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[Zangi]

Demon's Soul is all about them environmental details... it don't outright say it, but that awesome loot you find is usually from fallen heroes...
Heck, reckon the whole soul series and bloodbourne is about them small details that can convey the story if you take the time to look at stuff and connect the dots.

[Akura]

She also calls you a pervert if you "accidentally" look at her from below.

Even if you're dead when it happens.

Even if you're decapitated, and Leon's head happens to roll under her. Girl's got priorities, and her panties are at the top of the list.

Never did notice the fist-pump. I'll have to play it again just to see that.


The FEAR series has some pretty good details, if you care to look closely at some of the fluff lying around.

[karhell]

I like it when npc's actually drop the equipment they are carrying. Mostly find this in roguelikes... Alot of rpg's just have vanishing items. Npc in full plate bashing you with +3 vorpal sword of nacho cheese procs dies and he has a cursed sling on his corpse when looted, ect.

This is what I really liked about Titan Quest. Monsters actually use what they'll drop (or drop what they're using ?), and it shows on screen.
Also, the long grass bending as you pass trough it was a nice touch.

[Mech#4]

I like it when npc's actually drop the equipment they are carrying. Mostly find this in roguelikes... Alot of rpg's just have vanishing items. Npc in full plate bashing you with +3 vorpal sword of nacho cheese procs dies and he has a cursed sling on his corpse when looted, ect.

This is what I really liked about Titan Quest. Monsters actually use what they'll drop (or drop what they're using ?), and it shows on screen.
Also, the long grass bending as you pass trough it was a nice touch.

One of the nice things I noticed about "The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing" was that when you use a flame ability near grass, the grass burns slightly and turns black with glowing tips. It doesn't actually get burned away but it's a nice effect anyway and makes using the phlogiston's torch that much more fun.

[TempAcc]

The unit art and descriptions in age of wonders 1 had zero gameplay use, but added a lot of flavor to the game. They ended up almost discarting them in AoW2, but they made a comeback in AOW2: Shadow Magic, altough no unit art still. The art was all hand drawn too.

Suikoden 2 was also filled with tiny little things the devs put a lot of work into, that you could easily miss if you were only worried about advancing the plot. Seriously, you could go on sidequests to add a bathouse to your castle just to get extra conversation scenes, read letters in the sugestion box to see what each of the TONS of the recruitable characters think of you and what you're doing, hire a private investigator to find out extra details about each character, participate in cook-offs ala "iron chef", etc.

[karhell]

The unit art and descriptions in age of wonders 1 had zero gameplay use, but added a lot of flavor to the game. They ended up almost discarting them in AoW2, but they made a comeback in AOW2: Shadow Magic, altough no unit art still. The art was all hand drawn too.

Haven't played Age of Wonders, but optional art and descriptions are always a nice touch :3

Suikoden 2 was also filled with tiny little things the devs put a lot of work into, that you could easily miss if you were only worried about advancing the plot. Seriously, you could go on sidequests to add a bathouse to your castle just to get extra conversation scenes, read letters in the sugestion box to see what each of the TONS of the recruitable characters think of you and what you're doing, hire a private investigator to find out extra details about each character, participate in cook-offs ala "iron chef", etc.

Apart from the cook-offs (as far as I remember), all of that was still there by Suikoden V (that one also had a fishing contest that was pretty enjoyable ^^)

[blazing glory]

If you shoot at birds flying in the sky in Crysis 1, they'll fall onto the ground instead of going along as scenery.

Seriously, it's the only game I know of that has "scenery birds" that can be shot.

[Mephisto]

If you shoot at birds flying in the sky in Crysis 1, they'll fall onto the ground instead of going along as scenery.

Seriously, it's the only game I know of that has "scenery birds" that can be shot.

Turok 2! Though they don't fall to the ground so much as explode violently.

[Rolan7]

This might make me sound bad, but I've been able to shoot birds in several games...
The original Unreal, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid 2, probably 3.  Half life 2 I think?  Most middle-aged high budget FPSes I'd guess.
N-not that I hate birds!  I just like the challenge of hitting such small moving targets.  Also I think some of the birds in Unreal were actually in the skybox dimension and thus invincible.  Most of the ones in the big open areas were actually there, though, just tiny and with really curvy paths.

[TempAcc]

Zelda games are also known for having these. In OOT and Majora's Mask, if you find one of those bobble head cow dolls that you somtimes see in stores and hit them with the sword or anything, they actualy move despite being part of the scenery.

Radiata Stories for the PS2 also had a fair bit of these. Your character could kick things, and you could interact with several bits of the scenery through this. Not only this, but practically EVERY NPC IN THE GAME had alternate lines they would say if you kicked them once or several times. I might pick up an emulator just to play that game again, it was pretty great with the details, battle system and the huge number of recruitable characters.

Not sure if this counts as a small detail, but in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, to fight Dumah, you had to remove the spears that were impaling his body and keeping him from comming back to life. Thing is, if you shift into the spectral realm, you can see Dumah's soul hanging around his body, and even get attacked by him. Also, in the first Metal Gear Solid game, once you got the camera, you could go around and take pictures of certain places, and see ghosts in them. Most were just faded out and low constrast pictures of the developers, but some were genuinely scary.

[Zireael]

Casting my vote for Deus Ex, too. And Nethack, though I suppose the latter is obligatory

[itisnotlogical]

This might make me sound bad, but I've been able to shoot birds in several games...
The original Unreal, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid 2, probably 3.  Half life 2 I think?  Most middle-aged high budget FPSes I'd guess.
N-not that I hate birds!  I just like the challenge of hitting such small moving targets.  Also I think some of the birds in Unreal were actually in the skybox dimension and thus invincible.  Most of the ones in the big open areas were actually there, though, just tiny and with really curvy paths.

In the first level of Perfect Dark, you can shoot at the little flying cars that pass by. They explode if you hit one it's nearly impossible unless you're playing on an emulator with a high-resolution mode though, because they're about five pixels wide on a real console on a CRT.

[Urist Imiknorris]

This might make me sound bad, but I've been able to shoot birds in several games...
The original Unreal, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid 2, probably 3.  Half life 2 I think?  Most middle-aged high budget FPSes I'd guess.
N-not that I hate birds!  I just like the challenge of hitting such small moving targets.  Also I think some of the birds in Unreal were actually in the skybox dimension and thus invincible.  Most of the ones in the big open areas were actually there, though, just tiny and with really curvy paths.

There's that one area in Metroid Prime.

[Nighthawk]

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (and possibly every Monster Hunter game, I'm not sure): all weapons (and armors) have unique sounds. Some weapons hum like lightsabers, some make weird sorta rattlesnake noises, and some really silly felyne ones make cat sounds when used.

[Rolan7]

Related to the TIE-fighter game's changing music, I love how each of FTL's tracks has a combat and calm version.  When hostilities start, the music fades into combat mode really seamlessly which feels really exciting.
I also like that the new Lanius zone music is a creepy remix, emphasizing that these were normal sectors before something alien arrived.