Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series- a space opera about ancient, automated warships that relentlessly seek to destroy all life- would make a lot more sense if its characters didn't have faster-than-light travel. The death machines are 50,000 years old; they range around the galaxy at FTL speed; they've never been stopped.
They should have found us a long time ago. After all, they have automated factories making new Berserkers, so it's not like their numbers are limited. It really shouldn't take that many centuries to survey the entire galaxy, especially since some stars are much better life-targets than others.
By the time they discover humanity, we haven't just achieved spaceflight, we've spread out so far that there are entire space kingdoms and empires. I guess this is possible- the galaxy is a really, really big place- but it would be a lot more plausible if there were no FTL travel, and it took thousands of years to cross space.
It's not like hyperdrive is necessary to the plot- quite the contrary, most of the stories involve an isolated world or colony facing the Berserker threat. I can't think of a single reason to use it. Except, I suppose, the fact that it's an sf staple; and those things are hard to get rid of.
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