Feature: Taking Cover - a look at this gen's cover system mechanics
Posted by Will Ooi at 6/6/2008 4:34 AM and is filed under Rainbow Six Vegas,Gears of War,Mass Effect,RB6V,Feature,cover system,GTA IV,RB6V2,Cover,gtaiv 
Every game that comes out nowadays with a cover system is always, inevitably, compared to Gears of War. You hear it everywhere: previews and reviews of Mass Effect, Rainbow Six Vegas, even GTA IV, where the 'new' cover system is described, often incorrectly, as being 'just like Gears'. But nothing could be just like Gears, the game that, although it didn't invent it, certainly popularised the cover system's (over?)usage this generation.
Here's a closer look at the cover system featured in these games and, what the hell, mini reviews of each.
"I know, there's something about 'CliffyB that I don't like either"
Gears of War:
Pressing A to slam your back against walls and conveniently-placed cement blocks functioned like a dream, and, considering how holding down the same button allowed you to run, performing your run-gun-and-cover tactics worked well. I don't get the criticism about the run and cover buttons being mapped to the same key though: I mean, just let it go and press it again! Not hard! Story, huh? More just an excuse for action set pieces, really. Nobody's mansion is that bloody big and filled with cover and flanking spots, surely.
Safe Cover:
Extremely easy to use, and the blind-fire and popping-out-to-shoot systems worked great in the all out carnage environment that most of us have come to love.
Bad Cover:
Blind-firing is maybe a bit too accurate and throwing grenades is a bit dodgy when you want to throw them far and can't see where they'll land. Jumping is initially tricky too as I spent a good five minutes one my first playthrough on the tutorial level just figuring out where to bloody go after you pick up those grenades. Oh wait, there is no jump is there? Well even if it is aerially-challenged, Marcus and Gears paved the way for the cover system that's now used in practically every third-person (and even first-person) shooter that came after it.
[Insert Name] Shepard, male version: "Why do all those NPCs perform that 'fist slapping on open palm' gesture?"
Mass Effect:
Pressing up on the left stick when close to a wall just doesn't cut it, to be frank. The battle system often turns psychotic and the fact that a hundred things are going on at the same time and you can get killed quicker than it takes to type a forlorn 'WTF?' doesn't help either. While you're busy frantically getting used to pressing LB or RB to respectively change weapons or selecting skills, the action is made more tolerable through the sheer quality of the story and fictional universe and, to be fair, once you actually use those skills like you're supposed to it does help things make more sense.
Safe Cover:
The cover system is pretty shoddy but made up for by a great overall story. Lucky, because If this were any other game the mechanic would be potentially destructive. Like Kane & Lynch, although I don't think anyone got sacked over reviews for ME.
Bad Cover:
Just don't use it, get Liara to heal everyone and you'll be right.
"I found Joanna Torres' voice really annoying, too"
Rainbow Six Vegas 1 & 2:
A truly excellent cover system where the L2/LT button takes on great significance. Seeing your first-person controlled character switch to the third-person perspective is a great touch, especially in the middle of, say, a hefty 'light' machine gun reload animation. Strict blind-fire adds much to the tension and makes you play with considerably more skill than your typical shooter, and the story, whilst hardly engrossing, serves its purpose in a 'oh hostages? Go silent' kinda way.
Safe Cover:
Easy to use and as realistic as a shooter can get, R6V2 also introduced COD4-style sprinting and 'temporary' cover that you can shoot through, with the latter hence making you think twice before hiding behind that sheet of balsa wood. Playing R6V even makes going back to the mighty COD4 seem a bit of a step down when you find yourself constantly strafing from side to side to avoid getting hit.
Bad Cover:
Blind-firing is arguably not accurate enough: you tend to find this out the hard way when you're pinned down and enemies/other players charge towards you and you're down to your last two shells of that damned SPAS 12 and it's taking too long to reload and ARGHHHH!! etc, but my annoyances are more with the completely unfair enemy spawn points when doing Terrorist Hunt...think you're safe? You're not. Snaked. From behind.
"No I can't hang out with you, cousin, I'm stuck behind this wall"
GTA IV:
Possibly the most hyped game ever, we were all looking forward to the cover system in a GTA environment. But perfect scores regardless, it fails: the aiming controls lock something severe when you take cover, rendering you unable to focus your crosshairs for the first few seconds. And God forbid if an enemy decides to flank you and you have to perform complex tasks like 'get out of cover', which leads swiftly to receiving a 'replay mission?' text on your phone. The Euphoria system introduced great (but by no means perfect) character animations, but did Niko really have to be so heavy? Try running in a small circle...just try it.
Safe Cover:
Well you could see what Rockstar were trying to do, but the end product isn't quite there. I still love the game all the same though, and doing those knee sliding moves when running to cover looks great...until you're stuck on the wrong side of a wall, then it takes too long to even turn around, and then you're dead (and then some kid starts laughing over Xbox Live, and then you decide to spend the rest of the night HUNTING HIM DOWN by hanging around the small respawn radius with an SMG). Then that kid submits a bad player review, saying you were unsporting, so you...oh wait, this should still be in those brackets, eh?
