Nothing beats holding a light gun in your hand and blasting away at stuff. Unfortunately, you can count the number of Xbox games that support light guns on one hand. Major bummer. It is especially disappointing when you consider how great this particular light gun, the Mad Catz Blaster, is. Sure, you can only play three games with it, but show your support of light guns now and maybe we’ll get more games that support it in the future.
Light Gun Games on The Xbox
At this point, the Xbox only has three light gun games: Silent Scope Complete, House of the Dead III, and the multiplayer mode of Starsky and Hutch. Pretty slim pickings for sure, but if you are interested in any of these games the Mad Catz Blaster is the light gun of choice on the Xbox. The only other gun for Xbox is the Pelican Light Rifle and the Mad Catz beats it in design, accuracy, price, ease of use, and feel (basically all of the aspects that matter) so this is the gun to get.
Design
The Mad Catz Blaster has a very comfortable pistol grip and there is another handle on the front of the unit (where you can insert a memory card, but who uses memory cards ?) which serves as a second grip which makes using the Blaster very comfortable. Yeah, I know, using light guns one-handed is the “cool” way to do it, but after you spend some extended time with House of the Dead III you’ll be thankful for the option to hold it with two hands. The trigger feels perfect when you fire and there is a reload button right on the grip so all you have to do is flex your hand to reload. Very nice. X, Y, Start, Back, Black, and White buttons are all present and accounted for and while some of them aren’t in the easiest places to reach, you don’t use them too much so it isn’t all bad. There is also a control stick on the back of the gun that falls right under your thumb as you hold the gun so it is very easy to use. Rubber pieces are present in key positions to keep the gun firmly locked in your hand and the design is finished off with the traditional Xbox shade of green. All in all, it is well designed and very functional.
Performance
The performance matches up with the great design quite well. It is accurate and easy to use and, most importantly, it is comfortable enough that you can use it for a while without much arm fatigue. There are optional modes for things such as rapid-fire and auto-reload, but real gamers won’t need to use them. It is nice that they are there, and they definitely make House of the Dead III easier, but you shouldn’t need them.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Mad Catz Blaster is the best light gun you can buy for the Xbox. There isn’t much competition, but the difference between this gun and the other available model is pretty significant. The only problem is that there aren’t very many light gun games available for the Xbox, so only the most hardcore of the hardcore will really need to buy a Blaster. If you have any interest in House of the Dead III or Silent Scope Complete, I highly recommend picking up a gun because it is the most entertaining way to play those games. It is a bit of a pricey investment (around $35) to make in only a handful of games, but for fans of the genre it is absolutely worth it.
