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10 AWESOME Game Mechanics in TERRIBLE Games

10 AWESOME Game Mechanics in TERRIBLE Games
VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
Even the worst games can have some of the best ideas! For this list, not even the rest of the game being completely broken could stop these inventive game mechanics from shining through! In this video we'll shoutout the incredible movement from Resident Evil 6, the gravity defying physics of Inversion, and the trend setting immersive no HUD in Trespasser and well as many more that deserve much more credit than the game they're in!

10 Awesome Game Mechanics in Terrible Games


Welcome to MojoPlays and just because a game is bad, doesn’t mean all of its ideas are terrible. Some of the coolest mechanics are only held back by a mediocre game and we just have to wait and hope to see these resurface in better games in the future.

Inventory Management

“Alone in the Dark” (2008)


The attempted reboot of the Alone in the Dark franchise had a lot of interesting ideas and mechanics that were unfortunately held back by a pretty mediocre experience. One of the most impressive, however, was the inventory system and how it was implemented. Everything Edward was able to carry on his person was held within his jacket and instead of simply pulling up a menu, players would instead open Edward’s coat and be able to see everything they had in stock. Players could also use the various materials they’d collected to craft new items they could use in combat or puzzles and due to the limited space a bit more strategy was required to manage the inventory. Unfortunately, like many of the ideas in Alone in the Dark, this inventive inventory system was clunkily implemented and overshadowed by the rest of the game’s many issues.

Movement

“Resident Evil 6” (2012)


We’re not going to lie; Resident Evil 6 has a lot of problems, but it's not as bad as everyone remembers. Sure, it had a bloated campaign, a convoluted and overcomplicated storyline, leaning too heavily into action blockbuster moments, and laughably bad villains, but the movement, oh the movement chef’s kiss. No longer were the characters slowly plodding down darkened corridors, helpless to a surprise zombie attack. Now they could leap in any direction to avoid an attack or incoming gunfire, run like a normal human being, and even fire from a prone position on the ground. Melee combat was also a more worthwhile secondary option during combat with new and improved attacks and takedown moves. The series backed far, far away from everything RE6 implemented in future entries and even the remakes, but we’d love to see this style of movement return to the series.

Zero HUD

“Trespasser” (1998)


These days the zero HUD feature is common in the industry to help further immerse players into a game, but one of the first and probably still one of the better ones, was a Jurassic Park: The Lost World tie-in game, Trespasser. The game featured a revolutionary, for the time at least, physics system that heavily influenced Valve’s Source Engine for Half-Life 2, and its use of a virtually non-existent HUD has been cited by many developers as the inspiration for many more modern implementations of Trespasser’s revolutionary systems. With no way to track ammo or health, players need to listen for Anne to call out how many bullets she has left in each weapon and a tattoo on her chest to track her health. While the game did arguably change the industry for the better, playing Trespasser is an exercise in frustration due to poor performance and the game’s ambition clearly outpacing its abilities.

Iron Man Suit

“Anthem” (2019)


Rightfully dubbed the “Iron Man Simulator”, Bioware’s failed “live service” title was basically DOA at launch, but there was one feature that almost everyone unanimously agreed was its best one, and it almost didn’t even make it into the final game. While the gunplay was passable and the story wasn’t up to Bioware standards, the flight mechanics of the various Javelin suits are surprisingly some of the best in the industry. The Javelin’s flight mechanics work almost flawlessly and are easy to grasp and just as easy to control. The only real downside to the game’s only redeeming feature is a cooldown system which makes the Javelin overheat if the player flies for too long. Can’t be letting gamers have too much fun with the only good aspect of your game, right? Honestly, we’re surprised EA didn’t offer some kind of “cool down package” as a microtransaction.

