Yow! Also, content.

Well, damn. Looks like I've got some catching up to do. So here's an extended rumination of mine from a few months back, actually preceding the FF7 game ideas I posted here. . .

There's been a sub-class of the action genre that's been becoming more and more prevalent over the past decade- superpowered combat that focuses on enhancing humanity's existing abilities. You can't fly or shoot laser beams from your eyes, but you do have strength/reflexes/endurance beyond that of a normal human being. Let's start with some examples illustrating what I'm talking about. . .
-Monty Oum's animations: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/26451.html, http://www.gametrailers.com/player/18747.html
-Advent Children and associated cinematics: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JNu5WroM6gc, http://youtube.com/watch?v=WFBcUmeV3n0
-The Devil May Cry series: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jtiXwvni6ng, http://www.gametrailers.com/player/26664.html

And there are plenty of other examples that fit the bill to a partial degree and are well worth drawing inspiration from:
-The Matrix Series: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UCGsWdePYV0
-Bleach: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zNV4J7G_WYE
-Hellsing: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zKwch-Z_oyE
-The Witcher: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27144.html (Pic Related)

So. How to use this with roleplaying games? Well, we're basically talking action-oriented gameplay involving people whose abilities (regardless of the source) would normally be human except that they're taken beyond human potential. From a crunch perspective, There Is No Spoon (http://www.steved.org/rp_rules_tins.html) could work well for a one-shot while a more long-term game could use the Mutants and Masterminds rules either on their own or as a source of powers for otherwise-normal d20 Modern characters.

Of course, what really interests me is the fluff angle- what sort of setting is this, to have these high-powered combatants? Do these people have powers beyond basic strength and durability? Can anyone achieve this level of power? Are the players just special/unique? What are the themes of the setting?

To give examples:
-A character's abilities could come from conscious application of magic, skill with ki, exposure to super-scientific radiation, or the results of genetic experimentation.
-They could have acquired their powers due to their species (vampire, homo superior), through a random accident, as a result of experiments that they were subjected to against their will, or simply by becoming really good at something that anyone in their world can do.
-In the eyes of the world they're in, they could be deviant threats targeted for extermination, sought-after specialists due to their unique abilities, or just like everyone else except that they happen to be really good in a particular area, same as a professional athlete.

It's been interesting to mull over potential campaigns that use this subgenre. I may do a list as a follow-up post sometime soon.