The definitions of arena shooters and boomer shooters are both pretty fuzzy and have a lot of overlap.
For example, I consider Duke Nukem 3D’s multiplayer to be a great arena shooter, however when many people talk about arena shooters what they mean are early 2000s style shooters that are fully 3D rather than sprite based. Halo CE was “the” arena shooter when it came out.
It is a genre that really hasn’t made a comeback. Some people say things like Overwatch are arena shooters, but for the kinds of people wanting old fashioned shooters a big element is that all players start with the same weapons and abilities by default. It’s the imperfection of language trying to articulate a feeling.
The definitions of arena shooters and boomer shooters are both pretty fuzzy and have a lot of overlap.
For example, I consider Duke Nukem 3D’s multiplayer to be a great arena shooter, however when many people talk about arena shooters what they mean are early 2000s style shooters that are fully 3D rather than sprite based. Halo CE was “the” arena shooter when it came out.
It is a genre that really hasn’t made a comeback. Some people say things like Overwatch are arena shooters, but for the kinds of people wanting old fashioned shooters a big element is that all players start with the same weapons and abilities by default. It’s the imperfection of language trying to articulate a feeling.