Don’t you just love the cell phone in GTA IV? I’ve only played about an hour of the game, but I’m already in love with that feature. It is, of course, just one aspect of many. A small thing. But then it is the attention to detail, the sheer loving polish on a game, that elevates it above the crowd. You can find driving games, shooting games, and gangster games anywhere. You can’t find one with a cell phone that works as well as that though. I haven’t accessed the GTA IV internet yet, but I’ve heard it’s hot stuff - and another incredibly detailed piece of work.

When we think about the great games - the games that we replay long after the graphics are dated and the game play is old hat - it is usually some small thing that we remember. For example, take my favorite game of all time. Final Fantasy 7 had a lot to recommend it, but the thing that stood out to me was the fact that every character had an individual walk. Tifa had a bit of a mince, that belied her martial arts expertise, whilst Cid had a macho stride that made him look rather stupid when he ran. Vincent was acrobatic as hell, whilst Yuffie was a lanky teenager. The walk bled over into everything, their gestures when talking, their victory dance, and it even helped show Cloud’s change of character post-OMG-I’m-not-Zack.

For a sprite, that was some pretty incredible acting.

Some great features have become so commonplace we barely notice them. Customizable characters, for example. The first person that came up with that idea was a genius - which would appear to be the designers behind the very strange Cocoron for the NES. They debuted the “mix ‘n’ match” character system, as part of their psychedelic dreamscape. The appeal of psychedelia may have faded, but we all love a character we can dress up. Give us one we can cosmetically design from the bone structure up, and we’re completely hooked. The Sims is one of the best-selling game of all time, and a huge part of its appeal is being able to make your own virtual look-a-like - and then have them hook up with your most wanted video game crush.

It’s not just The Sims though. RPG’s, MMO’s, even fighting games have all jumped on board the customized avatar bandwagon. Even the afore-mentioned GTA IV gives you the chance to go clothes shopping. Plenty of people fork out for the classy suit, too.

Here’s another feature I love: The sniper shot. Now pretty much standard in any FPS worth its salt, earlier games didn’t bother with it, sticking to wide-range damage or imprecise aiming. The first video game to actually involve a sniper gun, complete with cross-hairs and precision movement was Vic Tokai’s Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode. Like all great features, it quickly got copy-catted, and now you’ll be hard-pressed to find a decent shooter that doesn’t incorporate this very deadly and very satisfying weapon. What’s the appeal? Nearly all gun fights involve some element of luck, as well as skill. With the sniper rifle, though, you control every aspect, from lining it up, to waiting for the exact moment to send sweet sweet death. The sniper rifle is my preferred weapon in all FPS games, from Call of Duty 4 to Hogs of War (not technically an FPS, but whatever).

Call of Duty 4 is chock full of little details, such as the advantage of a grip that eliminates recoil, or the silencer that stops you from appearing on enemy players radar.

We were talking about polish and personality, however. So let’s take a look at the grandaddy of polished games: Blizzard. I was a big Warcraft III player, and one of the things I loved to do? Click on my units. Repeatedly. Why? Because they grumbled and complained, cracked jokes, and got sarcastic or witty. The game lent itself to small armies and tight control, and the voices went a long way to reinforce the fact that every unit counted. Not only that, it was funny. It’s always a good thing when peons are lavished with as much love and attention as Heroes.

Last, but definitely not least, there is time travel. There are countless occasions when I’ve wished I could go back in time during a video game, without accessing a save file. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time allowed me to do just that. Okay, so it wasn’t a ’small detail’, but pretty much a feature on which the entire game rested. It wasn’t the first shot at time travel, however, (Majora’s Mask, anyone?) but it was definitely fun. This isn’t something that has cropped up in too many games, which is a shame. I’m just waiting for someone to invent it in real life. Now that would be useful. In the meantime though, I’d like to see a few more games pick it up.

When you think about your favorite games, what stands out to you? Is it some tiny yet perfect piece of genius? If it is, I want to know about it! If it isn’t, then tell me about it anyway - it might make into Part II.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Classic Gaming, Game Design, Raves, What Makes a Game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.