Poll: Regenerating Health, a Poll

[godofallu]

So I was playing the game S T A L K E R the other day, because I just got a PC with some good gaming specs and everyone recommended it.

After about 15 minutes of gaming I realized 1 pretty big problem, the game didn't have regenerating health. Now I have seen all sorts of conflicting opinions on this site, but for me nonregenerating health is normally a deal breaker.

I hate searching around for health, and is there a worse thing in gaming than a checkpoint where you have like 5 health?

So anyways what are your thoughts on this?

 

[Radeonx]

It depends.
Halo does it well, with regenerating shields, but in games like Call of Duty and stuff it is stupid.
I normally prefer non-regenerating health, though, it adds to the suspense and makes the game much more tactical.

 

[Ertol]

I'd like to say I enjoy having health packs and having to worry about health, but I normally get destroyed without regenerating health. I've just become so used to being able to duck behind a wall for 5 seconds and getting all my health back I've forgotten how to be careful. I do like things like Halo, where the shield regenerates because then you do have something to worry about it it drops to zero, but I don't like COD's method of just having health regenrate.

 

[Vhite]

I usualy dont like it but its ok in games like Just Cause 2 because IMO it has some wierd controls so you cant really shoot without eating 50 bullets for every time you try to shoot.

 

[Disaster Button]

I love regenerating health when its done with an explanation from the plot.

Like in Borderlands. There are regenerative shields and your health doesn't do anything without healthpacks or a shield that comes with a regenerative health boost which are optional and usually don't have the best shield stats.

 

[The Procrastinated End]

Non regenerating health makes the game more enjoyable because when your down to 10 hp you feel the tension and have to think it out instead of
hide in a corner, run around until your screen turns red, return to the corner.

 

[Bebus]

I liked ME1, where your shields regenerated but health did not unless you had the right suit upgrades.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

I really don't care for regenerating health. It just makes everything easier and less exciting and leads to lots of time sitting around in corners waiting for it to come back. Most of the time you could just replace it with more frequent checkpoints and cut out the waiting time.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I've become steadily more of a fan of regenerating health after hearing people ***** about it so much.

But really, I don't care either way. I find regenerating health just as immersive and worthwhile as non.

 

[godofallu]

I think any game with a shield still counts as regenerating health, since the majority of your "health" or life regenerates. No matter what color it is, if it keeps you from death it is health.

 

[Phlakes]

I like Far Cry 2/Ninja Gaiden 2 style, where it can only regenerate two certain amounts.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

For games that promote realism, it doesn't make too much sense. The whole blood-on-screen thing annoys me immensely. I think the best health system I've ever played with is Bad Company 1's. Just being able to see the points is helpful.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I don't know. I've always liked the health bar and med kits. There games requires much more planning and there is much more urgency. Yes, it does royally suck when you reach a checkpoint with five health, but that is a rare occurrence, no? I'm fine with regenerating health, but I hate sitting behind a box twiddling my thumbs as my health regenerates. It sort of breaks flow for me. But I'm fine either way.

 

[Mr.Petey]

I like Far Cry 2/Ninja Gaiden 2 style, where it can only regenerate two certain amounts.

Resistance: Fall of Man did this and I was pleased with it as it made you value your health that little more if you could survive long enough to find another vial of the fluids.

But I'm tired of it, regenerating health is one hell of a immersion breaker to me. I still remember seeing it used for the the first time in The Getaway and it was fairly innovative back in those days but now...I miss health items and the "surgery" aspect of Metal Gear Solid 3.
Yeah unrealistic to pause the game while you put splints to broken bones and remove bullets but I'd take that over running to the nearest corner and sitting down for another thumb sucking session

 

[Corporal Bill]

It depend's really.

I'd like to see regen health on cod 5 veteran.

Some times it works, other times it don't

 

[Okuu_Fusion]

For me, it depends on the genre... sometimes I like it, and sometimes it kills the experience... What I really dislike is how they inform you when your health is down, like making the screen go all red and making it hard to see...

 

[fix-the-spade]

I hate searching around for health, and is there a worse thing in gaming than a checkpoint where you have like 5 health?

The solution is easy, use cover and scavenge from corpses, they always carry health packs of some type.


I HATE regen health. It's a stupid lazy crutch for stupid lazy players (apologies, I'm generalising). Non regeneraing health forces a player to alter their approach to indiviudal fights. It adds tension, it means there are consequences to your actions, it encourages an intelligent style of play as you do not know what is around the next bend.

The alternative is a reset button every 10 seconds. It's lazy, it makes each fight of no consequence so long as you merely survive, it encourages poor tactics. It also leads to artificial dificulty as games spam one-hit-kill enemies to make up for your Wolverine style healing. Too many recent shooters have become luck based on higher difficulties because of this (Halo 2/3, Call of Duty since 3), that's a sign of poor design right there and regenerating health is the root cause.

As a compromise I quite like hybrid systems (Silent Bomber, Halo 1) where you have a regenerating buffer over a non regenerating main. That has the positive of altering your playing style as your health raises/lowers, but also grants you a degree of leeway to make mistakes. It works as it flatters less skilled/obsessive players without patronising the shooterphiles.

But given the option I'd still take good old hitpoints over that too.

 

[WolfLordAndy]

Always been a fan of games where it has both. Like the original Halo and ME1. In those you get regenerating shields/armour, but a standard health bar if those get taken out, this can be refilled with medpacks or finishing a level, but you have your shields to regen to stop it being quite so imminent.

Games like COD and BC2 annoy me with regen health as it just doesnt fit the setting, and makes it too "lets all just run in and get shot to pieces then hide for 5 seconds before running at them again."

It especially feels redundent in BC2 as you have medics with medpacks.