Tactical shooter

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Action video games

A tactical shooter is a subgenre of shooter game that includes both first-person shooters and third-person shooters. These games typically simulate realistic combat, thus making tactics and caution more important than quick reflexes in other action games. Tactical shooters involving military combat are sometimes known as "soldier sims".[1][2][3]

Game design[edit]


Tactical shooters are designed for realism.[5] It is not unusual for players to be killed with a single bullet,[6] and thus players must be more cautious than in other shooter games.[5] The emphasis is on realistic modeling of weapons,[7] and power-ups are often more limited than in other action games.[8] This restrains the individual heroism seen in other shooter games, and thus tactics become more important.[9][10][11]

Overall, the style of play is typically slower than other action games.[12] Jumping techniques are sometimes de-emphasized in order to promote realism,[13] with some games going so far as to omit a jump button.[14] In contrast to games that emphasize running and shooting, tactical shooters require more caution and patience (making use of cover and avoiding being caught in the open),[15] plus tactical shooters are usually designed so that shooting becomes inaccurate while running which increasing accuracy for crouching or prone stances.[16] Players often have the choice of shooting from the hip ("hippie") which is less accurate but gives a wider view of the area, or using the scope/iron sights for better zoom-in accuracy but at the penalty of restricted view. Some tactical shooters even lack the crosshair seen in other first-person shooters, in order to achieve a high degree of realism.[17]


The level design usually reflects the game's setting. For example, the player may play the role of SWAT police fighting terrorists or other criminals,[20] or may engage in military combat in real world conflicts as either battlefield soldiers or special forces commandos.[6] Some games take place in entirely fictional universes, and incorporate elements of science fiction.[12] Each level will have different objectives. Although some levels may simply require that the player defeat their enemy,[6] other levels may challenge the player with objectives such as escorting a VIP safely to a specific location or planting a demolition charge on a target.[20] Levels are often designed with check points or alternate routes. As "run and gun" assaults are often met with heavy resistance, it becomes important to exploit a superior position and/or take the enemy by surprise and even evading them entirely.[20]


Tactical shooters often feature a wide variety of weapons modeled upon actual firearms, being more realistic than run-and-gun shooters, however simulating actual combat is often sacrificed in favor of balance as well as playability. There are often considerable modifications to in-game weapons and ballistics from their real-life counterparts in order to ensure balance in multiplayer.[21][22]





Akimbo (Dual wielding) of weapons, despite being ineffective and inaccurate in real life, is frequently featured in tactical shooters likely as a homage to films. The Desert Eagle, despite its heavy weight, recoil, and limited magazine capability make it unsuitable for actual military and special forces applications, is frequently found in many tactical shooters as a high-powered handgun option. Examples of these elements are in Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.[1]


The tactical shooter genre was pioneered in 1998 with the game industry generally crediting games such as Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon with defining and refining the tactical shooter genre. [24][20][25] Another key title was Delta Force, which emphasized real-world weaponry and quick kills.[7] The genre was also influenced by the SWAT series, a spin-off from the Police Quest series of adventure games.[20]

Rainbow Six has been credited as a revolutionary game,[26] which defined the conventions of the genre.[27] The game was inspired by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Hostage Rescue Team, and was designed to replicate a team of specialists performing a skilled operation. The game was designed to emphasize strategy in a way that would be fun for players without the best reflexes.[28] The series has since become a benchmark for the genre in terms of detail and accuracy.[29]

Tactical shooters such as Soldier of Fortune feature graphic depiction of gore and violence, which both proponents and detractors consider to be more realistic than most first-person shooter games. Among one of the first first-person shooters to feature real world rather than futuristic weapons, it included single-player and multiplayer gameplay with the concept of playing as a mercenary.[2]

