30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Jin.]

Day 8

 

Was there ever any doubt? I find ice powers to just plainly be awesome. Characters with this power usually are one of my favored archetypes and the ways in which ice can be used are pretty damn varied. A close contender is time control and telekinesis, tho'. I AIN'T CALLED THE ICE PRINCE FOR MY FIRE POWERS Y'KNOW

[jords]

Day 8: 

 

Star power!

Shit goes down once you hold the power to kill anything

 Every Mario game cannot be complete without this power. It can't. It'd be weird if it didn't have one. lol. It's the one power up were there are no risk and you can basically you can do whatever you want with out the worry of dying (expect falling into pits or getting squished.) and just run through the level and rack up points. It's also one of those power ups to help you through a tough area or to destroy all the enemies quick and wasting no time at all.

 

And the music, Super catchy and it never gets old. So many remixes of this theme that works so well, I can never get tired of it. There are some really good ones I like, Mario strikers charged. Pretty much all the Mario kart ones. 

 

There are even a video with all the starman theme from all the mario games up until 2014. Well Jan 9 2014. So basically 2013.

 

http://youtu.be/UQg0zRl6msU

[gato]

Day 8 Favorite Ability:

 

 

Last time I said Super Sonic (I sure posted a lot of Sonic back then!) so now lets go with a game I started playing just a few days ago.

 

 

Parrying (from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)

 

 

I'M FUCKING INVINCIBLEEEEEEE! Parrying is a simple yet very cool mechanic that allows you to block a hit from an enemy leaving them open for a counter-attack, nothing impressive per se but it's oh so satisfying when you pull it of in the right moments, this is especially true when you fight against bosses! (I love how Mistral's guard pretty much falls apart after a good parry) Nothing says you are an awesome ninja cyborg more like (mostly) shrugging off...

 

 

THIS!

 

 

... And then proceed to use it's own arm to destroy it in blade mode, which is another awesome skill...

 

... And then when you are able to trade hits with Armstrong in one of the most rocking battles I've ever played... But I think I should save that for another day.

 

 

 

 

Thinking about it, a lot of the things you can do in this game are awesome (but I'd guess that's pretty much a staple in the genre).

 

 

 

EDIT: I really wish I had a console to play Vanquish, that game looks so freaking fun to play. :<

[Spin Attaxx]

The Variable Weapons System in Mega Man.

 

Just the sheer concept - you kill a guy, and you take that guy's powers! How awesome is that? Imagine playing Mega Man for the first time, then learning, "Holy shit is Mega Man throwing bombs like Bomb Man did? I-is that Cut Man's power?! DUDE, I HAVE FIRE MAN'S POWER NOW, GODDAMN I LOVE THIS GAME".

[ElectricAngel]

Day 8: Favorite Ability

 

It's your time to shine, X.

 

The dash upgrade for X in Mega Man X.

 

This ability. This ability right here is probably my favourite in any video game ever. Why? It's satisfying as fuck to use. When you first get this upgrade in Chill Penguin's stage, you can't help but use it constantly. Or, at least I do. Though this ability is later in X's default ability set in later games in the series, it still has the same effect. 

 

I love dashing in the X games. You get a nice sense of speed and you can use it to make big jumps that can sometimes be crucial to your survival. Not to mention you're able to use a jump dash from a wall to get to hard to reach areas. Another thing I love doing is charging up the X buster, then releasing it as I dash and watch my enemies explode away. It's just so damn satisfying. Also, the X series would probably feel really sluggish without this. I love how smooth and agile this ability is.

[azoo]

          Day 8: Favorite Ability

                     (oh god he's gonna say it)

 

 

 

 

I don't think you understand... the importance.. of this move. 

 

There's a certain satisfaction you get from using this. It's a tool that turns a faster-than-average platformer into a thrill ride. It requires skillful usage, and gives an incredible payoff. It requires a little bit of strategic planning and a lot of twitch reaction to handle, and it's movements.. are sublime.

