If you didn¡¯t know the list of features a particular game offered why would you buy it? Because of the box artwork? Perhaps. But the discerning game player will want a fairly comprehensive understanding of the title before they fork out their hard earned cash. Unfortunately, eq2 plat most games aren't that radically different from each other. That¡¯s because every few years there are innovations that push collective development in a new direction.

Rival development studios see these new concepts and subtly put them to work in their own titles, or simply copy them outright. How many times have you seen 'bullet time' since Max Payne? Or delivered a finishing move in an fighting title looked suspiciously like a fatality from Mortal Kombat?
 
Fiddy learned how to avoid bullets the hard way. Games have used cover for years. Even back in the Doom days you still had to pop out from behind a wall to take a few pot shots now and then. You could go as far as to say that Mario using a block to stop a turtle dragon's fireballs was some form of a cover system. Metal Gear Solid hinted at the concept by allowing you to stick to walls and peak around corners, eq2 plat however Killswitch was the first modern shooter to use a proper cover system where you could actually stick to cover and blind fire.

It wasn¡¯t until Gears of War that the true potential of the cover system as a great game mechanic would be realised. This "Stop and Pop" gameplay changed the pace of the traditional shooter, as instead of just running and gunning, the player had to think more tactically. Flanking became more important than it ever was before, and consequently we¡¯ve had a range of games with cover systems ever since.

The cover system: this guy didn't use it. Some have been flat out copies, such as 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand, and others such as Killzone 2 have pushed this further with a stick to cover system. Then there is Rainbow 6: Vegas, Metal Gear Solid 4, Resident Evil 5 - it seems that without a cover system, it's now actually difficult for anyone to market a game as an action title.

The cover system is probably going to be around for quite some time simply because it makes sense. It adds a sense of realism to games and makes shooters more strategic, often improving the pacing and tension of each encounter. The days of running and gunning are far from over, eq2 plat but the more methodical, tactical shooter has started to dominate and we owe this evolution to the cover system.