Inventory System: What Games Got It Right?

[azncutthroat]

Escapists, which games deserve praise for inventory systems that not only worked great and were well-designed, but just felt "right" overall? Any game type (FPS, RPG, Racing[i.e. Mario Kart power-ups], 3rd Person, RTS [i.e. Warcraft 3], etc.) counts, just so long as there's an inventory system.

My personal favorite inventory system is Diablo 2 (although it's hardly my favorite game), because it was simple, yet highly tactical through its realistic space limitations.

Spoiler

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

For simplicity, I'd say RPGs like World of Warcraft. 1 item = 1 bag slot. Some smaller items, usually potions and materials, can stack. Simple.

For realism, Neverwinter Nights. Not only did it depend on space, like your Diablo 2 example, but on the weight of items which gradually made you move slower. You really ahd to use your party's bags well when returning to town.

 

[dark_taint92]

I'd say the Resi 4 attache case way of having an inventory, It started off small but you could upgrade it to allocate larger items, which took up realistic space like the eggs taking up one space where as the rocket launcher took 2x6 rows.

 

[Ickorus]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has a pretty cool inventory system, you only get 50KG and going over slows you down and begins draining your stamina at a faster rate until when you get too much weight you cannot move at all.

And the exo-skeletons allow you to carry more (and have a lot more armor) but remove your ability to sprint. (In CoP you can modify your exo-skeleton to be able to sprint but it takes a long time to get the required tools)

Diablo has a good system but my one annoyance with it is not being able to turn my items.

 

[unoleian]

This is going to sound crazy, but my first response upon seeing that Diablo 2 image was to mouse over the items to see if they were any good...

...but anyway, that was a great inventory system. Simple, intuitive, and actually was almost a bit of a strategy game in-and-of-itself to pack as much as possible with tomes, charms, an extra back-up potions, while still leaving room for any serious drop that might happen.

 

[xdgt]

Honestly i didn't find diablo inventory system all that good (as in comfortable), but it definately was more realistic than some others (a plate armor should take more space than a feather...)and if you are looking for something like that i'd have to say Neverwinter nights had inventory that depended both on space and weight (which was affected by str stat). I'm being a bit too much of a fan here but I liked Witcher - had a limited amount of weapons and armor and upgrade runes/stones played a bigger role, other slots were quest items, alchemy ingredients and some things to sell, also you could always store your stuff at an innkeeper.

 

[Amnestic]

I think Resi 4's Attache Case system was better than Diablo 2's system, simply because it also allowed you to rotate your items which you couldn't do in D2.

So yeah, I'm gonna go with Resi 4, but D2 as a predecessor to it was good as well.

 

[Gardenia]

As I'm currently playing System Shock 2 (again), I'm gonna go with its inventory system. The number of spaces are dependent on your Strength, and differently sized objects take up different amounts of space.
(Oh god, I hated the Diablo 2 system. I find it too small! Torchlight did it well, with that dog (or cat) you can send off to town.

 

[azncutthroat]

I'd say the Resi 4 attache case way of having an inventory, It started off small but you could upgrade it to allocate larger items, which took up realistic space like the eggs taking up one space where as the rocket launcher took 2x6 rows.

Yeah, that's another instant gaming classic. The upgradable nature of the inventory was my favorite feature about it, personally. My only nit-pickings with it are that you had to pause the game to switch/change weapons/equipment, which felt like a pace-breaker, and that you couldn't "hold" items out of the case on Leon's body (i.e. slinging the rifle over his back).

 

[azncutthroat]

I think Resi 4's Attache Case system was better than Diablo 2's system, simply because it also allowed you to rotate your items which you couldn't do in D2.

So yeah, I'm gonna go with Resi 4, but D2 as a predecessor to it was good as well.

Yeah, the item rotation and upgradable space were most definitely improvements over the D2 system. Lol, it's almost as if Blizzard never played Tetris...

 

[Marter]

I had absolutely no issue with the one in Final Fantasy X.

 

[e2density]

Resident Evil 4. Loved the attache case idea.

 

[DustyDrB]

I felt that Dragon Age's could have definitely been better. That could be because I was never interested in the crafting elements of the game, but it just becomes cluttered so quickly. I hate clutter.

 

[Shru1kan]

I'd say the Resi 4 attache case way of having an inventory, It started off small but you could upgrade it to allocate larger items, which took up realistic space like the eggs taking up one space where as the rocket launcher took 2x6 rows.

This aaaand...

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has a pretty cool inventory system, you only get 50KG and going over slows you down and begins draining your stamina at a faster rate until when you get too much weight you cannot move at all.

And the exo-skeletons allow you to carry more (and have a lot more armor) but remove your ability to sprint. (In CoP you can modify your exo-skeleton to be able to sprint but it takes a long time to get the required tools).

This.


I seem to like seeing everything spread out. Either way seems to work after that, weight or space, but I like to see my arsenal laid out for me while selecting a weapon.

 

[AlphaOmega]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and to a lesser degree Diablo 2

 

[Omikron009]

I really liked Fallout 3's inventory system. It was easy to organize, and it's one of the only games where I actually had fun managing my inventory.

 

[Pietho]

Sacred had a great inventory system. Much like Diablo 2 but with more practical for a PLAYER. I especially like the fact that, even though you have more spaces to put things, you inevitably have to dump some stuff to make room for other stuff. And thanks to the massive open world it happens just as often as in Diablo 2.