The exact moment Assassin's Creed 3 fell apart.
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00:00Alongside fetch quests, stealth sections and escort missions, chase sequences are another
00:05common type of level that's appeared in countless video games.
00:09And a common type of level that often sucks.
00:12Not every pursuit that's been included in a video game is able to match that edge-of-your-seat
00:16tension that you've got when you're running from the unstoppable enemies in Outlast or
00:21achieve the exhilarating spectacle of the Uncharted series.
00:24For every example of an excellent chase sequence, there are a bunch that fall flat on their
00:29face for an assortment of different reasons.
00:32I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are 10 video game chase sequences that made you rage-quit.
00:38Number 10, Batman Arkham Knight The Excavator
00:42Despite having the slickest combat in the series and giving players a large and detailed Gotham
00:47City to explore, Arkham Knight disappointingly fell short of being the bombastic conclusion
00:52to the trilogy fans wanted it to be.
00:55Alongside a predictable plot, the game was also let down by the overuse of the Batmobile.
01:01As unenjoyable as the Batmobile's combat and puzzle sections were, an even more frustrating
01:06moment came when the Batman entered a tunnel system in search of the eponymous villain.
01:11After the Arkham Knight ambushes the Caped Crusader in a heavily armored excavator, players
01:16must speed through the network of passageways and defeat their pursuer by luring them into
01:21planted explosives.
01:23Driving along the tunnels walls at high speed may make for an impressive looking set piece,
01:28however the Batmobile's squirrelly controls quickly turn this section into a tedious nightmare.
01:34It becomes all too easy to lose control of the vehicle after crashing into the many obstacles
01:38that litter the tunnels.
01:40Navigation, likewise, isn't made any easier with the constant explosions that make it difficult
01:45to see what's ahead.
01:46Having one minor slip-up can result in instant failure.
01:50This boss fight is another reason why the Batmobile was such an unpopular addition to
01:54the game.
01:559.
01:56The Warriors – Writer's Block
01:58Set before the events of the cult classic film of the same name, Rockstar's The Warriors
02:03showed how the titular Coney Island Street Gang made their enemies while they made their
02:08mark on the city.
02:10With its gritty atmosphere and exquisite brawling mechanics, there are few games as good as this
02:14one.
02:15But even a game as spectacular as this has the occasional misstep.
02:18In The Warriors, this came during the mission Writer's Block, where players must make their
02:22grand escape across the city's rooftops after their ambush by a gang of art-obsessed mimes
02:28known as the hi-hats.
02:30As exciting as the sequence sounds, any enjoyment was quickly extinguished from this mission by
02:34a plethora of unexpected drops, which resulted in an instant death.
02:40And with no checkpoints to speak of, getting through this chase became a matter of memorizing
02:44exactly when to jump to make it to the end.
02:46This mission was made even worse when playing in co-op, as one player's death was going
02:50to result in a game over for both players.
02:53Make it through this thankfully short-lived low point, though, and players get a chance to
02:57vent their built-up frustrations by destroying the mimes collection of garage artworks.
03:01Number 8, Assassin's Creed III – Chasing Charles Lee
03:06By revamping the series' combat and parkour, alongside being the first Assassin's Creed
03:11game to feature naval missions, Assassin's Creed III was a giant leap forward in the franchise.
03:16As visually impressive and expansive as this entry was, it nevertheless fell victim to the
03:21same irksome controls that have continued to plague the series.
03:24Nowhere was this problem more evident than during the climactic sequence in which Native
03:29American assassin Connor chased antagonist Charles Lee through a crowded harbour and burning
03:35ship.
03:36With the dramatic stakes raised high, this was the confrontation that players had been waiting
03:40for.
03:41Instead of being a slick sequence in which Connor smoothly parkoured his way over obstacles
03:45as they gave chase, players found themselves fruitlessly wrestling with the controls as the
03:50Assassin jumped in the wrong direction or tried to climb a wall they shouldn't.
03:54This section only became more infuriating when attempting the bonus objectives, which meant players
03:59had to stay within 50 metres of Lee, couldn't bump into any of the numerous NPCs blocking
04:04their path or take any fire damage.
04:07There are a lot of fantastic things about Assassin's Creed III, but as you can probably tell by the
04:12end of this entry, this botched chase sequence was not one of them.
