Run & Gun versus Sniping

In my opinion there are two types of gamers, those which I like to call the ‘Run & Gun’ type and those that fall into the ‘Sniping’ category. Now without me explaining anything more about these two different types, you’ll probably already know which one you are.

There has never been any doubt in my mind that I fall squarely into the Run & Gun category, because no matter what kind of game I play I always tend to barge straight into a room no matter how many bullets are flying. Luckily for me if it’s a co-op game I generally would have teamed up with a Sniping gamer so he can provide cover fire and prevent me from getting too many bullet holes. I enjoy getting straight into the action, not lurking behind windows, taking a peek every now and again, and scouting things out before going into a room. Granted I do enjoy engaging in some sniping action on the odd occasion, and even if I do say so myself I’m a pretty good shot and take great satisfaction at seeing those Locust’s brains go flying. But before long I’ll get agitated with being in the same place for too long and will inevitably head into the fray.

Of course there are pros and cons for being both a Run & Gun and a Sniper. And although it’s possible to have a little cross-pollination between the two, you’ll still find yourself favouring one over the other. And you’ll most probably find that you have been choosing to play as one over the other since you began gaming. Let me illustrate this point with an example from my own gaming past. I was first drawn into the gaming arena on the PC – StarCraft, Wolfenstein, Tower Defense and Quake were the flavours of that era with the fast-paced action of Quake being a personal favourite of mine. The shotgun soon became my weapon of choice, probably because I could run around on a map and deal out the most damage in up close and personal encounters. This is how I came up with the phrase ‘Run and Gun’ – clever right?

Meanwhile I began to notice that every time I ran into a certain room I would get sniped in the back of the head. Obviously it didn’t take long for calls of ‘Camper’ to ring out from around the garage (yes, this was back in the good ol’ student days) and pretty soon all of us Run and Guns would be on the warpath to identify and take down the Sniper as he liked to call himself. And so the rivalry between the two began. There’s just nothing that a Sniper can say to a Run & Gun to explain his choice of gameplay style and vice versa. It’s like Snipers are from Mars and Run & Guns are from Venus.

The only question left to ask is which one are you?

I’ve compiled a short list of pros and cons for the Run & Gun and for the Sniper. Feel free to add a few of your own below as well. Because I’m the Run & Gun type my list of cons for that category are running a bit thin.

Pros and Cons of ‘Run & Gun’

Pros

- You’re in the thick of it
- Gameplay is faster paced
- You’re the first one in to save the hostage and disable the bomb
- You take all the honours
- You get to use the lancer in Gears of War
- You don’t get knifed in the back as much
- You get to be up close and personal with your enemy

Cons

- More deaths so more respawning

Pros and Cons of ‘Sniper’

Pros

- Less deaths so more time in the action and less respawning
- Choosing your target, it’s more strategic and you don’t just shoot the first grunt that you see
- Providing cover fire for your teammates
- Great for unfit gamers, you don’t have to run as far as often
- You get to annoy people by shooting them in the head, preferably the same person over and over again

Cons

- Straining your eyeballs to see 1mm of a head in the 5km distance
- Getting knifed in the back while you hide behind your scope
- Earning an unfair reputation of being a Camper
- People who have been sniped coming to find you, resulting in the aforementioned knife in the back
- Grudges tend to be held for longer
- You have to be more patient