12 Video Game Genres That Desperately Need A Comeback

10. Light-Gun Shooters

The Genre: If you were alive and gaming in the mid-90s, there's a good chance you played at least one light gun shoot 'em up. Ever tried to take down Wild Dog and rescue the president's daughter on Time Crisis or splatter endless hordes of zombies on House of the Dead? Whether you did it in an arcade or at home, it's pretty unlikely you did it with a controller. No, you did it with one of the many light-guns available, of course! What Happened: The real issue is that the light-guns themselves fell out of demand with the advent of the motion control peripherals for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360, all of which of course have their own iterations on the current-gen platforms also. As such, the very idea of the light-gun game pretty much disappeared, as it was simply something that could be achieved with any non-descript controller, rather than being a "special" experience with a specific gun controller. After all, who wants to buy a light gun simply because it looks like a gun when you already have a functional motion peripheral? Why It Needs A Comeback: Because the majority of motion sensing games are relatively forgettable, but in their hey-day, light-gun shooters were an addictive blast to play, because the characters, plots and scenarios were well thought-out (and intentionally corny). House of the Dead hasn't had a core entry since 2005 and Time Crisis hasn't had a core console release in over 7 years. This needs to change.
 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.