[Editorial] - Why Include a Handgun in Most Shooters?

[Dr.Finger]

As I immersed myself in the testosterone glory that is Crackdown I found myself pondering the handguns in the game. Specifically I asked myself - "Why the hell are these useless things even in the game?"

As far as I can tell they serve no real purpose in Crackdown. I began the game with one but, literally, 10 seconds into the game it was ditched in favor of something with a little more oomph. To date I've yet to select a handgun in my loadout and have only kept one in my inventory for as long as it took to store it at a safe house. And Crackdown is far from the only game that has useless handguns. In fact the more I ponder the question, the more I realize that the majority of shooters have handguns for no real reason.

Not all shooters fall into this trap. Splinter Cell's pistol is silenced and can fire an EM pulse. Gears of War's hand cannon is useful as a shotgun substitute in both single- and multi-player games. Battlefield pistol functions as *gasp* an actual sidearm, for those instances when your main weapon is tapped out. Even Halo made their handguns at least marginally useful. Yet most shooters continue to stick handguns in, even though their own gametesters likely never used them. Why?

Is it just force of habit? If you boil it down almost every shooter has at least five basic weapons - the handgun, the machine gun, the shotgun, the rifle and the rocket/grenade launcher. Do developers feel like leaving pistols out would be wrong, like drawing the human body without a navel? Or do developers and gametesters use them to great effect when they play and just cannot understand why the average gamer doesn't?

What do I want developers to do from now on? Glad you asked:


Make handguns useful. Stealthy shooting, increased rate of fire, unlimited rounds, a neat alt-fire function - something, anything, to make a player want to carry it in a game.
Make handgus standard. You can only carry two weapons and a pistol. Always and, never or. It doesn't matter what the other two weapons are, you always have a handgun on you.
Drop it. Save your modelers and game testers some time and effort and just don't put it in the game.
Simple. Make it useful, make it standard or drop them altogether.

[DjinniMan]

I liked Serious Sam because the standard gun had a purpose, and I used it quite a bit. Why more shooters don't use the unlimited ammo I have no idea.

[Draconis]

The messed up thing is, is that most game makers sit there and put a handgun as the default, and it's usually something weak.

There are ALOT of powerful Handguns out there. Desert Eagles, and 454 Casull come to mind. the 454 Casull for example...

Has THIS kind of Firepower.

http://www.pistolwhipvideo.com/images/wallpaper.jpg

Now THAT'S a Handgun

[bapenguin]

I don't know, there's something satisfying with dropping an enemy with a well placed handgun shot.

[rein]

I use the hand gun in Rainbow Six Vegas. Of course, when repelling down walls you have no choice but I use it a lot with the silencer to take out enemies that have not noticed me. I think Rainbow Six Vegas and Counter-Strike are examples of games that can make hand guns useful or fun to use.

[jeffool]

Even in Halo 2 I use dual pistols. In GoldenEye I was never seen without a Dostovei. In Half-Life 2 I loved my USP. Some of us weird folk just love Reservoir Dogs too much to use anything else.

*shrug*

I agree it's often pointless and silly, and if I have limited slots it'll often get left behind. But if I can, I love rushing in with a single pistol and killing everyone. Kinda makes me feel like Superman. Well, with a gun.

[Deadend]

I use the hand gun in Rainbow Six Vegas. Of course, when repelling down walls you have no choice but I use it a lot with the silencer to take out enemies that have not noticed me. I think Rainbow Six Vegas and Counter-Strike are examples of games that can make hand guns useful or fun to use.
Only a few games even attempt to make handguns useful. Most of the time they are the gun you start out with when you respawn, or for some reason like in Crackdown, you have a 2 gun limit. Machine Gun and Rocket Launcher, or 2 kinds of pistols.

Pistols almost always lack any reason to use them, they tend to do less damage, not have great accuracy or bonus effects.

[torrefaction]

I think you're really exaggerating the lack of use of a pistol.

All of the R6 games, the pistol is a perfectly valid weapon. I loved my dual pistols in Hitman. You yourself named many pistols. A lot of games really do make use of them.

Eh.

[pseudopseudo]

I miss the handgun from the first Halo. The one with a scope. That was right up there with my favorite video game weapons of all time. Seriously.

[fitbabits]

I'm a fan of handguns in games.

[SPBTooL]

I remember the handgun in the first Halo got allot of use.
I like the handgun in GoW too. It has some features that make it the best choice in certain situations.

[Mason]

I'd like to point out a few clichéd game mechanics which contribute to this problem.

First, hit points. When every bullet hit merely subtracts hit points (leaving you fully-functional until the instant they hit zero), there's an innate reward to simply firing more bullets. Different damage models could partially correct for this, by removing the old "death by thirty bullets in the toe" effect.

