Best Small Touches in Video Games

[Best of the 3]

HL2 had a few. One I remember was when navigating a large pool of acid with zombies trying to rip off your gonads. (this might have been episode 2). At one point you climb into higher ground, which is partly fenced off. At a gap in the fence overlooking the pool of acid and zombies is a crate full of the SMG grenades and a stool, with a few beers I think. I know it had very little to no value at all, but you can just see from that example that you could paint your own story. A man might have sat there one time enjoying a nice cold beer and blasting zombie brains. Very small touch, easily skipped in 2 seconds if wanted. I enjoy it all the same.

 

[Jakub324]

In Metro 2033, there is a character who apparently borrowed your copy of the BOOK of Metro 2033. In your room, there is a Metro 2033 poster and a book of the same name, and throughout the game, you can find copies of the book. It sort of makes me wonder why Atryom didn't simply read the book and gain foreknowledge of all upcoming hazards.

 

[sune-ku]

There's tons in MGS, but one that took me by suprise that I found amusing was throwing a grenade into a crocodiles mouth in Snake eater causes it to swallow it.

 

[Drakmorg]

From Deus ex HR,

Spoiler

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

Being able to literally break a lot of the small things in KZ2 and have them realistically damage. Books will explode into scraps, and lights and stuff will fall off the ceiling. Also, on some levels, you see some ISA fighting Helghast down below and you can actually kill the Helghast from where you are. Its in no way part of what you are doing, but it makes it feel like you aren't the only one fighting the war.

 

[Terminate421]

Gears of wars ability to crawl when downed REALLY changed the game for me.

 

[LookingGlass]

In the original Deus Ex, if you got shot in the arm, it screwed with your accuracy. I actually didn't notice that on my first playthrough... but found it to be awesome later on.

Locational damage that matters FTW.

 

[ChupathingyX]

The SPECIAL names in Fallout: New Vegas, I thought it was pretty cool that they gave each level its own name.

The Deck of 52 in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. All 52 of them have their own portrait and bio which were just for some backstory but I thought it was a nice touch. Which is why I was very confused when Mercenaries 2 lacked this with its HVTs.

The way Hideyoshi Toyotomi mounts his horse in Samurai Warriors 2. Every character simply just jumps on, but Hideyoshi? No, he has to a triple side ways somersault in mid-air to get on his horse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HwqLI9VYG8

^ Embedding was disabled, but basically in Dynasty Warriors 3 if play as Guan Yu during the battle of Fan Castle (where Guan Yu is the enemy commander) he actually notices it.

 

[BreakfastMan]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. had quite a few of those. Like how people would sit down next to a campfire and start playing a guitar. Good times.

 

[Austin Howe]

I just started playing Ico today, and I really like the small bits of vibration you get when holding Yorda's hand. It just increases the intimacy. Plus, it's open to interpretation, just like everything else Team Ico does: is it her footsteps as she's having a hard time keeping up? (a review I read) Or, is it because Ico's heart beats faster when he's holding Yorda's hand? (I came up with that while playing, and I quite like it. It's cute.)

 

[Xeraxis]

Team interactions in MvC3. The way that some people smack talk each other before the fight and how everyone calls their teammate's name to tag out. Those little details are something I liked in the game.

Also, some touches that were put in Halo: Reach by Bungie, especially the hidden club music. Just terrific.

 

[Rabish Bini]

Any character that smokes cigars.
Badass.

Also the absurd number of pop culture references in Duke 3D.

 

[Zhukov]

In Red Faction Guerilla, if you stand on the back of a ute ("pickup truck") and press the enter vehicle button, there is an animation of your character vaulting off the tray before getting into the cabin.

...

Hey, you said small touches.

 

[BiggyShackleton]

Metro 2033 has loads. Using your lighter to see the Journal, blowing out candles or shooting pans of water above campfires to extinguish them and looking at your watch to see the filter time. Stuff like that which isn't cluttering up your HUD always makes me feel a bit happier. Even the way in which you could literally loot everything you find, even ammo from your comrade who literally just got mauled by Nosalis seconds ago. It makes sense!

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I liked the posters in Borderlands. They always made me smile.

Little things, but so important, all the same.

 

[xdropkicknickx]

Red Dead Redemption's hunting feature. I spent hours just hunting because it was more enjoyable than the actual game for me (not that the game was bad, it was rather good actually, I just loved being able to ride my horse across the countryside and hunt anytime I like). Also the minigames like Poker and horseshoes. And the movie theater. And the newspaper. Hell, the main reason to even play RDR was the small touches and details Rockstar put in the game.

 

[thelonewolf266]

I'm loving the fact you can blind people in the Battlefield 3 Beta by shining a torch or pointing a laser sight at them its a small thing but it adds a whole new game play element.

 

[Cogwheel]

The only example I can think of right now (I'm tired) is Bastion's narrator and the little things he adds. "Kid just rages for a while" and so on.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Since these responses remind me of it, I really liked in Metro 2033 that you looted the items from a body by actually targeting the items in first person, rather then the standard system of just clicking some 'loot all' button. Actually having to physically search a body in-game for gear was a great touch.

 

[Rodrigo Girao]

No more heroes lets you pet your cat

Been there, done that: Shenmue.