What games have bored you to tears?

I bought Fable for the original Xbox when it released all those years ago and thought it was a fine game. I played Fable II and all the DLC and thought it was a great game, even better. I missed Fable III when it released and recently it was free on Xbox Live for Gold Members so I downloaded it and started playing it last night. Two play sessions and I think I can soundly say that it is sparking an emotion in me, that I think I haven't even expressed towards games that I truly hate... and that is pure, utter boredom. I was falling asleep very hard last night, while trying to get to a good stopping point and I was wondering if it was just me and that I had a long day, prior. It doesn't seem the case, since I was playing it tonight and thought the same thing as I tried to keep myself engaged but failed due to the yawns of uninteresting story-lines and gameplay. I could go into all of the problems I've encountered with the game, thus far, but I feel that is a mute point, apposed to the seer boredom that I feel while playing it. Did you feel the same with this game as well? What games have bored you to tears or sleep or even both?

Borderlands :(

Sorry, I really tried. But I'm like what, 10 hours in and I'm just not feelin' it. The humor is dumb, claptrap is dumb, the quests are dumb, the quest text is dumb... In my opinion of course.

That said, I took a break from Fable and when I got back I didn't know where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. Haven't touched it since.

The original Borderlands could not keep my attention despite me really wanting to like it. The world, felt dead and empty but not in a good post-apocalyptic way.

Fallout 3 was extremely drab and boring to me. I mostly blame the writing and Gamebryo.

Skyrim to a lesser extent - it was pretty fun right up until you get over that initial awe and realize you'll be exploring basically 5 caves and fighting 5 enemies the entire game.

Whats really weird is that I actually like open world RPG's a whole lot.

Diablo 2. No, really. I'm not trying to troll here. I've actually never gotten past the first act. Once a year or so, I reinstall it thinking "I'm gonna get through this" and it always ends with me getting bored and uninstalling. I really want to like that game more, but I just can't. :(

Came in to say what @xymox said, but I'll also add that the shooting mechanics are terrible too.

Rage instantly springs to mind. It's basically just Borderlands stripped of the RPG aspects and personality. Even that arena-combat gameshow thing couldn't keep my attention for long; it just has no charisma, no life to it, and the shooting I only thought was OK at that.

I'll say that Fallout 3 was a game that hooked me and I beat it and all the DLC. That being said, the first few hours of that game (basically the whole main story) aren't very engaging. It's the moment the side stuff and DLC missions kick in that the game gives a very positive feel.

@yummylee said:

Rage is pretty bad, I agree. The shooting was okay, I thought, but I hated the way the levels were all so bland and straightforward. At least it was pretty, otherwise I would probably not have bothered in the first place.

I think Duke Nukem Forever is much, much worse though. Bored to tears is the absolute best way to describe it; I knew I had to play through it, but it was so grueling. Easily the worst game experience I've ever had.

The last case desk in LA noire was a total chore to get through, i loved the first 2-3 desks. But that last one, ugh.

Catherine. The stuff in the bar was great, but having to play the game to get to the next bar scene became a chore.

Also all MMORPGs. Tried a lot of them, nothing ever stuck past level 35. Too much run here get me 23 of this item, gain exp wash rinse repeat.

Fallout 3 when I first played it.

It was like Oblivion only I couldn't travel fast on a horse, the diverse colorful environments were all replaced with the same brown dirt, and you met a person once every 30 minutes of aimless walking into nothingness.

But it grew on me later on, and I decided to switch to Fallout NV and enjoy that better. Already 4 hours in!

Darksiders 2, holy shit was that thing boring. I played maybe two hours of it before putting it on the shelf for a few months and then selling it. Such a disappointment.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. (I just wanted it to end and it kept going)

Zelda games. (I always try to give them a chance at least)

Borderlands 2. (Made for co-op and not very enjoyable to play alone)

Animal Crossing 3DS. (First Animal Crossing and I don't get the appeal)

Final Fantasy XIII. (I had to just stop because the characters were annoying/boring)

Probably Borderlands for reasons already mentioned.

Rayman Origins. That game is well made and technically competent but playing it for more than 5 minutes makes me want to scream. The lack of any unique or exciting mechanics kill that game for me.

Also whilst wonderful, the continual, whimsical music in that game grows tiresome pretty quickly.

Also Darksiders 2 for me. I actually kinda liked the opening portions of the game, but I had to stop playing around the gun/shooting/walking turret section that lasted so incredibly long. One of the few games I started but never finished.