Second, simple player collisions. A massive rifle would normally be a liability in tight quarters, but few games bother with this effect, so handguns can still lose out in situations where they'd realistically be the only effective option. Adding some more penalties to bunny-hopping around with a 4' sniper rifle in a narrow hallway could help here, although lots of games have started moving in this direction.

That said, HL2 and RE4 both have impressive sidearms. Most recent quality shooters have found ways to balance things out, and I'd say that commercial games that ritualistically include useless handguns are the exception in this day and age.

[Goronmon]

In more realistic shooters, pistols function well as a sidearm that you usually always have available. The pistol in the BF2 and and BF2142 has saved my life on quite a few occasions.

In more Quake-style shooters, the pistol is usually just there for fluff, but since most of the time your carrying capacity is unlimited, it doesn't matter.

[Dr.Finger]

I'm not saying we should ban pistols from all video games. I just wish developers would think about them for a second instead of saying "We need a pistol here." If Infinity Ward (or Treyarch) feels that you need pistols in Call of Duty for realism then let me carry two weapons and a sidearm instead of including a bunch of weapons that no one uses.

[askheaves]

One advantage to a real handgun is the quickness with which you can go from at-the-hip to looking-down-the-sites. Another is the speed you can walk/maneuver while looking down the sites. Both of these traits drop drastically the heavier/longer the weapon.

Since many games are moving toward having a 'look down the sites' button, make the transition fastest for handguns, a little slower for submachine guns, slower still for assault rifles, shotguns, and then long rifles. Also make maneuvering while looking down the sites based on the size/weight of the weapon.

Suddenly you have a reaction time advantage to using a smaller weapon. Then take the suggestion from Mason that bullets have more complicated effect than an arithmatic operation.

[RorschachCCCLX]

ok, In Half-Life and HL2, my weapon of choice was the .45 Magnum. I love me a accurate weapon. I don't need a thousand rounds if I can get one to strike true.

[Sandman]

Screw the handgun, I'll always go for the shotty if it's a descent weapon.

[RorschachCCCLX]

I'm a fan of clowns in games.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6370/deadrisingxbox360clownvq4.jpg

[nnanji]

I use the handgun in Crackdown to shoot someone in the knees without causing major damage. Then when I curbstomp or grenade them to death, most of my experience orbs go to strength or explosives and not to firearms.

[i aint yer pa]

That said, HL2 and RE4 both have impressive sidearms. Most recent quality shooters have found ways to balance things out, and I'd say that commercial games that ritualistically include useless handguns are the exception in this day and age.
My favorite video game handgun is the Broken Butterfly from Resident Evil 4. Fully upgraded, that puppy packed a serious punch.

[Disgustipated]

Dual handguns = coolness factor x10.

[Camtron]

I agree with the Butterfly from RE4 being super awesome and dual handguns always being a plus (dual Desert Eagles in Max Payne 2=incredible), but I also think handguns are very useful and can be3 used for many occasions. Stealth, accuracy, and bragging rights (8 bullets a clip to your 30) are all reasons I support perpetuating the inclusion of handguns in games.

[The Continental]

In my experience the only games that have a worthwhile starter handgun have been those that allow you to put out as many rounds as quickly as you can squeeze the trigger with minimal recoil. HL2 and Gears immediately come to mind, though I know there others. In games like Hitman I've always preferred pistols for their accuracy (when your score depends on the number of rounds fired), ability to be concealed, and the fact that every gun in the game has the same damage model when it's a head shot, that being one shot does the job.

[sprankton]

I use the handgun in Crackdown, because I run out of ammo during the missions to kill the generals. The sidearm is suppose to be there for when you run out of ammo for your primary weapon or for extremely close combat. I only used the sidearm in BF2 when I forget to reload my primary only to have someone jump out at me.

[F3nyx]

I think sidearms should be banned from the military. I mean, how often do they actually get used? Everyone just switches to the M16 as soon as they can.

[DaedalusFolly]

That said, HL2 and RE4 both have impressive sidearms. Most recent quality shooters have found ways to balance things out, and I'd say that commercial games that ritualistically include useless handguns are the exception in this day and age.
RE4 has another mechanism that contributes to the viability of handguns; the scarcity ammo. Though it's not as bad as in previous RE games. I've always enjoyed games where decisions have to be made constantly on what types of weapons to carry and how to use them. This is especially true with the weapons are well balanced.

[KamaItachi]

In crackdown, I actually usually defaulted to the pistol as a basic weapon due to its scope and faster lock on ability. The handguns all tend to be far more accurate when you're running about, but I guess once you're leveled up, and have the grenade/rocket launchers, it becomes a bit piddly.

Maybe if you want the extra challenge.

[Vyzov]

Handguns are my Main weapon in BF2 and BF2142 because I mostly play support. That big, massive machine gun is of little to no use in close quarters and has no accuracy unless you are prone.

