Cover system

A cover system is a video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to hide from and avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world.

This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obstacles, for purposes of attaining protection from enemy ranged or area effect attacks, such as gunfire or explosions.

[1] An even earlier example of the concept was Taito's 1975 shooter game Gun Fight,[2] where the player characters could take cover behind destructible objects.

[4] Ryan Lambie, writing for Den of Geek, considers Namco's run and gun arcade game Rolling Thunder (1986) to be "the precursor to the modern cover shooter" due to how the player can hide behind crates, doors and other obstacles to avoid enemy fire.

This cover mechanic helped Time Crisis distinguish itself from rival light gun shooters, like Sega's Virtua Cop, and took advantage of the players' hand-foot coordination to create a new arcade game experience.

[1] In 2000, Raven released Soldier of Fortune for the PC which also featured its own lean-and-hide cover system which gave multiplayer combat far more depth.

Using corners of walls, boxes, and other assorted obstacles to take cover from enemy fire was essential to successful gameplay.

While this was considered a change in the shooter genre, reviewer Ricky Tucker felt that the game relied too heavily on the cover system with little other gameplay focus.

[17] Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, released in 2007, also began development that year,[18] and took inspiration from Kill Switch for its cover system.

[1] Other third-person shooters to feature a cover system that same year include WinBack 2: Project Poseidon, released in April,[22] and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.

The cover system was considered revolutionary at the time and was credited for the massive success and sales of the game and its sequel, Gears of War 2.

[25] Its cover system was inspired by Kill Switch,[1] whose lead designer was employed by Epic Games and was involved in the development of Gears of War.

This mechanic was well received and has since been used in most of Ubisoft's third-person games like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs and The Division.

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw has repeatedly criticized cover systems in his series Zero Punctuation, arguing that they ruin the flow of gameplay and comparing games that utilize them unfavorably to "retro" first-person shooters that focus on mobility, such as Quake and Duke Nukem 3D.