Poll: Why is melee over powered?

[Ammutseba]

"Why is melee over powered?"

Possible answer: "knifing FTW" and "Stabby time"

Let's see... How can I ridicule my own poll....

 

[Trivun]

Cod has the knife which can apparently kill you as you are unloading a machine gun into the target that is meleeing. Halo has this exact problem. (Ive just rented halo reach for the first time) Im unloading a gun into somebody and get insta killed with a pummel.

These games melee just make no sense especially the ballistic knife.

melee makes more sense in

Bioshock 2: it takes 3 hits except with certain tonics

TF2: depending on whether their is a critical but dont get me started on face stabs though.

I don't think it is overpowered, at least in Halo. It really does depend on the game. In Halo, for example, the only ones you can instakill with a melee attack are Grunts and Jackals and Drones - the weaker enemies. And with those it's easy to imagine, you're actually bashing the enemy's head in with a super-powered strike with a heavy weapon - remember, SPARTANs are a lot stronger than regular Marines and ODSTs. Plus, with Grunts, just imagine you're crushing their methane tanks, which would kill them anyway. With more powerful enemies it takes a few hits and they're fighting back, so definitely not overpowered...

 

[Treblaine]

I always liked the way Call of Duty (1 & 2) did it. Actual damage that is different for every weapon. Snipers and rifles used to have the most meelee damage. One hit on the chest / head was enough and their meelee range was fantastic. It fit in amazingly with the rest of the gameplay, movement speeds and weapon fire ranges.

But no, instantkilling (which is today's standard pretty much, thanks to console games) IS overpowered.

What if it was like the taunt-kill of TF2's sniper.

So it stabs very quickly where it instantly paralyses the enemy who doesn't actually die till the knife is twisted and then pulled out. Because a straight "stab in and out" knife wound can't possibly be deadlier than being shot twice in the chest with an assault rifle, but if the blade was twisted to literally disembowel the enemy that could surely kill with one "hit".

So, the balancing here is that in a pinch you can deliver a quick and effective attack but you cannot be too aggressive with it as you are left vulnerable for a couple seconds so no more of running into a room and knifing to death three people who are armed with fully automatic weapons:

 

[SextusMaximus]

And the winner for worst poll in an Escapist thread goes to...

OT: It's overpowered in CoD because it's a flawed gamed. Don't get me wrong, knifes do serious damage, but when you can pounce 8 yards in front of you to kill someone it gets realistic.

However some games balance the issue properly (IE Deus Ex: HR) where you can kill someone at a very close range, but you can only do that to so many people in a certain time before your energy runs out.

EDIT: Oh, and TF2 does it well as well, having to stab someone so many times before their health is whittled down to zero.

 

[Thrillho]

Because for some inexplicable reason, people want games set in the real world. In the real world, it doesn't matter what the animal is, you stick a knife in it's throat and it's dead.

 

[Kekkles]

Game balance is a factor but it definitely kills realism for me... Thus I cannot stand the multiplayer on these games. But to his their own.

 

[Vykrel]

it is overpowered because it is usually more difficult to do.

 

[Spambot 3000]

Disregard one vote from the 'it's overpowered' option.

 

[sephiroth1991]

Its overpowered when you throw in other factors that turn it from a backup weapon into a main weapon. In most other games its a last resort but in COD its turned into a main weapon.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

If they let you come so close you can slice their throats and cut their hearts out, they deserve it.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Game Balance.

If somebody can get up close to you and not get shot to death, he needs to be able to kill you quickly to make the move worth doing. Game Balance, it rules all.

So the massive lunge distance and short cooldown(particularly CoD for these 2) and massive auto correction for the lunge(especially Battlefield BC2) doesn't ruin balance? It really does. In fairness to BC2 though the maps are so big melee isn't a massive problem and if someone does get that close you know it isn't a big deal.

In games like CoD however, and to a lesser extent Halo(Halo is way more balanced though eg separate weapon, only insta kill from behind) where the maps are a lot more confined this is a problem. At least back in CoD 2 melee used to require a bit of skill. At the moment all you have to do is spas out and mash the melee button and you will probably get a kill even if you aren't aiming at the person this is quite unbalanced.

