Most overused game concept/idea/tradition

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Robots lacking Asimov laws in places that clearly have Asimov laws on other robots.
Or a lack of laws thereof.

"Guard the helpless important NPC" missions.

These aren't so bad actually, unless the NPC tends to do dumb stuff like wander into enemy fire or not hide somewhere safe. Unfortunately in many games, they tend to do this.

+1 for: "You wake in a strange place. You have no memory of who you are. But you know that you have to save the world."

All problems must be solved by killing everything. Or jumping.

Mana.

And crates, yes.

Even in games with otherwise excellent AI, this is bound to happen. Also, in the original Half-Life, something close to this happens: an enemy hits a trip laser while chasing you, dooming you both to being a turret's target range.

Being an RPG fan, when I saw the title of this thread, the first word that came to my head was "amnesia." Amnesia is so overused.

Fortunately, in the Force Unleashed the guy I had to keep watch over, (General Kota) was quite easy to keep alive even on the harder difficulties. He'll fight back an enemy with his lightsaber even though he's drunk, or he stays out of the way until the fight is over. This is one of the few babysitting missions in any game that I actually enjoy, as the other ones that I have done are pretty frustrating.

world war 2

You have crashed or been picked up after an accident, you must figure out what hapend to put place in chaos, and or complete orignal goal, which you may not have been given non complete information already. Often there is also some sort of betrayel from either a former team member or some ally group.

Ok, while the overly busty females in tight fitting clothes are overused, they will always be. I mean... who the hell wants to play a game where you're saving a modestly clothed priestess or an ugly chick? Or playing with one as the protagonist.

That said, WTB more games with female protagonists. Mass Effect with a female Commander Sheppard was pretty awesome. So was the City elf origin story as a female in Dragon Age: Origins.

Also, more player-as-villian games would be cool. Not kiddie like Destroy all humans or Overlord, but perhaps something like playing as Doctor Doom to take over the world and fighting heroes in a very serious setting. And when you win certain levels/missions/whatever, you can be cruel and torment your victim with an elaborate trap of death, or just ruthless and outright kill them and move on.

Mmm, just thought of a Final Fantasy VI playing as Kefka. Now that would be fun. Ooh, or playing as Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Actually, playing a lunatic killer in any video game really appeals to me for some reason.

If by "most overused" you mean "most annoying", then driving sections. I'd prefer to stay on foot throughout the game. Or at the very least restrict the vehicles to snowmobiles and rafts.

But if you really want my opinion, it's elfs being expert marksmen and dwarves all using battle axes. I mean, that was Tolkein's fresh, original idea in LOTR, and now it's everywhere.

Id have to say the friends/brothers turning on one another because of the faction theyre individually associated with. But, given that the game industry has been around for 20+ years, anything made is going to be a cliche since most everything has been done . . . ok, make that everything has been done.

01) Lone man/woman (with and/or without help) saves people/planet against an army
02) Save princess/king against evil horde
03) Lone survivor of some catastrophe
04) Armies of "Good" vs Armies of "Evil"
05) The 3 rival factions: Technological vs Biological vs Balanced/Survival
06) Amnesiacs (either a hero or reformed villain)
07) Demonic enemies
08) Megalomaniac/apocalyptic end boss
09) "Wedge" driven between friends/siblings, making them rivals
10) Changing the past creating an alternate present/future
11) A "Leader" of some decorated past being the actual harbinger of a peoples/planet's doom
12) Fantasy's scantily-clad, top-heavy female warrior(s)/rogues/magi . . . well, of any class/profession (and some second rate Sci-Fi)
13) The "arena" scenario as mentioned earlier
14) Vampires (Decadent, pardon . . . political correction . . . Over-Indulgent Aristocrats) vs Werewolves (Street Thugs)
15) Fighting the Armies of Hell (literal, metaphorical,and mythical)
16) Crazy scientist(s) that do something which causes all sorts of trouble (most likely killing themselves during the aftermath)
17) "Rebels" vs "Empire" as stated earlier . . .

<snaps out of it> This list can go on and on, but in the end all things are cliche now. Only thing we can do is give the designers credit for making their own variation on the cliche.
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The very first comment makes me think 0_0 about the flip flop, but Cyberman has got it pinned down pretty much

WW2 or Zombies....

GET BACK TO THE ONE FREE MAN VALVE!