 

When used correctly, you maintain your flow across some dangerous platforms, carve through some enemies, and then.. you're losing a little speed as you climb up the hill. But will you make it up? He's getting there, getting there, aaaaaand.. you're at the top. You're about to hit this massive downward incline. Get ready.

 

Rolling is probably the most satisfying move in any game ever and it's a lot of the reason why I loved the original Sonic gameplay so much. I've been waiting for this move to make it's grand return someday, and although it doesn't seem like it will, I'll always wish it. It's just got this way of controlling that doesn't feel like it could ever get old. And the reason why of course is because it's all in the physics. It feels natural, and everything about it is just so fun. There's nothing better than it, especially in a Sonic game. Nothing.

[Solkia]

I, WHO STAND IN THE FULL LIGHT OF THE HEAVENS COMMAND THEE!

 

TO OPEN THE GATES OF HELL!

 

COME FORTH DIVINE LIGHTNING!

 

THIS ENDS NOW!

 

 

INDIGNATION!!!

[Mr Loopone]

Day 8 - Favourite Ability

 

This is hard since many abilities appear in many games (jumping, running, climbing, wall jumping, spin dashing, rolling, uppercut, punching, blocking, invincibility). So it is a choice between wall running from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Axel's Grand Upper from Streets of Rage 2/3 or the takedowns in the Burnout/Criterion Need for Speed games.

 

 

(As Eggman once said "The More, The Merrier")

 

Takedown from Burnout 3/Legends/Revenge/Paradise, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012, not as noticable though). Driver: San Francisco also has a variation on a "Take Down" however it involves ramming into a car holding and letting go of the L1 button (I think it was that button). This ability happens when your car has some boost and you want to get ahead, you hit the other cars while your car is boosting whether it is the bumper or the side. If the car hits the wall or another car/vehicle, then it is classed as a takedown. (if it hits your car however it is classed as a crash or Takedown Avenged) Takedowns are also a way of getting more boost or a boost multiplier on some games. While there were games where you have a Destruction Derby/Demolition Derby mode, what makes it different is that there is a smaller life bar and that you are back on the road if a takedown happens unlike DD where as soon as the life bar goes, that's it. Well unless you smash your car too much.

 

Now Burnout 3 wasn't the first game to have a takedown system, as far as my limited research goes Hyper Crash by Konami for the arcades was the first to have takedowns however it was forgotten at the time and emulation on the controls doesn't seem to be very good. Then Chase HQ and Special Criminal Investigation also have takedowns however they are limited to one car per stage and takes a few hits to be of effect, Burnout Legends references this under the Pursuit mode.

 

What makes this my favourite ability is due to that it makes the games fun. Sometimes you get to be last place but no problem since a takedown or two makes things better and feels like revenge on the computer/other person who smashed your car. There are modes connected to this ability such as Road Rages where the goal is to get as many takedowns as possible within a time limit or when you get completed crashed. I might like the crashes but the takedowns are the reason why I plays these games since Road Rages can get very addictive. This ability is also why the Burnout series are some of my favourite games and really like Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

[TearForFear]

 

Cartwheel jump (Donkey Kong Country series)

 

Cartwheel jumps allow the player to roll over a bottomless pit like he's walking on air. Useful to grab otherwise unreachable items and avoid death, and also to make higher jumps when the player does this on solid ground.

 

Oh, and can kill most of the enemies.

 

It's a basic manouver, but personally, anytime I manage to do it, I feel like a pro gamer

[Sonictrainer]

 

Day 8 - Favorite Ability

 

 

Infamous: Second Son

 

 

Ok, Video has to be one of the sweetest Conduit abilities in the series.

 

It's a gamer based ability that allows the User to:

-become invisible

-create/manifest things from videogames such as swords for weapons, npcs as helpers, and body enhancements such as wings to help you fly

-you can also create pocket dimensions that look like virtual reality but actually is real

 

Need to recharge? No problem. All you need is the nearest TV and you're good.

[Dr. Homem]

Favourite ability:

Explosive Gel - Batman: Arkham Asylum/City/Origins

 

 

Exploding a wall is my favourite takedown for the Predator challenges in this game. In truth, a lot of takedowns from these games could be counted here. The hanging ledge takedown where you take an enemy out by jumping down on them. The inverted takedown where you hang them in a gargoyle. The remote claw in Origins that can be used to throw them to another enemy or to a level hazard.

