- Repetitive missions in video games can cause players to lose interest, as doing the same task repeatedly wears them out.
- GTA 4 didn’t succeed as it could have because of the lack of mission variety.
- Other franchise games, like GTA San Andreas and GTA 5, had more mission variety and were more successful than GTA 4, proving this fact.
Whether linear or open-world, missions in video games are one of the deciding factors for their success; they play a massive role in keeping the player engaged throughout the game and keeping the game relevant for an extended period. Often, missions in a game get repetitive, dulling the game’s enjoyment.
How Repetitive Missions Ruin The Fun In GTA 4
Games like GTA 4 can be an example of how repetitive missions can ruin the fun in video games. The game has excellent ragdoll animations, car physics, and shooting. Some even call its car physics better than GTA 5’s.
However, despite all those key elements that can make a game fun, the lack of variety of missions negatively impacts the game. Most of the missions involve shooting different targets or gangs.
Some are based on chasing the target, but they are mostly shooting. The shooting mechanics are decent and add so much fun to the gameplay, but when it’s the only thing you do in most missions, that gets boring.
Yeah, the missions vary in raid style; in one mission, you would raid an enemy warehouse, and in another, you would raid an industrial area. However, there’s not much difference between raiding and shooting regarding missions.
Moreover, besides the repetitiveness I found so annoying, one more prominent issue in the missions in GTA 4 is that you must drive long distances on almost every mission. If your car accidentally flips over, you will have to start over.
Also, if you mistakenly hit a police car just slightly, their wanted level will increase, and they will start chasing you, which is another headache you must take care of in the middle of the mission. No matter how fun these missions can be, having to do the same thing repeatedly will wear off your excitement level for the game at some point.
Mission Variety Can Effect A Game’s Success
GTA San Andreas had more mission variety than GTA 4, which was released around four years earlier. It had some of the most unique missions in the Grand Theft Auto series, especially that train mission with Big Smoke.
There’s no doubt that GTA San Andreas was successful due to the new features it introduced to the series, vehicle variety, fun gameplay mechanics, and a decent story. Still, I don’t think placing “Mission variety” on this list would be wrong.
It’s always a good idea to add missions that require the user to do different tasks than before, as it keeps the gameplay fresh. The development team behind San Andreas understood this well and gave us one of the best games in the series.
How GTA 5’s Mission Variety Helped It Thrive
There’s also another example to prove that mission variety significantly impacts a game: GTA 5’s success over GTA 4. There are mixed opinions about GTA 5 being a better game than GTA 4, but everyone can agree that GTA 5’s missions are more fun to play.
Right from the start, the prologue, you dive straight into action. As the game progresses, you will get to play dozens of exciting missions that highly differ from each other and provide a unique experience every time.
The game has fast and slow-paced missions, but 90% of them keep you wanting more. This is something that is highly missing from GTA 4, which is one of the reasons why GTA 5 got more successful.
This proves that no matter how fun the gameplay mechanics are, the game will start to feel monotonous if there’s no mission variety. This is even more applicable to open-world games. However, depending on the genre, it may not be accurate for every game. Still, it can somewhat ruin a game’s fun element.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
