Boss
Recently I read about someone who really hates boss fights. I can't remember who it was, or where I read it, but I was sickened. I think it might have been in PC Gamer on a review of the game Prey - alternatively, it might not. I had a lot of my mind that day since I was trying to construct a fort out of glasses cases.
I've always thought boss fights are often some of the best parts of games, when done well. There is a fine balance to be struck between making the fight exciting and long enough so you want to keep playing it, but dull and too long so you want it to be over quickly. Too many times does the boss fall into the trap of just doing the same attack over and over. The worst I can think of off-hand would be Alec in the Goldeneye game - his entire programming was to sprint about twice as fast as you could around the satellite dish and shoot at you whenever he stopped at pre-determined points. That was all he did. True, in a game based on a James Bond he was unlikely to sprout claws, but it would've made things more interesting.
The Zelda series is famous for great bosses and Wind Waker (the only one I have, embarassingly) certainly lives up to that. It has eight main bosses, four of whom you fight twice in different ways, and dozens of mini-bosses. Resident Evil 4 (again, I really want to play the older ones. Can anyone help out?) also has great bosses, albeit slightly more gory ones. Resi 4 isn't cell-shaded after all.
Some other bosses of note :
> Nihilanth. The final fight of otherwise-stunning Half-life. The fight isn't too bad, but why battle a giant floating baby with what appears to be a crane hanging from its anal aperture? Surely a huge Vortigaunt would be better? Or just make Gonarch the final boss and move him 2 levels forward.
> Quadraxis. One of my personal favourites from the otherwise not-amazing Metroid Prime 2. Lots of different stages to fight through, lots of different weapons/visors required (Normal, X-Ray and Thermal are all used I seem to remember) and he has a nice variety of attacks.
> Verdugo. I'm aware that some people don't like this Resi 4 boss, but I do. You COULD kill him instantly using the liquid nitrogen and rocketing him, but that takes all the fun out of it. Have a chase through the corridors! Use your magnum, all the nitrogen, and your shotgun. Then, if timed correctly, by the final barrel of liquid nitrogen he'll have the right amount of health to die from a single mine for a stylish finish.
> Tartarus. Last boss of Halo 2 - while not fantastic by himself, atleast he's not another giant spider thing. Makes a nice change.
And while the fight with this particular boss is good but not top-level (since it is the first boss in Wind Waker), I just like the artwork and wanted to put it here. So cool.
I've always thought boss fights are often some of the best parts of games, when done well. There is a fine balance to be struck between making the fight exciting and long enough so you want to keep playing it, but dull and too long so you want it to be over quickly. Too many times does the boss fall into the trap of just doing the same attack over and over. The worst I can think of off-hand would be Alec in the Goldeneye game - his entire programming was to sprint about twice as fast as you could around the satellite dish and shoot at you whenever he stopped at pre-determined points. That was all he did. True, in a game based on a James Bond he was unlikely to sprout claws, but it would've made things more interesting.
The Zelda series is famous for great bosses and Wind Waker (the only one I have, embarassingly) certainly lives up to that. It has eight main bosses, four of whom you fight twice in different ways, and dozens of mini-bosses. Resident Evil 4 (again, I really want to play the older ones. Can anyone help out?) also has great bosses, albeit slightly more gory ones. Resi 4 isn't cell-shaded after all.
Some other bosses of note :
> Nihilanth. The final fight of otherwise-stunning Half-life. The fight isn't too bad, but why battle a giant floating baby with what appears to be a crane hanging from its anal aperture? Surely a huge Vortigaunt would be better? Or just make Gonarch the final boss and move him 2 levels forward.
> Quadraxis. One of my personal favourites from the otherwise not-amazing Metroid Prime 2. Lots of different stages to fight through, lots of different weapons/visors required (Normal, X-Ray and Thermal are all used I seem to remember) and he has a nice variety of attacks.
> Verdugo. I'm aware that some people don't like this Resi 4 boss, but I do. You COULD kill him instantly using the liquid nitrogen and rocketing him, but that takes all the fun out of it. Have a chase through the corridors! Use your magnum, all the nitrogen, and your shotgun. Then, if timed correctly, by the final barrel of liquid nitrogen he'll have the right amount of health to die from a single mine for a stylish finish.
> Tartarus. Last boss of Halo 2 - while not fantastic by himself, atleast he's not another giant spider thing. Makes a nice change.
And while the fight with this particular boss is good but not top-level (since it is the first boss in Wind Waker), I just like the artwork and wanted to put it here. So cool.
"Holy crap! My depth perception sucks!"
posted by Mkzrj at 6:23 pm
4 Comments:
Actually, you're right. That would be much cooler. There are a few of those scattered around Xen but none of them are bosses.
No, Gonarch is the huge headcrab-spawning thing.
Yes, that would be rather good, and if the "it responds to sound" thing was kept in that would make it even more challenging.
All of the bosses on Resi 4 rule, my favourite being Krauser. Until you kill them, of course. According to http://www.capcom-europe.com/residentevil/ , all of the main Resident Evil games are also on Gamecube as well as PS1 and 2.
Also, that picture looks slightly like Mendez in his "look at me, I'm a millipede!!!!!" phase.
I have also only been allowed to play a very short ammount of the first level of Resi 4 by MKZRJ - the greedy git - before he punched me in the face, snatched the controller, kicked me under a lorry and played some boss fights.
*This story is based on real life events; only the names, places and events have been changed.*
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