 

But none are quite as satisfying as blowing up a wall down a group of thugs. One of my favourite parts of the series is in one of Asylum challenge maps, in which you have to take down three enemies with a single wall. I did it, but I wanted to see if I could do that with five enemies. It took at lot of baiting, but I managed to do it and boy did it feel great when that wall came down. And it never loses the appeal: using the explosive gel is still as fun as it was in the beggining.

[Danj86]

Day 8: Fav. Ability

What's yours is mine! The thief...er, copy ability.

 

There is nothing more satisfying then sending an attack your enemy can do, right back at 'em. It's good to share.

Granted at times it might not be so useful, like in Pokemon. The Trace Ability has a pokemon copy the ability of another in battle, but it depends on who your facing if that will prove useful or not.

And then there's this chap -

Ditto

 

More often then not, a Pokemon will have moves that it's strong against if hit with them. That's not always the case though, a ghost type hit with a ghost more will hurt that bad boy a lot. Although you also put yourself at the same risk. Nobody said it would be easy...

Don't let the pokemon thing misguide you. Another guy used copying to a great advantage.

Metal Sonic

 

See? He totally kicked arse after stealing all those abilities...except for the part when he was defeated...maybe a bad example...

 

My next two copy cats can take the ability of an enemy, but only when it's been defeated in battle. Time to breakout the violence!

Mega Man

 

Dante

 

Well, you just killed them, so they wont be needing it anymore. Both Megaman and Dante are able to take advantage of a fallen enemy to use what they did. But only specific enemies. Megaman must defeat a Robot Master and collect the ability while Dante must battle a devil to acquire a "Devil Arms"

You could say these are more satisfying as they also signify that you kicked butt and earned them.

 

I could mention more, like Delsin Rowe of Infamous Second Son, Seth from Street Fighter 4 or Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat, but I'd be here all day. The copy ability is surprisingly common.

[Covskin]

Guybrush Threepwood can hold his breath for ten minutes!

 

...maybe not.

 

Not entirely sure if this counts as an ability or not, but I have always had a soft spot for Sakura's version of the Shoryuken. With other characters, it is typically an anti-air move, and the trajectory is almost straight upwards. With Sakura, she takes a running start, and if your opponent is still standing, allows you to have a couple of extra hits in the combo move. It allows for a bit more flexibility in attacks, lets you mix things up a bit. Also, gives you slightly more room for error, which I need.

[Your Vest Friend]

As usual, my big ability of choice for favourite would be flight. The sensation of being able to go everywhere unbound by boundaries and limitations is just such a great feeling. It would be in real life, but there's a special something about it in video games that makes it so exhilarating no matter what you do, as you sweep through the air or glide almost touching to water, but never quite diving in. Want to know my favourite use of flight in a game ever, though? Try to guess, I can guarantee you won't be able to. 

 

Here we go.

 

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PS2)

 

 

Surprise! Harry Potter 2 is the game I consider the top of the HP game franchise anyway, and this is a very large reason why. The world of Hogwarts is made into a huge, expansive area that can be explored into every nook and cranny. The game uses Harry's talent with broomstick riding to really revel in this attention to detail, allowing you to access hidden places otherwise inaccessible by ground and just letting you be free in a magical school you'd want to explore in real life if you were a fan.

[NGw00d]

Day 8: Favorite Ability

Wrestling Moves (No More Heroes)

 

As I said in a previous post, I'm a huge wrestling fan, so seeing it incorporated into No More Heroes, which I was already having a great time with, was pretty awesome. Travis is a gigantic nerd, weeaboo, otaku, whatever you wanna call him, so him liking wrestling isn't too far out there. Having the collectible masks and cards in his apartment was enough to get that point across, but him executing the moves in combat takes it to a whole other level. Stun you're opponent, grapple him, and follow the prompt on screen and you just performed a wrestling move on one of the top assassin's goons. There's a pretty wide variety of moves too from simple take down moves like the DDT or suplex, to fatal moves like the powerbomb or tombstone piledriver, which is my personal favorite. Its a fun and different way of changing up the combat here and there and one that I definitely approve of.

