Top 10 Video Game Shotguns of All Time
By Miodrag Kovačević | October 19, 2011 | Editorials | 12 comments | Share
A few months back, I had a rather philosophical discussion with my friends, reminiscent of something you’d witness in a Tarantino film. “Would you rather carry two good shotguns, each in one hand, or one bigass awesome shotgun in both hands?” We spent an hour trying to figure out the right answer, new arrivals being asked the same question and also joining in. Yet, we never could figure out which choice was better.
That’s kind of how this list went as well. You can easily eliminate the boring boomsticks, but when you have less and less choices, it gets frustrating. Do you look at sound? Do you look at the power? The handling? Base it on gut feeling? The shotgun has been a staple of popular culture ever since Evil Dead. When you make a zombie shooter and don’t include any shotgun whatsoever, you have committed a crime against nature. There’s a whole myth behind this gun in particular and today we celebrate it by showing the ten best iterations of it in the gaming medium.
10. The Shotgun from Lost Planet 2
The Lost Planet 2 shotgun is your standard gaming fare. It’s short range, does insane damage up close and can even instantly kill human targets. That’s not all, though. If it doesn’t actually kill its target, chances are it’ll knock it back due to the sheer force of the shot. Sounds pretty standard, right? But what’s so special about it? It sounds great.
9. The Sawed-Off Shotgun from Fallout 2
The Sawed-Off Shotgun in Fallout 2 was one of those weapons that you often ended up using throughout most of the game. The main drawback was that it could only fire two shots before it needed to be reloaded. The upside? It only required one hand, meaning that if you started the game with the One-hander trait, the weapon became even more useful. It was ideal for behind corners, as its short range required that you get close and personal with your target if you wanted to deal maximum damage.
8. The Remington M870 from Resident Evil 1 and 2
The Remington M870 (as well as its variations) is often found in games with various degrees of effeciency. In the first Resident Evil game, it would to deal massive damage to groups of zombies or regular enemies. In Resident Evil 2, Leon could use the shotgun to blow off enemies’ heads and even whole torsos! Now, these were the ‘90s and we were very easily impressed with all the new 3D console technology. I can understand if you youngins don’t see what’s so special about it, but trust me, games like these scared the crap out of us, turning shotguns into our best friends.
7. The Soldier of Fortune Shotgun
Oh god, has it already been 11 years? I feel old. I am also slightly concerned that I played this game when I was only 13. Soldier of Fortune was and is one of the most violent games I’ve ever seen. It was a delight to do shotgun runs because the thing was powerful enough to blow off limbs and heads. It sounded like a flak cannon and… Actually, just watch the clip below.
6. The Worms Series’ Shotgun
The Worms’ shotgun is both a staple of the franchise and one of the most useful weapons in every game. It has two shots, meaning that if you miss your first one, you still have one left during your turn. Each shot deals 25 damage, a quarter of a worm’s default health. But we’re only getting started… Not only does it deal damage to any worm it hits, it also creates a small crater in the terrain. That means that you can use it to dig an escape or eliminate any cover that’s in your way. The shotgun can also be used to shoot mines either out of your way, or into your enemy. Oh, and it has unlimited range, so being a shotgun sniper is fair game.
5. The Gnasher from Gears of War
I haven’t played Gears of War at all, but almost everyone who knew I was making this list told me to include the fabled Gnasher. It’s small, it’s easy to carry and has quite the punch. After watching a ton of gameplay videos, it seems the best idea is to take cover, jump into your enemy’s face and instantly kill them. I have to admit, with all the covers, rolls and wall bouncing, I’d probably also be inclined to carry a Gnasher around as it seems to make short work of everything without being bulky.
4. Remington 870MCS from Battlefield
Or pretty much “any shotgun in the Battlefield games”. I’ll be honest, I’m throwing out the Remington as the first thing that came to mind because the gun feel in the franchise is so well done, it’s hard to compare it to anything else. If this was a “Top 10 Realistic Shotguns”, DICE would take the trophy without a shred of doubt.
3. The Boneduster from Bulletstorm
You can say a lot of bad things about Bulletstorm, but the shotgun was amazing. It’s a four barrelled shotgun. Four. Barrels. It’s called the Boneduster. As in, it turns bones to dust. It can even shoot a heatwave. The only way it could have been any better was if People Can Fly added a fifth barrel which shot rocket-propelled chainsaws.
2. The Flak Cannon from Unreal Tournament
The closest the Unreal franchise has to a shotgun and it fits the bill nicely, offering its own twist. Each shot fires shrapnel that deals massive damage at close range and even bounces off walls. What’s more, the alt fire shoots a small grenade, which upon impact deals damage in a small area and shoots shrapnel in random directions. I’m not sure about newer iterations, but the original Unreal Tournament’s flak cannon grenade had a smiley face carved on it. Such an adorable way to go…
1. The Original DOOM Shotgun
This is it, the king of shotguns. The original DOOM was “alright” until the moment you picked up this weapon. Then it became the best shooter ever. It is both long and short range. It feels right. It sounds satisfying. Every enemy’s death animation just looks better after you’ve filled their face with shotgun shells. It is your best friend in the game and it has such majestic beauty that it even puts modern takes on the boomstick to shame. It is id’s greatest contribution to mankind.
Pump-action all the way! *Boom!* - *Chu-chuck* - *boom!* - *chu-chuck*... Soooo satisfying :D!!!
Honestly the 870 mcs in bf3 lacks something, re arming after each shot.
The best are the boule shotgun from doom and quake, BOOM SHANK SHANK!!
Oh god I forgot about the Flak cannon
@Yannick LeJacq - The Flak cannon is amazing. Including it in this list made me want to fire up UT/UT2004 again.
The triple barrel from RE5?
No Marathon 2 shotgun? You could duel Wield that puppy and one hand-reload it!
Im sorry, this not so great list is INVALID without mentioning 2 of the satisfying to shoot shotguns from Half-Life and Half-Life 2
Worms, RE and Lost Planet? Get the fuck outta here.
@NOD - Half-Life is the only game you ever played, isn't it?
I still love the Chrome-Shottie from L4D2. The sound it makes is just so much better than the Lost Planet one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzKOMHseEWA
No Doom 2 Super-shotgun? THAT, is the king of shotguns. Not the Doom shotgun, the Doom 2 shotgun. Doom 2, not only is it superior to Doom, it has the superior shotgun.
My favorite will always be the Blackthorne shotgun. Taking out enemies with a no-look, over-the-back shot is the stuff dreams are made of.
Um, the Goldeneye Automatic shotgun anyone?