Massive game flaws that we just accept

Regardless of whether you've noticed, or whether we're being completely pedantic about this whole issue, a lot of A-grade games have duff flaws in them. And what do we do? Accept it. We play all the way through the game ignoring some of the stuff that in any other title we'd have dashed back to the shop and demanded a refund.

So here's a look at the some of the biggest games we could find that contain incredible flaws that we we're happy to overlook...

Grand Theft Auto series

Flaws: Broken mission checkpoints, pop-up

Let's kick off with a controversial one, eh? Only the most blinkered GTA fan would suggest that it's perfect in every way. For us, especially with the earlier games, the mission restart points were a damn mess - often putting you miles away from a target that's a mega schlep to get to in the first place.


Above: Steady on that hog otherwise you'll be restarting this, man

Examples? How about the The Driver mission in Vice City? Here's a race against the AI where every second counts. Roll your car near the finish line and it's back to the start for you, sonny. OrINeed Your Clothes, Your Boots and Your Motorcyclein GTAIV that sees you chase a guy through the subway on a motorbike. Screw your bike into a wall and he's gone, leaving you to not only have to restart the mission again but to drive your way back over there too.

Aside from the checkpoint faux-pas there's also the fact that at times when you're travelling at break-neck speed, the world - road, vehicles and buildings - disappear in front of your eyes.

Flaw: Player's inexplicably pulling up

Ah, a chipped long ball over your defence. You track the flight of the ball with your defender expertly while the chasing attacker is labouring behind. A simple back pass to the keeper and it's danger averted, except it isn't. More often than not your player will pull up as if their hamstringjust twanged up their ass - leaving the forward to nip in a slot one home. Argh!


Above: Thescenario is down to bad scripting ratherthan Heskey's pace

This fault is as common place in football games as scoring an absolute screamer from outside the area. We understand that these things can happen in real-life but when you see it unfolding like a shit-stained blanket your fury is all ready to blame the game's scripting. And we won't be accepting human error anytime soon. Let's give this transparent momentum shift the red card, eh, developers?

Nathan Irvine
Hi, I’m Nathan. You may remember me from such websites as, erm, this one circa 2011. Been hustling in games for over a decade and write for Official PlayStation, Official Xbox, Gamesmaster and more.
Latest in Action
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe facing off against samurai warrior on red bridge
An Assassin's Creed Shadows fan is showing off some of the RPG's most impressive little details, and it's done more to get me interested than Ubisoft ever did
Assassin's Creed Shadows Yaya shouting at Tetsuo
How to recruit Yaya in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is shown running on a Nintendo 3DS in an impressive bit of fan homebrew
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits out at Elon Musk after he criticized the new RPG: "Is that what the guy playing your Path of Exile 2 account told you?"
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Latest in Features
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"
Daredevil: Born Again trailer
Daredevil: Born Again episode 5 isn't a filler episode, it brings back the magic of old-school episodic TV
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
An Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail showing Yasuke and Oda Nobunaga armored up and on horseback, ready to ride to battle
"We really wanted you to live this history": Assassin's Creed Shadows is all about "perspective", says the game's cinematic director