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advertisement Although already discussed in this forum post, I’d like to use this space as a formal shout-out to one of the most loyal and dependable companions a first-person shooter fan can ever have: the shotgun. Always there for you, yet never too much of a burden, the shotgun is the perfect accompaniment for any terrorist hunt or alien extermination. And without the shotgun, there’s nary a chance that your virtual self could have survived so many close calls in tightly quartered vents and air ducts from nearly every first-person shooter of the past decade. There’s a reason why the shotgun is an essential part of a countless number of FPSes—it’s just that frickin’ cool. It seems that ole shotty has been around pretty much ever since games had guns in them, but its status as the most bad-ass weapon wasn’t cemented until the release of Doom. As a space marine stranded on Mars fighting minions from Hell, you first acquired a shotgun fairly early in the game, but it was one of those weapons you’d rely on until the bitter end. We can’t say the same for some of the less venerable weapons, namely the pistol, chain gun, or even the plasma rifle. Doom’s shotgun was so cherished that many gamers probably remember the inclusion of the double-barreled shotgun in Doom II as that game’s most noteworthy achievement, even some 10 years later. I know I do. The sheer brilliancy of the shotgun in video games is impossible to deny. Sure, some games are designed with rather subtle and stealthy tactics in mind, but others encourage you to tear through hordes of enemies at a breakneck pace. So what better tool to use than the “you really can’t miss!” weapon? The shotgun is a natural choice. Have an alien running full-blast at you in Aliens vs. Predator 2? Just whip out your shotgun and blow the bastard away—and probably with just one shell. An assault rifle doesn’t make a bold enough statement, and a rocket launcher is simply overkill. This is where the shotgun comes into the equation. The shotgun’s influence is far-reaching, even to games that you wouldn’t normally expect to include one. Other guns in games are clearly shotgun-influenced. The flak cannon in the grungy, post-apocalyptic Unreal Tournament more or less achieves the same effect of a shotgun, and is always a fan favorite. And while I wouldn’t go as far as to say that games that eschew shotguns entirely are bad games, I tend not to warm up to them as much. Just give me a Doom II-era double-barreled shotty and I’m a happy (non)camper. While no great strides have been made in this short tribute, I feel that if I have piqued the interest of at least one person in the area of video game shotguns—from making someone look at shotguns in a new light, to even encouraging one to heavily incorporate the shotgun into his or her virtual arsenal—then I’ve done my job. *: Doom II image from GameSpot.com. |
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