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[DarthWoo]

In any mission oriented game (FPS, flight sim, space combat sim, etc.) what is your most reviled type of mission? I mean the type of mission that just makes you cringe when you read/hear the briefing, and you wish you could skip it.

I'd say (and I'm guessing many will agree) that the dreaded escort mission has to be it. You have to fly/run/drive along some slow, lumbering and probably helpless moving target, and prevent it from being destroyed by the hordes of incoming whatevers. Even when the thing/person supposedly has some sort of defenses, it completely fails to use them. You're within seconds of reaching the objective where you can leave this nuisance behind and hopefully move on to some sort of assault/capture/etc. mission, and suddenly.....BOOM/SPLAT/CRASH! Mission critical craft destroyed. Abort mission, mission a failure.

How about you? (This topic brought about by having found a treasure trove of old Wing Commander midis and reviving old memories, and yes, I realize the prior game reference in this post was not from a Wing Commander game.)

 

[Escape Goat]

Escort Mission by far!!!

 

[Mooreberg]

Definately escort missions. The only one I've liked was helping Eva out of the woods in MGS3.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Escort. However, when it's done well, it's really fun. Too bad it's rarely done well.

 

[Rorschach]

I never hated on escort because it can be done right, but that level in psychonauts was a real buzz kill. The game was almost perfect until that point.

 

[CabbageRed]

Escort and then timed.

 

[Virgin Wii]

"Find the *blank*s Hidden in Stage"

 

[DopeyFish]

Escort and then timed.

Good timed missions = Halo and Super Metroid

anyways




ESCORT MISSIONS SHOULD DIE A PAINFUL PAINFUL DEATH

 

[TheDuce22]

Can under water count as a mission type? Why must all games punish you with a water level?

 

[Triumph]

Yup, definitely escort. Hmm... maybe this had something to do with my vitriolic reaction to ICO? ...No. It's just a bad game!

 

[monchi-kun]

stealth missions

 

[CabbageRed]

"Good timed missions = Halo and Super Metroid"

There are exceptions but I really like to just tool around and enjoy the game. Homeworld 2 had so good near-escort mission and the end sequence for Halo was brilliant.

 

[kamikaze]

escort! (i see a pattern here)

level designers in the audience, please take notes.

 

[Ramirez]

Escort and Timed by far...

 

[GhaleonEB]

Escort!

 

[CabbageRed]

If there is one point this thread drives home, it is that we need a new ICO that has you leading the princess out of various buildings that are triggered to explode at any moment.

 

[calder]

Tough to argue with escort.

But my #2 has to be 'no base' missions in RTS's. You know, small force, no town or gathering and you have to do a base/dungeon crawl with a set number of units. Can't remember the nickname for those sorts of missions now... man that's annoying.

 

[Jared Goodwin]

Unnecessary stealth stages, by far.

A close second would be pointless backtracking fetch quests. Breath of Fire, I'm looking at you.

 

[CosmicGroinPull]

Escort missions, but I like Kojima's kind because you get to mess around and elicit responses from them...(like "What are you looking at, pervert!" )

 

[etiolate]

escort and stealth missions

though I liked Ico oddly enough, its just too often in games that whatever you're escorting seems to have a death wish

 

[GDGF]

Escort, unless the AI of the escorted bot is extremely intelligent (so extreme you'll nail your scrotum to the wall and like it)

 

[johnjohnson]

Add my name to the list of escort missions haters, please.

 

[GDGF]

Why can't escort missions involve escort services? It's false advertisement, I tells ya!

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

Escort missions of weak, defenseless bitches.

BTW, my fav types of missions are the "Test out these powerful new spells/unit types/weapons/etc" missions

 

[iapetus]

I'm going to break with tradition and say stealth missions in games that aren't built around the idea of stealth. Zelda, The Getaway, I'm looking at you here.

 

[Flynn]

Driving behind someone and picking up whatever they dropped.

It sucked in GTA3 and it's sucked in every GTA rip-off since.

 

[Gibbo]

Not sure if this counts, but I hate Underwater stages where your movement is slowed down. It really irritates the hell outta me for soome reason...

