Kill Switch
I’d be lying if I described Namco’s Kill Switch as anything but generic, but the focus on the cover system and the skill with which it was implemented were definitely impressive. Though the game could be lacking, its focus on cover and the introduction of blind fire made it heavily influential on later titles in the genre, up to and including…
Gears of War
With the third release in the franchise, Gears of War is on everyone’s mind. Despite the warm critical reception the finale to the trilogy has been receiving, I still hold out that the cover system was best in the original Gears of War. It was such a breath of fresh air back in 2006 with its versatility and single button control and, even though later games in the series have refined and perfected the mechanics, they haven’t really revolutionised in-game cover in the way that the original Gears of War did.
Time Crisis
Light gun games are, and always have been, a necessary arcade staple. That said, there isn’t exactly a huge amount of innovation to be had within the genre, something that made Time Crisis’ simple inclusion and adaptation of cover mechanics all the more engaging. Assigning a “pop out of cover” action to a foot pedal gave Time Crisis the unique edge it needed to rock the arcades and the PSX back in 1995 and 1997 respectively.