[Nix]

Day 8

Favorite Ability

 

 

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Blade Mode

 

The most important thing to keep in mind while playing MGR is, "the best defense is a good offense".  Playing it safe just isn't something you do here because all of Raiden's moves have some form of offensive capability.  The dodge has him slash at his opponent while jumping back, his guard has a parry function.

 

However the ultimate offensive maneuver Raiden has at his disposal is the centerpiece of the entire game:  Blade Mode.  Here you're given complete precision as to how you cut your foe.  Do you cut off your foes' arms and legs with precision?  Or do you simply make bloody pancakes out of them?  The choice is yours (I prefer bloody pancakes myself).  

 

However Blade Mode simply isn't here for fun, it's actually one of your greatest assets to help restore your health.  You see how Raiden's pulling out that poor cyborg's spine and crushing it with his hand?  That's the Zandatsu.  To use it you must weaken your foe with basic attacks, jump into Blade Mode while they are at their most vulnerable state, slice them at a precise location to reveal their energy drink filled spine, and then promptly rip it out and consume it.  This can even be chained with multiple enemies at once.

 

Blade Mode can also be used on several environmental objects, likes trees and cars.  Some optional bridges and stairs can also be cut down for your enjoyment.  The framerate can't always keep up with a large amount of parts being sliced everywhere, but it's still a really cool and unique feature that helps make Metal Gear Rising so great.

[Alex2Beta]

DAY 8: FAVORITE ABILITY

 

Even better, I got two!..

 

...Time Rewind from Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time and Warrior Withing

Yeaahh..A bit hard to see..

 

This.

 

This I like.

 

The ability to manipulate time on your screw-ups is a damn fine ability, especially in a game where you might have your character end dead from that one dagger in the back or fall into an endless pit due to an accident with some creaky old wooden boards falling apart at your character's collision from swinging and jumping around like a master acrobat.

 

Though it's limited to a number of circles on your HUD ,indicating how many times you can use this ability - and early on you'll start with one, and you can refill them by simply finding some special sands or whatever.

Hell, Time rewinding abilities period are just great.

 

Portal Gun from Portal 1 & 2

 

The Portal Gun (Even though not much of a "gun") is  exactly what the name implies: a gun that shoots out 2 portals of which you can enter and exit from depending on which one you enter through.

 

But putting yourself somewhere else isn't nearly even half the things you can do with it.

Need to get a box to another location? Perhaps it's a tad out of reach? Boom. It's there.

In need of directing a very dangerous bouncing orb of energy towards its destination? Boom. It's there.

Have a problem with those pesky yet kind sounding and gentle turrets? Boom. They're halfway down an endless pit.

 

And just how you can use them in the awesome sequel is even better, what with all the gels and new puzzle elements to make the venture through the labs - and their history - one sweet trip.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

Day 8: If you could mimic any power in the world... Favorite Ability

 

Flight is always cool.

Anything involving fire is always the most popular thing because it's awesome.

 

I'm going with any ability in a game that allows you to be a total Copycat:

 

 

Of course, Kirby is the poster child for this type of ability; And when he does it, he just looks like a total badass >:3 And you really have total control over what he copies and how he uses it, unlike some other copycats. And I really do like the added touch of Kirby changing his appearance to reflect the ability he currently has.

[Winston]

Day 8: Favorite Ability

Detective Mode - Batman Arkham Series

I really love detective mode and I don't know why. Possibly because the games would be much harder to navigate without it and would be much harder to see the enemies, which some people might argue the harder to see enemies thing is a good deal, but I wouldn't say that because it'd get frustrating after a while to try to find them without detective mode. It really makes the stealth sections alot easier, and makes being able to detect which objects you can interact with alot more simple. It's just over-all a really great ability, and especially in Arkham Origins where it becomes it's own crime scene investigation thing. Origins in my opinion does the best job at using the detective mode, as it uses it the way the previous games have, while also making investigating crime scenes alot more fun by being able to interact with the environment and such. That's all I can really say about it, I just really like it and it's extremely useful.

