yeah it's crazy to me.
photographers do everything in their power to eliminate flare
yet game designers feel the need to shove it everywhere.
it's especially silly when they are trying to simulate a real world environment through the eyes of the main character.
(there's even lens flare in the total war series......all of which so far have been set in a time before cameras were even invented )
racing games are also guilty of over using it, now call me crazy but the last time i drove a car i didn't do it whilst looking through a camera.
why put lens flares in the cockpit view of a racing game when you're meant to be looking through the drivers eyes.
by all means use it in a replay , a situation that may actually use a camera, otherwise it just looks stupid