In memoriam: light gun games

Long ago, we used to play with guns. Not white plastic “Zappers,” not wands, not rendered guns controlled with a mouse or gamepad, but actual guns. Well, sort-of actual guns, molded in gaudy blue or orange plastic but otherwise looking like genuine weapons. The NES had the original Zapper. The SNES and the Genesis had the Super Scope and the Menacer. Even the Playstation and PS2 had the GunCon. The PS3 has its own GunCon, but a rare and obscure peripheral and a single mediocre game does not a genre make.

Sadly, those days are gone. Sure, the Nintendo Wii has plenty of shooters that use the Wiimote and various optional gun-like shells to produce a semblance of the experience, but it’s just not the same. The point of light gun games is to actually shoot at the screen, and for the object you’re looking at in the gun’s sights to be the object you actually hit when you pull the trigger. The Wii forces you to adjust to the remote and the sensor bar. You’re not shooting at the screen, you’re shooting at an invisible set of lights that tell the remote where you’re aiming. It’s less pointing and shooting and more manipulating a mouse cursor.

It’s not even the Wii’s fault that “real” light gun games have died off. The blame falls squarely on the rise of flat-panel HDTVs. The light guns we knew and love, including the original Zapper, require CRT displays to work. LCDs and plasma screens, increasingly popular displays now that two out of the three major consoles are high-def, are completely incompatible with the old-school light gun technology. Without the necessary accessory, the genre has all but died out.

The Wii, bless its heart, is still valiantly trying to blow on the embers of light gun games. Both new games like House of the Dead: Overkill and the Resident Evil Umbrella/Darkside Chronicles almost offer the classic light gun-style rail shooter experience with the Wii Zapper, and genuine arcade ports like Ghost Squad, House of the dead 2/3, and Mad Dog McCree sort of let us relive those glory days. It’s not the same, though. It feels more like playing with an air mouse than a light gun. The games are entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying because they don't have that direct, "I am hitting what I am pointing at" feeling.

Sometimes, you can still see light gun games in movie theaters and bars (because arcades have basically ceased to exist in America). They’re pretty good and look great, but they also cost a buck a pop to play, and leave me pining for the days of quarter plays and Zapper binges. Gaming looks great on our flat-panel HDTVs, but we paid a steep price for those graphics. The saddest thing is we can't even go back without getting another, older TV just for playing Zapper, Super Scope, and GunCon games.