When it comes to moving about in games, some of them offer more options than just your two feet. For this week’s Listmas list, our topic is all about transportation, which, I will admit with my choices, I have widely interpreted to mean anything from things you actually ride/drive to things that help quicken your step as you move from point A to point B. Let’s ride!

NOMAD in Mass Effect: Andromeda

While I have softened my opinion of Mass Effect’s janky planetary exploration transport vehicle, the MAKO (okay, so it’s not that bad, but it’s still not that good), it cannot hold a candle to the smooth and feisty ride that is Mass Effect: Andromeda’s NOMAD. This six-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle comes with a host of helpful tools for making any trip to a planet’s surface a good one. The thing is maneuverable with plenty of thrust. It’s got a fine radar for picking up enemy locations, and lots of power behind its shields. And its roomy enough for all stoic Pathfinders and two of their amusingly talkative/combative companions.

Grappling Hook in Batman: Arkham City

While not necessarily considered a genuine “mode of transportation,” no caper crusader would be caught dead without a trusty grappling hook. For me, Batman’s grappling hook in Arkham City (and by extension, Arkham Asylum and Arkham Origins) was the one tool I used and abused. In Arkham City, especially, I spent very little time cruising Gotham on foot, as I much preferred stealthily sailing Batman around and over the city’s buildings using his grappling hook. Not only did the mechanic feel great and solid, but I loved the ecstatic feeling of watching Batman gracefully swing through the city’s dismal night sky.

Mottled Rage Drake in Neverwinter

Video by YouTube user Aelurfey

(Note that the video shows a different drake mount; other than skin tones, the general look is the same as the mottled drake.)

I get that, for some, mounts in MMOs are a big deal, as well as something on which one can spend big. When I first started playing Neverwinter, I was blown away just how many mounts were on offer, and how out-of-reach the vast majority of them were to me as a new player. But with character after character, I made out perfectly well with the free horse mounts available. It wasn’t until much later that, thanks to an offer through Twitch Prime, I obtained a special mount. Well, special for me anyway. It was the Mottled Rage Drake. This red and white dragon proved to be the perfect mount for my warlock, and, sure, the boost in speed and power it offered was pretty nice, too.

Red Hart in Dragon Age: Inquisition

So here’s a funny story. Despite the many hours I’ve spent with Dragon Age: Inquisition, with each new game, I nearly always forget that it offers mounts. And many mounts, at that, from horses to dracolisks to nugs. Some can be purchased, some can be obtained through quests, and some come readily available the title’s Game of the Year edition, which I have. So the last time I played, I made a point to actually use one of these spangly mounts, and I chose for my Elf rogue archer the majestic Red Hart. A beautiful elk-like creature with a few rear stripes and a beautiful tawny coat, it took us across the expanse of Thedas and back again, and that was despite its rather screechy call. Well…nobody rides a giant deer with secrecy in mind.

Super Sprint in Saints Row 4

Video by YouTube user Video Games Source

When getting around in a Saints Row game, like with GTA games or such, cars would seem to the most obvious transportation option. And for a while they are in Saint Row 4’s fictional city of Steelport. But once it’s revealed that this Steelport is an alien simulation, one which you (the President of the United States, of course) must subvert, a host of super powers eventually opens up. And once one of those powers is obtained and fully leveled – Super Sprint – it’s time to leave call those slow, bulky cars behind. Much like with the grappling hook in Arkham City, once my Saints Row 4 prez has all the Super Sprinting she could acquire, that’s the only way she got around. Zipping through, around, up, and down Steelport was an absolute blast, especially when combined with other powers, like the Super Jump. It was just like being the Flash, only more absurd, and more purple.

Lede image (© Bioware, EA) was taken by author using GeForce Experience.