Skip to main content

The problem with video game guns

Is that lots of them are boring.

So I was browsing the UK video game charts the other day when something dawned on me: there are only 15 games in the top 40 this week that are about firing guns.

This felt like progress, and I welcomed it. In the future it will be nice to arrive at parties where I am the sole games journalist present and, having dispensed with the usual pleasantries about whether all I do is play games all day ("Yes, in the same way that plumbers just sit around taking endless dumps"), not immediately have to go on the defensive about the universally violent nature of the medium I spend my life contemplating. To be able to point to more games like Fez, Journey and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter without feeling like I'm clutching at straws. And if content and buying habits really are starting to change their complexion, then there is a small chance that I will one day be able to live this dream.

Then I looked more closely and realised that most of the games not about firing guns were about hitting things instead, or were Minecraft or Minecraft clones, or were Skylanders or Skylanders clones, or were racing games. Then I noticed that Borderlands and Command & Conquer collections were both present. So technically if you widened my definition to 'combat' and counted properly, there were actually 67 violent games in the top 40 instead.

I didn't even know the C&C Ultimate Edition existed. 17 games for five quid? Cha-ching!

So I guess we still love guns after all. But I don't think this is the end of the world. I just finished playing Shadow Warrior, which is about very little besides guns. I spend most of my free time playing Destiny, which - once you get towards level 30 - eventually becomes a game about the veneration of increasingly exotic weaponry. I don't think either is an unhealthy pursuit (although as my friends and family with attest about the latter, it is possible to pursue them unhealthily). In both cases your enemies are almost exclusively monsters and aliens, which even fairly unhinged players are capable of distinguishing from reality, and neither game is overflowing with unconscionably direct parallels to real-life wars and atrocities.

Neither game has much to say, either, but that's no crime, although games featuring combat can still tell interesting stories and offer thought-provoking context while also providing entertainment, just as movies, TV shows and comics have done for decades. Are the messages about power and loss in BioShock or The Last of Us any less interesting or poignant because you also smack people with electric wrenches and stab zombies with shivs? Not if you're used to suspending your disbelief.

One thing that playing Shadow Warrior and Destiny has reminded me, though, is that while I do love fetishising me a good gun, the games I find really difficult to accept are the games that fetishise boring guns. On reflection, I think this may be the source of my long-standing disinterest in the Battlefield and Call of Duty games. Oh sure, I've had some good times with them, but once you get past the good looks and capture a few control points, what are you left with besides all the disconnection notices and jingoism? Oh look, an AK-47. Oh look, a red-dot sight. Oh look, a pistol grip. Try the veal.

The obvious upgrade for an Uzi? Another Uzi.

Shadow Warrior, despite not being the four hundred and sixty seventh instalment in the world's biggest gaming franchise, knows what's up. It has a double-barrel shotgun that looks like a catfish, which is excellent on its own: it has almost no recoil and turns weaker enemies into a fine red mist. Getting hold of it after trying to chew people to bits with an unbranded Uzi for half an hour is like realising the big pills in Pac-Man let you eat ghosts. But then you go to the weapon menu and the first upgrade you notice is "Add two more barrels." First of all: brilliant. Second of all: this is how you sell players on an upgrade. Technically you're just spending 4000 coins on more power, but the upgrade text and updated animation both respect the fiction of the gun, and this inevitably rubs off on the player.

Destiny is even better. There's a group of us who play it in the office and whenever one of us bags a new gun now, the first question is: what else does it do? So we pore over the stat pages and note that the exotic hand cannon Thorn can fire rounds that stick in the target and deal residual damage, while victims of the exotic sniper rifle Ice Breaker can spontaneously combust, dealing damage to adjacent allies. Looks are important too. Thorn looks like a gothic cutlass and Ice Breaker resembles a swordfish. The way Destiny dispenses its fiction is infamously laboured, but Bungie was in its element with the one-liners that accompany each distinctive armament. "Please replace these components if use causes fatal damage," suggests Ice Breaker: "HEAT SINK. MAGAZINE. OPERATOR."

Poor old Phogoth.

Games are still pretty much all about guns, then, or at least all about weapons, but we don't have to be ashamed of this. Perhaps it's still difficult to explain to people at parties why I ran the Summoning Pits strike 25 times in one day as part of the exotic bounty for the Bad Juju pulse rifle, but that says more about me than the game I'm describing. (And hey, let's face it, I am not at a party.)

But when I look back at that top 40 list of games and contemplate all the ones with weapons in, I know most of them will slip away and be forgotten quite quickly. Memorable weapons, though? They not only make the game, but they also keep it alive in people's hearts. I still remember the shark gun in Armed & Dangerous. My colleague Chris Donlan won't shut up about Waggleton P. Tallylicker, the remote-controlled dinosaur in Bulletstorm, who was essentially a giant weapon. And one of the reasons people won't give up on Half-Life 3 is that Half-Life 2 had a gravity gun. So game developers? By all means keep fetishising guns. Just make sure you're fetishising the right ones.

P.S. Please stop fetishising guns.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com