Cover System: Difference between revisions

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[[File:703px-933037 20080320 screen005.jpg|thumb|right|232px|Niko Bellic utilising the cover system to hide from cops and have a clear vantage point in GTA IV.]]
[[File:GTAIV-Cover.jpg|thumb|right|232px|Niko Bellic utilising the cover system to hide from cops and have a clear vantage point in GTA IV.]]
[[File:CoverSystem-GTAVC-inuse.jpg|right|thumb|232px|Various forms of cover in GTA Vice City; behind cardboard boxes, a bench, and a car.]]
[[File:CoverSystem-GTAVC-inuse.jpg|right|thumb|232px|Various forms of cover in GTA Vice City; behind cardboard boxes, a bench, and a car.]]
[[File:Cover-GTAIV.jpg|thumb|right|303px|Luis Lopez blindfiring in two of GTA IV's cover positions.]]
[[File:Cover-GTAIV.jpg|thumb|right|303px|Luis Lopez blindfiring in two of GTA IV's cover positions.]]

Revision as of 19:53, 25 October 2011

Niko Bellic utilising the cover system to hide from cops and have a clear vantage point in GTA IV.
Various forms of cover in GTA Vice City; behind cardboard boxes, a bench, and a car.
File:Cover-GTAIV.jpg
Luis Lopez blindfiring in two of GTA IV's cover positions.

The ability to take cover in Grand Theft Auto, known henceforth as the "cover system", has long been a feature since the first game, primarily intended to protect the player from gunfire and injury. Development of the feature was initially slow as functionality of the cover system had only been improved gradually in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto IV, however, features a significantly overhauled cover system, serving as a crucial gameplay element.

Description

Pre-GTA IV

In GTA games prior to GTA IV, including top-down games, the player is limited to running behind cars and structure in order to cover from gunfire.

With the introduction of crouching in GTA Vice City, the player can run behind shorter objects that are otherwise useless in GTA III so the player's body is less exposed to gunfire. This is especially advantageous on the PC version where the bullets travel to the crosshair and not obstructed by barriers usually experienced using the console or classic controls. Powerful weapons that can only be targeted in first-person view in the console or classic controls are extremely useful in the PC version, being able to target in third person view. GTA San Andreas added the additional ability to move and roll dodge while crouching.

GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories and GTA Chinatown Wars follow GTA III's cover system, as the player cannot crouch. Similarly, GTA Advance follows the even older cover system employed in early top-down games.

GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto IV and its respective episodes dramatically improved the cover system by allowing the player to hide behind nearly any sufficiently large solid object in a single command and attack while behind cover. Because players will receive more severe injuries from gunfire, cover is far more necessary when in firefights in GTA IV than in prior games.

When the command to take cover is issued, the player will automatically seek the nearest solid surface for cover, running, rolling, sliding, diving and going from cover to cover; depending on the height of the object, the player will either take cover standing or crouching. Once behind cover, the player can strafe left or right if there is room, hugging close to the cover. At the edge of a cover, the player can fire around, either emerging in plain sight of hostiles to open fire (allowing the player to zoom in on their target) before automatically hiding behind cover, or blind fire (by blindly shooting around the corner); the former tends to be risky if the player poorly times their attack, as most of their body will be exposed to gunfire; likewise, accuracy is significantly reduced when the player chooses to blind fire, unless they player is able to effectively target weak spots on hostiles (as it is still possible to perform headshots using single blind shots).

Players can also throw or fire projectile weapons and explosives (including the Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher) while in cover, protecting the player from splash damage. When unarmed or wielding a melee weapon, however, the player will not be able to attack while in cover.

It is still possible to resort to the traditional crouch-and-shoot tactic effective in GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas. Similar to GTA San Andreas, the ability to roll dodge is possible in GTA IV when the player simply crouches in the open.