Gaming Identity - Shooters

This may, at first, seem like a very strange topic but I thought it might be interesting to share what influenced me and created my gaming ‘identity’ in shooters.

I don’t like to define how I play games because I generally like to have an open mind but anyone who has played an FPS with me knows what kind of role I usually take. I prefer the long range, accurate approach usually matched with snipers. Even in games such as Mass Effect or Destiny, I chose the ‘sniper’ style role.

So what drew me towards sniping/long range combat?

My earliest memory of sniping in gaming was on the N64 and that legend of all shooters… Goldeneye. The very first mission you got round the corner and into a watch tower and there you find a sniper rifle…. With this sniper rifle the whole mission becomes so much simpler as you can pick the enemies off without them setting any alarms off…. And that sort of got me thinking, if it can be this easy in single player then why can’t it be this simple in multiplayer? Back in the days where people actually had to be present for you to have death matches and screen peeking was the norm, me and my sniper rifle could be found at the top of the pile (especially if people insisted on using DK mode!).

I can’t really recall much in between Goldeneye and then next big influence however with the arrival of the first Xbox and one of my all-time favourites Conflict Desert Storm. One of the reasons it is up there is the simple fact that it has a co-op element, I’m a sucker for that! But for those that can’t remember there were 4 playable positions… Medic/Leader, Demolitions/Engineer, LMG/Support and a sniper. Now unlike most games where you could choose which role you took, it was all about which player you were on the console…. Player 1 was medic; Player 2 was Demolitions etc etc. So I always ended up being player 4 because it was never played at my house….. which meant I was the sniper! Now everyone else hated to play the sniper but I thought there was nothing better! With CDS clever recoil system you had to develop your own shooting style with the rifle and it made those head shots just that more little more rewarding.

From there no matter what shooter I played I tended to favour the long range weapons, with the mentality that if I could get them before they knew I was there how could I get killed??

This has developed more and more now with my online gaming, although not as prominent now (I will use other classes) however I still feel  that ‘Recon’ as its now known is my preference. Games such as Gears of War reward the perfect headshot with a satisfying explosion of your enemies head.... Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a camping sniper, I would consider myself an aggressive recon! I'm often right in the thick of it and getting my hands dirty!!

Please comment below on what you feel your shooter gaming identity is, would love to hear some of yours!