10 Hated Video Game Mechanics The World Was Wrong About

Nowadays, almost every third person action shooter has a cover mechanic. The cynical of you can sneeringly blame Gears of War for that, but the more prudent of you would be thanking it.

For you see, every action game and his dog prior to the runaway success of GoW had you stand there and trade bullets with your foes, or ungracefully hide behind a wall. First person games did this too, and there was nothing more depressing than standing facing a wall to get your breath back.

So when Gears did hit with its cover mechanic (which Cliffy B says was inspired by lesser known hit Kill.Switch on the PS2), it was well received. It brought new life to firefights, adding an element of risk/reward to charging into the fray. Sometimes you needed to get stuck in, charging ahead.

Or, if you're playing tactfully, be a decoy for a friend to sneak around and flank them.

We've seen it in everything since from Army of Two, Deus Ex, even the terrible Hunted: Demon's Forge. Whilst to some it may be an overused mechanic now, it was still a fresh choice then.