Run and gun /

A run and gun (also known as run 'n gun or for some variants, overhead shooter) is a sub-genre of video games that incorporates elements from shoot 'em up games and platform games. These games, which are a type of multi-directional shooter, have been very popular throughout the last twenty-five years with titles such as Contra, Commando, Gunstar Heroes, Metal Slug and Ikari Warriors. The games are particularly remembered for trademark two-player simultaneous gameplay. There are two basic types of run and gun games: side-view and overhead/isometric view. Side-view games emphasize jumping and sometimes ducking as the primary means for evasion, while overhead or isometric games focus on strafing and the use of natural barriers as defenses. The phrase run and gun style is also informally applied to first person shooters in which the player can move at full speed without sacrificing accuracy (notably, Halo). Run and guns are essentially a special case of multi-directional scrollers; in order to qualify, the player must be able to move and fire the protagonist in any direction, although not necessarily simultaneously. Games in this genre are characterized by protagonists that are