04:16Number 7, Amnesia Rebirth – The Maze
04:19The Amnesia games are frequently cited as being some of the most frightening horror outings ever
04:24made.
04:25Although some regard Rebirth to be the weakest entry, this game still delivered plenty of
04:30tension as players descend further down the plot's twisted rabbit hole.
04:34While there are numerous sequences in Rebirth that'll have players' hearts racing, there
04:38are unfortunately some moments that miss the mark and become more annoying than they do
04:43scary.
04:44One such moment came just over halfway into the game when protagonist Tassie finds herself trapped
04:48in a maze with one of the game's monstrous creatures.
04:52Trying to solve a maze while being hunted is already a difficult enough task, but Rebirth
04:56adds to the frustration by including pressure plates that block off corridors.
05:01Since this is an amnesia game, players also have to play most of the section in darkness
05:06or risk drawing the creature's attention.
05:09Though skulking around in the dark initially makes for a tense encounter, any suspense soon
05:13fizzles out after the first few times players make a wrong turn and get caught by the creature,
05:17or after aimlessly wandering around for far too long after getting lost.
05:22Luckily, there's a far better amnesia game in store for players not long after this section.
05:266.
05:27Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb – Von Beck's Revenge
05:32An underrated gem from the PlayStation 2 and Xbox era, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's
05:36Tomb is a globe-trotting adventure that sees players embark on a quest as the titular archaeologist
05:42to retrieve a powerful artifact before it falls into the wrong hands.
05:46From exploring lost ruins, solving puzzles and a satisfying combat system, there was a
05:51lot to love about this game.
05:53However, Emperor's Tomb wasn't without its flaws.
05:55Namely, this game had some awkwardly clunky controls which made tackling the simplest of
06:00jumps a difficult test of skill and of patience.
06:04This issue became especially prevalent towards the end of the game, when antagonist Von Beck
06:08arrives in a tank-like drilling machine and gives chase.
06:12With Von Beck only meters behind, players run through a collapsing hallway avoiding countless
06:17pitfalls and using Indy's signature whip to swing across large gaps.
06:22The already imprecise jumping mechanics meant that players would die more by missing a precise
06:26jump than by being caught by Von Beck's diabolical machine.
06:30Moreover, the vehicle's protruding clamps frequently blocked the player's view of the
06:34screen, consequently making this level much harder than it should have been.
06:38During Indy's triumphant fanfare has never been more satisfying than when players make
06:42it to the end of this section.
06:44Number 5.
06:45Silent Hill The Short Message The Final Chase
06:48Released during Sony's State of Play in January 2024, Silent Hill The Short Message took the
06:53long-running survival horror series to modern-day Germany.
06:56In it, players play as the teenager Anita as they wander through a creepy apartment building
07:01in a first-person perspective.
07:03Being a Silent Hill game, the in-game horrors are manifestations of the protagonist's trauma.
07:08For Anita, this comes in the form of Sakura Head, a humanoid monster covered in cherry blossoms.
07:14This creature appears regularly throughout the game to pursue players through the building's
07:17labyrinthian hallways.
07:20Although the initial encounters are tense ordeals that task players with finding the exit, the
07:24final chase was nightmarish for the wrong reasons.
07:27Unlike the previous encounters, this one requires players to find five photographs to unchain the
07:32door to the exit.
07:34With this level being much bigger than any of the others, it became far too easy to get
07:38lost within the looping corridors.
07:40And with the monster never far behind, players had no time to get their bearings.
07:44Even more frustrating is that the game never tells players they need to find the photographs.
07:49This means players could spend ages running around without knowing what to do.
07:53This disastrous finale ended this otherwise enthralling spin-off on a very flat note.
07:584.
07:59Close to the Sun The Grand Theatre A slow burn atmospheric horror close to the
08:03sun sees players explore a grand ship filled with Nikola Tesla's creations, in the role of
08:09a journalist who's searching for her sister.
08:12Not long after setting foot on the vessel, it becomes very clear something is really amiss
08:16on board.
08:17From here, players make their way through the eerie art deco hallways as they solve puzzles
08:22and uncover more details about the horrors that unfolded before they arrived.
08:27Disappointingly though, this game's suspenseful atmosphere is periodically shattered whenever
08:32one of the poorly designed chase sequences appears.
08:35Requiring players to frantically run through maze-like levels, it only takes making one wrong
08:40turn or not jumping over an obstacle at the exact right moment for the enemy to catch up
08:45to players.
