Eswat: City Under Siege

1 Player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

For the Mega Drive version of Eswat Sega wisely decided to overhaul the whole game and make something completely new, essentially creating a full blown sequel to the arcade original, what they ended up with was a much more polished, and much more interesting title. On top of the original's game mechanics they've added a multitude of different weapons that can be swapped on the fly (all of which have different strengths), and ability to fly and hover, with intricately designed levels which are brilliantly constructed around this new ability. All around Eswat is a very nice game , with great gameplay, music and atmosphere that consistently surprises with its attention to detail and cleverly designed level layouts.

Gunforce

2 Players

Stand out Version - SNES

This was actually made by the people who went on to create the Metal Slug series, and could be seen as a bit of a precursor somewhat. The gameplay is predominantly influenced by Contra, but there are some new additions such as the ability to jump into vehicles (which would later become such a prominent aspect of the aforementioned Metal Slug games). It's a solid, though unremarkable release for the genre.

Gunstar Heroes

2 Player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

Fast, frenetic, and fun, Gunstar Heroes must go down as probably the most accessible classic run n' gun on the list. The graphics and action are great, pushing the Mega Drive to the limit, and the Seven Force boss fight is one of the most memorable boss fights in videogaming history.

Metal Slug

1 Player

Stand out versions - Neo Geo

The first episode of one of the archetypal run and gun game series'. Metal Slug games are great for no holds barred, over-the-top action gaming, the art style is fantastic, and contains a lot of charm, the pace is perfectly set, and the vehicles and weapon upgrades are a whole load of fun to use.

Metal Slug X

2 Player

Stand out versions - Neo Geo

Metal Slug X was actually an improved remake of the 2nd game in the series (which had previously been criticised for slowdown issues). SNK got it right this time around and eliminated pretty much all of the originals' problems, whilst at the same time keeping all of its excellent level designs and imaginative new power-ups, and making all the levels look much nicer graphically than before.

 

Metal Slug 3

2 Player

Stand out versions - Neo Geo

Metal Slug 3 carries on the high pedigree laid down by its forefathers with beautiful graphics, memorable boss fights, and loads of nice additions of its own (including a new branching Path system), all helping to make Metal Slug 3 one of the, if not the quintessential Metal Slug game.

Midnight Resistance

1 Player

Stand out versions - Mega Drive

This was one of the early Contra clones to come out of the arcades, it's main pulling point being a rotating controller which allowed you to fire one direction whilst running another. The MD tries to emulate this with a weird setup (one button turns on and off auto fire) which seems to work adequately once you've become accustomed to it, but is less than ideal. The game is pretty good overall, with great boss fights, it's own shop system where you buy guns at the end of the level, and some of the catchiest music on Mega Drive.

Rapid Reload/Gunners Heaven

1 Player

Stand out versions - PS1

It's quite obvious where Media Vision were taking their inspiration from when they set out to make their own run n' gun game, but I'm pleased to say that Rapid Reload isn't just a pretty clone of Gunstar heroes. Apart from the obvious leap in graphics over the generation gap, Rapid Reload makes a few decisions to split away from Gunstar Heroes, it has a weapon system which is more akin to the one found in Contra III (accumulate and cycle between weapons, bomb power-ups) and also adds it's own features such as a fantastic grappling hook to pull you out of tight spaces, and the timer based power-ups which force you to keep moving through the levels at speed.

Realm

1 Player

Stand out versions - SNES

This is another good, lessor known game that has some really nice graphics and effects and a bunch of nice ideas thrown in for good measure. It's mostly centred around boss battles, with only small intermissions of levels between (though nowhere near to the extent of Alien Soldier). I think one of the reasons it's never found any popularity is because it's so stupidly difficult, it takes a good amount of skill and practice just to get past the 1st stage! On another note is it just me or does the main character of Realm look like he's based on a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z?!