10 Video Game Mechanics You Totally Ignored (But Shouldn't Have)
These video games told us exactly what to do. So, why didn't we listen?
More than ever, video games provide players with all sorts of gaming mechanics, including skill trees, elaborate inventories, crafting tools, and offensive abilities.
Although these mechanics are designed to help, the sheer abundance of rules and core systems to memorise and perfect can be time-consuming and overwhelming, which may lead to players neglecting several of them. Mechanics can be forgotten or overlooked if they're only explained once, especially if it's in the beginning. Other times, players rely on a more abrasive approach like brute force or button-mashing, oblivious that less dramatic manoeuvres are more useful.
Even if these features make gameplay smoother, the lack of reinforcement or emphasis can lead players to progress without them. Sometimes, the mechanic isn't explained at all, despite the fact it could make the gameplay significantly easier.
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of video game mechanics that don't get the attention they deserve.
10. Magazine Distraction - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
One of the most aggravating aspects of any shooter is running out of ammo. Even the best players can be caught off-guard when their clip is empty since they need a moment to reload, giving the enemy time to take them out.
But in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, there's a subtle mechanic that turns this massive inconvenience into a blessing. Rather than dumping empty magazines on the ground, you can hurl them in the direction of your enemies. While they're distracted, you have the opportunity to blast them to hell.
Alternatively, you can sneak around the distracted guards on patrol without alerting everyone in the whole area, saving ammo in the long run. You can also chuck the magazine directly at an enemy, stunning them or knocking them out. Snake has an endless supply of empty magazines (somehow), so there's no reason to charge in guns blazing.
Although Hideo Kojima's spy franchise is renowned for its vast weapons and elaborate tactics to eliminate enemies (such as MGS3's The End), The Phantom Pain proves the simplest approach can be just as effective, if not more so.