A 3D game type that has grown to prominence in recent years, especially on consoles. It combines the shooting elements of the
First-Person Shooter with the jumping and climbing puzzles of a 3D
platformer and a simple melee fighting system from a brawler.
Third Person Shooter games almost always incorporate an aim-assist feature, since aiming from a third-person camera is difficult. Most also have a first person view, which allows for precise shots and looking around at environment features that are otherwise hidden from the default camera In most cases, the player must stand still to use first person view, but newer titles allow the player to play like a
FPS; indeed,
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath requires the player to shoot from first person, only allowing melee attacks in the chase camera view.
The ability to
Take Cover, and a reliance on it for victory, makes a game a member of the "cover shooter" sub-genre.
Melee attacks are more important in a third-person game, if only because close up fighting is easier in that perspective type, as are jumping and dodging. Add too much and it turns into a
Beat 'em Up or
Hack And Slash game.
This genre is especially prone to incorporating
sequences of other gameplay types, such as driving and puzzle minigames.
The
Stealth-Based Game is a third person shooter with sneaking around in the dark elements and a stealth kill system (not to say that
some FPS examples don't exist.)
Always Over The Shoulder is a common camera with these games.
Examples:
Over-the-shoulder locked or free floating camera
High/fixed camera (Top Down, 3/4, Isometric, etc…)
Primarily another genre, but with a significant TPS mode
