WITH ARCADES ON THEIR LAST LEGS AND MODERN TELEVISIONS PREVENTING THE TECHNOLOGY FROM FUNCTIONING, IT’S FAIR TO SAY THE LIGHTGUN GAME IS ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED VIDEOGAME GENRES. THANKFULLY, THERE ARE PLENTY OF CLASSICS STILL WORTH A SHOT…

WORDS BY ASHLEY DAY

25 LETHAL ENFORCERS

DEVELOPER Konami YEAR 1992

PLATFORMS Arcade, Various

With its digitised ‘photo-real’ criminals, popping up from behind desks, doors, cars and bins in hilariously static poses, Konami’s Lethal Enforcers perfectly captures the feeling of a Hollywood police training range.

24 RESIDENT EVIL: THE UMBRELLA CHRONICLES

DEVELOPER Capcom/Cavia YEAR 2007

PLATFORMS PS3, Wii

Inspired by the lightgun-like possibilities of the Wii Remote, The Umbrella Chronicles retold the story of the original Resident Evil as an on-rails shooter, with stages that were longer and harder than those typically seen in arcades.

23 BEAST BUSTERS

DEVELOPER SNK YEAR 1989

PLATFORMS Amiga, Arcade, Atari ST

Notable for being the first three-player lightgun game, Beast Busters let players gleefully pump rapid-fire shots into a horde of zombies and watch as their giant sprites pleasingly exploded in satisfying, bloody chunks.

22 SNATCHER

DEVELOPER Konami YEAR 1994

PLATFORMS Mega-CD

In the sole English language release of Hideo Kojima’s cyberpunk adventure, players could plug in Konami’s Justifier gun (originally released for Lethal Enforcers) and use it to blow away Snatchers just like a real hard-boiled Junker.

21 GUNBLADE NY

DEVELOPER Sega AM3 YEAR 1995

PLATFORMS Arcade, Wii

Building on the 3D design of Virtua Cop, Gunblade NY took the action to new heights with a satisfying rapidfire machine gun, aimed from the dynamic perspective of a nimble Apache helicopter. Shallow but fun.

FOWL PLAY

20 DUCK HUNT

DEVELOPER: Nintendo R&D1 YEAR: 1984

PLATFORMS: Arcade, NES

■ Duck Hunt couldn’t be simpler: just shoot the ducks as they fly out of the long grass, but this primitive NES game stands out thanks to the charming little touches Nintendo is known for. The addition of a cartoon-like dog, who sniffs out ducks in the opening scene and sniggers at the player if they miss, makes Duck Hunt truly iconic.

AN ASSAULT ON THE SENSES

19 TARGET: TERROR

DEVELOPER: Raw Thrills YEAR: 2004

PLATFORMS: Arcade, Wii

■ By 2008, when Target: Terror came to Wii, its digitised graphics were considered so outdated, it was a laughing stock. IGN even awarded it ‘Worst Graphics’ of the year, saying, “This makes Lethal Enforcers look good.” But what do they know! The live-action visuals are better than anything from the Nineties, with tons of unique animations. Baddies don’t just pop up and disappear; they abseil from above or crawl beneath cars, they bend over in pain when shot in the groin, or open their coat to reveal a jacket full of TNT. This is a game defined by surprising moments – including a bonus stage where you launch grenades at golf carts – and those moments come thick and fast.