space shooters VERSUS run-n-guns

[pragmatic insanester]

which take on the one-thing-army versus the entire legion of weak but relentless baddies and their multi-tiered bosses do you prefer?

ex:

phalanx = space shooter
contra = run-n-gun

[esquire]

While Contra and Metal Slug are two of my favorite series, I gave my vote to space shooters. First of all, they win by sheer volume. I don't have the numbers, but I think there are far more good space shooters than goo run 'n guns. Second, I look having the ability to move all around the screen, rather than just jump, and forward and back.

I have far more space shooters in my collection than run 'n guns. As I said Contra and Metal Slug are great series, but indiviudal game-wise, shmups like R-Type, Gradius, Raiden, Zero Gunner 2, Soldier Blade, Darius, Einhander, Radiant Silvergun, too many to list here.

There are also some great "non-space" shooters 1941/1942/1943, Fire Shark, Twin Eagle, Twin Cobra, Dai Sen Pu, P-47 Fire Mustang, to name a few.

[roushimsx]

I'll take bullet hell over a jump and duck any day of the week

I love Metal Slug and it's always fun to blow through Contra and Super C, but nothing quite offers the same thrill of diving through a bulletstorm in Dodonpachi Daioujou or getting a bajillionmilliontrillion points in Gigawing 2 from the shitstorm of bullets-turned-into-medals.

Also, I totally prefer vertical shmups to horizontal shmups, but there's some rare exceptions...like Border Down. Oh my dirty filthy hot and wet god is that game the pimp diggity.

Then again, Run and Guns have games like Expendable, One, and Mercs...and those games rule too. And I just recently found out about Fix Eight, which is the sequel to Out Zone.. I never knew it existed before, and it rocks pretty hard (hey, don't knock the ol' run and guns that aren't horizontal).

But yea, I'll bullet graze Psyvariar all day long. Shmups > *

[Wonder_Hamster]

They are my 2 favorite genres of games, but I love shmups above all else. My life changed on the day I played Gradius 3. God it was so many years ago, but that's one of the fondest memories of my childhood. There's no other experience that comes close to you being in "The Zone", where you forget everything going on around you and you start flying and navigating through hailstorms of bullets like it's second nature. You ARE the pilot, and everything is riding on you getting through it perfectly. The galaxy can't afford for you to take even one hit. I can't even describe that feeling enough to properly convey it, but hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about.

[cyberfluxor]

I love my side scrolling shooters. Of course I don't mind the run-n-jump shooting actions, like the all known Metal Slug, but the space flying shooters are so fun. I suck horribly at them unless I spend the hours on end memorizing those crazy shooting algorithms. Dear god... So to any extent, even the tough "how do I beat you?!" shooters can kick butt.

Off on a tangent, there's this arcade place on the ocean front with a few dozen classic games in the back. Each take a quarter and BOY do they suck them down. I played 1942 and had Game Over within a minute. I think it gave me 1 life. So I'd have to say the consule game is better because it's cheeper :P

[smokehouse]

To this day Contra on the NES is one of my all time favorites. Then again I’m just starting to get into Metal Slug (anyone want to part with an AES copy for around $150?…no, I thought not.)

Never was much of a side scrolling shooter fan, some stood out to me but for the most part I never really got into them.