Power ups

[Gimli]

There was this thread on Seriously!... and I have no idea what it was about anymore, since they more often than not go completely off topic faster than a speeding bullet, but anyway someone mentioned new power ups. Now this currently-mini-discussion that arose got me thinking how a lot of the power ups are things we've seen a million times already. Extra strength, extra speed, extra slow motion, extra invisibility, extra damage and so on.

My question to you is: shouldn't we be able to think of something new?

I remember that Serious Sam 2 was supposed to have a Serious Disco power up, which would make the enemies stop trying to kill you in whatever way and start dancing. As unfitting for SS as it is, the idea in and of itself is both pretty original and quite hilarious, too.

The only problem is, so far I can't think of anything; which is why I'm asking in the first place.

 

Another thought was replacing power ups with traits, kind of like the ones Fallout had. A simple example would be an equivalent of the Small Frame trait from Fallout:

 

Small Frame is a Trait which appears in every SPECIAL game.

 

You are not quite as big as other people, but that never slowed you down. You can't carry as much, but you are more agile.

 

* You get a +1 bonus to your Agility, but your carry weight is equal to 25 + (15 lbs. x your Strength).

 

Replace Agility with higher speed and jumping as pros and half ammo as a con.

 

The traits would add a bit of tactics to the game but still not affect the gameplay in a bad way.

 

What do you guys think?

[FullAuto]

This is my vote for a "Set Everything On Fire" power up.

 

I think their lack of innovation is because 'innovative' games tend to drop power ups entirely, because they're a gaming archetype (or stereotype) and other games tend to follow the same outlines as preceding games in the genre, so they use similar gameplay systems, and seeing as the power ups augment the player's abilities within those systems, the power ups tend to be very similar too.

 

Best system I can think of recently is Multiwinia's, which provides power ups to the lowest-ranked player. However, the power ups themselves are not at all new, speed/firepower boosts, special attacks, etc.

[Gimli]

That reminds me of Worms for some reason, although that was more weapon drops than power ups, but it's still interesting.

[FullAuto]

I wish I had used that in my review TBH, but everyone else did and I was getting sick of hearing it. I compared it to Mario Kart instead, in that the lowest-placed player gets the best item, but you're right, Multiwinia's system is more like Worms', you get a crate dropping in closer to you the worse off you are.

 

I think power ups are going out of fashion, or perhaps they're just used less ( or less obviously) with games trying for realism.