were endings for games where you are not the hero, and everyone hates you for it. Or people just forget your name. I know, sounds depressing, but I think it's what some games need. I mean, think on Farcry 3's endings. Neither could be described as happy, and they're both decently written. Whatever problems you had with the game, I think you can agree with that. I loved both those endings, but my final problem is one I encountered hugely in Farcry 3...
Horrible Final Boss Fights
This is it, I've worked up to this. The final showdown... Aaaaaaaand I press 3 QTE's and it's done. Woo....
I played your crappy game, I paid for it and sunk hours into it. You've led up to this huge battle, and I want it to be satisfying enough to justify my commitment to this game. The end of the Witcher 2 got this right. Two Final Bosses, and the options to not kill either? Damn. A game after my own heart.