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[FloatOn]

Anyone remember the short lived but fun trend of on-rails shooters being revived on Wii?

- Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles + Darkside Chronicles
- Dead Space Extraction
- Ghost Squad
- House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return

This worked well due to the pointer controls found on the Wii remotes. A similar control concept is easily translated using the mouse on pc.

Clearly, these types of games have a limited niche appeal and I fully understand most of the fun was derived from using a light gun in the arcade. However, I think even without the proper input these games would still be a fun romp if for nothing less than nostalgia.

I would love the chance to play the Point Blank and Time Crisis series again for instance. Or even more obscure titles like Elemental Gearbolt.

As an aside, my random thirst for this type of game lead me to discover a game called Mad Bullets on steam. I haven't played it yet but it seems fun and for $2 why not?

So let's talk on-rails shooters. What are your favorites? Do they still have appeal? Would PC be the best platform for them to be preserved?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

wouldn't light guns be better

 

[Jerry]

They would all be trivialised by mouse controls, making them way more boring than they already are.

 

[Tonyx]

I have a soft spot for Mad Dog McCree. Certainly not the best out there but I remember being blown away when I first saw it in an arcade when I was little. Every time I play that game is like I am a kid all over again.

As for more modern games I like quite a lot the House of the Dead games. That RE theme made them really fun.

As for the platform.. the Wii was as good as it could get, I guess.

Playing on the PC with the mouse is good, but you (usually, unless you have a weird setup) can't play them from the couch on a big TV like you can with controller-based games so that's a minus. Still.. it's probably the best options at the moment (unless games start officially supporting the Wiimote on PC which would be really awesome).

 

[LFMartins86]

Mouse is awful for on rail shooters. It just makes the game terrible. IR pointers with light gun accessories are the best bet.

 

[tim.mbp]

I'd imagine VR would be the ideal platform with their motion controls.

 

[*Splinter]

Plenty of these on VR at the moment

 

[EctoPrime]

House of the Dead 3 has a pc port. I played the demo multiple times but only got the game years later for the Wii.

 

[miller.skippins]

Motion control are the best for on-rail shooter.

Play until dawn rush of blood in VR with move controllers on each hand and tell me again mouse is the best.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

PC (mouse input) is the perfect platform for shooters

ftfy

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Nope. It's either wiimote or lightgun for me. Mouse controls are terrible for rail shooters imo.
Wii has such a great collection of them, I still play Ghost Squad and Sin & Punishment regularly.
I would also add Gunblade NY to the OP's list.

 

[Finaika]

PC is the perfect platform for everything.

 

[tomwhite2004]

The games were not designed and balanced with mouse control in mind.

Go read up on how Treasure were developing Sin and Punishment 2 on the Wii and how shocked they were when everyone told them how easy it was. Turns out the devs were playing only with Gamecube controllers and not the wiimote so had to re balance the whole game as a result.

 

[Ganado]

They are really good, but most games aren't balanced for it. IR pointers makes it more fun. Sticks are the worst in this kind of games.

 

[jsnepo]

I played the first House of the Dead on PC. Controls work but it isn't better than light guns or even motion controls like the Wii's and PS Move.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Play Until Dawn Rush of Blood and tell me you still think that (or any other VR shooter with motion controls)

 

[potatohead]

Wtf light gun is way better

 

[opricnik]

With mouse those games would be so easy and boring

 

[Kenstar]

For a second I mentally confused on rails shooter with shoot em up, something that I can see a mouse being pretty boss at

 

[pete_clarf]

Move controls aren't bad either. Lots of those Wii games ended with better looking PS3 versions (House of the Dead, Dead Space, Resident Evil). Plus, it has House of the Dead 4. If you love rail shooters, you need a Wii and a PS3!

 

[Sakujou]

i have a put-your-wii-mote-into a gun-look-alike.

the house of the overkill was the shit.

such a great game, pretty much the best game next to no more heroes and smg2.

 

[ViolentP]

Rush of Blood is the example of perfect on-rails shooter.

 

[Cindres]

Accurate light guns are definitely still the best.

I really, really miss that. Time Crisis & the Point Blanks were some of my favourite PS1 games, since CRTs went essentially extinct It just felt nobody ever got the tech right. I don't want a cursor on the screen, I just want to point & shoot knowing it's accurately taking my aim.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Projecting these in VR and emulate the light gun with motion controllers seems like a nobrainer for preservation.

 

[jtb]

Wouldn't mouse controls make it way too easy?

 

[ViolentP]

Projecting these in VR and emulate the light gun with motion controllers seems like a nobrainer for preservation.

That Dead Space: Extraction needs to come to VR asap.

Wouldn't mouse controls make it way too easy?

Extremely boring as well I wager.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"They would all be trivialised by mouse controls, making them way more boring than they already are."


Agreed. These games were not designed for the speed and accuracy of manipulating a cursor on screen with a mouse. They were designed for lightguns, used several feet (inches for some of you cheaters) away from the screen which requires more challenge to aim accurately.

Sega/Namco/Konami porting their lightgun library to Vive/Rift as a virtual arcade cabinet would be easy money considering those games are still better designed than any of the wave-based shooters on VR at the moment.

 

[danmaku]

It's a terrible idea, actually. In a rail shooter you can't control your character's movements but in return you're able to aim and shoot with a light gun. If you use a pointer control (mouse, wiimote, etc.) you're just playing a crippled FPS. You give up control and gain nothing in return. What's the point?

 

[FloatOn]

Wouldn't mouse controls make it way too easy?

arguably these games are easy even with proper light gun support.

I'm not saying that mouse input is better. I am saying that it's an adequate option to preserve a type of game from a bygone era.

I do like the VR idea though.

It's a terrible idea, actually. In a rail shooter you can't control your character's movements but in return you're able to aim and shoot with a light gun. If you use a pointer control (mouse, wiimote, etc.) you're just playing a crippled FPS. You give up control and gain nothing in return. What's the point?

the point is nostalgia.

it's similar to those pinball games that came out that tried to replicate the experience of playing pinball but in video game form. not quite as good as the real thing but it does the job.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I would only play a rail shooter on PC if it received the Typing of the Dead treatment. Now, that is one brilliant way to play these games on PC. Think about it: Typing & Punishment 2: Star Successor. That would be an instant GOAT contender in my book.

 

[kqedequalsvolvo]

I remember playing Virtua Cop on the PC with a mouse and it just felt incredibly dull. To me, the fun is based on the challenge of aiming your sight at a target accurately under time pressure - it's in the dexterity and movement. Using a mouse removes a lot of the skill and challenge from that.

It's certainly better than using a stick though.

Now I want to go and re-buy a G-con45...