Preference: Guns or melee weapons?

Post Reply New Topic

It really depends on the game, for me.

In Wasteland, I got tired of running out of ammo, so I beefed up all of my characters on melee and pummeled everything with crowbars for the rest of the game. I did the same with Fallout 1 (POWER SLEDGE), but at least in that game using ranged weapons gives you an actual advantage.

In stealth games like Thief and Hitman, obviously using guns is going to ruin your chances of a perfect score.

On the other hand, I really like stealthing around with silenced weapons and/or sniper rifles in games like Goldeneye and STALKER. STALKER does let you sneak up and backstab enemies with your knife, but the programming is a little broken (in the first game, at least).

A lot of FPS games, melee weapons just don't feel right, or they're only there as an "out of ammo" option. System Shock 2 did a heck of a great job with melee, but most other games, it feels like you are basically firing a gun that only shoots a distance of a foot or two (which, technically, is how they are programmed).

In most games I play, there are no guns. But I don't like projectile weapons in video games because my aim is so-so. I just tend to waste ammo/arrows or at least end up doing little damage and take too long getting anywhere. I don't mind bows in Dragon Quest, since I just choose to use it and don't need to aim.

I liked using bows in Fantasy Life though, it made it easier to injure without being injured since it's real time and not turn based.

I do have a preference for melee weapons though. In some games (Rune Factory for instance) I find heavy axes and hammers too hard to work (and in some I have to drag it out of the ground again while being attacked). The same for two handed swords in some games. Spears can be hard to use (I had an ambivalent relationship with them in Away Shuffle Dungeon. I liked being able to stab enemies through walls, I didn't like missing! )
I like spears, axes, clubs and scythes just fine in Dragon Quest though, and I'm really starting to like spears in DQ 8. Multithrust is an awesome skill!

I usually prefer swords. I feel I have more control when using them.

I really like Sniper Elite.

The gunblade defies categorization here.