Even Neverwinter Nights followed that crappy formula.
I remember the groans of annoyance on the NWN forums over the inclusion of all that barrel smashing nonsense in that game. Barrels in the street with a small pile of gold (oh yeah, just the place to store your gold...) More barrels with one pointless item in, etc.
Why can't they put less of these stupid barrels everywhere and make the caches of goodies:
a) Less frequent.
b) More worthwhile when you actually do find them, both in quantity and quality, and
c) More appropriate to the place where you find them. Such as a pile of potions in a bedroom cupboards. Some food in a kitchen cupboard. Gold in a chest in a house somewhere, or stashed somewhere vaguely believable. The enemy you kill actually having the weapon and armour that they were using when they fought you! etc.
d) Less random nonsense such as enemy insects carrying suits of armour.
e) Above all, more imaginative and carefully crafted work, and less randomly generated drivel.
Please. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />