Role-Playing Shooter

Overview

Role-Playing Shooter (RPS) refers to action RPG (action role-playing game) titles that utilize shooter mechanics (using guns or other long-range weaponry) for the real-time combat. The term RPS was first coined by Borderlands in 2009, but games combining RPG elements with shooter combat can be traced as far back as the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, with early examples including Wibarm (1986), War of the Dead (1987), and Star Cruiser (1988), for example.

Role-playing shooters gained mainstream popularity in the 21st century, with titles such as Parasite Eve II, Deus Ex, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Mass Effect, Valkyria Chronicles, and Fallout 3. This has led to even traditional First-Person Shooter (FPS) titles such as the Call of Duty series incorporating RPG elements; though this somewhat blurs the line, Role-Playing Shooters can be distinguished from such games with their greater emphasis on RPG elements.