Do you miss the '100' Health Meter?

PostDo you miss the '100' Health Meter? by KK » Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:20 pm

Up until quite recently, most games had a 100% health meter that, as you got shot, slowly depleted. The only way to top it up was through health packs dotted around the environment. These days, nearly every game features varying forms of regenerating health (if I remember, Halo & The Getaway being two of the first on console).

My question being, which do you prefer? Personally, I've found it's made games considerably easier - which for me at least, I couldn't be happier about. Coupled with better checkpointing, it means I no longer have to traipse through huge swathes of a level again because my health was at 8% & I couldn't find a poxy first aid kit.

On one hand, I do miss it. On other hand, I don't.

It just has to compared with game itself, though. For example, regen health wouldn't work at all with the likes of Serious Sam & Doom, and "100" Health meter won't work with Halo wise. That may be because I got used to their system, really...

Na I am all for the regenerating health stuff.

In games like Batman AA and Uncharted 2 this type of health system works well. In fact in the latter I would say it is almost perfected ... if you take loads of hits in Uncharted 2 you have to stay in cover until you regen ... but then the enemy is able to push up on you making it more likely they will break your cover and kill you ... thus I think it is a good balance between giving you a second chance but punishing you at the same time. Boy I have explained that badly.

Chocolate Jim wrote:Na I am all for the regenerating health stuff.

In games like Batman AA and Uncharted 2 this type of health system works well. In fact in the latter I would say it is almost perfected ... if you take loads of hits in Uncharted 2 you have to stay in cover until you regen ... but then the enemy is able to push up on you making it more likely they will break your cover and kill you ... thus I think it is a good balance between giving you a second chance but punishing you at the same time. Boy I have explained that badly.

Nah it makes sense mate :-)

I do like that idea, too. Just in 'classic' FPS it wouldn't work IMO, but for Uncharted wise, it does work very well.

Goldeneye health system was win

How can I miss something that isn't gone?

Valve supremacy. 8-)

Initially, I hated regenerating health systems, I thought they were borderline game-ruining. However, I now think they make most games where they're intelligently implemented tactical in a way that the 100% system never could. After all, I can't think of a single regenerative health system that allows you take anywhere near the amount of damage that a 100% system does before you keel over. As such, it might be easier to survive a series of skirmishes, but each skirmish is actually far more difficult. So, you get to start each battle with a clean slate, but you have to approach each with a much smarter head on.

Loves 'em.

I remember the first few games I played that had health regen, I think it was the Getaway and Red Faction 2, and it seemed revolutionary at the time, in quite a few games I remember tensely creeping around with 8-12% health praying for a medipack, however HL2 manages it quite well, and that's one of the best games EVAR.

It does indeed make games easier, and i've read a few arguments along the lines of it not being "realistic", however picking up medkits to cure gunshot wounds isn't real either.

TL;DR version - meh, both work fine for me.

I liked Perfect Dark Zero's health system, when you got hit your health went down quite a bit but then recovered to near full again.

Nope I don't miss it!

Mary wrote:How can I miss something that isn't gone?

Valve supremacy.

Doesn't really bother me either way. Decent checkpoints are more important.

Mary wrote:How can I miss something that isn't gone?

Valve supremacy.

I don't miss it, no. But I was never really that bothered by it before. My favourite (lol) form of health system is where it's split into blocks, and as long as you have a little bit of health left in a block, it regenerates that one bit (like in Batman AA).

Well playing internet spaceships means I have 3 of the strawberry floaters now so meh.

Heh, I assume you're talking about Eve Online, I flew Amarr so only 2 of those 3 bars really mattered to me

I like it in things like Halo, where the idea of a regenerating shield makes sense. But it ruins realism in some games. The idea that I can hide behind a wall in Call Of Duty after being shot, and then be fine, I find a little strange. Developers ought to work out a solution for the game world they are trying to create.

trelliz wrote:Heh, I assume you're talking about Eve Online, I flew Amarr so only 2 of those 3 bars really mattered to me

My main flies gal and amarr and my alt flies mini and caldari with the third flys what ever the hell I feel like flying, mainly haulers and miners so all matter.

more heat than light wrote:I like it in things like Halo, where the idea of a regenerating shield makes sense. But it ruins realism in some games. The idea that I can hide behind a wall in Call Of Duty after being shot, and then be fine, I find a little strange. Developers ought to work out a solution for the game world they are trying to create.

Because applying an arbitrary 100 point scale to a persons health is so realistic, especially where you usually have full use of all your faculties at 1% then stub your toe and drop down dead. :lol:

more heat than light wrote:I like it in things like Halo, where the idea of a regenerating shield makes sense. But it ruins realism in some games. The idea that I can hide behind a wall in Call Of Duty after being shot, and then be fine, I find a little strange. Developers ought to work out a solution for the game world they are trying to create.

I see what you mean, but I think Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has proven that the alternative can end up contrived and game-ruining.
To be fair, Call of Duty isn't exactly realistic so it's not a big deal.

Do you miss the '100' Health Meter?

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