FPS: The cover system

[Pared]

What game was the first to introduce this? Was it Rainbow Six?

IMO, it's one of the biggest advancements in FPS that should be in every game from here on out.

[TCrouch]

Re: FPS: The cover system

As far as I know, it was Gears of War for "mainstream" titles. R6V has it a month or so after, whenever it released. But I want to say one of those weird PS2 games that were part stealth, part FPS had it. To my knowledge, though, Gears of War was the first "full" FPS that used it as part of its core gameplay. R6V used it smarter, though

[Pared]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Oddly enough, I just realized the irony of my title.

Ok, maybe not FPS... but 3rd person shooters.

Was GoW really the first? I know MGS had a cover system back on PS1... but I had thought it was in the original R6?

[TCrouch]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Again, it depends on how you classify it. I would barely call Metal Gear a "shooter". I know that one of those whacky PS2 games where you were part hacker, part spy, etc...had a cover system of some kind, but you spent the majority of the game sneaking around.

You mentioned FPS in the title, so I assumed you meant full-fledged shooter game and not a hybrid. I don't know about the "first ever, any genre" to do it, but I know Gears was the first "purebred" shooter that I can recall that used it. None of the Rainbow Sixes used it until Vegas. I was playing Rainbow Six on the PC when it was first released and I never had an active cover system like that to use. You'd have to use 3rd person camera and pan it around a corner, etc.

[Beantown]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Didn't Killzone has a cover system on the PS2?

[Pared]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Alright, maybe that's what I did. I've been playing R6 for years so the memory comes and goes.

I know what game you're talking about now... Syphon Filter. But pure shooters... GoW was the first? Wow. Seems like it has been around for a while...

[SqueakyD]

Re: FPS: The cover system

kill switch had a cover system but it was a third person game... You could also say Winback was one of the first games (N64-1999) to have the hide and shoot feature as well.

Can we count Time Crisis as a FPS? haha

[Cebby]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Was GoW really the first? I know MGS had a cover system back on PS1... but I had thought it was in the original R6?

You couldn't shoot out of MGS' cover.

I'm not entirely sure I like the whole cover system. Sometimes it's great, but on some levels, it makes games turn into slow "pop and hide" battles that become easy and boring. My other complaint is when angles change, sometimes you'll get killed by someone standing right in front of you that you can't see.

While it's nice to see the shooting systems deepening, I wish games that kind of just throw in a cover system would address these.

[bkfount]

Re: FPS: The cover system

kill switch had a cover system but it was a third person game...

yeah, and all that game has was a cover system. It was the main selling point of the game, which didn't take it far.

[Pared]

Re: FPS: The cover system

You couldn't shoot out of MGS' cover.

I'm not entirely sure I like the whole cover system. Sometimes it's great, but on some levels, it makes games turn into slow "pop and hide" battles that become easy and boring. My other complaint is when angles change, sometimes you'll get killed by someone standing right in front of you that you can't see.

While it's nice to see the shooting systems deepening, I wish games that kind of just throw in a cover system would address these.

Maybe I'm thinking of MGS2?

Think about it though... if you were taking cover in real life you'd be surprised by someone around a corner as well... it's a good take.

[SqueakyD]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Maybe I'm thinking of MGS2?

Think about it though... if you were taking cover in real life you'd be surprised by someone around a corner as well... it's a good take.

Yup... I always enjoyed the ol' N64 Goldeneye lean and shoot... does anyone know if that was the first game to do the lean? Or did Rainbow Six have it?

[Cebby]

Re: FPS: The cover system

Think about it though... if you were taking cover in real life you'd be surprised by someone around a corner as well... it's a good take.

That's not what I'm talking about. It's hard to explain, but I'll attempt a diagram:

|______
you


bad guy

Where your player hugs the wall, but isn't actually aiming around the corner, but is just chilling. Then, after the camera has shifted to the corner view, a bad guy is standing right in front of you shooting right at you. Then you have to press a button or two to release from the wall, then go through an awkward camera switch to aim at said bad guy, and by that time, you're typically dead. Happens a lot in GTA4.

[Blzer]

Re: FPS: The cover system

GTA IV's cover controls are very sluggish though. It's probably not a very good basis for a cover system.

[Pared]

Re: FPS: The cover system

lol I still don't understand what you mean TS.

[sportsdude]

Re: FPS: The cover system

kill switch had a cover system but it was a third person game... You could also say Winback was one of the first games (N64-1999) to have the hide and shoot feature as well.

Can we count Time Crisis as a FPS? haha

oh man Winback was such an underrated game and though it was a third person game, it was a shooter. I would say that was the first version of a cover system as we know it today.