An overview of the best shooter arcade games

Some of the best shooter arcade games we created back when we were all young and oour only worry was how many quarters we had to spend on these games. It was a simpler time, but imagining we could ever return is hard.

The best shooter games are still being made today--but they're different from those in the arcade era. Instead of relying on light guns or joysticks to control your character's movement and actions, modern titles use dual analog sticks (or console-specific controllers like PlayStation Move) to give players more precise control over their movements in 3D spaces.

Shooting games are one of the oldest genres in video games and have evolved over time. From Space Invaders to Time Crisis, these shooters have shaped the way we play. We'll look at how shooting games evolved from simple pixelated arcade machines into immersive, narrative-driven experiences on modern consoles. 

The first wave of arcade shooting games

• Space Invaders (1978)
• Galaxian (1979)
• Galaga (1981)
• Asteroids (1979)
• Warlords (1980)
• Defender (1980)

Robotron 2084 was one of the first shooter genre games to use twin-stick controls, allowing players to simultaneously move and shoot in different directions. This made it much harder for players to get killed by enemies while they were shooting back at them, but it also made it harder for them not to die.

Taito's Space Invaders 

Space Invaders was the first shoot-em-up. It was a simple game where you had to shoot down aliens before they reached your base. This type of game became known as "run and gun."

It was also one of the first video games to use a joystick and sprites (small moving objects on screen) and the first game to use a fixed screen instead of scrolling levels.

The game helped make Taito one of Japan's biggest arcade manufacturers, with over 100,000 units sold by 1978; it remains one of their most popular titles today.

Konami's Contra

In 1982 Konami released Contra on arcade machines. It featured fast-paced action with minimal story elements or cut scenes. Instead, it focused on challenging gameplay where players would fight through hordes of enemies while collecting power-ups that let them survive longer and improve their weapons' firepower.

As well as being popular amongst gamers at home, it also gained popularity among teenagers who played this type of game at local arcades until they were banned due to violence concerns (this ban lasted until 1993).

Neo Geo and the rise of Japanese shooters

Neo Geo was a home console with many arcade ports. It was released in 1990 and competed with the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The system's popularity quickly declined after 1995, when its competitor consoles became more popular than it was.

One thing that makes Neo Geo unique is its shooters: they tend to be fast-paced, have hordes of enemies coming at you at once (sometimes hundreds), and have lots of bullets being fired by both sides (you and your opponent). 

This type of gameplay could only be possible on this system due to its hardware limitations--it needed more memory for significant levels or many characters on screen at once!

House of the Dead expands on the survival horror genre.

House of the Dead was a light gun game developed by Sega and released in arcades in 1999. It was ported to the Dreamcast later that year, along with its sequel, House of the Dead 2 (2000). Both games are first-person shooters (FPS) set in a horror theme park where zombies roam freely. 

The player must survive long enough to reach an exit and escape from each area before being killed by enemies or traps. They can use either a pistol or submachine gun throughout each level; as they progress through the game, they can upgrade such weapons by finding cash scattered around levels.

They can also use the cash at vending machines found between stages where you can purchase items such as health packs with points earned from killing monsters or completing objectives successfully within certain amounts of time limits.

Time Crisis and the evolution of light gun games

Light guns are a type of controller used to control the game. They were first used in arcade games and later became popular on consoles like the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, etc.

The light gun is shaped like a gun with a trigger for firing and an LED for sensing when it's pointed at something on the screen (usually an enemy or target). The player uses this device to aim at targets or enemies within their weapon's effective range (usually around 6 feet).

Shooting games are one of the oldest genres in video games and have evolved over time. 

The earliest arcade shooters were simple but fun, with minimal graphics and gameplay that was easy to learn but difficult to master. Then came the golden age of arcade shooters, which saw developers experimenting with new ideas like twin-stick controls and 3D environments before falling into a lull in the early 2000s due to declining interest in arcades and waning popularity among gamers overall. 

Now that they're back in full force, thanks to technological advances like virtual reality headsets (which allow players to feel more immersed than ever), there is no limit on where this genre can go next! 

Experience the arcade shooter golden age here at GameState.

What makes previous titles so loved and acclaimed by gamers and geeks worldwide weren't outstanding graphics, let alone open worlds. The simplicity and retro of the classic arcade games attract fans and new generations to this day.

At GameState, we combine the experience of a nostalgic feeling with more advanced technologies, and you will find shooter games like the ones we mentioned up to virtual reality games.

You will find all the information you need on our website, from the closest locations and some of the games available. What are you waiting for to join the winning team?