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[Jigsaah]

I was listening to a recent RDX Podcast and the head of hardware design for the XSX was on with Dealer, TimDog and friends. One of the questions that was asked was about whether or not AI would be a focus given the boost to CPU specs in the next gen consoles (specifically in this case, the XSX, naturally). It made me think, what was the best AI I've experienced in a game. As I thought back into my gaming archive there's one, unlikely game that came to mind.

Believe it or not, it was Twisted Metal 2 for the PS1.

CPU enemies in Twisted Metal 2 exhibited self preservation, strategy, unrelenting aggressiveness, evasive behavior and unique behavior based on the character you were using. Sweettooth was a bully, would spam and run you down with reckless abandon. Outlaw, was sly and would keep her distance and shock you through walls if she could. Spectre was a distance combatant and would attack from afar with his unorthodox heating seeking/wall penetrating missiles. Axel was all about ramming and cornering you. Sure, it was a PS1 game and there were exploits you could use to take advantage of their primitive instructions. However, sans these cheap tactics, you were at the mercy of their incredibly cheap tactics.

I was wondering if you guys have seen other instances of superb AI in games.

 

[Krappadizzle]

F.E.A.R had some good fake A.I. that felt very believable. Halo 1 too.

 

[Jigsaah]

F.E.A.R had some good fake A.I. that felt very believable. Halo 1 too.

I've actually never played F.E.A.R. What was the AI like?

 

[Alx]

I was pleasantly surprised by the NPC AI in Kane & Lynch 2, with characters using the complex environment to cover and flank you. It was probably scripted, but very convincing.

 

[M1chl]

Aside from the F.E.A.R. I would say Halo: Reach on Legendary.

 

[Jigsaah]

I was pleasantly surprised by the NPC AI in Kane & Lynch 2, with characters using the complex environment to cover and flank you. It was probably scripted, but very convincing.

That reminds me of a couple of call of duty campaigns. Where enemies would flank pretty aggressively.

 

[GHG]

I've actually never played F.E.A.R. What was the AI like?

Why F.E.A.R.'s AI is still the best in first-person shooters

The shadows on the wall tell me they’re coming. Two of them, both with assault rifles swinging idly at their hips. If I…

www.rockpapershotgun.com

Find a way to play this game. It still holds up incredibly well.

 

[Terenty]

That's easy.

Rain World and Space Rangers

 

[TeamGhobad]

Halo 1

the enemies would flank me, dodge grenades, best i've seen so far. friendlies would chase me for over 10km and eventually catch up.

BioShock Infinite:

Elizabeth best soldier buddy, free money, bullets, weapons, finding hidden stash. although it was all scripted it felt great.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

The A.I in F.E.A.R remains my gold standard

Also

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Starcraft 2

Halo: Reach

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Dwarf Fortress

 

[Captain Hero]

Driver ps1 ( when cops chasing you in that rage mode )

 

[Sygma]

The Division 2, Ninja Gaiden, Dawn of War 2, Ground Control, Homeworld

 

[Katsura]

Backgammon Pro. It features a neural network AI that can thrash even the best players in the world

 

[Virex]

F.E.A.R
.
E
.
A
.
R

 

[Jigsaah]

Why F.E.A.R.'s AI is still the best in first-person shooters

The shadows on the wall tell me they’re coming. Two of them, both with assault rifles swinging idly at their hips. If I…

www.rockpapershotgun.com

Find a way to play this game. It still holds up incredibly well.

Thanks for the article! I'll check it out on my lunch.

 

[tylrdiablos]

Unreal Tournament 2004(?)'s AI teammate bots were really good. You could give them commands ("Get their flag!", "Hold this position!" etc) and they did a good job of it.

