Top 10: Most Frustrating Things in Gaming

10. Getting Stuck

Progression is what drives man forward and keeps our morale up. But when you get stuck in a single section for a long period of time you can't help but getting irked in the situation (it's like having same minimum wage job for 2 years).

So far there have been a number of games (3 of them being Zelda games) where I get stuck in a section with limited information on where to go next. Because of how long I spend wandering about not doing anything, my attention span ends and causes me to move on to something else.

Games such as Portal, Zelda, and Metroid are perfect examples of this problem. As a matter fact these games coin on you getting lost/stuck and are key parts of the gameplay. While having a challenge is always accepted, giving specific clues and resources to advance through the game are also necessary. We would put "Getting Stuck" higher on our list but once you get past the point where you are stuck, you can't help but feel like you have made an epic accomplishment.

9. Forgetting to Save

As an industry standard these days, auto saves prevents us from having to leave our precious game system on when you have to leave your house. Of course there are still games out there that do not utilize this feature, however since we're so accustomed and spoiled with this feature we can’t help but occasionally forget and turn off our system before reaching a save point.

It’s a frustrating situation and one that should only happen once if you're a quick learner. Alas, you can't help but be very mad the next time you turn on your system.

8. Can't Play it Just Yet

You buy a game at your local game store and after being asked 20 times if you want to pre-order something you rush to get home and put the disc in the tray, and the guess what? You have to download system updates, download the game to your console, or type in an online code. This problem is especially bad on the Playstation 3, where every other day I have to either install a game or make an update just to go online.

This problem is so bad that we’ve made a terminology for it, and its called game blocked.

7. Re-releasing the same game

I'm looking at you Capcom. Countless times I have seen games being ported over, re-released with minor updates, or simply just put into a new casing to be sold again. Unfortunately what many companies have been accustomed to is trying to reap our wallets by releasing the same product over and over again.

Capcom, EA, Activision and even Rockstar are all guilty of this crime. This doesn’t even necessarily fully count towards re-releases or HD remakes. Some of those can be excellent such as Ocarina of Time 3D. What is truly bothersome is releasing what is such a pathetic excuse for an improvement and calling it a new entry into a series. No, I do not want a Dynasty Warriors 15 if you’re going to throw the same game at me with different character models.

I’m tired of playing the same Call of Duty every year, and I definitely do not want to buy the one thousand guitar hero expansion packs. Oversaturation is what killed that franchise and is what will kill several more.

6. Online Gaming Takes Over

For the most part the online era has been a god sent gift for us, extending game time, fixing bugs, and allowing us to play with friends across the world were great additions to our hobby and something we couldn’t live without anymore.

With the good comes the bad and the ugly. To begin our extensive list of complaints is DLC pricing. Again Capcom and Activision are prime suspects of this crime. Charging a whole $15 (a quarter of the price of a game) for only 4 maps or stealing $5 for a single character is barbaric. That’s not including costume packs, expensive side missions, and in game weapons which could have effectively been included in the “original” game. By these standards Marvel Vs Capcom 3 should have cost $180 and Modern Warfare 3's single player should have been free.

Capcom with Marvel vs. Capcom 3, 2K with Bioshock 2, and Epic with Gears of War 3 stabbed their consumers in the back ferociously by having paid “DLC” that was already on the disc, making the consumer truly question the companies integrity.

In addition to these scams to have consumers throw our wallets at producers we’ve got the recent trend of online passes. Want to borrow your neighbors Battlefield 3 to see if you enjoy the online mayhem? Well you better fork over $10. Bought this game used? You’re not a loyal costumer and don’t deserve to use our online services unless you pay extra.

EA started this trend with a majority of their famous sports titles and companies such as Warner Bros took a step further with the Cat Woman code. This not only screws several consumers but also deprives those of who can't connect their consoles online from excellent content. And who really wants to waste their time before playing a game typing in some code just to play online? Terrible idea.

5. Glitches

Some glitches can be quite hilarious and even entertaining but most of the time they do nothing but frustrate us. Getting stuck in a game for an hour only to find out a glitch was stopping you the whole the time is nothing to laugh at. Falling through the floor and not being able to move on to the next level is a good excuse for the bald spot on your head too.

Lastly, if the game freezes and you lose all your progress you can't help but wishing there was a level where you could mass murder the QA team brutally.

4. Bad Controls

I love playing video games because it gives me control over my character/vehicle/whatever. That is not necessarily good when I can't control the game and just keep getting frustrated with it. The most bothering part is seeing a game with great potential, an amazing idea, and even a superb story, but it is faulted by crappy controls. Games with bad controls are nothing to be surprised about. Even AAA titles like Battlefield 3 or Skyward Sword have its fair share of issues in that department.

When I play a game the control department is one of the subjects I criticize the most. I don't care if you're game has beautiful graphics or the best story ever written, if I can't control what’s going on successfully then the game is not even near its full potential.

3. Playing Online

In a world where people can say stuff over the internet and not get punched in the face, trolls reign supreme in the online world. You hear them, you read their messages over Xbox live, and you can't do anything about it.

Sure you can ignore them or simply block them, but you can't help but think that they're still out there and nobody has kicked them in the face yet...sigh.

2. Playing a bad game

When anticipating a game that piques your interest to no other degree, gamers tend to get overly excited. We have a tendency to stalk every screen shot that comes out and replay the same trailers over and over again. The anticipation nearly kills us and you just can’t wait to get the game on your hands. An atrocious event that happens a lot is when the game just plain sucks.

Back in the "good" old days there was no video game media to tell you what games excelled and which ones bombed. Friends and your monthly Nintendo power were your only real connection to video games other than playing them, and if the brand new expensive you bought game sucked you just had to suck up and play it any way.

There's nothing more frustrating than feeling like your money was just thrown away and that you only have that one game to play because you traded-in all your games for this one. In the current day and age we have video game reviews and Metacritic scores to assist us in filtering out bad decisions, but even that is not 100% full proof.

1. Losing your Save File

While other nominees in this list are without doubt frustrating, no other nominee can come close to being as jaw clenching as this. You spend 10 or more hours playing a game that you are truly enjoying and the next time you turn your system on, you come to a realization that all that time and effort you put into your game has been lost.

If this has happened to you, you know what we’re talking about and you understand our suffering. What might be even worse is when someone else saves over one of your precious save files. Want to let your little brother start a new file in Final Fantasy VII? Whoops, there goes 50 hours of gameplay down the drain because the little bastard pressed square too fast.

This was always my main gripe about renting cartridge games as well. Didn't beat the game quickly enough? Oh well, you're going to start over, thanks mom. Our only nominee strong enough to make us want to stop playing a game forever, losing your save file claims the top spot as the most frustrating thing about our hobby. GOD DAMMIT!