Modern Game Mechanic You Dislike

Games evolve. It happens, you know. And sometimes, you just don't like the way it evolves. For me, personally, it's aiming down the sights. I like it when it's an option for if you're going for something far away (like in Borderlands) but in Call of Duty, where it's essentially necessary to hit something even 2 feet away, that's when it gets annoying.

Knife stab as a melee attack.

Regenerating health.

Autosaving. I played a full season and a half in NBA 2K10's My Player mode. I think I was up to about 150 games played, then the game froze during an autosave. I lost everything, and I foolishly only used one save file. Today, the same thing just happened to me while playing Red Dead Redemption. The game was autosaving while loading, and it froze. I haven't checked to see what kind of damage has been done yet, but I'm glad I just finished getting 100%, so I don't have to worry too much about it.

Regenerating health outside of games like Call of Duty or Halo.
Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much.

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

All cover.

"Social gaming" and facebook integration in games. I also dislike the whole "everyone should be able to do xyz". Sure, it's great to have more people to play with, but when an expansion turns 90% of a games subscribers into drooling retards it's not so fun anymore.

Actually, I'm probably going to have to say achievements. I find them to be a worthless carrot on a stick mechanic that artificially extends the playtime of a mediocre game. I've always gone out of my way to do crazy accomplishments in games I really enjoy, such as leveling all my characters to max level, exploring every nook and cranny, collecting the bajillion collectables, etc. 
 
Besides, there have always been plenty of good games that actually give real rewards for achieving crazy things in them. Goldeneye 007, for example, had the crazy cheat codes that made mulitplayer insane. Give me more games with real rewards for achieving things, not just worthless points or trophies that go towards a meaningless total that proves nothing.

A.I co op

Button mashing in order to open doors, run, etc.

Quick time events and "bullet time". Most overused and lazy game mechanic.
 
Inability to save anywhere and anytime. Only having three save slots. Are we still in the 90s?

Fantastic thread idea by the way.
I hate forced multiplayer. A game should be worth the asking  price based on single player alone. ALWAYS.

" @josty81 said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

Yup, I'm not a big fan of the Mass Effect series. "

Multiplayer achievements. I know it's not really a game mechanic, but that's all i've got.

Too many games being dumbed-down, or streamlining if your feeling nice.  
I guess this is too broad to be a mechanic, but you can see how it affects mechanics in every new game. 

Needless multilayer, Moral Choices, carrying only 2 weapons at a time and no HUD are the ones off the top of my head.

Not really a mechanic, but I dislike the focus towards online multi-player being the core conceit among many games.

minigames (hacking/lockpicking/etc)
regenerating health
invulnurable conviniently placed chest high walls

" Needless multilayer, Moral Choices, carrying only 2 weapons at a time and no HUD are the ones off the top of my head. "

" Actually, I'm probably going to have to say achievements. I find them to be a worthless carrot on a stick mechanic that artificially extends the playtime of a mediocre game. I've always gone out of my way to do crazy accomplishments in games I really enjoy, such as leveling all my characters to max level, exploring every nook and cranny, collecting the bajillion collectables, etc.  Besides, there have always been plenty of good games that actually give real rewards for achieving crazy things in them. Goldeneye 007, for example, had the crazy cheat codes that made mulitplayer insane. Give me more games with real rewards for achieving things, not just worthless points or trophies that go towards a meaningless total that proves nothing. "

paying 60 bucks for a 6-8 hr sp game , instead of paying 50 bucks for a 30-200 hr game

Short single player, I love immersion and what better to do that then actually have a story explain what is going on in a games Universe, its why I love Half Life, and Halo (off the top of my head people) so much, they immersed you in that universe so well.  
Disproportionately sized weapons, I know this is a dumb one but when I look at Call of Duty's M16 I just lose that feeling of immersion, and it makes me feel like I'm playing with a toy gun. Oh and grenade fiery explosions, sorry guys yeah I'm gonna be a dick about this one, that pisses me off when a grenade in a modern shooter has fire that comes out of it, seriously, there is no fiery explosion....

" Quick time events and "bullet time". Most overused and lazy game mechanic.  Inability to save anywhere and anytime. Only having three save slots. Are we still in the 90s? "

A game not being balanced for lean.

