The pistol from Wolfenstein 3D – absolute basics. Genre-defining weapons – what every shooter needs
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Wolfenstein 3D for PC offers the Walther P38 pistol, but in the Mac version it is already Luger. The port on the Jaguar console looks even different, where the weapon graphics were borrowed from Doom, and this in turn is based on the modern Beretta 92FS pistol.
The pistol is a rather strange position in this list, because you can say that it defined the FPS genre by... not playing any major role in it. It cannot be denied that it all started with the pistol – it's the German Walther P38 that is first fired in Wolfenstein 3D and since then, small handguns accompany us in practically every game. The pistol has become a showcase of the Duke himself, who is always depicted with a huge Desert Eagle or Colt 1911. However, do we often use them ourselves? My point exactly! These are mainly situations where the game initially forces players to carry only a handgun until they get a better weapon. On the other hand, in multiplayer skirmishes, when you run out of ammunition, it is faster to switch to auxiliary weapon and fire a few shots than to reload the main gun. There are few cases when a pistol in the FPS game has been designed in such a way that its power and versatility allow it to be used as a primary weapon. Such were the clumsy Golden Gun and PP7 in GoldenEye, the Magnum M6G in Halo: Combat Evolved and the revolvers in Call of Juarez. The ML-41 Minipistol from System Shock also deserves a mention – the first weapon with a limited magazine capacity that had to be replaced. Virtually every FPS that comes to our mind has a gun – realistic or fantastic: Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Half-Life, Project IGI, Halo, Battlefield, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny ... Whether we use them or not – an auxiliary gun is always at hand or in a holster, just in case!
