Tactical shooter
A tactical shooter is a sub-genre of first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballistics, firearm mechanics, physics, stamina, and low time to kill. Dating back to strategy games from the late 1980s, the genre first rose to prominence in the late 1990s with the releases of several well-received tactical shooters. The popularity of the genre saw a decline in the late 2000s as fast-paced "arcade"-like action shooters rose to prominence, it has seen a revitalization since the mid-2010s with the successful releases of several modern tactical shooters.
Tactical shooters involving military operations in grounded and realistic settings are sometimes known as milsims. These games and mods enhance the genre's realism to include aspects such as individual limb damage, realistic multi-step injury treatment, enhanced ballistic and ricochet simulations, weapon wear and malfunctions, detailed vehicle damage and repairs, and lengthy trips to the area of operations, to authentically simulate military procedure.
Game design
According to IGN, tactical shooters "are about caution, care, cooperation, coordination, planning, and pacing. In these games, making decisive pushes, quick moves for cover, strategic retreats, and last ditch grabs at the gold are not only important to success, but balanced in such a way that they become enjoyable activities in play." David Treharne of GameSpew identifies four criteria for what qualifies as a tactical shooter: " you're looking for the use of: realistic constraints of player movement; realistically simulated ballistics and accuracy; squad based or multiple approach/style accessibility; and a low tolerance or low health realistic damage model. Basically, you usually move slower than most shooters, your accuracy is much lower and bullets drop over a distance, you usually have a squad to command, and all of you only being able to take two or three shots before dying."Tactical shooters are designed around realism and authenticity, primarily in regards to weapon functionality, movement, and mission objectives. A staple of tactical shooters is their low time to kill, where players and NPCs can be killed in a short amount of time or with very few attacks. To account for this, a number of tactical shooters implement different levels of body armor, such as in the Rainbow Six and SWAT series, though these only offer a modicum of safety and do not guarantee player survival. The consequences of death may also be high: players may have to be revived, have lengthy respawn times, or have their character killed permanently; there may also be a lack of checkpoints in levels, forcing players to restart upon failure or continue with their inflicted losses. Due to this realistic but punishing gameplay, the individual heroism seen in other shooter games is drastically restrained, players are forced to rely on proper military tactics and teamwork to succeed, and playstyles are typically slower than other types of shooters. More caution and patience is required in combat, such as methodically advancing through cover and concealment as opposed to charging toward the enemy and shooting in the open.
Emphasis is placed on realistic modeling of weapons and ballistics, and power-ups are generally more limited than in other shooters, if existent at all. Weapons in tactical shooters are usually designed to be inaccurate while moving and more accurate while in crouching or prone stances. Jumping, which is seldom performed in real combat, is de-emphasized or even omitted, though some games may offer limited climbing or vaulting mechanics. Many tactical shooters feature "leaning", where the player can lean left or right to peek and fire around corners or behind cover without exposing the rest of their body to attack. A majority of tactical shooters have sight mechanics, where players are able to either "hip-fire", which is less accurate but gives a wider view of the area; or "aim down sights" for better accuracy, increased zoom, or an aiming reticle, at the cost of restricted visibility and camera sensitivity. To highlight their emphases on realism, tactical shooters feature limited or minimalistic HUD elements compared to most other shooters, the extent of which can vary depending on the game, difficulty, or selected options, ranging from the absence of a minimap or health bar to the full or partial absence of HUD staples such as crosshairs and ammunition counters.
Some tactical shooters make use of squad-based tactics, where the player character is supported by a team of allied units, typically computer-controlled. While early tactical shooters had simple AI allies who followed set pathing, AI in later games has evolved with more complex responses such as autonomously seeking cover. In games with sufficiently robust AI, the player character may be able to issue commands to AI squadmates, such as ordering them to cover an advance, flank a position, or clear an area of hostiles such as in Brothers in Arms. Some games in the genre allow players to plan their team's movements before a mission, which the AI then follows independently. Multiplayer tactical shooters may allow other players to assist each other either in the same squad or even commanding their own squads, allowing human players to strategize and coordinate more effectively compared to the limited commands available for AI. Team tactics are emphasized in tactical shooters more than other shooter genres, and thus accurate aiming and quick reflexes are not always sufficient for victory.
