Bullet Sponges - Which Games Are the Worst Offenders?

[Guevara]

It's my biggest pet peeve - you shoot an enemy 5 or 6 times in the stomach and he's still running and gunning. Shoot him once more and he's immediately dead. I'm LTTP on Uncharted and while I liked the game a lot this was my biggest problem with it. I even tried switching from Normal to Easy just to see if the enemies died any faster (apparently not). As a result I went for headshots almost exclusively. I got the 100 Headshots notification about half way through (and I got much better at hitting headshots in the second half).

What games are the worst offenders? Does this diminish your enjoyment of a game or am I’m crazy? Just to be clear, I'm talking about regular human enemies who require an excess of bullets to die and show next to no reaction to being shot.

 

[BeeDog]

Far Cry had this problem if I recall correctly, especially in the late-game with all those fucking mutants that rocket launcher your ass from 25 km's away.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

In my limited time with Gears of Wars 1 & 2 they seemed to be bullet sponge-o-ramas. Hence, my limited time with them. I realize the Locust are not human but they are the standard cannon fodder in the game.

 

[Pancakes]

Mass Effect 1 on insanity, good lord. It would take a good 45 seconds of constant assault rifle to drop some of the mid-tier enemies

 

[alr1ght]

oh my, shoot them in the head and they die faster? shock.

 

[owlbeak]

GEARS OF WAR MULTIPLAYER.

I hate it, Lancer is completely useless, you have to empty multiple clips into people or use the shotgun to drop anyone. So goddamn annoying.

 

[Yoboman]

Halo 3 multiplayer annoyed me for this. Same for TF2 multiplayer

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Splinter Cell.

For a series that tried to focus on realism, headshots not instantly killing people was ludicrous.

 

[ExtraKr1spy]

The Krogans in the higher difficulties of Mass Effect 1.

I don't mind bullet sponges if I get weapons later in the game that does more damage to them.

 

[MjFrancis]

Both Army of Two and The 40th Day had human enemies with an inexplicable amount of health and/or partial invulnerability. I'd count invulnerability as human bullet sponge overkill. It wasn't realistic, but it worked in the context of the game mechanics.

I've played plenty of games where it didn't work at all, but I'm drawing a blank. Maybe because they were so forgettable?

 

[LabouredSubterfuge]

One of my biggest game design pet-hates in any shooter:

Halo series
Gears of War series
Uncharted 1

 

[Neuromancer]

oh my, shoot them in the head and they die faster? shock.

I know you're being sarcastic but in the real world, you generally shoot for center mass. In video games because of the bullet sponge issue, you're pretty much forced to go for headshots.

It's kind of silly, unless someone's wearing body armor you should be able to neutralize them by shooting them in the chest. I wish video games were a little more realistic in this respect, it'd be nice to use real world tactics instead of decade old video game tactics.

 

[MjFrancis]

Gears of War gets a pass because the enemies aren't human. Humanoid, sure, but I'll grant the locust a bullet-resistant hide.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

This isn't exactly a "worst offender," but I just finished playing Call of Duty 4, and I found that while being a "realistic" game, I was somehow able to take five bullets to the head, followed by a close grenade blast and could just walk off to the side for 5 seconds and recover completely (I was playing on Normal difficulty). Even Counter-Strike was less forgiving than that. I would also shoot an enemy three or four times in the gut and he'd fall over but still somehow shoot at me from the ground with his pistol.

 

[forgeforsaken]

The Uncharteds are definitely big offenders, which is made worse by they way it does waves of enemies as well.

 

[Kanik]

Terminator Salvation before the rocket launcher is introduced.

Trying to kill a robot with a machine gun is so painfully boring.

(Uncharted isn't so bad when you aim for the head. :lol )

 

[Guevara]

One of my biggest game design pet-hates in any shooter:

Halo series
Gears of War series
Uncharted 1

I forgot about Gears, that series may be the worst offender.

The way you specify Uncharted 1 gives me hope that Uncharted 2 is better?

 

[archnemesis]

The first Gears of War.