One to two-hit melee kills.

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @josty81 said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

Yup, I'm not a big fan of the Mass Effect series. "

what about super hybrids like KoTOR and Dragon Age? "

" @Kyreo said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @josty81 said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

Yup, I'm not a big fan of the Mass Effect series. "

what about super hybrids like KoTOR and Dragon Age? "

Those are still turn-based though.  I don't like RPG's where I directly control my character's actions. The only exception is Demon's Souls, which I really enjoyed. "

huh, great topic.
 
I like the little hacking games and other mini-games if their not over-used, if failing them is irreversible, and failing has some real penalty.  Otherwise they are pointless crap that doesn't need to be there.  For instance making a player do them for a little cash or health bonus is complete BS unless they are actually hard and fail-able.

 3rd person cover shooters with 100% linear room to room "story" were fun.  For about 1 year.  I'm done with them now thanks.
 
 "Quest Givers".  Maybe this sounds a little cranky but I'm just tired of the fedex and kill rats stuff.  It's even in single player games a lot more these days too which is my only real complaint.
 
 Artificial restraints that are only there to keep the player from breaking the game.  Not being able to pop "quest givers" in the head and loot their store, can't pull out guns in town, can't walk off cliffs (and other invisible walls), no friendly fire damage, etc.  Anything that highlights the fact that the game is nothing more than a roped off guided experience without any real danger of failing as long as you keep mashing the buttons.

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @Kyreo said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @josty81 said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" . Real-time combat systems in RPG's. I prefer turn-based thank you very much. "

 Seriously? What about Mass Effect? "

Yup, I'm not a big fan of the Mass Effect series. "

what about super hybrids like KoTOR and Dragon Age? "

Those are still turn-based though.  I don't like RPG's where I directly control my character's actions. The only exception is Demon's Souls, which I really enjoyed. "

The Witcher? "

" @gabha said:

" Needless multilayer, Moral Choices, carrying only 2 weapons at a time and no HUD are the ones off the top of my head. "

no HUD makes games better most of the time...adds to atmosphere like in Dead Space "

I've been playing Mass Effect 2 again and the regenerating health system and limited ammo keeps getting me killed. 
THE PREVIOUS GAME HAD MED PACKS AND INFINITE AMMO! HOW CAN YOU FUCK THAT UP SO MUCH!? WHY WOULD YOU GO BACKWARDS!?!?

Either cover-based shooting, which is a good idea as an optional tactic, but has lead to many, many games that force you to take cover by making your character out of glass, or games with co-operative modes that don't feature local co-op.

Regen health in multplayer games. And not really a mechanic, but I'm really tired of the "used to be a PC game and now being developed for consoles then ported to PC" trend. It's kinda nitpicking, I know, but the helicopter controls in Battlefield Bad Company 2  HORRIBLE compared to the helicopter controls in Battlefield 2. It annoys me to hell how you can't lean your helicopter without flailing your mouse around like a retard. 

Adding a bunch of different Poke balls.  Shit's confusing.

" Story mode of video games getting dumped on and focusing more on multiplayer. "

Does the lack of 2D adventure games count as a game mechanic?

I dislike spawning with grenades. It seems like in any game you do, nade spam becomes the go-to tactic.

Auto lock on melee like in halo and cod. 
 
Not a game mechanic but the dumbing down of of sequals to games that have well established, loyal fans. Supreme Commander 1 was amazing and incredibly complex with tons of fans. Supreme Commander 2 was an entry level RTS. In my opinion Civ 5 does this as well with the research/city management. Platforming has now become "auto grab the next ledge" or "vault over this waist high box automatically." 
 
Also not a game mechanic: Fully priced yearly iterations of the same franchise. Do you really think enough work goes into most of these games to warrant a full $60/€60? Extremely rare

Not really  on topic but I left WoW after Lich king when they made all class tanks basically the same. It used to be hard and fun to tank as warrior with multiple mobs. Now its just super easy and boring; this would fall under dumbing down hard games, I guess, to appeal to a wider audience.  Back on topic: 
Quick time events are getting kind of old; it works amazing in God of War because of the cinematic aspect of it but anywhere else and it usually just sucks. 

" Story mode of video games getting dumped on and focusing more on multiplayer. "