[Rusty Spy]

Day 8: Favorite Ability

 

 

The grappling hook from Just Cause 2.

 

It's so simple in it's design yet so versatile in it's application. You can use it to scale virtually any obstacle, pseudo para-glide with your parachute, disable enemies by latching them to terrain, vehicles, or other enemies, grab on to enemy vehicles to swiftly hi-jack them, or my personal favorite, hook shot into the ground to break your fall from any height. In a sandbox game as big as this, the grappling hook is about as close to playing with all the cheats on as your gonna get short of having a freakin' jetpack.

[TheOcelot]

Favourite Ability:

 

The Grapnel Gun from the Batman Arkham games.

 

 

 

 

 

The Grapnel gun which first appeared in Arkham Asylum was an easier way of reaching higher areas. It wasn't particularly fast, but it saved Batman from having to climb everywhere.

 

Enter Arkham City and early on you can unlock the 'Grapnel Boost Prototype' upgrade. That was a stroke of genius by Rocksteady. Now Batman can lock-on to any building and and catapult through Arkham City at breakneck speed. You can literatlly cover the whole distance of the city in about a minute. You can stop the Boost effect mid-flight and change direction with the Grapel. I love this gimmick so much. It makes traversing Arkham City so easy/seamless. It's incredibly fun. It helps you spot locations, trophies and enemies. You can use it to do an automatic 'takedown' on a thug who is standing on top of a building, or to position yourself so that you land on enemies by surprise thus gaining the upper hand in a fight.

 

It works just as well in Arkham Origins where it was slightly tweaked and feels a bit more fluid.

[SuperLink]

D8 - Favourite Ability

 

I.... man. Another hard one. Time to spend hours thinking. (this text box was opened at 13:12 GMT)

 

Hours later (20:38) and I still got mostly nothin'. Time to wing it.

 

Wave Beam - Metroid series

 

 

I'm a big fan of the action-platformer subgenre known as Metroidvanias, but usually just the Metroid side. I don't like dealing with stats, levelling and item equipping much, I like to build up an entire arsenal over the course of the game and finish as a walking destruction machine. Metroid Fusion was the first one I ever played.. and appropriately the Wave Beam was one of the last upgrades you get in the game that really makes you feel like a walking destruction machine.

 

So what is the Wave Beam? It's a standard beam (read: no ammo worries) that goes through all enemies it hits, allowing it to hit multiple enemies with one blast basically. And you can fire this thing in very quick succession, with every button-press. What makes it even better is, it's usually one of the last weapons you get in Metroid games, and it's usually not far from the Plasma Beam, another Beam upgrade that makes it so your beam goes through walls. Both of these Beam upgrades also considerably increase your beam's base power. Do you see what I'm getting at here? While Metroid begins as a game where you need to be careful of enemies and plan the areas you travel through so you don't end up somewhere where things are too powerful, once you have these Beams it's perfectly possible to travel through every area at a high speed easily blasting everything in your path, and boy does it feel good, especially when you can now easily take out enemies that were so horrible earlier in the game!

 

If I could, I would have listed "fully-powered-up Samus Aran" as my favourite Ability, but I feel like the Wave Beam does a decent job of illustrating how that culmination of power-ups can feel, it's one of the biggest changes in your fire-power in most Metroid games, and getting it is one of those "HERE IT IS.." moments.

 

If there's one thing I love about Metroidvanias, it's getting power-ups to make moving and attacking feel way more awesome, and if there's one power-up that makes one of the biggest changes to how powerful you feel, it's the Wave Beam. God bless.

[MamboCat]

Day 8 - Mambo's Favourite Abilities - Pseudoscience abounds!

 

1) - Bioshock 1 and 2's Plasmids

 

I like these due to their wide variety. Want to set something on fire? Incinerate! Want to power something up? Electro Shock! Want to shower someone with deadly, deadly bees? (who doesn't?! ) Insect Swarm! It's just so ridiculous yet enjoyable to use these plasmids, yet I am struggling to figure out how injecting a plasmid into your DNA can affect external things like security cameras... *smacks head* Stop thinking too much, dammit!

