As I have been reflecting upon the games I've played over the last calendar year (and change), I have realized just how much the shotgun has become a staple of great gaming. While the shotgun has been in games since the days of Doom, lately I have been reflecting upon just how much the weapon has become a core feature for modern shooting games. Many of the games I played in the last year came out in differing points in time, but they frequently had Jed Clampett's oil finder incorporated into the arsenal.

Orange Box
The five-games-in-one featured plenty of shotguns in very different ways. When I played Half-Life 2 for the first time in the Orange Box, I was thoroughly impressed by all of the weapons. Besides the pistol (not the magnum) and the gravity gun, the shotgun was my go-to weapon for offing Combine, hunting bugs, or dispatching hunters. The alt-fire, double-barreled blast was a nice touch. The recoil, sound, and general feel of the shotgun was done better in 2004 than some of the games that emerged in 2007. Despite a clear lack of shotguns in Portal, Team Fortress 2 brought the shotgun for both the Engineer and Scout classes. The scattered shot of the Scout's sawed-off carbine fit well with the frenetic, random play style of the class. Similarly, the Engineer's shotgun dealt a satisfying amount of damage, despite seeming a bit too similar to the Scout's aforementioned firearm. Had the turret-builder's main weapon been a bit heartier or offered more oomph, I may have opted for that weapon over the accurate pistol or the hefty wrench during my marathon multiplayer sessions.

Rainbow Six: Vegas
Thanks to the tournament GameSpot had earlier this year, I figured I'd play in the hopes of making it to the finals. When my team was summarily dismissed from competition, I realized I had not only gotten caught up in the satisfying gameplay, but also my personal quest to unlock a seemingly impossible achievement. In the process, I learned to love not only the shield (for all those T-hunt missions), but also the SPAS-12 shotgun.

During my time online I ran into many a player who swore by the shotgun to the point they put a scope on it for sniping. While that may seem a bit excessive, the accuracy, stopping power, and general feel for the weapon was just right. And when something is done right, you want to make it your own.

Mass Effect
Say what you will of the Mass Effect's various problems or hurdles, the gameplay is satisfying and the story is immersive. While I admit to getting a bit unnerved with the gameplay toward the beginning, it all picked up once I purchased the Spectre shotgun. If it wasn't for the excellent sniping I was able to do with the pistol, I am pretty sure I would have never switched away from the shotgun during my first two playthroughs. Through the judicious use of AP, Shredder, and Tungsten ammunition, most enemies become nothing more than speed bumps on the road to mission completion. The shotgun had satisfying stopping power. I never tired of watching enemies careen through the air or ricochet off of crates, walls, or other objects after taking a blast from my trusty HMWSG.

Halo 3
After hours of play, I still haven't been able to detect any great differences between the Halo 3 shotgun and the way I remember the Halo 2 shotgun working. Suffice it to say it has that great tinny ring when it fires. In close quarters and short range, it is a very deadly weapon. Recently I played some very cheap games of halo 3 multiplayer in a very expensive home belonging to someone I didn't know. My friend of Button Mashing infamy proved unbeatable, even when facing off against the deadly buckshot shooter. Perhaps if I was using the Halo pistol I would have fared better . . . perhaps.

Disappointments
Some games have not been so kind to the double-barreled, single-barreled, or otherwise automatic dealer of close-range damage. The shotguns in Cabela's Alaskan Adventure were less than stellar. Some of them were viable weapons, but the smaller-caliber weapons were almost completely ineffectual. I remember trying to kill red squirrels at point-blank range with a 12-gauge; impossible. One of my favorite games of 2007, Lost Planet, had a woefully underpowered shotgun. While it was great for detonating loose or stuck grenades, as a killing weapon, Paul Atreides' name could've done a better job in many instances. This was particularly evident since the rifle and rocket launcher were implemented so well in that game. Hopefully the sequel can redeem itself.

For Sport
For the sports fans out there, I can't really say whether the shotgun plays in Madden 07 were better than Madden 06. I spent the Lion's share of my time with that game simming my way to points. That sounds like a level of detail I will leave to Mister Thomas, Professor Ekbeard, and the fine fellows from SportsGamer to address. Since I have yet to crack open Madden 08 and lack any desire to play either Blitz or All-pro Football, I can't really comment on the shotgun plays in those titles.

The Future is Now
Now that the dust has settled, I am certainly interested to see what comes from this year's hotly anticipated titles. Vegas 2 could very well rest on its laurels and carry over the tried-and-true armory. Hopefully, we will see more innovation besides adding strip clubs to a casino-based franchise. Who knows whether the infected-arm power of Dark Sector will transfer as easily to shotguns as it seems to with pistols. I could go on to name another half dozen 2008 games likely to use shotguns (Army of Two, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Bionic Commando, Grand Theft Auto IV, Madden 09), but we'll just have to take a wait-and-play approach.