Also, is it just me or does the targeting reticule TIGHTEN the longer you fire the support weapon in BF2142?

[Evil Avnovice]

If handguns are included in any genre, they need to be V-E-R-S-A-T-I-L-E. They don't have to be god weapons, but given just enough functionality so if anything, it's possible to work your way through some/most/all of a game and persuades you to want to hold onto it a little longer, if not to conserve your more powerful weapons.

Example:

Resident Evil 4 started you out with the default handgun, which allowed you to make it very far into the game, which the max upgrade allowing for a higher chance of lethal headshots.

The Punisher was unique in that you could penetrate two enemies at once with the weapon's ammunition, and its maximum upgrade allowed you to penetrate up to five eneimies at once.

The Red 9 was very powerful, finishing off enemies in a few shots that would take any other handguns several shots.

The 9mm you pick up halfway through the game was essentially the default handgun, but with more ammo capacity and power.

[MaiXu]

My favorite video game handgun is the Broken Butterfly from Resident Evil 4. Fully upgraded, that puppy packed a serious punch.

RE4 does make any and all guns useful with the proper upgrades. I personally like the Hand Cannon, as it is so damn powerful and has unlimited ammo when fully upgraded.

[Uniqueusername]

Sometimes you need sucky weapons in a game.

When you take out the weapon supplies in Crackdown, many of the lower level guards get stuck with a handgun. It would be really annoying if the pistol they got was better than the assault rifle it replaces! ;)

In a situation like that, there's no reason to prohibit the player from picking one up. If you have no ammo, you might as well grab it. Not all guns are equal, so why try and force them to be?

[Dr.Finger]

Sometimes you need sucky weapons in a game.

When you take out the weapon supplies in Crackdown, many of the lower level guards get stuck with a handgun. It would be really annoying if the pistol they got was better than the assault rifle it replaces! ;)

In a situation like that, there's no reason to prohibit the player from picking one up. If you have no ammo, you might as well grab it. Not all guns are equal, so why try and force them to be?In that case Crackdown should led you hold a grenade, a handgun and two other guns. Otherwise it will almost never be used in the game.

[ProfPuppet]

In the original Unreal Tournament, the handguns (dual or single) were great. very accurate, fast-firing, and if you were good enough, (somewhat of) a substitute for a sniper rifle. That being said, yeah, in most games it's pretty useless. Resident Evil 4 is the only game I can think of offhand that's come out in recent years where I used the handgun throughout the whole game.

[Everlost_MI]

I think if they are going to include pistols then you should be able to pistol whip as well.

[MaiXu]

I think what we're realizing is that RE4 made good use of sidearms because there was some progression for them, upgrades and stocks and all that. Also, that game forced you to use your beefier fare sparingly, and thus relied on the handguns. If more games had as thoughtful pacing, and didn't just make the weapons a veritable arms race to the bigger and better, maybe we'd see handguns actually being useful.

[Heretic Machine]

This would be my justification for it in Crackdown: Enemies drop handguns more often than any other weapon. If you run out of ammo and have to resort to picking up an enemy gun, chances are it will be a handgun, which will motivate you to run and find the nearest supply point to reload, or try to kill more gang members while trying to find a replacement. If they all dropped machine guns and rocket launchers you would never bother reloading at a supply point, you'd just throw down your gun and pick up a new one.

This has only happened to me once or twice towards the end of the game, but it has happened.

[zeonxavier]

In Deus Ex I used the 10mm pistol constantly. The ammo was everywhere in the earlier missions, and with my skill cranked up to advanced (with laser sight) one shot one kill became the rule. Except for those MJ12 commandos and MIBs...they take two or so.

[JediSanf]

And why are they always Glocks? The Beretta 92FS is a much better sidearm. I do agree on the two weapons AND a pistol though.

One thing I'm looking forward to in game design is when your load-out is accurately represented on your character. Shotgun strapped to your back, pistol in a hip holster, combat knife on the calf. Then you could make less used weapons mean something by using an animation delay when switching gear. Instead of going instantly from rifle to shotgun (multiple two-handed maneuvers requiring several seconds) what if you could move your rifle to the off-hand, pull a throwing knife or pistol from your belt in half a second and take the guy charging you out?

[NeoSuplex]

I don't know... isn't this kinda like complaining about the Level 1 Sword in an RPG? You need the low level shit to make the better stuff... better. Rather than complain about the Buster Sword, why not just drop it and equip Muramasa instead?
I don't even know if I used the right names... don't care though.

[Ultima Thulian]

I don't care much for semi-auto pistols (I'm in the minority...I know)...but I love Revolvers. When I turn 21, I'm gonna get me a good one. I love Revolvers in games too.