Retro|Spective 202: Arcade Lightgun Shooters

[wakka]

Yeah, it wasn't a perfect lightgun. It wasn't as good as a GunCon had been back on CRTs. But it wasn't bad. It was vastly better than the Move, which I thought was an awful lightgun substitute. Like dragging a laggy cursor round a screen.

I think crucially with the Wiimote you didn't need a crosshair. I always had them disabled on HOTD2 for example.

[QualityChimp]

I have Ghost Squad and a Wiimote gun holder, but realistically, I CBA to set the Wii up!

[charlesr]

I thought the gun aim on the Wii was good once calibrated. And yes, you unlock different weapons on future play through

[Neon Ignition]

Game 19 - Time Crisis 3
The third game introduced the ability to change your selected weapon, outside of this the action was a continuation of that of the first two games with players taking cover to reload before gunning down enemies against the clock. Set 6 years after the prior entry, the home port would also expand the story a little over what was in the arcade version.










Was the third game a step forward for the series or a crisis point?

[Asura]

Personally I never got into Time Crisis 3 & 4. Not even sure why. Tried them a few times but I would always go back to 2.

[wakka]

Yup, same here. Weirdly, despite being a GunCon fan, I never even owned the PS2 version of this, although I played it in the arcades a few times.

I never liked the gun switching feature. It added a layer of complication to proceedings that I found unwelcome. I suspect once you become practised at the game you optimise your weapon switching to be routine and memory-based. But I didn't like fiddling about trying to select a gun. It detracted from the pure gameplay of II.

I'd be interested to give it more time at some point, though, to form a more fulsome opinion.

[QualityChimp]

I really like 3 and have probably had more play than 2 on it.
Took a few goes before realising you could swap weapons, preferring to hoard ammo for "when I needed it", when in reality I always needed it!

Swapping to shotgun in a tight corridor or grenade launcher against the enemy base's turret was great.

Some nice moments like hiding behind the rocks as the paratroopers arrive, or ducking down as the lighthouse collapses right next to you is pure action film fodder. Losing your cover behind crates in a boat's hold as it capsizes was really clever.

Watching that video, I definitely got to stage 2, but that stage 1 plane finale is so long (and unfair, if I'm honest), I probably only did it once, besides, your arms are knackered by that point by doing the GunConGripTM for 20 minutes!

I'd probably go TC1 > TC3 > TC2, in contrast to this thread's common opinion.

[fuse]

At some point the TC2 machine in my student union bar got upgraded to TC3, so yes, I have played this a lot too. I love it and at some point I knew it very, very well, but it's nowhere near as ingrained upon my mind as TC2 - partly because it's much longer, but also as it's much more complex given personal preferences for which weapons you want to use in each scenario. One of my biggest gaming regrets is never managing to finish it on one credit, and a recent watch of a TAS for it reminding me just how close to the end I've come (the Tesla tanks) is a particular disappointment.

[wakka]

I feel like this is a game I really need to get an opportunity to properly play through a few times.

[QualityChimp]

Whereas TC1 gives a few choices like blowing up the crate on the forklift or manually targeting the enemies, TC3 finally gave you some tactical choice, switching to machine gun for multiple hits or shotgun for wider blasts. Shooting the enemies for ammo drops also alters your target priorities.

I suspect experts like Fuse will know which weapon to use when!

[Neon Ignition]

Game 20 - Gunblade NY
Robot terrorists are attacking New York in Segas shooter and you are part of an air assault unit sent in to gun them down and save the city. You have unlimited ammo with scoring based on how many of the enemies you can gun down as you zoom around the city scape.









Was saving New York one of your arcade favourite memories?

[Asura]

Loved this game; played it a bunch in the arcades back-in-the-day and was first-in-line to buy it full-price, the day it came out on the Wii.

Also, if you ever wanted a game to study the look of Sega action games on the Model-2 board, it might be the best one - like the 3D explosions, the characters, even things like the fonts - it looks like if a modern indie made a pastiche of those games today.

[QualityChimp]

Agreed on the aesthetics as I was going to say I love that chunky Sega feel to the characters.

Recently played this at NQ64 and after about 5 minutes, I got a bit bored.
I dunno, I guess it's those controllers. They're great at first, but after a while you start feeling numb from the constant shaking.
Also, it feels like you're just moving a cursor around a screen. Enemy here, move the reticule, enemy here, move the reticule.

There's none of the satisfaction of shooting a tiny guy in the distance with skill, like in Time Crisis.

[wakka]

Still haven't played this and have genuinely no clue why I didn't pick up the compilation this was in on the Wii.

Agreed with Asura regarding the aesthetic. It's great and I would add that it's also prototypical of the Dreamcast/Naomi look - clean, sharp lines and bold colours.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 21 - Virtua Cop 3
The final entry into Sega's lightgun series, Virtua Cop 3 launched nearly twenty years ago and added a pedal to the arcade unit that players could use to active bullet time. In addition to this weapons could be selected on the fly as you worked through three stages. Selecting the correct route and meeting certain criteria would allow the players access to a secret fourth stage.









Was VC3 the right place to walk away from the franchise?