Take Cover: Difference between revisions

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For a long time, video game protagonists either relied on dodging if they were [[One-Hit-Point Wonder|One Hit Point Wonders]], or simply soaked up the damage if they were [[Made of Iron]]. Taking cover was certainly possible, but it simply consisted of stepping behind walls.

 

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* ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' games have had peeking around corners since the first game (like in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''), but ''Vegas'' added the "jump to third person" type, where the player can shoot around the corner (like in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'') and blind fire (like in ''Kill Switch''). ''Vegas 2'' also had a cover penetration system like ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' and ''World at War'', along with shields that could be used to protect yourself while on the move, at the cost of taking one of your weapon slots.

* The main concept behind ''Full Spectrum Warrior'' is to advance your squads from cover to cover, making them (and enemies) impervious to bullets from certain angles. Since this is a tactical game and not a shooter, your soldiers will complain loudly if they're dangerously exposed, and there's a key that'll--[[Artificial Stupidity|in theory]]—have them scramble to the nearest cover quickly.

* ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R. 3]]'' uses a system similar to the one from ''Crysis'', although the player does press a button to stick to cover and can emerge to fire, which is referred to as "active cover".

 

* ''[[wikipedia:Kill Switch (video game)|Kill.Switch]]'' (2003) by [[Namco]] can be credited for being [[Trope Codifier]] and [[Trope Namer]] of the whole "Third-Person Shooter Cover System"™ gameplay mechanic. However, despite being a good game and a multi-platform release, it wasn't a massive blockbuster hit and only a modest number of people remember it as the pioneer of the third-person shooter cover system. Of course, one of those people was [[Gears of War|Cliffy B]]. And despite him giving the game credit at every opportunity, it's still obscure.

** Despite not being as well known, ''Kill.Switch'' inspired the cover mechanic in not only ''[[Gears of War]]'', but also other third-person shooters, like the 2006 shooters ''[[Ghost Recon|Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter]]'', ''[[Rogue Trooper]]'', and ''[[Rainbow Six]] Vegas'', as well as the later ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' and ''[[Uncharted Drakes Fortune]]'' which were demonstrated months before the release of ''Gears Of War''.

* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' and its [[Batman: Arkham City|sequel]] use a limited cover system, but Batman doesn't shoot. Rather, he can throw batarangs (and a few other gadgets) and ambush patrolling goons from cover positions.

 

* Infantry in ''[[End War]]'' need cover or buildings to garrison to survive in combat. In fact, engineers are specifically stated to be good against all vehicles in the game, but ''only'' if they're in cover or a building while fighting vehicles.

* ''[[Company of Heroes]]'' has an extensive cover system for its infantry units. The hard counter is, as in real life, grenades, flamethrowers and mortars.

* ''[[Advanced Strategic Command]]'' gives some terrains and terrain objects defensive value. Including those you can build, such as ditches.

 

* Pretty much every modern wargame and pen & paper RPG (even D&D, starting with AD&D2) has rules for making use of cover. The difference is in how hard cover vs. concealment is handled.

 

* The ''[[Time Crisis]]'' [[Light Gun Game]]s use a cover mechanic, operated by a foot pedal on the arcade machines. Ducking into cover is also the reload method. The game's cover mechanic predates all of the shooters mentioned above, though its creator [[Namco]] was later responsible for ''Kill.Switch''.

** ''[[Razing Storm]]'', also by Namco, uses a similar idea, except that you have a huge [[Made of Indestructium]] shield which you hide behind.

* In ''[[World of Tanks]]'', buildings and other terrain features can be used to block enemy fire, though artillery can bypass some of it from the right angle. Some buildings can also be destroyed by shooting or running over them.

 

* The trailers in ''[[Serious Sam]] 3: BFE'' make fun of taking cover mechanic. The game's slogan is also "No cover, all man!"

** [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]] too. "Cover is for the weak!" (This is probably also a sly reference to the fact that, in the tabletop game, Space Marines rarely gain any advantage for being in cover. The save it provides is worse than their armor save, and you can only use one save against any attack.)