"YOU CAN STEER THE TORPEDO?" moments

[Treblaine]

I played through most of Enter The Matrix before I figured out what the Focus ability was for. That's like playing through Spider-Man 2 without web-swinging.

Hmm, I am coming from the opposite direction, I played through Max Payne 3 and actively decided not to use slow-mo any more.

Okay, I was playing it on PC and the mouse aim's advantages may have unbalanced the gameplay, but I found the inconsistency from the slow-mo to be throwing me off most of the time. I would instead just shoot them in the head. I was only put off by the shoot dodging, especially the lack of moveability when landed on the ground.

 

[FancyNick]

Lol jontron <3

YOU CAN SHOOT UP? in Cave Story + I felt like a total idiot ><

OH OH epic story. Went to play Fallout 1 my ex and his best mate where like 'It's a bit pants you can't run' and that's when I found it right there in the settings. They had been doing it by clicking on people and things for like the entire game. xD

Wait... Seriously..? All that time in cave story.. I feel bad now.

 

[MetalMagpie]

YOU CAN PUSH THE LITTLE HOOD BIT UP OFF THE CLI

*ahem*

Uh...is it weird that this is the only thing I don't get?

Add a 'T' to the end. It's not a video game thing.

 

[Quazimofo]

You can hold down the action button in Fallout 3 to continually drink from a receptacle, instead of having to press the button over and over.
My mind was blown when I found out on the forums a few months ago.

..... you can what now?

WHY HAS NOBODY TOLD ME THIS!!!?!?!?!?!

 

[Johnnydillinger]

I must be the only person on Earth who could finish Jade Empire without realizing that there was a "slow time" ability. AND a ground attack move. Imagine my face on the new game plus, at the beginning, when I kind of accidentally discovered those things. Apparently, I should get back to reading the manual first and play the game after that from now on.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

YOU CAN SMASH IN MARIO SMASH BROS.

Yes. I am that stupid.
And i always thought HOW the fuck did my friends manage to get opponents so easily out of the ring.

derpderp im dumb

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

Other than that, I played Star Wars: Battlefront II in first-person mode for a long time before I realized I could change it to third-person. Then I realized I hated playing the game in first-person, so I never changed it again.

YOU CAN PLAY THAT GAME IN FIRST PERSON!? 0.0 WHAT!? It doesn't sound as much fun but I NEVER knew that!

Hahaha, not nearly as fun. I think my younger brother tooled around with the settings for the PC version when we first got it, which is why it was set that way. Learning that I could make it third person changed my opinion of the game immensely.

 

[Hylke Langhout]

The first time I played Pokémon (Sapphire if you care) I didn't know you could change the order of Pokémon outside of the box system. Because of this I had a stupidly over-leveled Mudkip and all of my other Pokémon were really weak by the time I got to the first gym. I thought you had to keep switching in battle to give the other Pokémon EXP. Blew my mind when I found out.

 

[Ironman126]

Mass Effect, I beat the game at least once before I found out how to fire the Mako's canon.

Like this, but I never figured out how to fire the co-axial machinegun. You can rebind the cannon's key/mouse button, but not the one for the co-ax machinegun. First time around, I immediately rebound the cannon to the machinegun's mouse button. >_<

Of course, once I figured out it did, in fact, have a machinegun, the Codex description made a hell of a lot more sense.

 

[MPerce]

Half Life: "YOU CAN CROUCH JUMP?"

Not a major ability, but it's required to get through certain parts of the game. I spent an hour roaming the halls of Black Mesa for a secret vent or tunnel or something when all I had to do was crouch jump over a box.

And then Civilization 2: "YOUR UNITS CAN MOVE DIAGONALLY?"

Once I realized this, I discovered that my little island I had set up shop on was actually a massive continent. Whoops.

 

[4173]

The only one that really springs to mind is the holding down the button to drink in Fallout 3/NV. I know there have been others, but somehow that innocuous interaction is the most memorable.

 

[dickywebster]

My biggest one was Dragon quest IX, I walked straight past the party recruit person.
Only found out where to get party members after struggling with a boss, not the first boss after the city you can recruit from, but a couple down the line.
I had assumed as they hadn't made it so you can't miss it, that I hadn't found the right place yet, but oooooh no.

 

[Amaury_games]

"I CAN RUN?" - Resident Evil 4... after 4 deaths by getting surrounded by zombies while swearing at Leon because he was such an idiot for now using his freaking legs when in danger of being stabbed or eaten to death ¬¬.

 

[Garland]

Diablo II: "YOU CAN PRESS ALT TO MAKE SURE DROPS DON'T BLEND INTO THE BACKGROUND?"

A friend mentioned this revelation in passing and I started clearing areas and quests roughly 20% faster.

 

[Plucky]

What? you can control the Magic Missile in Terraria by holding your mouse?

Though if you shoot it multiple times, you can only control the most recent Missile.

 

[Trooper924]

I played all the way through Fallout 3 and and halfway through New Vegas before I figured out I could pick up and move objects around by clicking the analog stick.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

the stasis function in Dead Space, when I used on an enemy again.

"Oh right, I have that too."

 

[recruit00]

I CAN GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK?!

Ok no I kid.

I CAN USE THE WAVE BEAM TO KNOCK CLOAKED SPACE PIRATES OUT OF STEALTH?!

When I first figured this out in Metroid Prime it kind of blew my mind. I'm sure that was explained somewhere in the game but hey I was like 13, I didn't read the instruction manuals at that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3pfPaoHteY

OT: The OP spin jump in Super Mario World. If I didn't watch Proton Jon and AzureBlade I would have never learned that. It makes the game so much easier.

 

[Luca72]

This whole thread could be about Deus Ex with every new find on subsequent playthroughs.

My first was "YOU CAN KILL

Spoiler

ANNA NAVARRE IN THE AIRPLANE?!

"

Oh my God, this. And I love that the game even acknowledges it, when you talk to Alex and Gunther.

 

[infohippie]

I reached the third act of Dead Island before I discovered you can stomp on the heads of downed zombies.