I think the two things I really dislike in an adventure game are dying and timed puzzles.

There are occasions where dying is unavoidable and if it is logical to the game I can live with it but I am not enchanted if this occurs over and over again in a game, since as Jenny said it interrupts the game play and takes you out of the story.

As for timed puzzles, I like to concentrate on the puzzle and not worry about the time it takes to solve it. I want an adventure not a contest.

I've gotten so used to "dying" in Action games that I try to save in places where I think I might die. This has become sort of like outwitting the game, at least cutting down on the time spent starting over from a point a long way from where I meet my demise.
Currently dying in Thief 1, which has a quick save as well as permanent save slots. There are tough enemies to beat and sometimmes it take a few tries to get it just right.Also do the same in the TR games.
Are there any action games that don't allow you to quick save whenever you want? If so, I would not play them-would be TOO frustrating.

Cynch, I kind of enjoyed the pendulum sequence in GK3. By the time I got to that part I was pretty fed up with Gabe's smart a** personality, and remember thinking, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. (Just kidding, just kidding!) LOL

Speaking of the end-game sequence for GK3, I never quite understood the puzzles found in the room after the pendulum (where you're suppose to make a choice between A and B and if you made the wrong choice then you die)... that bit was more of a trial and error thing for me...

as long as i can save as many times as i want, i don't care how many times i die. my first games were the sierra games, and i learned to save early and save often. what irks me, though, is when you can only save at certain points (more likely to happen in RPGs or action games) or when the game has a very limited number of save slots (X-Files, which I'm playing right now, only has THREE!)

i'm more bothered by dead ends than dying, and these don't happen very often anymore. i think the developers know we hate them!

i don't really care if a game brings me back to the point right before i died... in some cases i think it would be more fulfilling if it didn't, so i had to figure out what i'd done wrong and where to restore in order to fix the problem.

oh, and i think a well-integrated "game over" screen can enhance the story. i can think of a few games (Final Fantasy 8, GK2, Shadow of Destiny) where the game over screen gave me chills. a lot of the old sierra games also had humorous death messages, and some even gave hints on how to avoid the death the next time.

-emily

ps GK3 and the pendulum did drive me batty, though.

Yes. Some have "level saves," which makes many gamers avoid the game. The only reason for "level saves" seems to be if the game is too short and the game makers want to extend the playing time by making the player repeat the whole level if they make a mistake. It's really obnoxious.

I'm usually just the opposite. If I can't see the person on the screen it's more like this faceless bodyless thing died and I don't feel any pity for it. Only when I dislike the character do I not mind if they bite it. But mostly I just don't like dying in an adventure game at all.

I agree with Emily - I don't mind dying if there's a humorous death message. Eg in GK1 Gabe would laugh nervously and say "I really don't want to be dead - can we try that again?"

I don't like it when a third person character dies and there's no such message - and, even worse, you have to look at their dead body (in GK1 you just look at a skull). Eg in Indy and the Infernal Machine, if you miss a jump Indy falls to the floor and crumples up, or if you run out of air when swimming he floats face down in the water. Not only that, but the game plays some sad mournful death music while you look at his dead body! Yuk.