This…is my Boomstick! Ever since these meme-rable words were first spoken by Ash in Army of Darkness, I’ve always respected the power of the shotgun.
There is just something so satisfying about learning the spread and effective killing range of a shotgun.
You charge toward your enemy, finger poised over the trigger, feeling the devastating potential of the weapon steadily grow. As you get closer it’s power elevates from fairly ineffectual to powerful to lethal to blood splattering overkill. BLAM!
Below are my picks for the best shotguns in Video Games.
#5
Mass Effect 3 – Geth Plasma Shotgun
| Clip Size | 5 |
| Ammo Capacity | 10 (21 when fully upgraded) |
| Rate of Fire | ~20/minute (fully charged) |
| Real world equivalent | none |
Based on information from Mass Effect Wikia
The only weapon on the list not from an FPS game and technically functions very little like the classic “hitscan” type shotgun. However, it’s shear fun factor cannot be denied. You “charge” the weapon up and release a hell-fire barrage that simply shreds groups of enemies.
#4
Duke Nukem 3D - Combat Shotgun
| Clip Size | |
| Carry Capacity | 75 |
| Rate of Fire | ~60/minute |
| Real world equivalent | Mossberg 500 Cruiser |
The combat shotgun in Duke3D fires much faster than most shotguns and has very tight grouping making it more effective at longer range than most of it’s counterparts.
#3
Left 4 Dead 2 – Combat Shotgun
| Clip Size | 10 |
| Carry Capacity | 90 |
| Rate of Fire | Semiautomatic (as fast as you can click) |
| Real world equivalent | Franchi SPAS-12 (with folding stock) |
Based on information from Left 4 Dead Wikia
The Combat Shotgun in Left 4 Dead 2 fires at a rapid rate but alternatively it can also function in a semiautomatic fashion. By clicking fire as quickly as you can you become the determining factor of how many blasts you get before it’s lengthy reload. It’s the go-to solution for most zombie apocalypse survivors in popular culture.
#2
Doom 2 – Super Shotgun
| Clip Size | No reload required |
| Carry Capacity | 50 (100 with backpack) |
| Rate of Fire | 56.8/minute |
| Real world equivalent | Stoeger Coach Gun |
Based on information from Doom Wikia
The granddaddy of all shotguns. It’s devastating power balanced by it’s somewhat lengthy reload animation. It was faithfully reproduced in Doom 3 but the original one still holds a special place in my heart.
#1
Half-life 2 - Combine SPAS-12
| Clip Size | 6 |
| Ammo Capacity | 30 |
| Rate of Fire | 200/minute |
| Real world equivalent | Franchi SPAS-12 |
Based on information from Half-life Wikia
An extremely balanced and fun to use shotgun, its especially notable for it’s secondary fire mode. If you press the alternate fire key the shotgun will fire two shells instead of one, while technically impossible in that it only has a single barrel, (the second blast appears to originate from the ammunition tube below it) it’s fun to use, so what the hell, right?
(note: This video shows the shotgun modded to increase damage output)
Those were my picks for the best shotguns in video games.
What are your thoughts?
Did I overlook an obvious candidate?
Let us know in the comments below
Coming Soon
Top 5 Rocket Launchers in Video Games
Ryan DeBraal
Loading ...
