Let me start, by saying that I love most of the games I'm going to rant about, but there could be improvements in the weapon switching category.
Okay, lets begin. Halo, Saints Row 2, Fable 2. All of them examples, on how to treat combat and weapon switching correctly. Fallout 3, Half Life 2, GTAIV. Not so much.
If say, in Halo. I'm Assault Rifling a few grunts, and all of a sudden, a Sniper Rifle shot from a Jackal goes overhead, and I'm wanting to return fire, before he takes a 2nd shot. I press Y to change to my other weapon, (Usually BR, or Sniper Rifle) and return fire.
If say, in Saints Row 2, if I'm having a fight to the death with Ultor, and I'm machine gunning down a ton of guys, and a Helicopter flies overhead, I press B, move the thumbstick to the RPG, and take down the Chopper.
If say, in Fable 2, I'm slashing up a bunch of bandits, and a Rifleman pops up, I turn around and shoot him at the touch of a single button and a move of the joystick.
If I'm in Megaton, playing Fallout 3. Killing all the residents of the place before I nuke it. I don't want to have to press B, to change my weapon, everytime I go for a kill at different ranges. Craterside supply was a good example. I'm pinned down, low health. So I back into there, take a few stimpacks. Then 6-7 residents swarm me. 3 with guns, the mercenary who was already there, and 4 with Melee. Am I expected to get slashed to death because I'm firing and can't use Melee weapons to defend myself properly, or get shots to death, because I'm too busy swinging my chinese sword at the melee opponents. Granted theres the Hotkey function, but remembering 8 different button presses is annoying, not to mention the fact that at least 2-3 times in the Story, you have to re-assign your buttons because your weapons are stripped from you.
If I'm in Half Life, and a group of Combine swing around the corner. While I'm Sniping down a few on the Horizon, I don't want to have to switch to a whole new set of weapons, to throw 1-2 grenades.
If I'm in GTAIV, and I'm in a shootout with Cops in the middle of Star Junction, and a Annhialator swings on overhead, I don't want to have to cycle through weapons, to change from Pistol to RPG. Granted they tried to make an option for the D-Pad accessable, but remember all the button layouts, with only a one time hint to go by, was a pain in the ass to say the least.
Okay, lets begin. Halo, Saints Row 2, Fable 2. All of them examples, on how to treat combat and weapon switching correctly. Fallout 3, Half Life 2, GTAIV. Not so much.
If say, in Halo. I'm Assault Rifling a few grunts, and all of a sudden, a Sniper Rifle shot from a Jackal goes overhead, and I'm wanting to return fire, before he takes a 2nd shot. I press Y to change to my other weapon, (Usually BR, or Sniper Rifle) and return fire.
If say, in Saints Row 2, if I'm having a fight to the death with Ultor, and I'm machine gunning down a ton of guys, and a Helicopter flies overhead, I press B, move the thumbstick to the RPG, and take down the Chopper.
If say, in Fable 2, I'm slashing up a bunch of bandits, and a Rifleman pops up, I turn around and shoot him at the touch of a single button and a move of the joystick.
If I'm in Megaton, playing Fallout 3. Killing all the residents of the place before I nuke it. I don't want to have to press B, to change my weapon, everytime I go for a kill at different ranges. Craterside supply was a good example. I'm pinned down, low health. So I back into there, take a few stimpacks. Then 6-7 residents swarm me. 3 with guns, the mercenary who was already there, and 4 with Melee. Am I expected to get slashed to death because I'm firing and can't use Melee weapons to defend myself properly, or get shots to death, because I'm too busy swinging my chinese sword at the melee opponents. Granted theres the Hotkey function, but remembering 8 different button presses is annoying, not to mention the fact that at least 2-3 times in the Story, you have to re-assign your buttons because your weapons are stripped from you.
If I'm in Half Life, and a group of Combine swing around the corner. While I'm Sniping down a few on the Horizon, I don't want to have to switch to a whole new set of weapons, to throw 1-2 grenades.
If I'm in GTAIV, and I'm in a shootout with Cops in the middle of Star Junction, and a Annhialator swings on overhead, I don't want to have to cycle through weapons, to change from Pistol to RPG. Granted they tried to make an option for the D-Pad accessable, but remember all the button layouts, with only a one time hint to go by, was a pain in the ass to say the least.
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