To go back to CoD2 a good system of melee you were bashing with the butt of your weapon instead of this massive knife lunge crap. Now while 1 rifle butt strike = kill may not be realistic it did lead to interesting duels and a style of play. Your weapon affected your melee range and your movement speed. Rifles were slowest with longest range and SMGs were quickest movement with short range. Pistols were a two hit kill unless you got a headshot. If there is an example of good game balance the CoD series current melee system is definitely not it and not be a long shot.

OT: Well after that mini wall I think it is clear that I think melee is overpowered in some games more so CoD than any other game I can think of or have played in recent memory.

 

[gellert1984]

Its overpowered when its an instant kill no matter what, if you sneak up on someone from behind who isnt moving or is moving slowly then it should be an instakill (think throat slitting or slipping the between between vertebrae in the neck and twisting the knife to seperate the spinal column). From the front if the targets not moving then it should be a 50/50 chance of instakill (throat slitting/eye stabbing but with a chance the targets defending him/herself). If the targets moving quickly then it should be a multistab event.

 

[A Username Not In Use]

It should be overpowered as it offers a nice risk reward. You have to get close to your target to get a one hit kill all the while having the risk of dying beforeyou get to them as well as running the risk that you can hit your melee button faster than they can. All the while their is the extra risk that you are surrounded by your targets team mates who have no problem shooting you. As for sneaking up on people and killing them it works well there as your target is so focused on what their shooting at that they ignore their radar so its punishment for not taking care of themselves all the while the person doing the sneaking could run the risk of doing the same thimg themselves.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Reach should take 2 hits to kill you. 1 to take down the shield, and another to kill you. You obviously had your shield down when you died.

And it's not overpowered. Not everything is overpowered just because it works against you. They can't kill you from the over side of the map with a knife. It would be overpowered if they did.

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

Game Balance.

If somebody can get up close to you and not get shot to death, he needs to be able to kill you quickly to make the move worth doing. Game Balance, it rules all.

/thread

Though, yes, it DOES feel dickish.

However, how much would you like to have most weapons as instakills if you can actually hit something?

 

[hooksashands]

Keep in mind you also have a knife/fist. Use them.

I will agree to a point that the 'lunge attacks' seen in shooters are a bit much. Taking Commando in MW2 basically enables you to not so much 'rush' as 'teleport' to your stabbing target, and this even works when you are dual-wielding guns (presumably you have a third arm that holds the blade).

There really isn't a way to counter someone sneaking up on you and twisting your nads, but if you find your peaches being stolen alot I suggest a shotgun or some like-minded weapon. Stop them before they can close the distance.

 

[w9496]

I guess its better than resident evil, in which the base knife is essentially useless.

Not really. RE4's knife was one of the most useful weapons especially on professional mode. Code veronica had a pretty good knife as well.

I think he's talking about the good Resident Evil's.

Har har, implying that RE4 is a bad game. Good one.

I geuss I was spoiled by the original 3, and thought RE4 was average. That game was NOT Survival Horror.

 

[The Almighty Grigard]

To all the people bashing the TC and saying "well if they get close you deserve getting knifed" clearly have not played Modern Warfare 2. At least that game has a seriously overpowered knife.

The problem with MW2's melee system is really down to a combination of perks that breaks the game into small pieces and then grinds it into a fine dust. A set of easily obtainable perks lets you run around the map at ridiculous speeds while having unlimited energy for running. And then you got the Commando perk.

Commando lets you do a knife lunge which easily can let you travel 10ft and instakill someone, and you only need to aim it roughly at the intended target. Combine that with the natural lag time and lag correction and you have this fairly common scenario: You see some guy with a knife run around the corner 12 ft away from you. You shoot a stream of bullets, 5-8 shots depending on your guns ROF. He teleports through your bullets by pressing the knife button and kills you instantly. Seriously this happens on a regular basis.

Many MW2 maps have pretty tight quarters and hallways where you will always be in the range of a commando lunge. What makes this ridiculous if that if Player A and B are 10ft away from each other and player A shoots his gun while player B uses his commando knife at exactly the same time, B will always win because knife is instant kill while guns kill in 3 hits. This distance is also the most common in maps like Favela and the middle area of Scrapyard.

In short, FUCK COMMANDO.

 

[Alon Shechter]

Weapons are underpowered.
It makes sense that a stab in the chest kills you.
...I think...
brb soup.