Gaming clichés: we all know they exist. How many times can the protagonist in a game be ‘the chosen one’ who’s destined to save the world or – oh look – the world has been taken over by zombies yet again. Is it laziness or are these tried-and-tested methods that just work? Here are some of the most overused clichés that every gamer has come across at one time or another.
1. Stolen weapons
If you play shooters then you’ll be very familiar with this one: you go through a game, collecting a huge arsenal of impressive weapons and kicking arse left, right and centre, only to have something happen all of a sudden – ie you get captured and have all your guns taken away. Then a miracle occurs and you somehow break free from your imprisoners, and spend the rest of the level trying to get to the room where your loot is kept. Some games will give you use of a basic weapon like a pocket knife but others will give you nothing at all, making you rely on stealth and hand-to-hand combat; but either way, you know from experience that it’s not going to be for long and you’ll be reunited with your cache before you know it.
2. Amnesia
Oh my god, I’ve woken up in a hospital or some other random room with no memory of who I am or where I am or how I got here. Now I have to go on long journey to find out why I’m in this situation with a shocking twist at the end. Yawn! This game mechanic has been done to death; developers think they’re being extremely clever but it ultimately comes across as cheap and lazy. Any time a character has this condition players everywhere automatically groan, because we get suspicious that the creator can’t be bothered to write a back-story.
3. The ‘Fake Boss’
Fake final bosses are an RPG staple. You get to the very last enemy and defeat it with ease, and why’s that? It’s just a mere trick to keep you on your toes because a new, stronger boss will appear and they’ll be insanely more difficult to beat. Final Fantasy games are notorious for this but thankfully you won’t find the mechanic much outside the RPG genre.
4. Escape before everything explodes
We all love a bit of ‘intensity’ in our action games but this cliché annoys us more than it gets us on the edge of our seats. How many times have you gone into an abandoned building, derelict spaceship or dodgy-looking cave to find some sort of bomb-type device that you accidentally activate? Then all of a sudden the place starts rumbling and you quickly figure out that you need escape. A clock appears in the corner of the screen and you have a measly couple of minutes to get the hell out of there; but is it as simple as running out the way you came? Of course not. Many of the enemies you killed on the way in have magically reappeared to stop you getting out.
5. Can you escort me please
Escort missions possibly top the list of terrible gaming clichés and to be honest, they need to disappear from games as soon as possible. One simple reason for this is the AI character you have to protect; they’re always so clumsy and running into walls, going on ahead and just simply being an easy target for enemies to get at. More time is spent fighting to stay with your passenger than fighting the baddies, and no developer seems to be able to get this right by giving the AI enough intelligence to just stick with you. When this dynamic is inserted into a game, it instantly downgrades it because we know we’re going to be in for a rough and frustrating time.
