Best current gen light gun game?

[dbiersdorf]

I'm looking to get a sweet light gun game for Xbox or PS2 (GameCube I know doesn't have any). Maybe even Dreamcast.

I was leaning towards House of the Dead III for Xbox. What would you guys recommend?

[Vectorman0]

Time Crisis 2 and 3 are both very good. Go with Time Crisis 2 if you were to pick one. The multiplayer is amazing, but only through link up (you need to consoles, games, tvs and a link cable. Split screen is too small to enjoy. Vampire night is not a bad choice for multiplayer if you can't do link up since you both play off of the same screen. I wouldn't say it is up to par with the Time Crises' though, but good nonetheless. Stay away from Endgame at all costs, don't let the $4 price tag fool you into buying it; it is pure crap.

Dreamcast has Virtua Cop 2 on the smash pack, which is another great title. So is house of the Dead 2, but stay away from Death Crimson. The DC games are cheap, but the guns go for quite a bit nowadays.

As far as Xbox, I haven't gone there yet because I don't want to invest in two guns for only one game. Starsky and Hutch doesn't count, and Silent Scope is something that will just sucker you into buying another cheap gun accessory that doesn't work. At least from what I have heard. I would say go for the PS2 first and maybe get HOD3 when you have exhausted that route. HOD2 is another good alternative, since the other DC light gun games are fairly good.

Also, if you wan to have a lot of fun, get any Point Blank game for PSX. Don't let the older console scare you, they are all amazing games that will have you hooked for hours. Because of the cartoonish style, the graphics are great and aren't what you would expect from playstation. They didn't try to overdo it, and it turned out amazing.

[InsaneDavid]

Elemental Gearbolt on the PS1, not all that popular in its day (mainly do to low production numbers, even for a lightgun game) but it's a VERY different kind of lightgun game and is still unlike any other released to this day. It was localized and published by Working Designs if that tells you anything.

Also Dino Stalker on the PS2 is worth picking up. It's not the greatest lightgun game but is cheap, has a cool storyline, and it ACTUALLY USES the D-pad on the back of the GunCon2.

[njiska]

Time Crisis: CrisisZone

You get a Guncon2 and a sweet game, you can't do any better.

[norkusa]

I like Vampire Night for the PS2 a lot. HotD III is a great game too, but I'd like it better if there was a gun like the Guncon available for the Xbox.

And DON'T get the Pelican sniper rifle if you plan on getting Silent Scope Complete. The gun is actually decent but to use it on SSC, you have to turn the brightness WAY up until the picture looks like complete shit. And it still doesn't work 100%. The game plays better with a controller anyways.

[tylerwillis]

I'm a fan of Confidential Mission for the Dreamcast.

The DC only has four gun games, but you'd probably do well to get all four at less than a similar cost for the more recent PS2/XB.

[RJ]

Vampire Night has lots of unlockables, a rather short Story mode, challenging nearly-impossible training levels, & a cool buy/sell item system.

Ninja Assualt's graphics are a little worse than VN's (both made by Namco) but is still fast-paced & very fun to play.

I'll agree w/ whoever said Dino Stalker (Capcom)- probably not the "sweet" game you seek, but different in that it's not necessarily "on-rails". I found it for $10 & if you can get past some of the minor technical errors, it's not bad. It's actually an expansion/extension of the "Dino Crisis" games/story.

Never played Time Crisis 2, but read good reviews. TC 3, which came w/ my Guncon2, is very good too, but I wish 2-player worked better.

Resident Evil: Dead Aim is far from good & probably one you can pass on. I did a Gamefaqs review on it:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/review/R92228.html

[davidbrit2]

My suggestions for PS2...

Time Crisis 2, 3, Crisis Zone: All excellent games. If you have a GunCon2, get them. TC3 is probably the longest of the 3, but TC2 includes some old arcade games like Shoot Away 2, and Quick and Crash.

Vampire Night: Apparently Sega had a hand in this, and it really shows. It's completely awesome. Reminds me more of a HotD game than a Namco game.

Ninja Assault: A good game, but nothing I'd pay a fortune for. Buy it if you can get a reasonable deal.

Resident Evil Dead Aim: Yeah... Just don't.

And for XBox...

House of the Dead 3: Probably the least impressive of the series, but since it also includes a port of HotD2, it's definitely worth the $20 it sells for.

Silent Scope Complete: Probably the worst experience you can have with a light gun without inserting the barrel into your rectum. You have to turn the TV brightness WAY the hell up so that it'll even register, and then the tracking is sluggish and unresponsive anyway. Gamepad control is out of the question for this game, since it's just too slow and imprecise. If you want to play Silent Scope, get the PS2 versions and a nice optical USB mouse.

[slip81]

It may not be exactly what your looking for since they're not next gen, but like vectorman said, the Point Blank games are awesome.

They're not really story based shooters like Time Crisis or HotD, instead they resemble the tone and feel of a classic shooting gallery. Very cool. And since it's all minigames basically it's the perfect game to just pick up and play for 5 minutes or a few hours. Kinda like the light gun equivilent of a puzzler.

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

Here are two votes for Elemental Gearbolt (Amazing Soundtrack) and Vampire Night (Sega Goodness, it feels alot like House of the Dead in a very good way).