Memory Manipulation

“Remember Me” (2013)


Just before they would set the player choice-driven world on fire with their “Life is Strange” franchise, developer Don’t Nod had some very ambitious ambitions for their first title that didn’t quite reach its full potential. Alongside allowing players to create their own custom fighting style with over 50,000 possible combinations of combat moves, players also had access to a system that would allow players to manipulate and alter an NPC’s memories to change how they remember important events or solve puzzles by stealing and reliving their memories in real time. The systems were surprisingly intuitive and could have made the game a standout title amongst the wealth of other action-adventure titles, but unfortunately, too many other things about the game held it back from reaching its full potential and possible franchisability.

Dismemberment

“NeverDead” (2012)


The idea of an immortal protagonist in video games isn’t necessarily a new one and finding the balance between making them indestructible and still offering a fun and challenging experience is a line that’s nearly impossible to walk. However, with NeverDead, demon hunter Bryce isn’t only immortal, but his body can be blown apart and pieced back together again, leading to some hilarious moments of Bryce attempting to collect his discarded extremities in the middle of combat. Unfortunately, instead of going all in on this aspect of the game and using Bryce’s abilities to solve puzzles or offer limb-specific combat moments and boss fights, most of the game is based around bland, boring combat encounters that don’t take full advantage of Bryce’s unique skill set and crumbled just like poor Bryce’s many body parts.

The Glaive

“Dark Sector” (2008)


Originally shown off as a demo for the next generation of consoles, what players ended up with was instead a lot closer to Gears of War than the studio's eventual mega hit Warframe. However, there was one thing that helped Dark Sector stand out in a sea of gray Gears cover shooter clones: the Glaive. This three-pronged melee weapon acted as not only a close quarters combat alternative but was also useful in solving many of the game’s myriad of puzzles. The Glaive could not only be thrown around the environment and return to the player a full decade before Kratos was hurling his Leviathan Axe but could also take on elemental properties such as fire and electricity. The Glaive could also later be upgraded and guided directly by the player and even eventually act as a shield. Thankfully the Glaive and many other concepts from Dark Sector live on in Digital Extremes’ Warframe series.

Gravity Manipulation

“Inversion” (2012)


During the mid-2000s it was difficult for cover-based shooters to stand out from one another, so many developers resorted to gimmicks to liven up their gameplay. While not all of these were interesting or even all that successful, some managed to outshine the game they were stuck with. Inversion allowed players to use gravity itself against their enemies alongside traditional combat. Not only could players grab objects in the environment and enemies themselves using the game’s version of Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun, but some environments would also shift entirely, forcing players to fight on walls and ceilings. Unfortunately, everything else about the game was the definition of generic. Alongside cover shooter fatigue, this meant that Inversion ended up stuck upside down and sideways with no audience to appreciate its impressive physics and destructible environments.

Mindjacking

“MindJack” (2011)


Sometimes a novel concept is trapped inside such a mediocre disaster of a game, many players never even take the chance to experience it. Within Mindjack, players can “mindjack” NPCs or downed enemies and have them either fight alongside the player or take direct control until the end of battle or the NPC is killed. Another unique aspect to “mind jacking” was how it was implemented into the game’s multiplayer. Years before Ubisoft would do something similar with Watchdogs, Mindjack allowed other players to “mind jack” NPCs during the single player campaign to either fight alongside the player or take them down. Sadly, all these interesting ideas and mechanics were hindered by the game’s plodding narrative, bland and lifeless environments and barely serviceable cover-based shooting mechanics.

Terrain Deformation

“Fracture” (2008)


The epitome of generic shooters, Fracture would have been and partially to this day still is, completely overlooked and forgotten by many gamers were it not for its impressive terrain deformation gameplay. Nearly everything about Fracture screams mediocrity, from its nonsensical plot to the boring, lifeless characters and world and even the traditional gunplay is about as basic as you could imagine. That being said, the ability to manipulate the environment and create or destroy cover and use a myriad of gadgets and grenades to quite literally reshape the battlefield is surprisingly fun and while not entirely revolutionary - Red Faction Guerrilla would do everything much better only a year later - the mechanic nonetheless allowed the game to escape the hole it had dug for itself and at the very least be remembered for something besides its swift trip to the bargain bin.


What brilliant game mechanic do you think is trapped inside a mediocre game? Share your picks in the comments.
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