Overrated?

We're only a few weeks away from the video game lover's draft pick that happens annually around the first of the Summer. This event of course is, E3. Well, I'm not going to post anything about it until I see the press conferences. Today I'm talking about shooters (to follow up in my line of blogs talking about different video game genres).

Shooters come in a wide variety. You have your big seller, First Person Shooters. Then you have Third Person Shooters. You even have the less popular Arcade Shooter (over the head). This genre is, of course, the big money maker. Series like Call of Duty, Gears of War, and Halo have seen to that. Let's talk about gameplay in shooters...

Gameplay can vary in many ways when it comes to shooters. You have your team based (has an RPG aspect to it), run-and-gun blow shit ups, and even puzzle type. Team based shooters can be any game where you have classes, such as: Ghost Recon, Team Fortress, Brink. These games all require teamwork (whether it be AI or actual players). For the most part, this can be a fun experience. With these games, there usually is an objective rather than just Team Deathmatch, when playing competitively. Single player usually can drag on with them (mainly because your AI usually are idiots). Team Fortress 2 is a big hit for this type of gameplay. All in all, this type is very underrated. People need to expand their gameplay a bit. Yes, it can be slower at times, but when you play as a team, you can get shit done.

Let's move on to run-and-gun blow-shit-ups... This is, by far, the most overrated type of gameplay in shooters. I'm not saying some of these games aren't fun, but this is the type of game you see mindless idiots playing on PSN or XBL (less on PC, but then you have more hackers and modders). This is one thing that gives video games a bad name. Who hasn't hopped on Halo or Gears just to hear some 12 year old kid screaming his lungs out that he fuckin' owns your shit bitch? I'm not going to lie, I play these games. And they definitely get competitive. Frustrating even. But come on, if this is the only video game you will play... Ever. One, don't say you're a hardcore gamer, because your not. And two, try something else. You'll have fun. Open up your mind, dude. I also like to call this genre "arcade shooters" even though it isn't really an arcade shooter. The reason I do this is because of Unreal and Quake and even the newer games feel more "arcade-ish" when played online (because of the scoring system and competitiveness). Especially with newer games giving you not only score, but points.

Let's move on. The other types of games in this genre are much less popular, but still equally fun. Arcade Shooters (for you younger gamers, like the secret zombie shooter in Call of Duty: Black Ops) are not so popular anymore, but can be a blast. Usually these games are up to 4 players and are pretty mindless. Just run around and kill shit. You'll usually see older games that have this playstyle. You also see it in a lot of DLC games (easier to design, I guess). If you haven't played one for a while, I recommend you find one, and try it out. I really don't want to recommend anything, they are all basically the same.

Let's cover two more types of shooters. One being fairly new and the other hardly used anymore at all. The new type of shooter is "puzzle shooters," as I like to call it. This includes games like Portal. Portal is a great gaming concept. Its a puzzle game disguised as a shooter with a great story and humorous dialogue. I'm not writing a Portal review, but it is probably the best example of this type I know. I could venture to say even games like Half Life 2 seem to fit this category (Valve testing out new technology allowing you to use items to figure out how to get to the next part of the level). The older type of shooter mentioned before is a very underrated game type. It was popular in its time, but has recently declined (due to the "need" for amazing graphics in games, lately). This type is side-scrolling shooters. Everyone enjoys Contra and Metal Slug. This again is pretty much mindless gameplay, but at the same time takes a certain amount of skill. I, personally, would like to see more game companies work on games like these. With the technology of today, I'm sure one of these games would blow up and be awesome. I wouldn't venture to say the next Halo, but a great DLC game for PSN and XBL.

Well, I'll conclude. After all of this information being thrown at you, I guess what I was trying to get at was this: Open your mind to new gameplay. Don't be trapped in CoD or Gears or Halo while not giving other games a chance. I've listed some great games with good gameplay in this blog that you should try out. I mean, if you really want to shoot shit... That doesn't mean you can't try other stuff out, too. But if you want to shoot shit, have some class. Play a team based game. Try an old school arcade or side-scrolling shooter. And, for the love of gaming, quit pretending like you are a gaming legend because you are better than someone at Black Ops. You, sir, are just an idiot.

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