My pick(s) go to Left 4 Dead (2) and Mech Commander 2.
Know, I will openly admit that the survivors and special infected sometimes turn into "bumbling idiots". I can recount many a time when a survivor bot left me to die with a hunter to go kill a jockey. However, when you see everything the AI engine does (from the AI director down to an individual common infected)and how many factors it has to account for at any given second, it's amazing it works at all, let alone in real time. Even on low end processors. Watching it's innerworkings in action while a game is being played is extremely impressive.
As for Mech Commander, it had some of the best AI I've seen to date in an RTS. Enemy units would actually utilize the terrain. They'd flank you, hide units in the underbrush, move fire-support units to the high ground, concentrate fire on the weakest link in your squad, bait you into ambushes, even rush your team to split them up. To win any encounter in that game on the harder difficulty settings required a lot of tactical thinking and micro-managing finesse.
It's funny. Valve actually programmed a hell of an intelligent AI engine for Half-Life 2. It was designed to have enemy forces use cover, flank their targets, pull back if out-numbered, and rebuff troubled teammates by moving units to reinforce that squad or lay down suppressive fire. It worked best in large scale combat scenarios.
Unfortunately, much of Half-Life 2's combat encounters were anything but. This led to the AI seeming to be "dumb" as they could never effectively do what they were designed to do. It's the biggest design flaw in the game. Which is a shame. Seeing it in motion is pretty impressive. (considering it came out in 2004)
Know, I will openly admit that the survivors and special infected sometimes turn into "bumbling idiots". I can recount many a time when a survivor bot left me to die with a hunter to go kill a jockey. However, when you see everything the AI engine does (from the AI director down to an individual common infected)and how many factors it has to account for at any given second, it's amazing it works at all, let alone in real time. Even on low end processors. Watching it's innerworkings in action while a game is being played is extremely impressive.
As for Mech Commander, it had some of the best AI I've seen to date in an RTS. Enemy units would actually utilize the terrain. They'd flank you, hide units in the underbrush, move fire-support units to the high ground, concentrate fire on the weakest link in your squad, bait you into ambushes, even rush your team to split them up. To win any encounter in that game on the harder difficulty settings required a lot of tactical thinking and micro-managing finesse.
I completely agree.Smeggs said:
It's funny. Valve actually programmed a hell of an intelligent AI engine for Half-Life 2. It was designed to have enemy forces use cover, flank their targets, pull back if out-numbered, and rebuff troubled teammates by moving units to reinforce that squad or lay down suppressive fire. It worked best in large scale combat scenarios.
Unfortunately, much of Half-Life 2's combat encounters were anything but. This led to the AI seeming to be "dumb" as they could never effectively do what they were designed to do. It's the biggest design flaw in the game. Which is a shame. Seeing it in motion is pretty impressive. (considering it came out in 2004)