 

[Manick Joe]

To add on to the post above underwater missions where you have to constantly refill your air/oxygen. Man did that ever annoy me in the Sonic games.

 

[Miniboss]

Stealth.

 

[ourumov]

Escort missions. I suck at them.

 

[demi]

PROTECT _________ AS HE ___________

Been playing Timesplitters: Future Perfect and these type of scenarios pop up a LOT. It's annoying.

Like giving sniper fire and having to reload, meanwhile the guy's health slowly whittles away...FUCKING HURRY UP.

 

[shuri]

HEEELP MEEE LEOOON

 

[Great Wasabi Man]

Escort but after my time in WoW I'd say "Collect X of this item witha really shitty drop rate"

 

[Brannon]

Okay I'm going to be totally different and say Escort Missions.

I'm a rebel!

 

[Ironclad]

I don't have any problems with timed missions because I have played some really great ones. Dopeyfish had it right.

I really do hate escort missions, but RE 4 wasn't really that bad. She never really got in my way.

 

[LakeEarth]

HEEELP MEEE LEOOON

It's more like...

"HEEEEEEEEEeEEeeeEeEeELLLLP!!!... LEEEEEOOOoOoooOOooNNN!!"

 

[human5892]

Arriving at the door to a giant boss or otherwise important game turning point, only to find you need five keys to activate the lock, and that these keys are strewn throughout the areas of the game that you JUST FUCKING CAME THROUGH TO GET THERE.

I'd take five escort missions before that shit, and I hate escort missions dearly.

 

[LakeEarth]

The thing with escort missions is that even if they're done PERFECTLY right, they still aren't that fun.

 

[belgurdo]

"Okay, dude, all I need you to do is just stand behind me while I take out anything that comes our w-"

"LEEEEEEROOOOYYY JENNNNNKINNNSSSSS"

"....goddamnit."

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

First thought on seeing this thread was damned escort missions. Didn't expect it to be so unanimous though.

 

[evil ways]

Escort/protect missions, especially the ones with shitty AI where if the CPU controlled character starts acting retarded and gets killed, you get a Game Over.

 

[DCX]

Escort missions, although important...suck much ass. In car games, "picking up packages"=lame. The escort missions wouldn't suck so much if the AI was better, i have gotten so many "victims" stuck in walls, behind objects etc that was needless. I hope next gen they can really work on that aspect becuase it takes the believablity of a game away ten fold.

DCX

 

[dirtyjfosho]

Worst one in my mind has got to be the really slow walk with the girl in metal gear 2, still gives me nightmares

 

[Jordan_2009]

I think we've established that escort missions suck for the most part, so my vote will go towards tailing missions. Missions where I have to follow behind someone and not be noticed and/or not leave a radius of 10 feet of them = NOT FUN.

Then again, I guess thats sorta like reverse escort.

 

[jett]

Escort. Merecenaris and its bullshit escort missions can go fuck themselves.

 

[belgurdo]

I think we've established that escort missions suck for the most part, so my vote will go towards tailing missions. Missions where I have to follow behind someone and not be noticed and/or not leave a radius of 10 feet of them = NOT FUN.

I did not like the fact that in GTA SA they make you do this three or four times, once cross country. *groan*

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Escort missions, mainly because generally the NPC AI is mildly retarded and the person you're protecting gets killed at no fault of your own.

 

[Stinkles]

Go back to where you just came from.

And unskippable controller-learn missions.

 

[Scrow]

Can under water count as a mission type? Why must all games punish you with a water level?

that's probably because underwater missions are essentially timed missions if you're running out of breath. and if you've become accustomed to how a character controls on land it can be kind of jarring to then learn a whole new style of movement for said character once they get into water and the physics change.

really though it all comes down to good design for any mission type that can decide how successful it is in providing variety while still being fun and consistent.

The thing with escort missions is that even if they're done PERFECTLY right, they still aren't that fun.

i haven't got to this part in the game yet, but apparently the escort mission in RE4 is somewhat fun.