 

[The Technomancer]

I know you're being sarcastic but in the real world, you generally shoot for center mass. In video games because of the bullet sponge issue, you're pretty much forced to go for headshots.

It's kind of silly, unless someone's wearing body armor you should be able to neutralize them by shooting them in the chest. I wish video games were a little more realistic in this respect, it'd be nice to use real world tactics instead of decade old video game tactics.

You have to have a very good reason why the same thing doesn't happen to you though. Sure, maybe in Halo Master Chief has really effective armor, and Gordon Freeman's HEV suit must have some ridiculous capabilities, but there is literally no reason that Nathan Drake should be able to take more then one bullet before limping terribly for the rest of the game (if shot in the limb) or just keeling over (if shot anywhere else)

Games built around realistic shooting tend to be stealth games because in the real world if you're facing a heavily armed group of enemies all by your lonesome the best course of action is to sneak around them.

 

[TheOddOne]

GEARS OF WAR MULTIPLAYER.

I hate it, Lancer is completely useless, you have to empty multiple clips into people or use the shotgun to drop anyone. So goddamn annoying.

AND THEN THERE IS THAT HOST ADVANTAGE CRAP.

I shoot the guy six times, he shoots me from a distance and I'm down? :rage:

 

[Neuromancer]

You have to have a very good reason why the same thing doesn't happen to you though. Sure, maybe in Halo Master Chief has really effective armor, and Gordon Freeman's HEV suit must have some ridiculous capabilities, but there is literally no reason that Nathan Drake should be able to take more then one bullet before limping terribly for the rest of the game (if shot in the limb) or just keeling over (if shot anywhere else)

The solution to this problem is not make you go up against a hundred dudes at once. Developers could make more realistic wounding if they didn't still have the DOOM mentality.

 

[The Interrobanger]

Recently, Kane & Lynch 2 is pretty bad at this. I loved the game overall, but even just playing on medium settings, unless you're pulling off crazy headshots most enemies are going to take at least 5 shots to put down.

 

[pizzapizza64]

Borderlands, oh man.

 

[Gomu Gomu]

Uncharted 1 introduced me to this concept. so yeah.

 

[ultron87]

Halo 3 multiplayer annoyed me for this.

Huh? I mean obviously you're not playing Counterstrike so it'll take more than a few shots to drop someone. But it isn't like Halo doesn't always give you feedback on whether your shots are hitting or not and approximately how close the enemy is to dying.

If you were talking about Hunters or Brutes in Halo single player I would totally see where you are coming from.

That's really the real problem with bullet sponge type enemies. If you can't tell whether you are hurting them or not there's a problem with the design. See Gears of War's Boomer and Grinders. You can shoot them them in the head 2 or 3 times with the sniper rifle with no seeming effect only to have their heads pop on the 4th shot. It is extremely frustrating.

 

[adelante]

I usually don't mind enemies being a bullet sponge as long there's a visual indication that they're getting hit or don't suddenly go limp when they die (Metro2033 is the most recent example I can think of).

 

[Revolutionary]

Halo (Brutes) and Gears of War (everything) come to mind.


...and those listing Uncharted realize that almost every "bullet sponge" enemy can be taken down with 1 headshot... right?
The only exceptions are the supernatural enemies in each game.

 

[ArjanN]

Terminator Salvation before the rocket launcher is introduced.

Trying to kill a robot with a machine gun is so painfully boring.

(Uncharted isn't so bad when you aim for the head. :lol )

Kind makes sense considering they're terminators.

 

[GameGamer]

Kane and Lynch 2 is really bothering me because of this.

 

[Deadman]

Borderlands, oh man.

Came to post this. Playing with my friends on coop and the enemies just take an insane amount of damage to die. I realise they want to make it harder once you have people helping you, but id much prefer more enemies over ones who can take 30 seconds of solid punishment before dying.

 

[TheSeks]

Halo 3 multiplayer annoyed me for this.

And Reach, hell: 2/1:CE could also be included in this.

 

[NHale]

GEARS OF WAR MULTIPLAYER.