 

[pr0cs]

I suppose it will be an usual opinion but I liked Saints Row 2

The gang VS gang warfare could get absolutely nuts if you purposely caused chaos.
Example:

• Become enemies with several different gangs, drive into gang A home turf, pick a fight
• Get vehicle, drive to gang B home turf, make sure gang A is following you
• Cause an accident or do something at B to make them follow you too
• Drive to your home turf with A and B in tow
• When back at home turf find safe space and watch mayhem, A and B will pick fights with your people, causing pedestrians to freak out usually driving over people which in turn calls the police who try to take out all the fighting and chaos.
• A and B will often call for reinforcements which perpetuates the violence
• Eventually your crew will wipe A and B out

I recall laughing my ass off at the sheer insanity of it all, I suppose the AI rules aren't terribly complex but when you put it all together coupled with realistic physics, driving melee and firearm combat it was like watching your own mini riot...

Fabulous

 

[Jigsaah]

Hmmm I just thought of another. AI Titans in Titanfall/Titanfall 2. I remember in the original game I was wondering sometimes if the the Titan was manned or not. That game was so sick.

 

[Mista]

Ninja Gaiden. That was something very special

I miss Itagaki

 

[V4skunk]

Call of Duty.

 

[Kuranghi]

Hitman 2016 [and by extension 2018 too], the NPCs react to you in all the different disguises from each map with many different voice lines. The NPC's have thousands of lines of genuinely funny dialogue, I think I read they have like a fantasy novels worth of dialogue in the game or something like that - 250,000+ words - which sounds crazed and untrue now that I write it down, haha.

The NPC's have different reactions to many different events, such as: you taking cover, you crouching, dropping weapons/items/tools, searching you at checkpoints, specific disguises being seen by specific other type of NPCs, custom suits. You can literally have a blast just walking around in all the outfits and seeing all the unique dialogue, although I've played both the games combined for 1200+ hours and I *still* hear new stuff ever time I play.

I know this just sounds like the dialogue but the way in which the NPC's react to things in the world is a big part of making them into believable humans, so I see it as a big part of the AI.

 

[Azelover]

I'm not sure...

Maybe.. Nintendogs? I don't play that many non-handheld games anymore.

 

[Halo is Back]

Alien Isolation and Halo CE

 

[molasar]

MGSV

 

[HaveButOneLife]

Halo anyone? Never played against such difficult AI... on regular difficulty.

On that note I'm never playing Legendary.

 

[Beelzebubs]

Going with Alien Isolation and Killzone 2.

 

[spawn]

The alien AI in alien isolation. IGN gave it a bad review because they thought the alien was too smart and the game was too difficult for them

 

[OrionNebula]

Came here to say F.E.A.R, but I guess I’ll just settle for the ghosts in Pac-Man

 

[Arachnid]

The Xeno in Alien Isolation. 4 playthroughs later on hard and the thing still isn't predictable. I'm always on my toes. Legit lol @ getting Mr. X years later.

 

[Mochilador]

F.E.A.R., Halo games, Alien Isolation (even though it kinda knows the area where you are).
F.E.A.R. is really impressive because the enemies keep communicating with each other based on your actions.

 

[Handel]

Trico in The Last Guardian is an astounding achievement in AI.

 

[bilderberg]

Halo 1, Reach, Killzone 2

 

[Poordevil]

The enemy AI in the campaign mode of Red Baron 3D. Uncanny how unpredictable they were, or how realistically they could respond to different combat scenarios. No other combat flight sim I have flown has come close

 

[sdrawkcab]

The alien AI in alien isolation. IGN gave it a bad review because they thought the alien was too smart and the game was too difficult for them

IGN is a joke sometimes. That company is filled with people who suck at gaming, real talk!

I can barely remember Halo CE (I haven't played it in over a decade), but FEAR's AI burnt an impression in my mind. The AI felt so very real. I need that level of AI (on steroids) next gen.

There's another game I used to play back in the DOOM 1 days on PC. I really can't remember the name, but it was a FPS and the enemy was the Germans. Based around WWII times. Again, I'm talking about a game made in the mid 90s, but the AI was very impressive. You could legit walk into a room or scene and start shooting everyone you see standing, only to be surprised by guys getting up from the ground and flanking/shooting you. The enemies literally used to play dead, sometimes even after being shot. I really wish I could find that game again. In my opinion, it was one of the best FPS ever made for that time, easily surpassing DOOM and even Heretic.

