Well, I am about two or three years behind the power curve, here, but I've been recently introduced to the game of "GunZ". Little online game. One of those deals where they make a decent game and then add all kinds of bells and whistles that cost hard currency. I don't have much of a problem with that. What I'm going to focus on today is the emergence of sub-groups within online environments.

There's a group of people dedicated to "KStyle", which details specifically swordsmanship and evasion. Summarized, it entails hopping around like a frog, dashing back and forth to evade bullets, and attempting to corner you and hit you frequently enough so that you are stunned and unable to retaliate. It also encludes various methods of moving quicker than usual, so you can cover more ground. In this game, unless you know of a few tricks, you run approximately at the same speed as a geriatric stroke victim. Needless to say, with all the lead usually flying around, maneuvering is critical in this game.

When I first began, I liked the dagger. You could circle an enemy, stab his guts out, and each hit would stun them just long enough for you to hit them again. Eventually, as I slowly lost my noobhood, I learned about KStyle and the prevalance thereof. That was when I rejected it.

Whenever I do PvP online, one of the first things I do is learn what the mainstream thing to do is, then avoid it. I went through the normal phase of trial and error, and eventually cooked up a style of my own. I called it PStyle, in mockery of KStyle.

Basically it involves the use of the revolvers. They are the single most high damaging weapon in the game. They have less bullets per clip than machine guns, and so require much more accuracy. No problem, I have that in spades. They also do considerably more damage than machine guns, per shot. They are more accurate and have less spread at range.

The technique I use is easy enough. In a 1-on-1 fight, I have two different methods. If they use machine guns, I'll simply roll around to throw off their aim, while taking carefully chosen single shots with the revolvers. Takes about four or five good hits to kill an enemy, and I can usually take them out before my armor is even gone. If they go KStyle, I'll either go revolver and do the above, or if they are VERY good at it, I'll switch to shotgun. KStyle necessitates close combat, and that's where the shotty thrives. I win a lot of free-for-all matches, and even ones I do not I usually have a 3-to-1 kill ratio, so I'm happy with how it's working out.

I love the smack-talking KStylers usually whip out, too. If you kill them with guns, you get called a "Sprayer", regardless of whether or not machine guns are used. I usually like to remind them that "The game is called GunZ. Not 'Wiggle your short stick.'"

Any way, if you like pitched matrix-like gun fights, and free to boot, take a look. It's worth at least an hour of your time.

http://www.gunzonline.com/