1) When the player dies, it must be because it was the players fault, not the games fault.
Platform games suffer from this the most, because they seem to think that jumping puzzles are only fun if there is a tiny tiny tiny margin for error. I've lost count of the number of platform games I've played where I've made a perfectly reasonable jump and missed the ledge or whatever by a whisker. FPS's do suffer from this as well but a game really worthy of mention is Zack and Wiki, where on several occasions you die from normal adventure game curiosity, which is a massive dick move.
2) Normal enemies should die from a headshot or 2-4 body shots. If we're talking melee games, they should die from one counter or 2-4 normal hits.
Easily the worst offender here is Oblivion, naturally, but pick any game where melee combat is the focus apart from the few exceptions like Assassins Creed & the Riddick games and you'll find yourself slashing at opponents until you're blue in the face and THEY JUST WON'T DIE.
Little ruins a game more than enforced repetition and this is especially true in the one activity you'll be doing the most in these games - killing.
This isn't a skill thing, either. Crysis' enemies are fantastic to fight against, as are the ones in Far Cry 2 and Dark Athena - all these enemies die from one headshot and they're all a challenge to fight against. More importantly, they're fun to fight against.
This rule especially applies to Boss Battles. PC gaming gave up on boss battles many years ago (with a few notable exceptions) but the consoles love sticking you in front of some gargantuan enemy with a massive health bar and watch you shoot the three weak points, then the fourth one that gets exposed, then repeating this sequence six times. Seriously, fuck boss battles, I hate them.
3) Don't pad the game
I'm preaching to the choir here, somewhat, but it does need saying. Adding in arbitrary goals to increase the length of the game is a staple of RPG's but at least RPG's have the decency to not force you to do them. Unlike, for example, The Legend of Zelda: Twightlight princess, where you couldn't start a mission until you had collected ten whatevers, every single fucking time.
4) Finish the game, guys
This one doesn't exactly break the game but in games that arguably don't end (like Crysis) and in games that literally don't end (Assassins Creed) you've got no real motivation to replay them to completion.
A very important part of any game is the atmosphere and story. I wouldn't have completed Portal as many times as I have were the atmosphere not top notch. It keeps me hooked right to the end, I get a fantastic pay off, I leave satisfied.
So when games don't end, I don't feel satisfied, I feel angry. Very angry. The developers have given us a completely unfinished product. Grrrr.
5) Have a colour palette that's not just brown and grey
A big, big reason why I gave up on Fallout 3 was because the world was so horrible to look at. I get that they were going for a nuclear wasteland but a nuclear war doesn't turn everything BROWN surely?
Seriously, look at this fucking game:
Brown and grey, grey and brown. I'm guessing most of you live in a city. Look out of your window. If you don't have a window, imagine you do have one and then look out of that. There is a very high chance that you'll see some grey out there. There's a also a very high chance that there will be at least one building out there that is red or white or black or painted some weird colour etc. etc. etc. I have been to many cities in my time, including London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, New York, Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Madrid etc. etc. and I have never seen a city anywhere near as grey, brown and dull as they are in Fallout 3, Gears Of War etc. etc. etc.
Oh, and by the way, no, it doesn't build atmosphere it makes things feel artificial. Real artists use colour to great effect. Portal, for example, is mostly white, until you get behind the scenes where the decay is starting to show. It also makes the red lights of the turrets more alarming and the pale pink hearts on the companion cube more alluring.
6) In open world games, make exploration fun
Fallout 3 is the worst offender here, I'd be wandering around that world, minding my own business, when I'd come across a massive pile of debris, blocking my way. Okay, I think, I'll go round it. I walk to the left. Building, building, building, building, pile of rubble, building, building, then there's another pile of rubble so I have to detour around my detour. I get fed up and try the right and find the same thing, but there's a subway tunnel for me to grind my way through. HUZZAH!
For an example of a game where exploration is fun, I simply have to point you at Far Cry 2. I love just driving around in that game. The scenery is stunning, varied and lovely to look at and the fights you get into at regular intervals mean you can never fully relax.
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