Edit: I now realised that game was the first Wolfenstein 3D *face palm*
But yeah, I enjoyed it more than I did DOOM.

Edit 2: I was corrected, the game is called Rise Of The Triad: Dark War, and it was the best FPS of that era, hands down!

 

[Chairman Tickles]

I've actually never played F.E.A.R. What was the AI like?

Tricksy. At times it felt like you were playing online multiplayer. The AI would encircle and self preserve, and generally do human shit.

Best AI imo was in galactic civs 2. Best strategic AI ever. Felt like you were once again playing against human opponents.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Best AI imo was in galactic civs 2. Best strategic AI ever. Felt like you were once again playing against human opponents.

I never played these games. I’ll check it out now

is 2 better than 3, or should I just play 3?

 

[Chairman Tickles]

I never played these games. I’ll check it out now

is 2 better than 3, or should I just play 3?

2 is better than 3. 3 is basically 2 without the good AI.

 

[Hendrick's]

Halo Reach

 

[meirl]

 

[Joe T.]

The Halo games are definitely high on my list, specifically 3 and Reach. Lots of memorable interactions with friendly and enemy NPCs, vehicles/turrets, hierarchies and behavior independent of your involvement.

Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't get enough love for applying its fairly rudimentary AI on such a large scale and providing emergent gameplay as a result. You can be idling while an NPC rear ends someone else at a red light and the victim steps out of his car to start a fight while traffic slows to a crawl around them. Some pedestrians run, others decide to jump into the fray. Someone gets knocked out and the paramedics arrive to resuscitate him, meanwhile the police are chasing another pedestrian down and stuffing him in their police cruiser while a passerby is ordering a hot dog from the stand next to you. I love the unpredictability of it all.

 

[Elektro Demon]

F.E.A.R. and Unreal Tournament 99 bots.

 

[EDMIX]

The Last Guardian and The Last Of Us and Metal Gear Solid V.

 

[vpance]

Half Life. That marine AI was nuts at the time

 

[molasar]

There's another game I used to play back in the DOOM 1 days on PC. I really can't remember the name, but it was a FPS and the enemy was the Germans. Based around WWII times. Again, I'm talking about a game made in the mid 90s, but the AI was very impressive. You could legit walk into a room or scene and start shooting everyone you see standing, only to be surprised by guys getting up from the ground and flanking/shooting you. The enemies literally used to play dead, sometimes even after being shot. I really wish I could find that game again. In my opinion, it was one of the best FPS ever made for that time, easily surpassing DOOM and even Heretic.

Edit: I now realised that game was the first Wolfenstein 3D *face palm*

I thought it was Rise of the Triad: Dark War.

 

[Dark Star]

+1 for Alien Isolation, MGSV and Hitman

Uncharted 4 has pretty sophisticated AI as well during stealth

 

[Kagey K]

For me it was exactly in this order Unreal (1998) Halo, F.E.A.R. I still feel like modern games haven’t come close to the thrill I felt when first fighting enemies in those games.

 

[mcz117chief]

Dawn of War 2

Bruh, the AI that never fights and only goes to capture points? I think it is honestly one of the worst AIs in strategy games. Park two heavy bolters outside their base and they will never get out.

My pick is Command and Conquer 3 post-patch. That game got so monstrously hard that even I an RTS buff had real REAL trouble getting through the campaign on NORMAL. I had to play it like if I were in diamond league in Starcraft 2 to stand any chance and use the biggest cheese tactics and AI exploits.

Other than that the ai in Valve games is really good, both in Half-life series and in L4D series.

 

[lyan]

Persona 3, felt very real like I was getting teamed up with trolls in multiplayer

 

[sdrawkcab]

I thought it was Rise of the Triad: Dark War.

OMG! You're right! I really thought it was Wolfenstein 3D!?! You, my friend, are an old school gamer at heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The AI in that game was ahead of its time. Hell, everything about that game was ahead of its time. It was better than DOOM I and II, Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem, Quake, Heretic and every single FPS of that era.