What is the best feature you have seen in a video game?

[Medimorpho]

Best feature, object, plot point, gameplay aspect, anything.

Mine is being able to pause in the middle of a cutscene, especially when paired with the option to skip said cutscene: Legacy of Kain: Defiance

 

[The Night Angel]

Well if we're talking things that have become commonplace by now, but were not in use before in games; then I'd go with tilting the analogue stick to walk, push it to run. I also like quick saving and quick loading.

 

[Singapore Sling]

I really loved the Skyrim's way of gaining xp and leveling up. It makes so much sense. I never know how I'll tailored my specializations/character/skill trees until I play for a bit (obvious, I know) so I usually play a new game for an hour and then restart a new character. I use the stealth and bow approach in Skyrim, but love the double weapons rogue in DA2. I thought the explorer/stealth-no heavy weapon was a good idea for Deus Ex HR... until I got to the fist boss fight.

 

[poundingmetal74]

Just off the top of my head, using the gyroscope to aim in Ocarina of Time 3D.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Reading people's minds in Destroy All Humans! and Destroy All Humans! 2.

Absolutely brilliant feature that has led to hours of fun.

 

[Eddie the head]

There is a gun in the last Ratchet and Clank that is pretty much a mutated frog that burps people to death. So yeah that. Ok I just like it when games have off the wall weapons.

 

[josemlopes]

Here goes some of my favourites

-Bots in MP
-No HUD option (the game needs to be able to tell the player all the important information somehow though, like in Dead Space)
-Flashlights (I like to play with lights)
-3D scopes
-That thing with Mumble that makes the voice of the player come out of the character
Dumb example but it works

Spoiler

I would really like to see that on consoles.

EDIT: Better example

Spoiler

 

[twistedmic]

Though I may be in the minority, I really like the iron sights aiming mechanic in shooters. It feels more awesome to blast away at enemies using iron sights than when I have the slight zoom in aiming.

And when it comes games with a sniping mechanic (or the ability to snipe)I like games that feature bullet drop and other realistic ballistics/physics

 

[Professor James]

A somewhat small but really great change in F:NV is the whole overhaul to special dialogue options. You're character actually says something different depending whether or not you pass the speech check. In fallout 3 speech just increases a percentage of it working and your character says the same thing regardless whether or not you pass the other skill dialogue checks or not. I wouldn't call it the best feature but this change was really amazing.

 

[him over there]

The sailing in Zelda wind waker, simply because I felt like an actual explorer.

 

[Zeema]

Saint's row 3 is FUN

and the best feature about that is the quick way of entering a Cars

 

[Innegativeion]

(A) Customizable character(s) in games that don't traditionally have such a feature; fighters, RTSes, platformers, non RPG action games, for example.

Provided the feature is implemented with quality, of course.

I absolutely love having the option to insert myself or a conceptualized character of my own design into the game world. Doesn't have to be the main protagonist, of course. Even Soul Calibur's side stories for custom characters was very enjoyable due to this feature.

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edit:

Writing the above, I realized there's one I enjoy even more: customizable stages/levels/challenges/whathaveyou. And by this I mean an in-depth level editor. Not just rearranging enemies and upgrades or whatever. Something like the Wc3 world editor but with a more accessible UI is ideal.

LittlebigPlanet(2) comes to mind as one of the better examples.

Though I loved SSB Brawl, my biggest disappointment with it stemmed from my desire for less constrained stage editor.

 

[Lazier Than Thou]

Do addons count? Because they better.

The equivalent exchange mod for Minecraft is the coolest, best idea ever. Everything has a value to it(called EMC) and it can be broken down into that numerical value. You can then take that value and put it into making other items. It means that you can take dirt and effectively create diamonds(or better, since there's much more important items than diamonds in the mod).

Everything becomes helpful and valuable. Certain items that had no value now have great value. Instead of having to search high and low for rare items and blocks, now you just need to find one and you can effectively replicate it if you have enough EMC.

If this idea was taken and applied to an RPG like Disgaea or the tactics games from PS1 era my head would explode with pleasure.

But it's not even just contained to just "buying" items. It's also used in some of the mods new items. For example; there's an item breaks everything in a 3x3 area in front of you. It costs something like 16EMC for every block it breaks down and since the usual item building blocks(dirt/cobblestone/stone) are only worth 1 EMC each, it's pretty much a waste unless you're mining for diamonds and such.

It's absolutely fantastic and I think an RPG maker should blatantly rip off the idea and put it in their game. Because it's awesome.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

Regenerating health, no wait modern cover mechanics, no for sure it's quick time events. Limited weapon capacity is also so great though, but let's not forget binary Satan or Jesus morality systems. Infinite respawing enemies is also pretty high on the list. I just remembered on rails turret sections and forced driving sections, those are the best by far. Wait no for real this time, Nathan Drake's one liners are the greatest thing in gaming.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

custom character and multi choice decisions

 

[King of Asgaard]

How about an ending with actual closure? (topical joke, Disclaimer: I have not played ME3 nor any of the others due to a lack of interest)
But anyway... The multiplayer aspect of Demon's/Dark Souls is pretty unique and leads to some really epic online moments, such as when you and two other mates are fighting a particularly large demon by luring it and keeping it in one position while another guy jumps on its head and stabs it in the face.
Or your team being proficient in all types of magic (one guy for each type) and the boss of the moment being hit simultaneously by the most powerful Miracle (probably Sunlight Spear), Sorcery (Crystal Soul Spear) and Pyromancy (Great Chaos Fireball).

 

[Heronblade]

The modular grappling hook in Just Cause 1+2, causing chaos with the thing can be quite fun. Too bad it was very close to being the game's only positive aspect.

Constructing makeshift augmentations for weaponry using various loot as found in Dead Island and a few other games.