The game's setting and scope are usually reflected in the game's level designs and mechanics. For example, in SWAT 4, the player leads a contemporary SWAT team against criminals and terrorists in an East Coast metropolis; thus, it follows that most levels in the game are inspired by the urban and suburban Eastern United States, with most levels set indoors, and most level layouts and gameplay focusing on the close-quarters combat that SWAT teams specialize in; and therefore, the game features equipment that work within the game's setting, such as door wedges to seal doors and tasers to stun and arrest enemies. The setting itself defines how "realistic" the game may be: a game depicting modern warfare set in the present may use modern combat tactics with realistic weapons, while a game set in the near future or a different universe may incorporate elements of science fiction and use fictional or theoretical advanced technology, while still using generally sensible combat tactics. The setting may also determine what level objectives the game may feature: the Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six series each depict counterterrorist tactical units, so the objectives seen in most of their games are centered around the typical duties of those units, namely defeating terrorists, rescuing hostages, and defusing bombs.
Weapons
Tactical shooters feature a wide variety of weapons often modeled on real firearms. The weapons featured depend on the setting, but are generally intended to suit the period. Ballistics are typically simulated, as are elements of authenticity such as recoil, motion blur, ear-ringing from explosions, and the feeling of being suppressed. Some developers of tactical shooters may hire technical advisors from military, law enforcement, or firearms specializations to ensure accuracy in in-game depictions.Simulating actual combat is often sacrificed in favor of balance as well as playability. There may be considerable modifications to in-game weapons and ballistics compared to real life, deliberately done to ensure game balance in multiplayer PvP or competitive modes. For instance, tactical shooters with notable competitive scenes such as the Counter-Strike series typically allow the player to survive multiple bullet hits to the torso and even more to the legs, while registering an automatic kill for melee hits to the back and headshots.
In contrast to run-and-gun shooters such as Quake which allow players to carry full arsenals, tactical shooters place considerable restrictions on what players may be equipped with, requiring players to carefully select their weapons, equipment, and inventories accordingly. The typical loadout setup used in tactical shooters is that of one "primary weapon" and one "secondary weapon". Grenades of both "explosive"/"lethal" and "tactical"/"non-lethal" varieties, and useful equipment such as medkits, are often under their own slots, sometimes used with a single input as opposed to individually equipping them. Melee weapons such as combat knives may also have their own slot, though games with more distant or firearm-based combat may lack melee weapons entirely. Rocket launchers and grenade launchers, occasionally having their own "launcher" slot, may have varying focuses compared to their "general purpose" depictions in arcade shooters, such as dedicated ATGM and MANPADS launchers, or underbarrel anti-personnel grenade launchers that can be equipped on some rifles and carbines. In many instances, the player's selected class affects what weapons are available to them; a rifleman class, for example, may only have rifles and carbines as their available primary weapons. This prevents "jack-of-all-trades" loadouts where one player can carry everything they need, and promotes cooperation between players with different loadouts and classes
In most tactical shooters, the basic weapon and equipment slots are the extent of the player's inventory; however, in some more expansive games, such as the Arma series, individual items such as magazines for equipped weapons are carried in the player's inventory, which must be managed to mitigate its effects on the player character's weight. Carry weight is a game mechanic in many tactical shooters, increasing with the weapons, armor, or items carried by the player character, and affecting movement speed, stamina, time taken to aim down sights, and the ability to focus while aiming. The weight mechanic forces players to properly manage their inventory and choose whether they value mobility, effectiveness, or protection, preventing "jack-of-all-trades" loadouts where one player can carry everything they need, and promoting cooperation between players with different loadouts and classes. In many tactical shooters featuring a weight system, weight is always a present factor that must be dealt with; however, in some, such as the Counter-Strike series, weight only applies to what is currently equipped—so a machine gun would be "heavier" than a knife, despite them both being carried by the player—meaning loopholes around weight restrictions may be found, such as equipping a knife to move faster.
Many tactical shooters feature varying degrees of weapon customization. In most modern tactical shooters, this is limited to the addition of firearm attachments such as a variety of scopes, holographic sights, laser sights, flashlights, foregrips, and suppressors. In games where weight is a factor, the player's equipped attachments may add to their character's weight. In less-grounded shooters, weapon customization may extend to stylized weapon camouflage skins and keychain-style "charms", while in more detailed and comprehensive shooters, individual components of the gun itself such as the barrel shroud and stock may be customized or replaced.
Despite generally aiming for realism and accuracy, some tactical shooters tend to make exceptions with their weapon accuracy. "Akimbo" of firearms is generally rare in tactical shooters, yet it still appears as an option occasionally, such as in Counter-Strike with weapons ranging from small pistols to long-barreled shotguns. The Desert Eagle, despite being unsuitable for actual military applications, is still frequently found in many tactical shooters as a high-powered handgun option. Outdated weapons such as the AK-47 are often seen in modern military service in some games, despite them being mostly replaced by modern times. Experimental weapons, such as the OICW, are commonly seen in many titles, such as the Ghost Recon and Delta Force series, and modern tactical shooters have tended to place more of an emphasis on the future of warfare through the implementation of drones and micro-cameras.