My solution to that problem would actually kill two birds with one stone. Although combat in HR is certainly more polished in firearms, the first game actually had much better melee options.nerdenstein wrote: As for the Bosses, ignoring the gameplay side of it, they didn't work very well in the narrative because they were never fully explored as characters in the game.
Strap in, cause it's gonna be a long one.
Hand-to-hand combat in the first game may have been little more than "click till badguyz r ded" on the surface, but it saved ammo and time in a tight spot, and it also had the option of augmentations that made you stronger at it at the cost of other augs. In HR, the only melee is the takedown system. While useful and has it's own drawbacks, no one can ignore the fact that it's essentially an in-engine cutscene, which is a shitty excuse for melee.
Having watched the Making of video, it's clear that the artists fought with the game devs to give players a glimpse of how viscerally devastating augmentations can be in hand-to-hand, but I'm dumbfounded that the devs look at this as a binary choice.
I'd keep the takedown system, but I'd actually allow players to control Adam during takedowns and use the existing augmentation tree to affect what options a player has depending on what they've picked. To keep this from being a quicktime nightmare, I'd implement a "slowdown" effect on the physics when you commit to a takedown or melee option. From the default aug loadout, you have less than 5 seconds to choose what moves to pick, and that's depending on whether or not the target is alerted to your presence or not. However, from the outset you have two options for both lethal and non-lethal approaches, so the lack of time isn't a big deal. Depending on having augs like Reflex Booster and how far you develop them, your choices can increase.
An example for a lethal option tree (Depending on context) would be:
- blade to the limbs, then chest (takes 3 sec, prevents light and medium opponents from either dodging or shooting you during the assault, but is audible to enemies in proximity & corners.) - Available by default
- grab a charging opponent and head twist them (takes 4-5 sec depending on opponent number, forces nearby opponents to seek cover, may force enemies to switch to longer range heavy weapons from cover, thus a bad choice for military enemies) - Requires Reflex booster and Aim Stabilizers to unlock.
- Quiet skewer to the throat (takes 2 sec, only works on one target at a time, works best on light or stunned mediums, does not alert enemies outside of line-of-light) - Requires Reflex Booster, Aim Stabilizers, Move/Throw Heavy Objects, & Run Silently
However, depending on what and how far you develop your augmentations, your melee options are not only increased in choice of moves, but also what tradeoffs you are willing to make based on your playstyle. I'll call these "emergent" augmentations (E-augs for short), as they are unintended consequences of so many augmentations running in tandem in one person. They are NOT listed in any inventory or menu, requiring the player to discover that they've unlocked them through accident.
For example, a specific combination of fully developed augs will grant you increased time when you want to pick or change your tactics, maxing out at a full minute to give the player a chance to select the most powerful or specific moves for a tough challenge. The kicker with this emergent aug is that it's impossible to achieve without completing at least 90% of side quests and exploring as much of the world as possible. Here's a list of what you need to unlock this E-aug:
- Wayfinder Radar System - All upgrades
- Stealth Enhancer - All upgrades
- Retinal Prosthesis - All upgrades
- Social Enhancer - All "upgrades"
- Quicksilver Reflex Booster - All upgrades
- Energy: N/A
Other E-augs might include the following:
"Go with The Flow" - Allows one to dodge a successful counter-move by any level of opponent, which is especially useful if you make the mistake of trying to takedown someone like Fedorova without EMP or Gas stunning her first.
Requires:
- Quicksilver Reflex Booster
- Social Enhancer
- Aim Stabilizer - All upgrades
- Recoil Compensation - All upgrades
- Energy: 1 (will not auto-activate if less than 2 full bars)
Requires:
- Quicksilver Reflex Booster
- Aim Stabilizer - All upgrades
- Sarif Series 8 Energy Converter - All upgrades
- Glass-Shield Cloaking System - All upgrades
- Energy: 2 for one opponent, 3 for two opponents
Well, when you defeat each boss, instead of jumping to an insta-dead cutscene, you would have the option of leaving them alive to interrogate (in Barrett's case I'd consider having a hacking minigame where you might be able to deactivate his self-destruct) or finish them for great justice. Depending on how deft you are at conversations, you can force them to spill their guts, leave you with more questions than answers, or fall prey to a last-ditch suicide if you totally bomb at dialogue. I'd also leave the option open to execute them at any point in the conversation, each opportunity having different XP rewards (extracting info from them gets the most points, but you can get some points for killing them outright or for hesitating until they try to blow themselves up or kill you first.)
That is how one does characterization in video games. Don't just show or tell us, let us interact with them.
[/quote]
