funniest game mechanics?

[stevesan]

We talk a lot about funniest lines/stories/characters in games, but what about the mechanics? Ya know, that which makes gaming unique amongst other media? Some examples:

Duke3D - using the toilet to regain 5 HP.

GTA3 - picking up a hooker to regain HP.

Final Fantasy 5 - Money Attack. This was one of the powers you could level up in the Samurai "job" class. I decided to level it up all the way, and it became the most powerful attack I had. Basically, the attack does damage proportional to how much GP (gold) your party has...of course by the end of any FF game, you have enough gold to buy everything in the game many times over. Long story short, the final boss became trivial...I just kept throwing money at him. Design mistake or clever social commentary? You decide.

So, what are some other mechanics that made ya chuckle a bit?

 

[Divinegon]

Zombie ate My Neighbors for the Sega Genesis is what immediately popped into my mind. Saving neighbors (Which are pretty amusing figures) from ghouls and goblins by squirting the monsters with a water gun. And it worked.

Ok, so maybe not a game mechanic per se but it's a pretty fun game to play. All of it was filled with good humor.

I always enjoyed the "Being God" game mechanics of Black and White (The first. The second was a disappointment in that department). When you can choose right at the beginning whether to be nice and find the lost sick brother and retrieve him to his home next to her sister; or smash the house until she gives you what you need; or kill the brother, show the dead body to her and smash the house while she mourns to get what you need; or kill the sister, show the dead body to the sick brother before he dies, then smash the house to get what you need; or just throw both far away into the ocean so they both drown, then roll the biggest rock you can find over the house to get what you need...see where I'm getting?

 

[MPD51]

In the Getaway, you regain health by leaning against the wall.
"Just lean, and the blood is clean!"

I don't know if this counts, but in Bioshock, getting an "Irony" achievement for photographing Cohen.

Yelling "objection" into the microphone in any of the Ace Attorney games. It's what made them famous!

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

The entire Simpson's game is hilarious. I also feel the same about the third monkey island game.

 

[KurtNiisan]

I don't know if this counts, but in Bioshock, getting an "Irony" achievement for photographing Cohen.

- That was priceless. I got that entirely by accident as I was pissed off with the guy for the whole goddamn quest he made me do, so I capped him and said (and I quote) "How do you like that, huh?!" as I photographed him. Imagine my surprise when the achievement icon popped up :3

 

[Minic]

The entire Simpson's game is hilarious. I also feel the same about the third monkey island game.

I second that on Curse of Monkey Island. Insult Swordfighting is always a joy.

 

[PurpleRain]

Regaining health and equipment by eating "Braains!" in Stubbs The Zombie. Actually, everything in that game was great. Controlling people with a detachable hand that can crawl up walls, toxic fart clouds (it was actually very usufull), exploding guts, killing people to get them to come back up as your undead minion. Ah bless that game.

 

[p1ne]

The "Screw Your Opponent" option in You Don't Know Jack: The Ride was awesome. You got one per match. If an especially hard question came up, you just started pounding the S key for all you were worth and it blasted the entire game screen full of screws, leaving the other player/s to try and answer what little they could read of the question and answers. That game had another hilarious feature where if you tried to answer the question before the announcer finished reading it/printing it on the screen, it gave you a series of ridiculous choices, none of which were the correct answer. And then you got taunted for your folly when you got it wrong.

Come to think of it, why aren't they making those awesome YDKJ games anymore?

Unreal Tournament with the Crotch Shot mutator is pretty good too.

Also, getting money in Earthbound via "allowance" bank deposits from your parents (and naming your favorite food something ridiculous, like 'vomit' or 'pussy'.)

 

[MechJaz]

Deus Ex - pretty much the entire game. While I never did make it through without killing anyone (the temptation is just too great), I love being a crazy-skilled rifle master that also hacks machines mad crazy and robs ATMs out of spite. The RPG element (is it fair to call it just an element?) is just so perfectly implemented in that game, not to mention the responsive story line and characters. For instance, showing a dead body to a gang boss will piss him off, then the whole gang will come after you - that's just awesome and shows a thoughtfulness seldom seen today. Too bad the second one a.) didn't live up to the first and b.) crashed too much for me to play the game (seriously). I love games with responsive environments, both physically and from the NPCs.

Also, real-time dismemberment ranks high on my list of favorite game mechanics. I wish someone would make a modern game with good graphics that has the excessive gore of the Soldier of Fortune series.

 

[King Phar]

pocking things in warcraft 3 great fun.

 

[Axulciex]

Twinsens odyssey: Hump the cow and gain unlimited 1ups

 

[portuga-man]

in ocarina of time/majoras mask. play the epona's song to a cow, and she'll say the music reminds her of the field and that she feels in high moral, so she'll give you some milk

battle-changing CO powers in advance wars (HATE sturm though)

stealth kills in ANY stealth game. makes me feel powerful, ninja-like.

having the blue yoshi in super mario world

fatalities in mortal kombat

and possibly my favourite
spin dashing with sonic/tails/knuckles (KEEEEEKEEEEEEKEEEE)

 

[demented_playa]

i liked the emotions in fable:the lost chapters. air guitar being my favorite

Purple rain, that was all i was thinking about when i saw the title

 

[Corwinman]

In an old game called "Redneck Rampage," you won each level and advanced to the next by hitting a fat dude named "Bubbah" in the face with a crowbar. I also remember a part in the game where you literally had to run through a meat grinder, and the only way you could make it was to constantly save and reload. The game itself wasn't anything special, but the gimmicks were pretty fun.

 

[Lumberingoaf]

In the early 80's, on a now ancient system known as the Atari 2600, there was game called simply, Adventure, you played as a heroic square seeking a flashy cup thingy called a Chalice. You were hindered by three angry ducks (which were supposed to be dragons, I'm told) to deal with them all you had to do was stab them once with a magic yellow arrow, which they called a sword. That was pretty funny.

 

[John Galt]

Duke Nukem 3D's stripper/alien things, the Call of Duty 4 "press 'meelee' or the mean doggie rips out your face", and in general anything ork related in Dawn of War. Those silly green englishmen...

 

[SilentScope001]

In Oddsworld: Stranger's Wrath, you play as Stranger, a bounty hunter out to captured outlaws with a crossbow that shoot live ammo...actual animals.

One of the ammo is a Chipmunk that insults your opponents. When fired, the Chipmunk makes wisecracks to draw your opponent over to him so that your opponent can attack the Chipmunk. While the enemy attack the Chimpunk you can go and ambush the man. Of course, the funny thing is, while you keep the Chipmunk in your ammo, it will go and insult YOU until you fire it.

 

[Niccolo]

I think quite possibly my favourite mechanic to date was in Deus Ex Invisible War. You could beat your enemy senseless, then you pick up the comatose body and fling it into the air. WHile it's still rising and falling, you pull out a shotgun and blast it! Ah, good times.