Are melee weapons in shooters overpowered?

[mrhappyface]

In games like Killzone and Call of Duty, knives are pretty much one hit kills, prompting you to do things you wouldn't do in most games like rush into fire and shank someone like an psychopathic murderer from a slasher movie. There's also a similar problem with the Lancer in Gears of War, where you could almost casually slay locusts individually as easily as Leatherface kills dumb teenagers. I'm not sure, but this kind of defeats the purpose of a shooter almost, no? But that's what i think. What do you think?

 

[Jolly Madness]

Well, it does demand a little skill (especially online) to get close enough to stab one. Even though how powerful the melee weapons may be 99% of all the kills will be from bullets or something ballistic.

 

[inpachi]

I think i dont care.. and the only game to ever fck this up was Halo..

 

[Cherry Cola]

If they weren't overpowered, they would be pretty worthless.

Plus it's fun to stab someone to death.

 

[Mordwyl]

If you are an interdimensional being invading Earth, Quantum Physicist + Crowbar = Hightail it back home ASAP.

 

[Sneaklemming]

They are in MW2, and Cod4. But in General I'd say no.

 

[MattRooney06]

yeah they are one hit kills mostley but remember you have to get close enough to use it....plus MW2's riot sheild cant be penetrated by the knife

 

[slowpoke999]

In games like TF2 where close combat guns can rip you to shreds and you need to be melee 5 times on highest health classes?NO.

In games like L4D2 where the enemies don't have guns, and the melee weapons can kill a zombie hulk 6 times faster then an asault rifle?Yes.

 

[TimeLord]

If they weren't overpowered, they would be pretty worthless.

Plus it's fun to stab someone to death.

Add "always" to that last sentence

 

[Kollega]

In Modern Warfare or Killzone 2? Surely. Knife should only be one-hit kill from behind and in the face.[footnote]Edited for justice.[/footnote]

In Team Fortress 2, though, they are not too powerful, and thus highly situational. But it makes a successful melee kill all the sweeter.

 

[Cherry Cola]

If they weren't overpowered, they would be pretty worthless.

Plus it's fun to stab someone to death.

Add "always" to that last sentence

"Plus it's fun to stab always someone to death"?

That doesn't make any sense!

 

[flaming_squirrel]

The knife in MW2 is an absolute joke, so in certain games, yes.

If they weren't overpowered, they would be pretty worthless.

Plus it's fun to stab someone to death.

Is being balanced too much to ask then?

 

[literallyanythingelse]

Yeah in L4D2 the melee weapons are slightly overpowered but I'm not complaining. There's an achievement for completing a campaign using only melee and its a lot easier that it sounds, and a lot more fun than using guns to be honest.
Another overpowered melee weapon is the hammer in Red Faction Guerrilla - I just gave up shooting after a while and ran in and smacked every trooper I saw through a wall. Melee kills are so much more satisfying.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

plus MW2's riot sheild cant be penetrated by the knife

No it can't, if that happened to you it was just lag.

OT: If they weren't insanely powerful, why would anyone use them?

 

[TimeLord]

If they weren't overpowered, they would be pretty worthless.

Plus it's fun to stab someone to death.

Add "always" to that last sentence

"Plus it's fun to stab always someone to death"?

That doesn't make any sense!

ha ha [sub]ha...[/sub] no

You know what I meant

 

[iFail69]

It's pretty fair. If someone is capable of getting next to you in a game all about guns and explosives, you pretty much screwed up and deserve the severed spinal cord. Shoot them before they stab you, you really, really have range on them.

erm... have you seen the commando perk on MW2?? in it's later evolved pro state you can jump off a ridiculously high building and then knife someone who is about 10m away from you with the press of a button. Also, have you seen people using the marathon, lightweight, commando, tac knife loadout on MW2, I don't think people run around the battlefield shanking anyone foolish enough to actually use a gun.

/end rant

 

[aseelt]

I think they're fit for purpose. If you had a melee weapon in an FPS, ran to some guy and managed to survive a blizzard of bullets, you'd want it to work the first time

I hate the fact that most melee weapons have a tiny range. Gotta love the sledgehammer from Red Faction