Summary
- FPS games benefit from diverse arsenals to enhance combat encounters and player choice.
- Hand-crafted weapons are generally favored over procedural generation for a more nuanced FPS experience.
- Games like Destiny 2 and Borderlands offer a vast array of weapons, enhancing gameplay diversity and enjoyment.
First-person shooters tend to feature diverse arsenals that allow players to express their own style and/or inject variety into combat encounters. Games such as DOOM and Quake, for example, encourage frequent weapon cycling in order to defeat enemies efficiently. As a result, more weapon diversity usually (not always) results in a better FPS.
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In the interest of diversity, these titles cover everything from RPGs such as Borderlands and Destiny to more hand-crafted, indie experiences. Games that offer diverse, specific arsenals have generally been favored over games that use procedural generation or feature the typically repetitive weaponry common in multiplayer shooters.
8 Cruelty Squad
A Unique FPS With An Acquired Taste
Cruelty Squad
- Released
- January 4, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Consumer Softproducts
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, FPS
Cruelty Squad may be an assault on the eyes, but its combat sandbox allows for a great deal of creative problem-solving. Part of this is due to the variety of tools and weapons that players have available to them.
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In fact, Cruelty Squad features over twenty weapons, many of which are firearms. Furthermore, the game features a unique system for unlocking weapons that tasks players with finding them in levels and extracting with the weapon still equipped. This is a particularly satisfying unlock method that rewards players for committing to newly found weapons.
7 Bears In Space
An FPS That Excels With Diversity
- Platform(s): PC
- Released: 2024
- Developer(s): Broadside Games
- Genre: FPS
Featuring over 25 weapons, many of which can be upgraded, Bears In Space is able to offer a diverse FPS adventure. Similarly to games such as Ratchet & Clank, Bears In Space offers a broad arsenal of imaginative weapons that champion eccentric designs over practical ones. This results in a tongue-in-cheek experience that's replete with visual variety.
Players that enjoy a more serious and down-to-Earth experience may want to steer clear, but Bears In Space is a decidedly joyous title that excels with its unhinged charm. Furthermore, Bears In Space features a unique bullet-hell combat system in which to make use of the various weapons.
6 Maximum Action
A Diverse Arsenal For Sandbox Play
- Platform(s): PC
- Released: 2018
- Developer(s): George Mandell
- Genre: FPS
Featuring very little challenge and a focus on style, Maximum Action takes inspiration from 80s cinema to provide players with a low-poly action sandbox. Taking clear inspiration from games such as FEAR and Max Payne with its bullet-time mechanic and slow-motion dives, this FPS title tasks players with blasting through each of its brisk missions as stylishly as possible.
The large variety of firearms in Maximum Action present players with a constantly changing set of tools for each encounter, encouraging constant weapon swaps and stylishly grabbing weapons out of the air in cinematic slow-motion. Fans of 80s action cinema and stylish shooters are more than likely to enjoy Maximum Action, though it features no narrative thread, and it's relatively light on challenge.
5 Borderlands 2
Action-Packed Co-Op That Utilizes Procedurally Generated Weapons
Borderlands 2
- Released
- September 18, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
Borderlands 2 is an action-packed combination of RPG and FPS that offers a tremendous amount of loot. With a gameplay structure that's built around finding new, better weapons and slaying bigger, badder enemies, Borderlands 2 excels with its massive variety of weapons.
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However, this variety is afforded via a heavy dose of procedural generation. This makes the excitement and discovery of a new weapon heavily dependent on luck. While still enjoyable, it fails to offer the same experience that some players may get when finding a new hand-crafted weapon in a more nuanced FPS.
4 Destiny 2
A Vast Array Of Semi-Random Weapons With Fluid Gunplay
Destiny 2
- Released
- August 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, Stadia
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Destiny 2 combines fluid gunplay and FPS action with the structure of an MMO to great effect, offering a unique experience in detailed 3D environments. The RPG character progression and variety of build options creates a great deal of diversity, but it's the aforementioned gunplay that keeps Destiny 2 consistently engaging.
It's a good job, then, that Destiny 2 features an abundance of loot. More specifically, the variety of weapons that players are able to acquire are many. Furthermore, although random generation plays a part in the specifics of each weapon, their designs are bespoke.
3 Blood
An Expressive Old-School Arsenal
Blood: Fresh Supply
- Released
- May 9, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- NightDive Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
This old-school shooter is revered for its dark, pulpy B-movie tone, yammering cultists, and - most importantly - a diverse arsenal of expressive and eccentric weaponry. From the iconic pitchfork and the fiery flare gun to the utterly unhinged voodoo doll, Blood veers confidently off the beaten path.
Sure, there's the more regular machine gun and shotgun, but even these weapons are spiced up via alternate fire modes that add a great deal of expression to each combat. Blood even makes the classic grenade more fun, instead giving players heaps of dynamite to light and chuck at groups of cultists and gargoyles alike.
2 Fallen Aces
An Ephemeral Arsenal That Encourages Resourcefulness
Fallen Aces
- Released
- June 14, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
Fallen Aces is a stylish and wonderfully pulpy immersive-sim with an emphasis on FPS combat and first-person brawling. In keeping with its nature as an immersive-sim, Fallen Aces features a diverse arsenal of weaponry that covers everything from powerful firearms to harpoon guns and frying pans.
This diversity of weapons allows players to get creative in and out of combat, supported by a durability system and limited ammunition that forces players to experiment and be resourceful. The open levels and generosity of the weapons sprawled across each of them also ensures that players will rarely beat a level with just one weapon, making flexibility key to success.
1 Halo 3
Two Truly Diverse Sets Of Weaponry
Halo 3
- Released
- September 25, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
As with its predecessors, Halo 3 offers a variety of weapons. This is facilitated by a design that allows players to pick up the weapons of fallen enemies as well as wielding the firearms of the UNSC. The ability to take weapons from friendly marines also ensures players are able to get a hold of favorite weapons more easily, making the overall experience more enjoyable.
Both the Covenant and UNSC have a diverse arsenal of weaponry, from beam rifles and energy swords to classic shotguns and the iconic assault rifle. For fans of sci-fi shooters and pulpy action, Halo 3 and its predecessors are still worth playing even today, especially in co-op.
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