Regardless how long you have been playing video games, there is always a game mechanic you cannot stand. You hate it, loathe it, wonder why developers included it in a game. I know, get to the point already. You know what I hate…quick time events or QTE. To me, this is one of the worst ideas ever created for gaming.
Just a small recap, a quick time event is when a game will ask you to hit a series of controller buttons usually to defeat an enemy or progress further into a game. Sometimes the combinations are the same every time you play the game, other times it’s totally random. If I had my choice, I would pick the same exact combinations each time.
I’m going to focus my rant mainly on the newer Resident Evil series. I did not play Resident Evil 4 on any other system than the Nintendo Wii. I realized the game did have quick time events but “waggling” the remote is hardly a skill and a monkey could do it. Now keep in mind, I thought those events were added just for the Wii to enhance the experience. Skip ahead to Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360 some time later. I’m playing co-op with a friend and we get to our first cut-scene with a quick time event. I have the controller on my lap while watching the cut-scene; not even enough time to grab the controller before we see the “You Are Dead” screen. We try again and I’m ready to hit the “X” button this time but, of course, it’s switched to another button and we die again. Seriously hate that more than anything.
My friend and I died more times on quick time events than dying in the actual game. Capcom should change the category from “survival horror” to “quick time survival”. At least with other games, such as the God of War series, if I messed up a QTE, I didn’t die instantly and could continue trying but a one shot attempt is lame. I wasn’t fond of quick time events before and Resident Evil 5 just fueled my hatred for it further. It’s a horrible feature for games and the team who thought of it needs to be tied up and pulled through a field of barbed wire by a pack of rabid cheetahs.
At this point, I have no desire to purchase Heavy Rain as it seems QTE loaded, unfortunately. Am I alone in this or are there others out there who feel my pain? Feel free to discuss.
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