Valkyria Chronicles. I just kinda felt like I was doing the same thing over and over, with the backdrop of a generic art-style, generic characters and dull setting. The last nail in the coffin was a level in which an NPC shows up that can just run around and kill everyone in one hit while being invincible, and I decided I didn't at all care enough to find a solution to that problem.

Oh and Final Fantasy 7. I guess I either missed the boat on that one or just don't care for JRPGs, because again it felt like the most mind-numbingly dull mechanical experience, highlighted by mind-numbingly dull minigames. And frankly, by the standards of today, the writing is really pretty poor, with the dialogue reading like it was written by an angsty teenager.

Skyrim, just so bland and hollow. It's such an illusion of fun. After the first half hour I knew this game was a shadow of former elder scrolls. Shame, while you're not in a small town or cave it sure looks nice.

Memelands 1 was pretty boring. Fighting the same mobs over and over was just awful.

I'd say anything free to play

I was playing Blocks that Matter before (you know...for trading cards). I just found it to be so utterly dull =(

Honestly I'd say that Valkyria Chronicles has a surprising amount of variety with regards to its mission structure, but I feel you when it comes to the characters, most especially concerning that very NPC you mentioned. Not only is she just as dull and overly-archetypal as every other character in that game, but she's also a total bitch whenever she's involved in a mission.

That said, I actually really like Valkryia Chronicles, but it most definitely requires a lot of anime JRPG bullshit to put up with regarding the characters and the story.

I guess maybe I grinded too much, so I just got dulled mechanically to the experience early on. Then once super-horrible-overpowered NPC is introduced, who can tear apart all of my soldiers and shrug off the hours I spent building up, I just dropped off completely. It is a real shame because I had just come off of X-COM and was excited to take on the biggest followup recommendation for the genre, but it didn't grab me (CERTAINLY not through the story, and I still find it kind of baffling when people say that plot is incredible).

I'll name two:

Darksiders 2 was just boring. It sucks because I love the setting (as a writer I have a real hard on for biblical apocalypse, pseudo religious angels and demons and shit) and I love the style, but my wife and I both just could not get into it.

My second game is Dark Souls. I understand why people love that game, but I found it boring to play and the setting incredibly bland in that Japanese interpretation of western fantasy way that I can't get into.

I'm hoping the sequel will address at least the stuff about the gameplay I didn't find entertaining

Darksiders, Metro 2033, Saints Row 2, all strategy games, Hitman Series, Crysis Series, Souls Games, some others that I'm forgetting.

Not that they're bad games, I just couldn't make my way through them without feeling bored.

I might have squeezed out a few beads of fun here and there but honestly none of the writing was that good and some of the quests were a complete clusterfuck with having to navigate the downtown subway tunnels. I guess if you really got into it then it was easier to soak it all in but for some reason I just felt it was all very tedious.

Have you played New Vegas? Would you say it is different enough that I might enjoy it (granted you have no way of knowing what I like or don't like) cause it's on sale and I'm tempted to give it a shot as I need large timesinks until GTA5 rolls around.

Bioshock series, Half-Life series(ESPECIALLY HL2), System Shock 2, Final Fantasy IX, Red Dead Redemption, the GTA series, just to name a few.

@yummylee said:

I'm with you there, and considering my tastes I was sure Rage would be right up my alley.

But the game I found the most boring this generation has to be Deus Ex: HR. I just don't get it.

I'm also having trouble staying interested in The Walking Dead.

Have to agree with Rage. Especially as it was pitched to me as "like Borderlands, but serious", because you know, the problem I had with Borderlands was that it just wasn't serious enough.

I don't find a lot of games boring to start with, but there are plenty that have become boring at some point and end up being a chore to finish, which is usually what happens to open world games for me. I tend to get hung up on collectibles or side quests way before finishing the main storyline, so by the time I'm going through the final missions I'm really just waiting for it to be over.

Dead Island and Assassin's Creed Revelations & 3.

I forced myself to finish the Assassin's Creeds as those games were gifts but I quit Dead Island when you leave the resort area for the shanty town. I think that's the game I disliked the most that I've played in a number of years. A combination of mind numbing boredom and frustrating jank.

I had a good nap playing borderlands 2. I remember sleeping while still playing the game. It was nothing but that slow grind and repetition. Hell I get tired everytime I think about that game.

I'll say it's far, far better, especially if you're the type to appreciate good writing, but ultimately it's the same core gameplay. If you couldn't get ANYTHING out of Fallout 3, New Vegas might not do much for you, though i'd recommend it anyway because you do like it oh man you'll like it.

