Games with Satisfying Gunplay

Random topic I know.

One thing that I have noticed while playing shooters recently, is that even though you have all these weapons, the firefights aren't exactly very meaty. What I mean by that is that the guns, when they are fired, don't really seem to do that much to your enemy. While they do stumble, they don't really feel like they are being shot at. Uncharted is one of the prime examples of this.

Me personally, when I am firing a gun in a game, I need to feel like the guns are powerful, and that I am hurting the enemies. I don't just mean there being blood splattering everywhere. The physics, for example really help to give the feeling that you are pumping your enemy full of lead.

The two best examples of this, in my opinion, are F.E.A.R. and Bulletstorm. When you shoot your enemy, it really does feel like they are being killed, and as a result, the firefights are immensley satisfying.

What examples do you know of that give really satisfying gunplay?

Red Dead Redemption has very good gunplay, with enemies reacting to the lication of the wound and, well, looking really wounded after having been shot.

There's this game called Stranglehold, which is essentially an interactive Woo movie. One special move you can do involves putting a precise bullet in an enemy, and not only is there a Bullet Cam showing the bullet on the way to its target, but also shows an enemy's reaction if they get hit. It's especially lulzy if they get shot in the nuts.

Killing Floor (guns feel like they have their own respective punches to them, reloads are snazzy and weapon switching is fantastic), Brink (audio-visual stuff is good, shooting and reloading is a satisfying routine), PAYDAY The Heist (same deal there), EYE Divine Cybermancy (the sounds are pretty good, I'd say), all the Serious Sam games, the first two Doom games and Super Monday Night Combat are some games I'd name as examples.

edited 14th Jul '12 4:24:50 PM by RocketDude

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about Doom. The Quake games also have really good gunplay. id is the master at this.

Don't forget Max Payne.

The Stalker series, particularly Call of Pripyat has what you are looking for. Unfortunately, it is on both the AI side and yours. All firearms sound meaty and have a nice weight to them. Pity they have totally stuffed up world-models as they are all mirrored for some strange reason.(all have cartridge ejection on the left-hand side, which is jarring when you are firing S A80s and Ak series rifles which really don't have that in real life.)