10 Video Game Mechanics We Can't Believe Were Left To Die

2. 3D Brawlers With Environmental Interaction

Seen in: Urban Reign, The Bouncer, Jackie Chan's Stuntmaster, Jet Li's Rise To Honor

Whilst River City Girls, Mother Russia Bleeds and upcoming Streets of Rage 4 prove the brawler is going through something of a renaissance thanks to all-things 80s being "in", just what the hell happened to full-on environmental interaction, and 3D takes on the genre?

Maybe an entire generation was put off thanks to Square's The Bouncer being a weirdly slow, meandering mess that had a trailer full of lies on how it would play, but things like Namco's Urban Reign were incredibly fun.

Speaking of Namco, the Tekken Force mode was an early indication that they already had the technology to make more freeform brawling damn fun. Throwing a random soldier into a group of his friends as Heihachi Mishima is still one of my fondest Tekken 3 memories, and I wish the mode would make a comeback in itself.

Overall though - and maybe it's just me - but how much fun was clearing house in 3D brawlers?!

Coupled with splintering environments and the ability to take on a room of goons like your favourite martial arts master of choice, the game version of this would always be easy money.