Bad Cover:
Flawed to the point of broken. Better than nothing maybe, but those are the words of the weak. It should have been tWEAKed at very least. Blind-firing is way too accurate too so it's tempting to just stick with that until everyone is eventually dead. Or are they? Some guys seem to get up after a while, even though I'm CERTAIN they copped one in the head.
Here's a closer look at the cover system featured in these games and, what the hell, mini reviews of each.
"I know, there's something about 'CliffyB that I don't like either"
Pressing A to slam your back against walls and conveniently-placed cement blocks functioned like a dream, and, considering how holding down the same button allowed you to run, performing your run-gun-and-cover tactics worked well. I don't get the criticism about the run and cover buttons being mapped to the same key though: I mean, just let it go and press it again! Not hard! Story, huh? More just an excuse for action set pieces, really. Nobody's mansion is that bloody big and filled with cover and flanking spots, surely.
Safe Cover:
Extremely easy to use, and the blind-fire and popping-out-to-shoot systems worked great in the all out carnage environment that most of us have come to love.
Bad Cover:
Blind-firing is maybe a bit too accurate and throwing grenades is a bit dodgy when you want to throw them far and can't see where they'll land. Jumping is initially tricky too as I spent a good five minutes one my first playthrough on the tutorial level just figuring out where to bloody go after you pick up those grenades. Oh wait, there is no jump is there? Well even if it is aerially-challenged, Marcus and Gears paved the way for the cover system that's now used in practically every third-person (and even first-person) shooter that came after it.
[Insert Name] Shepard, male version: "Why do all those NPCs perform that 'fist slapping on open palm' gesture?"
Pressing up on the left stick when close to a wall just doesn't cut it, to be frank. The battle system often turns psychotic and the fact that a hundred things are going on at the same time and you can get killed quicker than it takes to type a forlorn 'WTF?' doesn't help either. While you're busy frantically getting used to pressing LB or RB to respectively change weapons or selecting skills, the action is made more tolerable through the sheer quality of the story and fictional universe and, to be fair, once you actually use those skills like you're supposed to it does help things make more sense.
Safe Cover:
The cover system is pretty shoddy but made up for by a great overall story. Lucky, because If this were any other game the mechanic would be potentially destructive. Like Kane & Lynch, although I don't think anyone got sacked over reviews for ME.
Bad Cover:
Just don't use it, get Liara to heal everyone and you'll be right.
"I found Joanna Torres' voice really annoying, too"
A truly excellent cover system where the L2/LT button takes on great significance. Seeing your first-person controlled character switch to the third-person perspective is a great touch, especially in the middle of, say, a hefty 'light' machine gun reload animation. Strict blind-fire adds much to the tension and makes you play with considerably more skill than your typical shooter, and the story, whilst hardly engrossing, serves its purpose in a 'oh hostages? Go silent' kinda way.
Safe Cover:
Easy to use and as realistic as a shooter can get, R6V2 also introduced COD4-style sprinting and 'temporary' cover that you can shoot through, with the latter hence making you think twice before hiding behind that sheet of balsa wood. Playing R6V even makes going back to the mighty COD4 seem a bit of a step down when you find yourself constantly strafing from side to side to avoid getting hit.
Bad Cover:
Blind-firing is arguably not accurate enough: you tend to find this out the hard way when you're pinned down and enemies/other players charge towards you and you're down to your last two shells of that damned SPAS 12 and it's taking too long to reload and ARGHHHH!! etc, but my annoyances are more with the completely unfair enemy spawn points when doing Terrorist Hunt...think you're safe? You're not. Snaked. From behind.
"No I can't hang out with you, cousin, I'm stuck behind this wall"
Possibly the most hyped game ever, we were all looking forward to the cover system in a GTA environment. But perfect scores regardless, it fails: the aiming controls lock something severe when you take cover, rendering you unable to focus your crosshairs for the first few seconds. And God forbid if an enemy decides to flank you and you have to perform complex tasks like 'get out of cover', which leads swiftly to receiving a 'replay mission?' text on your phone. The Euphoria system introduced great (but by no means perfect) character animations, but did Niko really have to be so heavy? Try running in a small circle...just try it.
Safe Cover:
Well you could see what Rockstar were trying to do, but the end product isn't quite there. I still love the game all the same though, and doing those knee sliding moves when running to cover looks great...until you're stuck on the wrong side of a wall, then it takes too long to even turn around, and then you're dead (and then some kid starts laughing over Xbox Live, and then you decide to spend the rest of the night HUNTING HIM DOWN by hanging around the small respawn radius with an SMG). Then that kid submits a bad player review, saying you were unsporting, so you...oh wait, this should still be in those brackets, eh?
Bad Cover:
Flawed to the point of broken. Better than nothing maybe, but those are the words of the weak. It should have been tWEAKed at very least. Blind-firing is way too accurate too so it's tempting to just stick with that until everyone is eventually dead. Or are they? Some guys seem to get up after a while, even though I'm CERTAIN they copped one in the head.
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