Mass Effect 3

Fable 3 and Borderlands.

E.T.

The first Assassin's Creed. What a piece of shit that game is that only got by on it being such an early game this generation. It took me something like two months to finish because I just couldn't be arsed to play it.

Eternal Sonata. The battle system's alright, everything is pure boring, stiff, bland, generic, cliche JRPG garbage. Probably the only time I've ever skipped a cutscene I had not already seen because I couldn't give half a shit for any of the plot/characters.

Fallout 3 is a bad, janky ass, overrated game. The color scheme and art style in general was boring, the combat was boring and most of the characters were boring. The only good thing about that game was in the beginning when Liam Neeson was your father, and man, that was pretty awesome.

Seeing people posting games I love makes me really thankful that I'm quite impressionable.

Alan Wake and L.A Noire became a grind for me though but I still enjoyed them overall.

My singleplayer Borderlands experience was a true bore. Lack of any real interactivity with the world, appart from the quest texts, and the killing didn't make for a very enticing world.

The first Assassin's Creed game, while I loved it, it become very boring due to its repetitve nature towards the end.

The Fallout 3 was also expecially boring, although I think the game needs a right frame of mind to be enjoyed.

Planescape Torment is also very boring. Not only because of the amount of text in it, but because of the pacing, with dialogues after each three mouse clicks. I took hours in Smoldering Corpse Bar just talking and writing what some patrons were speaking.

BattleBlock Theatre - I've enjoyed the Behemoth's previous games but this one didn't click for me. Jeff was correct in the QL on how bad the combat feels. Perhaps I'm also just over the Newgrounds style humor.

Assassin's Creed III - the main story was a chore to get through. It felt like running from one waypoint to another to initiate a cutscene. The side content like the naval combat and Homestead redeemed most of the game.

Torchlight - I've concluded that the isometric dungeon crawl loot treadmill genre is not for me.

Vanquish - even skipping all the cutscenes, this game was a borefest for me. Unsatisfying gunplay, generic enemies, repetitive levels and art direction. I see what they were going for with sliding around, going into slow-mo, and managing your energy meter, but none of it felt as good as wall-bouncing in Gears of War.

I also tried Fable III since it was free, but once you've played The Witcher 2, there's no going back.

Assassin's Creed 3, Borderlands, Darksisders, Fallout 3, Syndicate, Dragon Age 2,

Also, been replaying Batman: Arkham City. Finding it to be more enjoyable the second time around, but still lacking when compared to the original.

Arkham Asylum was such a dense game, and had an amazing story and atmosphere, while Arkham city feels a bit diluted.

@lackingsaint: I wouldn't say I didn't get ANYTHING but yah it just didn't hook me. I bought it, and because I have to beat every game I buy purely out of principle I went through it. I suppose I will give New Vegas a good ol' college try. It's a long road to Grand Theft Auto 5.

When I find a game boring, I like to listen to a podcast while playing, which dramatically improves the experience.

GTA 4. The whole Rockstar formula seems to be done for me.

Tomb Raider 2013, or, soulless cinematic hand-holding. Extremely repetitive, terrible characters, uninteresting story.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: too much, too long, too generic.

Darksiders 2: horribly paced beginning leads into weird, generic pseudo-open-world, half-assed loot-driven "RPG" crammed into the original Darksiders formula, which was perfectly fine as it was. Didn't even finish it.

Dragon Age: Origins. Before I got too bored to play anymore, I played as the dog since he was the most relatable character. The combat was boring (even when not playing as a dog), the story was boring, etc.

@mrpilkington: Fable 3 just like you said in the op. I actually fell asleep playing it. Kept waiting for things to pick up, but 3 hrs. or so in and I'm still wondering. Didn't like Fable 2 either. God do both those games look bad too. And you know I liked Fable on xbox...not a great game but good and I remember having no problem finishing it. Weird.

And to @Humanity: I liked Fallout 3 but I understand and agree with your problems with the game. FO:NV is much better imo. I couldn't get enough of that game. Hopefully that'll hold you over for GTA5.

Final Fantasy 8. Not only did the story and characters suck the gameplay was boring as shit. Draw. Draw. Draw. Draw. Summon and wait 30 seconds. Heal. Repeat. It was the only game I fell asleep playing.

(to nobody's surprise) The new Van Helsing game.

Maybe it's because I haven't hit a diablo (or Torchlight) in years, but burnt crazy hours on this game while being pretty ambivalent about it.

FF13 and Nier are the ones that jump to mind. I really had to push myself through those two.

Darksiders 2. Completely ruined the series for me.