08:46Not only do these sequences become a tedious game of trial and error to figure out where to
08:50go, but failure is made worse by being forced to endure a lengthy unskippable death animation
08:56every time you get caught.
08:57Although all the chases within the game are frustrating, the worst occurs in the Grand
09:02Theatre where, on top of everything else, the dimly lit environment makes it difficult
09:06for players to see where they're supposed to go.
09:09Despite these rage-inducing chases, Close to the Sun is still an excellent horror outing.
09:14From taking part in action-packed robberies, high-speed car chases, and massive shootouts,
09:23the Grand Theft Auto series is brimming with some of the most exhilarating set pieces and
09:27unforgettable moments in gaming history.
09:30As incredible as these games are, they're not without their handful of aggravating low
09:34points, with one of the worst offenders being the infamous mission Wrong Side of the Tracks
09:39from San Andreas.
09:41After arriving at a train station with Big Smoke to interrupt a meeting between rival
09:45gangs, a group of the gangsters escape by jumping on the roof of a train.
09:49Players are then tasked with giving chase on a motorbike, while Big Smoke shoots the escapees.
09:54Although all players had to do was follow the damn train, anybody who's played this mission
09:59knows the hours of pain and despair it caused.
10:03Not only was maintaining a steady speed for Big Smoke to shoot the enemies a near-impossible
10:08defeat, but the terrible driving physics would see CJ and Smoke thrown from the bike at the
10:12slightest collision.
10:14It was easier for players to get on top of the train and kill the enemies themselves rather
10:18than trying to complete the mission the way it was intended to be played.
10:212.
10:22Alone in the Dark
10:26Although the 2008 reboot of Alone in the Dark featured an impressive fire system and
10:31a collection of intriguing gameplay ideas, this title is nevertheless considered to be the
10:36low point of this influential horror franchise for a bunch of reasons.
10:41Alongside some incredibly corny dialogue and cumbersome inventory management, this game
10:45had some of the worst driving mechanics in a video game.
10:49Like, ever.
10:50The most egregious example of this comes at the end of the second chapter, when the small
10:54group of heroes raced to Central Park after escaping a crumbling skyscraper.
10:59However, whatever evil force was in the building has also made its way outside and then proceeds
11:04to go after them.
11:06What follows is a high-speed car chase that sees players tear down the streets as the
11:10unseen force destroys the road behind them and causes widespread chaos.
11:14However, this section was rendered almost unplayable thanks to the car's twitchy and weightless
11:19controls, where the slightest error would send the car veering off course.
11:24After constantly replaying this level, the only way to succeed was to memorise the best
11:29route to take.
11:30Mercifully, this game's unique DVD-like menu meant that players could simply skip
11:35this mission, which you'd probably want to.
11:381.
11:39Jak 2 Renegade – Security Tank
11:42The follow-up to adored platformer Jak and Daxter, Jak 2 Renegade, was a different kind
11:47of beast.
11:48Beginning with Jak and his friends being sucked into a dystopian world before Jak is imprisoned
11:53and tortured, the sequel's tone was much darker than its predecessor.
11:57Likewise, the game had garnered a reputation for its fiendish difficulty, and it doesn't
12:02take long for the tougher challenge to become evident.
12:04Only a few missions after the exhilarating prison escape at the start of the game, the
12:08dynamic duo are tasked with entering a fortress to destroy an ammo cage.
12:13Defending the fortress is a security tank which will chase the heroes at points during the
12:18level.
12:19Going through a series of narrow and twisting pathways littered with bottomless pits is already
12:23a difficult enough ask.
12:24But what makes this encounter especially horrendous is that players also need to execute tricky
12:29manoeuvres to avoid gunfire from the tank's turret.
12:32Coming at such an early point in the game, players won't have a firm enough grasp on the
12:36controls to make the difficult jumps that lie between them and success.
12:40Players consequently had to learn fast to avoid falling into this level's many pits.
12:45This level was a trial by fire in the least fun way.
12:48way through the fortidões because the
12:57blindness.
12:57We don't have a force to avoid.
12:58We can do it on the ground.
13:02We don't get hurt.
13:03And if we're going through it, we can do it on the ground.
13:08We can do it on the ground.
13:09Let's see.
13:10Go ahead.
13:11Thanks!
13:12finger on the ground.