Supersoldiers

[Yahtzee Croshaw]

Supersoldiers

Yahtzee decries supersoldiers and the genetically inferior generals who create them.

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[Zombie Nixon]

I think rapture-style genetic modification gone out of control is a better gimmick anyway

 

[ddq5]

When you phrase it like that, super soldiers in games do seem to make sense from a gameplay standpoint, but as you pointed out, there are alternatives that retain that benefit, but without the giant plot holes.

About gimmicks, though, I honestly half expected the Arkham Asylum review to be done in haiku.

 

[sizzle949]

I'd play a game about an old general with alzheimers! Atleast it's original

 

[epsilon246]

well i see the point, supersoldiers has been done to death, hung drawn and quatered, had it's limbs stitched to other game mechanics and has taken them over. Rinsed and repeated umpteen times.

 

[JaneDoe]

The 'anything goes Olympics'- theres a sporting event I could get on board with

 

[Laura.]

I don't dislike the supersoldier theme that much, as long as it's a bit more subtle, for example: making a drug that makes them fearless and immune to physical pain.
But I agree that genetic modification is kind of lame (especially when it involves mad scientists and megalomaniac generals).

 

[Mordwyl]

Ben would have loved to see Fist of the North Star. It's a post-apocalyptic world with huge mutated bruisers that know deadly martial arts who beat each other to death in the most gruesome ways possible.

 

[Gunner_Guardian]

Heh I love it when he responds to fan comments which begs the questions, does he do it because he cares about his fans or because he's bored and has nothing else to do

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

I disgree. There is definitely a use for supersoldiers in peacetime. professional paintball teams, moving companies (heavy lifting, you know), and zoos could all use them. especially the zoos. Who else is equipped to wrassle the escaped grizzly back to his pen?

thats right. i said wrassle. fuck off XD

What about a game where you play a midget?

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

well i see the point, supersoldiers has been done to death, hung drawn and quatered, had it's limbs stitched to other game mechanics and has taken them over. Rinsed and repeated umpteen times.

i didnt realize rasputin was a supersoldier. makes sense though, considering he fought off a squad of guards, while drunk, using only his penis (not a joke)

 

[Axeli]

I just played the first disc of Policenauts, and the protagonist observes exactly this flaw in creating supersoldiers by pointing out that their society has superior humans serving the inferior, normal ones, saying that such dynamic will never last.

 

[Disaster Button]

I always prefer normal human enemies because then it can at least involve some psychological effect, if done right.. or at all. That or aliens.

 

[hamster mk 4]

The super mutant olympic idea was already done by Red Dwarf. Not saying it would not be fun to see in a game. As for the whole super soldier thing, I don't think bigger is the way to go. A bullet will cut through organs no matter how much muscle and bone surrounds it. Bigger soldiers just means bigger targets.

The truly terrifying super soldiers are 4-5 foot marathon runners who can shoot well and have no qualms about taking off your head in close combat. Unfortunatly the British Army has already employed them.

Spoiler

see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha

 

[Kenjitsuka]

I'll play anything written by Yathzee, the Herculean exemplar that he is!
But without genetic tampering we wouldn't have Judge Dredd (bwahahahaha, sorry) and of course Resident Evil 0 to twenty-ish...

From a gameplay mechanic point of view it's logical to have super soldiers in the fray, like Yathzee said, so I don't see a problem every time. Just the 99 percent of times when the "creative" department phones it in and goes into the fetal position because coming up with original ideas is really hard. Next time that happens I hope they ring up Yathzee for inspiration, providing he isn't busy having sex with women on his yacht!

One redeeming feature would be ORIGINAL super soldier designs. Say hideous sub humans with exoskeletons capable of deflecting bullets for one.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Actually, I'd love to play the game with the aging general

 

[Le_Lisra]

"The super mutant olympic idea was already done by Red Dwarf."

Indeed.

Still, interesting observation and a nice thing to read while dining.

 

[Kanazuchi]

...the Anything Goes Olympics, in which players can use as much drugs and body augmentation as they want...

Have you ever read Red Dwarf? The TV series is great, but you'll need the actual book for this, specifically Better Than Life. Look up the parts about GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Forms) and GELF sport eradicating normal human sport. Crazy stuff like boxers who had their brains in their shorts so they could pummel each other for hours. [American] football linesmen who secreted a foul stench. [The rest of the world] football goalies who were nothing more than an 8 foot by 16 foot rectangle of flesh (though the team that fielded that goalie mysteriously lost.)

Ultimately they suffered the same fate you propose with these super soldiers. What do you do with them in the offseason? An entire revolt is staged as they fought for human rights. (Well, actually, GELFs were eventually engineered to replace just about everything, and a guy came home and shot his chair when he found it sleeping with his wife.) The enemies may be different, but the end result is the same.

About gimmicks, though, I honestly half expected the Arkham Asylum review to be done in haiku.

I was hoping for Petrarchan sonnet.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

I'd play a game about an old general with alzheimers! Atleast it's original

Actually, I'd love to play the game with the aging general

MGS4? Pretty close anyway...

 

[Sewblon]

Here is an idea. Have all the super-soldiers that you want, but have them rebel so that the strongest, most lethal super-soldier ends up leading the villains. That way you have a story that makes sense, tougher enemies and an appropriate final boss. If the player-character is a super-soldier, make him the one that leads the other super-soldiers after the uprising; it would be better than most video game endings.