The best companion "systems"

[aozgolo]

It's often been said that Bioware writes the best companions, that may be true, but what I wonder is do they create the best "system" for controlling and interacting with your companions?

I want to hear The Escapist's opinions on which games had the best companion systems and why they liked them.

 

[tippy2k2]

This might be cheating but I thought that Mass Effect was one of the better ways to do it.

I'm a commander, not a baby-sitter. I should be able to expect my men to do what's expected of them without having to handhold them and tell them exactly what they should be doing. However, in situations where it is warranted, it's really nice being one button away from telling my men that I want them to do something special.

Outside of battle, Mass Effect easily takes the cake for best companions. (inconsequential spoiler ahead) I have never felt so bad for a character in normal interaction than Miranda when I told her that I needed time to figure out whom I loved. She turns her back on you, says it's OK and that she understands, but you can see the single tear crawling down her eye...I have NEVER reloaded a save quicker in my life.

 

[Requia]

This might be cheating but I thought that Mass Effect was one of the better ways to do it.

I'm a commander, not a baby-sitter. I should be able to expect my men to do what's expected of them without having to handhold them and tell them exactly what they should be doing. However, in situations where it is warranted, it's really nice being one button away from telling my men that I want them to do something special.

Outside of battle, Mass Effect easily takes the cake for best companions. (inconsequential spoiler ahead) I have never felt so bad for a character in normal interaction than Miranda when I told her that I needed time to figure out whom I loved. She turns her back on you, says it's OK and that she understands, but you can see the single tear crawling down her eye...I have NEVER reloaded a save quicker in my life.

Seconded.

Fallout Tactics did something similar as well, they didn't move on their own but you could give general orders about when to start shoting in order to set up ambushes.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

In terms of gameplay Dragon Age's companion system was pretty fucking good. You could basically program them and give them instructions to follow in certain scenarios. What to do if your health drops below 50%, how to heal, when to heal, who to heal, what skills to use if you're surrounded by 2 or more enemies etc.

Torchlight pet system is very solid and simple. You give your pet one of three basic models of behavior and direct him where you need.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing had system similar to Torchlight but a little bit improved. Your ghost companion had three modes. She could go all melee and take a role of tank, she could go all ranged and provide some firecover for you, or she could simple go ghost and provide you with buffs. On top of that your ghost companion had her own skill tree so you could customize the role you wanted her to play. Incredible system and I wish Torchlight 3 will implement something like that.

 

[aozgolo]

Personally I enjoyed Fallout New Vegas' companion wheel since it allowed me to circumvent dialogue if I just wanted to access their inventory or have them wait somewhere or change their tactics. In fact I love companion wheels in general, in Secret of Mana and Secret of Evermore I loved how I was able to quickly reassign weapons, cast magic, use items, and the like right on the battle field.

I also enjoyed the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII, though I wish it had something akin to Dragon Quest VIII's method of "talking to your party members" which I think really helped you stay on task in that game and gave it a greater sense of grounding. The Gambit System though was the first time I felt setting my characters to "full auto" actually worked well since I could control how that behaved.

 

[josemlopes]

The best companions are in Star Wars Republic Commando (no social/interaction aspect though), by the end of the game you will be sad that there wont be more adventures with them.

In terms of interaction Mass Effect really is at the top (its one of their selling points so it better be), in other games you usually have to create your own "social" experiences with your companions, they wont respond to you but you will remember how long they have been following you and how many times they saved your ass creating a certain personal bond with them (like in State of Decay).