Shotgun: A Lead-Laden Love Affair
It’s no secret that video games and weaponry go hand in hand. From curvaceous katana, devious daggers, explosive ordinance, and good ol’ fisticuffs, players are never left wanting for a wide selection of destructive devices with which to lay waste to their foes. While my heart may wander, however, it always manages to find its way back into the embrace of one very special boomstick.
Ah, the humble shotgun… Nothing more than a hollowed-out pipe or two packed with spicy BBs, and yet it’s managed to clear the mud-soaked corridors of trench warfare, repel more than one hellish invasion of Earth, and still have enough time before supper to splatter an undead or fifty. With a trigger pull that sounds like the thunder of Thor, combined with an effect on target reminiscent of front row seats at a Gallagher show, it’s no wonder the shotgun is spoken about in hallowed, hushed tones as it is. So, let’s go on a journey, highlighting some Greatest Hits of this all-time banger (or perhaps boomer?) of a gun.
Big Pixels, Big Power
Don't talk to me about the shotgun Anime unless you've read the shotgun Manga
Let’s start with a classic, and possibly one of the first widely recognized interpretations of a video game shotgun, the Contra Spreadgun. Now, you’ve almost certainly heard someone gush about this one in the nearly 40 years (Oh my…) since it hit the scene, but in all fairness, it kinda deserves it. Upon making contact with that treasured “S”, you’re greeted with a 5-way scatter of red death so potent, the NES sprite limit struggles to keep pace. Indeed, the Spreadgun is so effective at laying down a screen-coating wave of fire that every other power-up feels almost quaint in comparison, leading to heartbreak when you inevitably nudge that accursed “L”. However, while the Spreadgun is a classic that has earns its flowers time and time again, I think another venerated Run-And-Gun series might have it beat…
Just what other wonderful things are those P.O.Ws hiding in their pants? Er... scratch that...
Presenting itself in the form of another “S” labeled powerup, the booming voiceover of the announcer yelling “Shotgun!” serves as the overture of the rampage about to ensue. Really more of an aimed explosion that a cloud of shot (What are these guys and gals feeding these shells!?), it really sets the standard of the shotgun being a close-range liquefying tool. Soldiers get blown away, mummies, zombies and giant crabs disintegrated in a flash, and tanks reduced to mere scrap metal in an instant, it gives you an unmatchable sense of power, like how God must feel when he holds a shotgun. While certain weapons like the Heavy Machine Gun and the Rocket Lawnchair might be more practical overall, this was never about practicality but satisfaction, it IS a love affair, after all.
Down The Sights
Of course, we can’t talk about videogame shotguns without diving into the FPS genre, and what better place to start than with the Granddaddy of First-Person firepower, the Doom shotgun.
I like to keep this handy, for close encounters (Also GZDoom and Mouselook, how lewd!)
The famous digitized Tootsie Toy shotgun! For a first in the genre, the Doom Shotty is something of an odd duck. More a reliable workhorse than a close quarters blunderbuss, the seven hitscan pellets on occasion leave even man-sized Imps still standing. It compensates for this with a surprisingly tight spread and plentiful ammo supply, making it a flexible Swiss Army knife of a weapon, and reasonably well suited to Doom1’s enemy roster. However, Doom 2 introduces larger, heavier slabs of demon meat to rip and tear, and a big cut of meat requires a big cleaver…
"Why don't they just call it the double barrel? Because it's better. Because it's Super." Civvie 11
This is it… THE video games shotgun. The Alpha and Omega. The Widowmaker. Ol’… Boomy.... The Doom 2 Super Shotgun, often imitated but never replicated, is the ultimate in virtual lead-based technology. Firing twenty hitscan pellets in a wide spread, a point-blank shot strikes just as hard as a direct rocket hit and with a higher hit-stun chance to boot, all without pesky things like “Splash damage” and “Rare ammo” gumming up the works. The loud boom and euphoric reloading sounds results in a deeply addictive gameplay loop. Some would say it’s overpowered and breaks the weapon balance that Doom 1 set, but I say it’s a worthwhile trade off. Maybe next time just don’t hand it to the player a third of the way through level 2, eh? While the Quake 1 and 2 shotguns are also great (and the Doom 3 shotgun is certainly one of the shotguns of all time) ID Software didn’t stray too far from the Doom template, so let’s take a detour to the quip-filled land of Ken Silverman’s Build Engine.
Sorry, I can't hear myself think over all the one-liners
The unmistakable grindhouse charm of the Build Engine holy trilogy, some of the best fun you can have with a mouse, keyboard, and a 2-liter of store brand cola (I’m a cheapskate). While the Duke 3D digitized Mossberg pistol-grip is mostly just a refinement on Doom 1’s bread and butter, and the Blood Sawn-off is a magnificent take on the Doom 2 demon perforator, I’d like to focus today on Shadow Warrior’s engine of war, the Riot Gun. A massively oversized belt-fed monstrosity of a shotgun, this bad boy features an alternate four-round burst fire mode, making it one of the first Auto shottys in an FPS. Not only this, but each ammo pickup offers an incredibly generous 24 shells, ensuring the steady stream of shot never dries up for too long. The game balances this out by making Mr. Wang very squishy and giving half the enemy roster highly lethal explosives. Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
I Shall Fear No (Resident) Evil
You can have my shotgun ammo when you pry it from my cold, dead hands
And now for something completely different. The shotgun represents something very different in the context of Survival Horror. Unlike the power-fantasy examples listed above, here the shotgun is a light in shining darkness, the means to more effectively defend oneself against the encroaching horrors that stalk the night. There’s a proverbial sigh of relief that comes from every shotgun shell pickup, and an underlying uneasiness at actually making use of it, for fear that you may senselessly waste this most coveted of resources. That’s not to say this particular brand of buckshot doesn’t pack a wallop however, as a headshot on a hapless Zombie or Ganado still evokes that sweet rush of dopamine that’s expected of the pump-action powerhouse. Just make sure something bigger doesn’t lie in wait before squeezing that trigger…
Where'd his head go, bingo?
Well, until Resident Evil 4 hit the scene at least. Gone are the days of scavenging every nook and cranny for a single sweet, sweet shell, your trigger finger won’t be left wanting here. Of particular note is the Striker shotgun which, while not the most powerful or most accurate of RE4’s firearm roster, makes up for this with a free supply of one hundred shotgun shells upon purchasing the exclusive upgrade (So much for ammo scarcity). Combine this with an exploit known as the “Ditman Glitch” that significantly increases movement speed, and you’ll have Leon doing his best Doomguy impersonation as you menace this quiet, peaceful farming village.
All Outta Ammo
Truthfully, I could spend all day and night gushing about a hundred other shotguns in the virtual armory of videogame history, but I don’t think the English language has enough words frankly. So, in conclusion, I hope you enjoyed this dorky rambling about a weapon that I think is just swell, and with any luck, maybe I’ve given someone an itch to revisit their favorite Action Shooter. If you decide to, just remember...
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