High Noon in the Virtual World

Time for some game talk. Video games that is. I took a lil bit of hiatus for a bit, and didn't play very much. But the last few weeks I've been revisiting my Xbox collection. Some COD and Halo with a mix of Gears of War and various other shooters for the most part. And it got me thinking, what's the best shooter?

It's a tough choice really as there have been a plethora over the years. And I'm not talking the scroll and shoot platformers like Commando and Contra. I'm talking 1st person shooter. The first real experience for this, outside of arcades, was with the NES and Sega Master System for those who had the light guns. Most everyone of the NES generation, myself included, remember Duck Hunt with bitter sweet memories. Sweet for all the duck we massacred, and bitter for every time that stupid dog laughed at us. After 30 years, I'm sure most of us would still like to shoot that mutt. I know I would.

For those with computers, Wolfenstein and Doom are what really set off the 1st person shooters. To further the phenomenon, the ports to SNES and Genesis helped them to reach even more people. For me Doom was really the number one spot, and held that spot for years. Then came a new arcade boom. Real people were used for a number of shooters like Mad Dog McCree and Crime Patrol, where short but engaging. There was nothing like standing in an arcade front of a big screen at high noon, or taking down the drug lords. For me it was a little bit of a thrill when I played Crime Patrol because it was filmed in Albuquerque, the place I now call home. The only way you got to see these gems was if you were fortunate enough to have a 3DO. A system way ahead of its time. Fortunately you got to see some arcade hits like Terminator and Revolution X, on SNES and Genesis but it wasn't the same. You really had to have a few quarters to pump into the old machines to truly get the full experience with them. The Atari Jaguar was another rare gem, of which my favorite game coincidentally was a shooter as well, Aliens Vs Predator.

There were a few others here and there, but really you had to fast forward a little bit to get to the era of shooters. We're really in the middle of it right now. We've seen various incarnations of Doom, and Wolfenstein. But it really started to take off with Halo, and it's just escalated since then. It's one of the series I've been playing as of late. Those who play multiplayer games online can spot a Halo fan virtually immediately, as they're the ones that are always jumping around. Which can be fun, as you hear the hardcore Call of Duty fans complain about it all the time. Yet another series I've been playing. Aliens Vs Predator and Aliens Colonial Marines offer a little something different, but fall just short of the full experience. Gears of War has a decent story as well, but is still missing that little something for me as well. To me it feels like a revised version of Doom with the characters on steroids, and guns inspired by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. The new incarnation of Ghostbusters is great, but doesn't offer anything outside of the story line. Sad, because it could be so much more than it is. The latest Duke Nukem offers a blast from the past, but concentrates too much on the mini-games, and feels like it ends too soon. Multiplayer here suffers too.

Let's not forget the lovely world of mobile tech either. You have Metroid Prime Hunters, Unit 13, and a number of other compact shooters for your fix with the portables. But you can't forget your tablets, smartphones, mp3 players, etc. NOVA, and Modern Combat are easily at the top of the list and make for great alternatives to Halo and Call of Duty. But they still suffer from poor controls that still have a long way to come, and limited multiplayer abilities.

So when it comes down to it, what is the best shooter? I think it varies for everyone. For me, it goes back and forth depending on my mood. Sometimes I want to shoot aliens hell bent on wiping out human kind. Other times I might go "camping" on Call of Duty just to upset some kid who's keeps trying to run into the same building. Other times I'll say it's not enough, let get out a sports game. Whatever it is though, it better have a good online multiplayer capability if it wants me to keep coming back. What do you prefer?