I hate it, Lancer is completely useless, you have to empty multiple clips into people or use the shotgun to drop anyone. So goddamn annoying.

This.

 

[Kai Dracon]

My most hated bullet sponging this generation remains Gears of War. Sure, the Locust aren't human, but in a purely gameplay sense everything feels ridiculous - and your COG guys themselves are wearing HUGE and heavy suits of armor. They should be as bullet resistant as the Locust (for center mass damage at least) but they're not.

It makes the shooting and flow of combat feel artificial and staged rather than visceral and natural. It's a giant light up sign that goes "Ding! Now artificially lengthening encounter to present the illusion of difficulty!"

 

[Neuromancer]

Borderlands, oh man.

I can forgive Borderlands because of the RPG element. That and the game is so fanciful to begin with.

 

[ArjanN]

Kane and Lynch 2 is really bothering me because of this.

Seemed OK to me? IMO It's more than the guns are inaccurate.

A single headshot kills in K&L2. Shotgun to the centre mass kills in 1 shot from way across the room.

My most hated bullet sponging this generation remains Gears of War. Sure, the Locust aren't human, but in a purely gameplay sense everything feels ridiculous - and your COG guys themselves are wearing HUGE and heavy suits of armor. They should be as bullet resistant as the Locust (for center mass damage at least) but they're not.

It makes the shooting and flow of combat feel artificial and staged rather than visceral and natural. It's a giant light up sign that goes "Ding! Now artificially lengthening encounter to present the illusion of difficulty!"

The final boss in Gears of War was especially ridiculous. He takes literally hundreds of headshots to kill, and he's not even wearing a helmet or anything.

 

[Heavy's Sandvich]

Uncharted 2 came to mind.

The Big Daddies in Bioshock.

Halo in general.

 

[kodt]

STALKER

I just remember unloading a full clip from an AK into some guys chest at point blank range and he didn't even blink, then he shot me in the face with a shotgun and I died.

I proceeded to turn off the game, that one encounter ruined the entire immersive feeling for me.

 

[Tears For Fears]

Gears Of War, Metro 2033

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

And Reach, hell: 2/1:CE could also be included in this.

At least in Halo there is a fictional reason for it - energy sheilds. htey show the feedback of your shots and have a valid reason for taking so many hits. And then when they're down every enemy in the game is a one-shot head-shot kill. If you play it right Halo is not bullet-spongy at all.

Gears of War on the other hand is ridiculous. And not only are you pumping bullets into someone's cranium, but there is blood spurting out too. It breaks the immersion for me when an alien is squiting blood from his head for 10 seconds as you shoot him, so stupid.

 

[Smelly Tramp]

killzone 2, especially on higher difficulties.

ridiculous.

 

[Dahbomb]

The bosses in LP2 are massive bullet sponges. Holy shit they take a long time to take down especially if you are going solo.

Although I heard they fixed that in the latest patch for Normal/Easy mode.

The final boss in Gears of War was especially ridiculous. He takes literally hundreds of headshots to kill, and he's not even wearing a helmet or anything.

Was going to post this too. I am so used to bosses having lifebars or if they don't there is usually a very simple gimmick to take them out (like with the Berserkers). After performing like 10 headshots with the Sniper I thought to myself "hmm... maybe he is bullet proof and I need to kill him with something in the area or create some big ass explosion or throw him off the train".

So I searched the entire train for this "gimmick" and couldn't find anything and just kept dying to his damn Kryll swarm. My co-op buddy was just shooting at him the entire time, then one turn came where I was searching and the cutscene came where he died... :lol

 

[ultron87]

And Reach, hell: 2/1:CE could also be included in this.

At least in the multiplayer this serves the handy function of you actually being able to shoot your way out of a situation where the enemy gets the drop on you.

Unlike in a Call of Duty where you're almost certainly dead if the other guy shoots first.

 

[richiek]

I remember GoldenEye being pretty notorious in this regard.

 

[Yeef]

I knew, coming into this topic, that Uncharted would be mentioned. It turns out that the enemies in Uncharted 1 aren't actually bullet sponges, the hit detection is just not too good.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/5883/a_deeper_look_into_the_combat_.php

Why Won't You Die!?

