I played "Hostile Negotiation" in GTA IV this afternoon.
The first time I played through it, my pistol aim was not accurate enough to eliminate the hostage taker in one headshot, so he executed cousin Roman. I started over again.
The second time through, I used a sniper rifle to pin point the target, so I blew his brain out in one clean shot. Just when I was giddy with my accomplishment, I drove through a construction site and the tire ran over a propane tank. It blew up the car, killing both Roman and myself. I was in such disbelief that I wasn't sure what happened at first. When I realized my mistake, I didn't know whether I should be laughing or crying. I felt like doing both at the same time.
The third time, finally, I did it without committing those mistakes.
This game should really have more frequent checkpoints.
What's the point of putting propane tank traps where the player can die accidentally? That's just cheap.