Some of the most notable tactical shooters have been total conversion mods of first person shooter titles which have been released for free. Infiltration, a total conversion of Unreal Tournament (1999), has been described as "turning Unreal Tournament's wild cartoon action into a harrowing game of cat and mouse". Infiltration has been noted for detailed aiming system including hip ("hippie") and scope/iron fire while lacking a crosshair, different movement stances (running, walking, crouching, and prone, leaning around corners), and a customizable loadout system that allows configuration of weapons (including attachments) with a weight penalty.[30] Half-Life: Counter-Strike (2000), a mod of Half-Life (1998), was the most popular multiplayer game of its era despite the release of first-person shooters with more advanced graphics engines such as Unreal Tournament 2003.[23][31]

As of the late 2000s, contemporary shooters such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have proven more popular than futuristic first-person shooters such as Quake and Unreal, although the field of true tactical shooters has been largely neglected by developers. Even traditionally tactical shooter series like Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon have seen their sequels drift away from tactical realism towards cinematic action centered themes, as can be witnessed by e.g. contemporary Rainbow Six sequels which completely do away with the series' iconic pre-action planning stage (last encountered in Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield), or the overly futuristic settings of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which provides players with invisibility cloaks and shoulder-mounted anti-tank rockets while failing to adhere to simple tactical realism paradigms like one-shot-one-kill.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Richardson, Ben (April 20, 2006). "Armed Assault". GamesRadar UK. Retrieved 2009-02-13. 
  2. ^ IGN Staff Operation Flashpoint Goes to War IGN (Dec 14, 2001) Retrieved on Feb 7, 2008
  3. ^ Adams, David America's Army Linked Up IGN, (Feb 9, 2006) Retrieved on Feb 7, 2008
  4. ^ Ivan Sulic. "Tactical Ops – PC Review at IGN". Pc.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  6. ^ a b c d Scott Osborne (2003-10-28). "Hidden & Dangerous 2 (PC)". CNET. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  7. ^ a b Scott Osborne (2002-07-16). "Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  8. ^ Jason Samuel (2000-11-29). "Feature: Tactical Shooters: The Second Generation". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
  11. ^ Special Forces Pack Released IGN (Feb 20, 2003) Retrieved on Feb 7, 2008
  12. ^ a b c Will Tuttle (2005-02-21). "Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  13. ^ RaptoR (2006-11-25). "Gears of War Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
  14. ^ Erik Wolpaw (2004-11-22). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (Xbox)". CNET. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
  15. ^ Andrew Vandervell (2006-10-16). "Gears of War Hands-on Preview". videogamer.com. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
  16. ^ Shane Satterfield (2002-10-16). "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
  17. ^ Official Xbox Magazine staff (2006-03-25). "America's Army: Rise of a Soldier". CVG. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
  18. ^ Alex Navarro (2005-06-07). "Delta Force: Xtreme Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
  19. ^ Alex McLain. "Ghosting Online". xbox.com. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  20. ^ a b c d e Tom McNamara (2005-01-10). "SWAT 4 Impressions". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  21. ^ "Modern Warfare 3: Balanced Guns a Matter of Perception, says Infinity Ward". Gameranx.com. 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  22. ^ Ryan Fleming (2011-11-08). "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  23. ^ a b "Half-Life: Counter-Strike Review". GameSpot.com. 2000-11-08. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  24. ^ Prof. Rune Klevier, Dept. of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norway (2006-10-16). "The Way of the Gun". University of Bergen, Norway. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  25. ^ Scott Osborne (2005-06-20). "Delta Force Xtreme (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  26. ^ Russ Frushtick (2006-11-20). "Rainbow Six Vegas Review". UGO. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  27. ^ Ryan Treit (2007-04-08). "Embracing the Authenticity of Rainbow Six". Xbox.com. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  28. ^ "Postmortem: Redstorm's Rainbow Six". Gamasutra. 2000-01-21. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  29. ^ Dene Benham (2008-07-03). "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2". nzgamer.com. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  30. ^ "Unreal Tournament Mods". GameSpot.com. 1999-11-30. Retrieved 2012-07-28. 
  31. ^ "Counter-Strike still the top multiplayer game". GameSpot.com. 2000-11-08. Retrieved 2012-07-28.