House of the Dead 3 Arcade – Shotgun
Sadly there were no decent pictures of the fabled arcade cabinet, so you'll have to settle for a screenshot
Shotgun animations are always pretty cool, but actually pumping a shotgun yourself is better. The arcade machines for House of the Dead 3 were pretty eye catching as, unlike other light gun games that just used little handguns, HotD3 offered players a giant shotgun to use. Having to pump to reload was just classic cool, and made the ridiculous amount of change you wasted totally worth it.
Black – Any Weapon
Black was a game that was all style over substance. It had the best graphics and sound seen in a shooter for the time, and little or no meaningful gameplay or narrative elements to go with it. Despite this, the animations were detailed and intricate, with every reload feeling almost as good as it looked.
Crysis 2 – Any Weapon
No surprises here. Whilst the original Crysis delivered some of the best looking FPS action ever seen, it wasn’t until Crysis 2 that we saw a greater emphasis on more intense and satisfying animations. The reloads in particular got an overhaul, to the point where they just seemed so right. The video speaks for itself.
