Don't you just hate it when a good thing turns bad?
Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Annoying New Features in Video Game Sequels.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine."
For this list, we're looking at functions and features added into a series that drove fans crazy.
(SCREAMING)
"How's that?"
With many people feeling the later entries would be better off without these additions, these features are infamously remembered for turning fans away from their favorite franchises.
Number 10: Tank Battles, "Batman: Arkham Knight"
What was the "Arkham" series missing before the latest entry was released?
The Batmobile, of course!!
What WASN'T it missing?!
Mandatory, non-lethal tank battles seemingly, in the middle of every mission.
Transforming the Batmobile into a tank to fend off wave after wave of drone tanks was not only repetitive, but served no real purpose to the plot.
With this entry having the fewest "Predator" sections of the series, we feel the focus was lost to accommodate the "Batmo-Tank".
Number 9: Unified Ammo, "Deus Ex: Invisible War"
With the first game encouraging players to meticulously conserve and curate their ammo supplies, "Invisible War" lost some fans by switching to a unified ammunition system.
With one clip to rule them all, some of the depth of the first title was stripped away from players for mainstream consoles as the primary culprits.
This feature, along with the overall poor execution of "Invisible War", lead fans to see this sequel as inferior to the original classic.
"I think you got your money's worth. Now, step out and keep your mouth shut."
Number 8: Day/Night Switch, "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest"
What do gamers hate? Unnecessary interruptions, of course! Whether it's a reminder to go do chores or having to (CHUCKLES) go to work,
breaking the experience is just the worst.
Now, imagine a feature that does this on purpose, every time the game switches from day to night.
Stopping the action with an on-screen text prompt that never seems to FEEL ANY FASTER!!
Clearly, this was a product of its time, as this allowed the game to load its new aesthetic, but this feels like a feature the game would be better off without.
Number 7: Difficulty Lowering, "Kid Icarus: Uprising" and "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U"
ANNOUNCER: Continue?
Treating players like children is a sure-fire way to infuriate them.
Upon failing a mission or dying in these murky Nintendo titles, the difficulty is automatically lowered in order to help the player progress.
(PIT SCREAMING)
The most frustrating part of this feature is that it prevented players from getting through gates locked to higher difficulties.
Even more annoying, director Masahiro Sakurai brought this feature back in "Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U's" single-player mode.
Dropping the difficulty because we made a boo-boo is just kind of condescending. We'd rather learn from our mistakes to over challenges rather than have the challenge taken away.
Number 6: Forced Co-Op and Uneven Inventory System, "Resident Evil 5"
Double whammy here. In a series celebrated for its tense survival horror with a bit of action, the fifth entry tweaked the formula a bit too much towards the action side.
When Sheva Alomar made her debut in this 2009 title, she drove fans crazy, not because she was bad character, but because her AI was dumb as a brick.
This made co-op play almost mandatory and the tension felt from playing what was supposed to be a horror game was almost non-existent.
(THINKING) "More and more I find myself wondering: if it's all worth fighting for".
This all combined with an inventory system that was totally balls, requiring lots of reshuffling and dropping of items just to pick up new finds.
And that AI, don't even bother giving her your healing items to save on space because she will use them at the dumbest times.
Number 5: Ground Missions, "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike"
Flying the iconic vehicles of the "Star Wars" franchise was a dream come true for all fans.
So, what isn't on the bucket list of those fans? Jogging around Hoth at a pace rivaled only by Jabba the Hutt.
Sure, the settings are still iconic, but the controls in these ground sections were inexcusably terrible, with the biggest problem being that you couldn't aim manually.
In a franchise known for its true-to-film dogfighting, pulling players out of the cockpit wasn't the best idea for "Rogue Squadron".
WEDGE: "We'd better act fast!"
STORMTROOPER: "Call for reinforcements!"
Number 4: The Judge System, "Final Fantasy Tactics Advance"
(BLOWS WHISTLE)
The turn-based battling of the original was intact in this GBA classic, but the addition of a judge, who was kind of like a referee to monitor the battles, got really old really quick.
Arbitrary laws that changed every day randomly chose one ability to be illegal and if you used it, the character is question would get sent to jail.
So, for one mission, you wouldn't be able to use fire magic, for the next, you wouldn't be able to heal, etc.
It's an interesting idea because it's clearly obvious this was a barrier designed to make sure you don't use the same strategies over and over.
But, we all feel there would have been a better way to prevent that from happening.
Number 3: The Real Money Auction House, "Diablo III"
"So, I have to tell you, the endless forces of Hell, they got some plans for you guys."
This is a feature that got so out of hand, developer Blizzard had to patch it right out of the game.
"It's probably more of a seller's market than a buyer's market."
The Auction House allowed players to sell and bid on in-game items with in-game gold or even real world cash.
This, essentially, allowed Blizzard to cut off any potential illegal markets created by players.
Like the ones that sprang up around "Diablo II".
"When we originally set up the Auction House, this was supposed to be a safe and convenient way for you to trade items. And in that respect, it was very successful."
However, it soon became clear to players, that in order to drive up demand for the stuff in the Auction House, getting loot to drop while you were, you know, playing the game was super duper rare.
"And the Auction House made that experience way too convenient and really short-circuited our core reward loop."
Thank God for "Reaper of Souls" and the patches that came with it, which removed the Auction House and made loot drops a common occurrence again.
"The right decision is to preserve the integrity of the gameplay experience of 'Diablo' and make sure finding items in game is the best place to find those items."
Number 2: Car Building, "Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts"
Sometimes, franchises take weird turns, but "Nuts and Bolts" went full speed in the wrong direction.
"Nuts and Bolts" abandoned the platform routes that made the first game beloved classics in favor of a car building sandbox.
It could still have been a pretty decent game if it weren't for the fact that Banjo-Kazooie was slapped into it. And why? Because, someone at Microsoft apparently felt that no one wanted to play 3D platformers anymore.
A bizarre user-interface and the regularity of new vehicles needing to be built took players out of commission after a few sessions. And there you have the decision that started to see the decline of the once-mighty Rare.
Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
ROMAN ON PHONE: "Niko, it's Roman. Let's go bowling."
Number 1: Forced Always Online Features, "SimCity"
This is what many gamers feel could set a dangerous precedent for the future of gaming as a whole.
At the launch of SimCity 2013, developer EA Maxus told players that SimCity was designed to be played online.
Because, the game required you to play with other "mayors" nearby.
And that it was only possible to save through their cloud servers. This turned out to be a big fat lie.
As within a week, a Modder found a patch in the code make the game fully playable offline.
Not only was the social feature something nobody really wanted, but server issues caused the game to be completely unplayable at launch.
All this forced EA to backtrack on its claim within a year, earning them the title of consumerists "Worst Company in America" for the second year in a row. Wah, wah.
Do you agree with our list?
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