Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context PlayingWith / TheComputerIsACheatingBastard

Go To

1'''Basic Trope''': In a video game where you can face the computer in a match, the computer seems to have advantages that you don't.
2* '''Straight''': In the hit FightingGame ''Troper Wars'', the CPU always manages to kick your ass because its character has projectiles. [[SecretAIMoves When that character is human controlled, it doesn't have a projectile attack]].
3* '''Exaggerated''':
4** The CPU can dodge attacks. ''You can't''. And it uses its unblockable, unavoidable, OneHitKill move in the first seconds. And if ''you'' do try to cheat, the game responds with NoFairCheating ([[{{Hypocrite}} nevemind the fact that]] [[ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst they are the ones cheating]]), punishing you by nerfing your XP and powers, making your character and teammates [[ArtificialStupidity artificially stupid]], [[UnfriendlyFire turning your own teammates against you]] and even deleting your save-states for cheating, despite the CPU did that.
5** In the FirstPersonShooter ''Troperian Warfare'', the WaveMotionGun is normally AwesomeButImpractical because it is extremely slow and only has enough ammo for one shot. When an AI player gets it, the gun is much faster and has infinite ammo.
6* '''Downplayed''':
7** A CPU player's numerical stats are slightly higher than for a human player, but the A.I.'s simplistic behavior is easy enough to exploit for experienced players.
8** The CPU always has better equipment and the like, which the human only could get at a later point in the game.
9** The CPU uses the same moves but they don't have the delay for a move slightly faster than the minimum charge time.
10* '''Justified''':
11** The computer prioritizes wrong things. In ''Troper Kingdom'', your goal is to defeat the army of the enemy. Bob, the A.I. commander, is seen to always prepare attacks against your camps, even if there is no reason to, and never sends any units on resource gathering trips. Because of this, the A.I. automatically gains material even when they logically shouldn't. Due to the A.I., this makes the game fair rather than unbalancing it.
12** [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration The PC-controlled hero knight puts importance in his honor and chivalry. The NPC villain does not hesitate to fight dirty.]]
13* '''Inverted''':
14** The computer cheats to give the player an advantage.
15** The computer starts using abilities or mechanics that were [[AIBreaker previously restricted to the player]]. By definition, this isn't cheating, but it does ramp up the difficulty significantly because the player no longer has that advantage over the AI.
16** The player starts off with vast advantages to compensate for the computer's [[ComputersAreFast sheer speed and coordination]]. In-character, it is a RobotWar where humanity must use their superior resources against small but very dangerous upstarts.
17* '''Subverted''':
18** The CPU-controlled characters are kicking your ass... but it turns out you have the difficulty on Hard. You turn the difficulty down a notch and you start to stand more of a chance.
19** [[PuzzleBoss Exploited #2 is the intended solution]].
20* '''Double Subverted''': ... here comes the EasyModeMockery!
21* '''Parodied''':
22** The game flat-out tells you that it will cheat to win.
23** When you start a match, the CPU opens up a cheat menu during gameplay and types in "[[GodMode GOD]]" or "[[InstantWinCondition WIN]]"
24** The CPU is constantly cheating, but the moment you try cheating yourself, [[NoFairCheating every character dishes out the mother of all]] WhatTheHellPlayer speeches to you. And if you try defending yourself by citing ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst, everyone's shocked that you'd accuse them of such a crime, and still pile onto you. If you do so, you're then given the chance to start using cheats, because [[ThenLetMeBeEvil they're going to consider you a cheater, why not go all the way?]]
25* '''Zig-zagged''': The CPU [[DynamicDifficulty cheats to varying degrees]] (including none) within the same game to adjust for the player's skills in order to keep him engaged. If the player is breezing through, it'll turn up the difficulty; if the player can barely get out of the starting spot, it'll ease up.
26* '''Averted''': The CPU plays fair and is on an equal footing with the human characters.
27* '''Enforced''':
28** (During development) "Hey, this section is a little too easy. I think I'll turn up the accuracy of the enemy snipers juuuuuust a tad..."
29** Due to a non-[[GameBreakingBug breaking typo]] the AI has no bounds check on the movements it can make.
30** MyRulesAreNotYourRules
31** The programmers weren’t able to make a smart A.I. so they needed to give it a way to catch up.
32* '''Lampshaded''': During the characters' single-player loss dialogue, they point out that they shouldn't have lost; not because of pride, but because the enemy was breaking the rules of the fight!
33** The HarderThanHard IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels is named '''Let the AI cheat as much as possible.'''
34* '''Invoked''': The player hacks the game to give the CPU advantages as a SelfImposedChallenge.
35* '''Exploited''':
36** Whenever you notice the CPU cheating, [[InstantWinCondition you can press a button to have him arrested]].
37** The computer blocks every one of your strikes. There is nothing, however, keeping you from using a slow moving projectile and then turning it around by attacking it from the back, leaving it open. [[AIBreaker It ALWAYS falls for this]].
38* '''Defied''': The player character forces the CPU character to fight fair.
39* '''Discussed''': In a movie about video game characters as AnimatedActors, the player character's avatar asks how the BigBad learned to pull off some super-powerful techniques.
40* '''Conversed''': "Did you ever play ''Troper Wars''? Is there a glitch or something that lets only the CPU throw projectiles?"
41* '''Implied''': In the game, your goal is not to beat the equal, CPU characters but different enemies who don't play by the same rules. During one level, your "enemy" challenges you but is interrupted by said force. Even once all his gathering methods are cut off, he manages to supply you with items despite having no "fair" way to get them.
42%%* '''Deconstructed''':
43%%* '''Reconstructed''':
44* '''Played For Laughs''': The AI isn't just cheating, it's rubbing it in your face. In fact, when you lose it still counts it as a victory, as your enemy cheated and thus that battle didn't count, but if you win the character will accuse you of cheating, while your character will point out even if that were true, they were cheating as well. Said character will desperately try to justify their cheating it while "victory" flashes across your screen.
45* '''Played For Drama''': There is in story justification for the cheating. Every time your character battles it gets harder and harder due to all the "bonuses" the enemies are getting that you can't even hope for. If the player only manages to win barely then the character will get even more stressed over how hard it's getting to get past that barrier.
46* '''Played for Horror''':
47** The game emphasizes that the player characters are in serious danger because the [=NPCs=] are willing to fight dirty to kill them.
48** The enemies are [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] who slowly rewrite the fabric of reality, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration transforming the rules of the game with them]] as they become stronger and stronger until there is no longer any hope of survival.
49----
50Now, return to TheComputerIsACheatingBastard before it destroys you!

Top