Game mechanics/features you like?

[sovietmisaki]

The ability to scare the enemy into submission with a weapon in the Metal Gear Solid series, especially right before you knock their lights out. I feel more games should have something along the lines of that mechanic.

the Melee ability of the M.E.C Troopers in XCOM: Enemy Within. Nothing like punching Mutons and Mechtoids into a car and watching it explode on impact as they die.

Elizabeth's Tear opening ability in Bioshock Infinite, All those medkits and friendly machine gun toting automatons really helped a lot to say the least

The Half-track's ability to reinforce squads in Company of Heroes, Better than having to train a new squad entirely and have it run across the battlefield in the heat of combat when you really need to shore up a line really quickly.

and finally, although nothing of real tactical value, I did love the character customization options in XCOM: Enemy Within, which allowed me to put a distinct look on each member of my teams.

 

[Casual Shinji]

- Reloading an entire clip eventhough I only fired one bullet. It makes no sense for magazine based weapons to work like that, but to compulsive reloaders like me it's bliss.

- Fisticuffs. I like simple straight-up brawl mechanics, but as it stands only Bully and The Last of Us have given me this pleasure.

- The attaché case in Resident Evil 4. No explaination needed.

- (sticking with RE4) Your weapon upgrades adding to the selling price. Every weapon upgrade you buy will raise the price on your weapon when you eventually sell it off for a better version. Meaning you're never discouraged from using your hard earned cash to pump upgrades into your current pistol/shotgun/rifle, even with the prospect of better guns becoming available later on.

This seems logical, but could've easily been overlooked by the developers. And if it was, it would've seriously dragged down the whole experience.

 

[Treeberry]

-Being able to pause during cutscenes without automatically skipping (as somebody else said).

-The ability to hide, properly. Like in Clock Tower, Haunting Ground, Shattered Memories etc. Even better if you can peep from your hiding spot like in the Gregory Horror Show game. I wish more games would utilise this - you can avoid getting bored with/bogged down with combat, marvel at animations, character actions or dialogue and there is so much potential for being able to burst out of a wardrobe and nearly giving your opponent a heart attack.

-Multiple endings, especially multiple 'bad' endings. I'm playing Corpse Party at the moment...

-All of those little minigames and side activities you can do in games. I used to keep a save at the Golden Saucer and I love the Yakuza games for being able to play mahjong, baseball, that massage parlour thing, pachinko (which I don't get), the hostess clubs, those weird sub-stories, the Back to the Future VR thing, running the hostess clubs, 'dating' hostesses, Club Sega, learning about drinks by getting your character drunk, those interesting foods you can eat, *deep breath* fishing, golf (maybe not that one) and-...a number of other things. The point is, it's nice to be able to take a break from the main game without having to play another game and risk forgetting where you're up to.

-Being able to break weapons in Soul Blade. I miss this mechanic although it would have been interesting if the characters had better hand-to-hand combat to compensate...

-Readable books and letters a la The Elder Scrolls.

-Maps that reflect the game you're playing. For example, Haunting Ground's ink-and-parchment style map and the beautiful map from Way of the Samurai 4. It's a little thing that adds so much.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Character customisation - the more the better, from Fable II to Halo Reach. Saints Row IV is basically dress up with superpowers - and I frikkin' love it. XCOM:Enemy Within has an impeccable range of headwear and haircuts... And Morrowind will probably always have the best character customisation in the TES series: because reasons layers.

Being able to rename stuff - again, XCOM:EW is a good example (and it stacks with the above). I'd care about my valuable and easy to die troopers even if they were just numbered, but naming them makes me care about 'em even more. I always want to rename my horses in Skyrim, but I'm on console, so no dice...

Characters lowering their weapons when out of combat - I hate the fact that Commander Shepard always seems to run around aiming... Even in ME3 when her companions have chilled out, there's Shep, stuck in that dumb position like a robot, gliding around the map like she's on rollerskates. Off the top of my head, Spec Ops The Line has the player character who lowers their weapon. Ditto Red Dead Redemption (although it actually always slightly annoyed me that Marston would holster the weapon by himself after a short pause. Did I tell you to do that, John? no, no I did not... ).

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Ah, yeah, I remember now. I still felt weird walking around the earlier, less-shooty-more-explore-y sections with a weapon out, though. Can't remember if you can even fire off rounds at the, say, fairground area (can't remember the actual name), but Booker still wanders around with a firearm, as Elizabath talks casually and you peruse some shop's wares.