 

I also like the art style of Bioshock, including the retro style adverts for each plasmid. They're pretty darned funny.

 

Say lady, we could get on like a house on fire! Hur hur hur!

 

It's interesting that the enemies, the Splicers are so called because they also use plasmids to attack you. IIRC the citizens of Rapture have lost their minds because they have spliced their DNA so much with these Plasmids that they have sort-of de-evolved. Upon playing I did wonder if injecting Plasmids also made your character a Splicer, and the more Plasmids you collected, the less stable you became!

 

Anyways, as a science nerd I found these things pretty interesting.

 

2) - Portal and Portal 2's... er... portals...

 

Ok so Plasmids were pseudo-biology. Portals are pseudo-physics. Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing goes out. The idea is pretty simple but makes an awesome, awesome game in the original Portal. The rules of portals all seem to make sense to me and that's one of the reasons why it works so well. Flinging, for example can be tricky to pull off if you are a Portal newb, but once you do it is very satisfying.

 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

Portal 2 builds on this and gives you the different kinds of gel to once again modify your momentum as you use the portals. Bouncing around on blue gel, speeding up on orange gel and placing portals wherever the hell you like are fun additions.

 

So yeah, what I couldn't do with a portal gun.

 

[Nepenthe]

Day 8: Favorite Ability

 

 

ACTUAL FUCKING SPRINTING AND AGILITY IN SKYWARD SWORD.

 

OH MY GOD.

 

....

 

H-OOOOOHHHHHH MY GOD.

 

LET ME TELL Y'ALL.

 

Okay. Skyward Sword's my first Zelda game, so I had no expectations. They drop me into Skyloft and once I got out of the school, I started running about. No biggie; you can run in most games. In fact, me and my friend generally complained about how Link actually lacked endurance and tired too quickly. But whatever; running is helpful. Running is a thing. Running exists. Beat the game, had fun, I'm a fan, so what do I do?

 

I went to DragonCon and bought Twilight Princess. But I didn't just buy it; I bought it expecting Link could fucking sprint and run up walls and shit. You know, standard adventure abilities.

But he can't.

 

So that wall that's two Links high? The one you'd be able to just climb up with a heave-ho? NOPE! Gotta go all the way around again and waste time! That long pathway that takes fifteen hours to traverse because Link plans to save Hyrule and the Twilight Realm at a brisk jog? Yeah. YOU'D BE THERE IN A FEW SECONDS IF YOU COULD RUN.

 

And don't justify this shit with the wolf transformation and its dash ability; you only get permanent access to it halfway through the game.

 

Twilight Princess probably isn't as well liked by me as it would've been otherwise because physically going through the game is such a chore due to these simple abilities apparently not being a thing before Skyward Sword came about. No freaking idea how I'm going to stand the rest of the series. Thank you very much, Skyward Sword, for spoiling me with short-distance running Link.

[Jolt_TH]

Day 8 - Favorite Ability

 

Unite Morph (Wonderful 101)

 

 

This ability is really awesome, you can make pretty much anything you want and the more people you have the bigger and more powerful it is! In the game alone you have a giant hand, a sword, a whip, a gun, a hammer, a bomb, a glider, a spring, a ball, a set of claws...the possibilites really are endless.

 

now my other favorite ability may seem a bit...strange

 

Jumping (Mario Series)

 

 

Jumping, making Mario jump into the air, whats so great about it?

 

Aside from being his only attack without a suit its much more than a mere press of a button. With Mario his jump is an art form. He has such a wide variety of jumps, backflip, side flip, wall jump, long jump, spin jump and the iconic triple jump. With Mario, his jump just flows, it goes from one to the other seamlessly, flawlessly, it really flows. Games like 64, Sunshine and Galaxy really make you appreciate Mario's jumping ability and the wide range of movement it allows him to have, there are so many shortcuts and secrets you can access just by using a certain jump or combination of jumps. Its simple, but its just so good.