Another side effect of our limitation on enemy numbers was that we had to let them take more hits so they would last longer in combat. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but due to a combination of several choices we made, it ended up causing frustration for some players.

First, the majority of our enemies weren't particularly well armored, wearing just shorts and T-shirts. This created an expectation that they should only take one or two shots to go down. Second, we didn't offer enough feedback with the hit reactions of the enemies, so it was unclear when a bullet actually scored a hit.

Last, our weapon feedback was very minimal due to development time constraints. We weren't able to put tracers on the player's weapons, our impact effects weren't as pronounced as they could have been, and weapon accuracy wasn't communicated well. This lead to players not realizing the true accuracy of the weapon they were using, and not realizing they were missing with a lot of their shots.

As an interesting side note to how critical these points were, we corrected these issues for Uncharted 2 and the average player thought the enemies took less damage than they did in U1 -- when in fact they actually took a little more.

Personally, I prefer it when enemies take a 4 or 5 hits to kill (on a non-headshot) than the call of duty method where everything goes down in one or two shots.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

And whether they're human or not is kind of beside the point. The question really is, how frustrating is it to defeat the standard enemy in the game? Even if that enemy is loaded with armor or is a giant bug monster, that doesn't make it any more fun to have to pump fifty shots into each one.

 

[TheSeks]

killzone 2, especially on higher difficulties.

ridiculous.

Uh... I'm going through Elite right now (only achievement left for 1000gs/Platinum for me), and minus the HUD they die just as quickly as they did recruit/one below Elite.

Don't get where you're thinking they're sponges.

At least in Halo there is a fictional reason for it - energy sheilds. htey show the feedback of your shots and have a valid reason for taking so many hits. And then when they're down every enemy in the game is a one-shot head-shot kill. If you play it right Halo is not bullet-spongy at all.

Can't care. If I empty an entire assault rifle clip into you from medium range, at your chest. Your shield's should've popped and you should be halfway dead. I shouldn't have to "SPRINT->BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMRELOADWARNING->MELEE->MELEE! (WIN BATTLE!)"

Halo's multiplayer is THE definition of bullet sponge gameplay.

Sure, you have means to strip shields (Plasma Pistol) but it's still goddamn annoying at the start of the match to kill people.

edit: And assault->melee/melee is practically THE definition of default "double melee" deaths in Halo 3 as that's pretty much what every player does. Here's hoping Halo Reach at least gives the assault rifle a chance to kill someone without having to rush/melee beat them down after shield pop.

 

[ArjanN]

Gears Of War, Metro 2033

Metro 2033 is a lot like Stalker, in that they want to emphasize headshots and stealth, the enemies can take more damage when they've been alerted. Which feels odd in such an otherwise realistic looking game.

The hardcore mode in Metro 2033 DLC fixes that though, it makes combat a lot more deadly for both you and the enemies.

 

[ultron87]

Halo's multiplayer is THE definition of bullet sponge gameplay.

Try throwing a grenade or feathering the AR's trigger a bit at medium range. Or using the pistol (in Reach) or the battle rifle (in 3).

 

[Alx]

My most hated bullet sponging this generation remains Gears of War. Sure, the Locust aren't human, but in a purely gameplay sense everything feels ridiculous - and your COG guys themselves are wearing HUGE and heavy suits of armor. They should be as bullet resistant as the Locust (for center mass damage at least) but they're not.

It makes the shooting and flow of combat feel artificial and staged rather than visceral and natural. It's a giant light up sign that goes "Ding! Now artificially lengthening encounter to present the illusion of difficulty!"

I'm not a huge fan of GeoW (only played 2/3rd of the first one), but I thought that "bullet resistance" was part of a clever game design, it forced the player to move around the level and try to get closer for a fast kill (using the chainsaw or the shotgun). Jumping from cover to cover is what defines the game, so it shouldn't encourage shooting enemies from the other side of the room.

 

[farnham]

gears 1s locust felt really really strong

gears 2 not so much