In Half-Life 2 Gordon does a similar thing (lowers, as opposed to holsters/hides the weapon), but there the context - of a potentially ongoing conflict - allows for it.

...aaand I'll stop nitpicking now.

 

[josemlopes]

Red Dead Redemption (although it actually always slightly annoyed me that Marston would holster the weapon by himself after a short pause. Did I tell you to do that, John? no, no I did not... ).

Doesnt he just holster the gun if you sprint by tapping the run button? I dont remember very well but I think that you could walk and jog around with your weapon out.

 

[Bombiz]

I like it when areas end up looping around to each other via shortcuts you open up. I really like Dark Souls 2's level and world design with it.

I'm not sure how to describe it but the way the story progresses onto Drangleic Castle after the rest of the game was spent meandering around the world is really cool, maybe it's because we're relatively not too far from when it launched and the camaraderie from other players who have got this far already feels really strong.

It's funny that you would say considering that everyone and their mother are saying that it's the worst design of any souls game to date. with paths being very liner at end game. I think you mean Dark Souls 1 if your talking about "areas end up looping around to each other".

 

[Avalanche91]

Not a fan of binary morality systems, but I was kind of fond of the mechanic in Dragon Age 1 in which your party reacts on your actions(not so much 2, cause full rivalry relationships were pretty silly). Suppose you want to defile the holiest of holy relics, one of your partymembers practically claps her hands together in glee while others will outright fight you for it.

Pull too many of those stunts and partymembers will outright leave you, refusing to work with someone who opposes goes against their morals.

This sytem is cheapened a bit by the whole gift mechanics and can be completely abused with DLC.


Also, I really enjoyed the social link system in Persona 3/4. You get to know the characters around you and in return you get to create better persona to fight by your side.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I like it when areas end up looping around to each other via shortcuts you open up. I really like Dark Souls 2's level and world design with it.

I'm not sure how to describe it but the way the story progresses onto Drangleic Castle after the rest of the game was spent meandering around the world is really cool, maybe it's because we're relatively not too far from when it launched and the camaraderie from other players who have got this far already feels really strong.

It's funny that you would say considering that everyone and their mother are saying that it's the worst design of any souls game to date. with paths being very liner at end game. I think you mean Dark Souls 1 if your talking about "areas end up looping around to each other".

Looping isn't exactly the right word thinking about it, the first 4 areas are similar with some shortcuts and stuff (for some reason No Man's Wharf exists solely to bring you to a back entrance to the Bastille) but I like how once you beat the standard four bosses scattered around the world you have to go to the castle. That's freaking cool, it's like you've unlocked a boss area and it's super exciting. It's probably because it was so close from launch when I got there so everyone else was still doing their first blind playthrough and for some reason the amount of legit helpful messages on the ground at least doubled. Also I walked into the lobby and there were roundabout 10 bloodstains lying around really close to each other. I really like the online aspect of the game I suppose and the castle was radiating with it

It helps that the castle is the coolest area I have seen so far and The Looking Glass Knight was the best boss fight so far. Even if the following two areas counter my melee Strength build to the fucking floor.

I'm still on the memory segment stuff though. I swear From decided that people using Strength Greatsword medium/heavy armour builds can go fuck themselves post Drangleic Castle.

"Oh you want to block stuff with your massive shield and high Stamina bar? How about we put massive enemies in these memory areas that do your entire health bar in damage and straight up ignore shields. We've decided that magic builds are the best thing to run now. Have fun you scrub."

 

[an annoyed writer]

I like it when games offer both first and third-person views, whether it be an RPG like Fallout, a car game like Driver SF, or a platformer like Ratchet & Clank: even if the game plays considerably better in one mode than the other, I still love just having the option to switch perspectives. Even more so if it's like MGS4, where you can even see your entire lower body if you look down in First-person. Really lends to a sense of presence.

Another mechanic I also like, which a lot of people seem to dislike these days is a dedicated snap-to cover system. It makes some really cool animations possible, which for whatever reason are just very satisfying to me. I like being able to vault over stuff, whether stationary or in motion, and I like having a dedicated 'slam into wall' button. plus, one of my favorite things to do in Gears of War and its ilk was these dumb little cover-dances(which got exponentially more stupid and hilarious as more people dropped the fight and joined in).