Bitmap Books

The Collector’s Edition of Run 'n' Gun: A History of On-Foot Shooters includes the book, housed within a full-color ammo-style presentation box. Each ammo box is printed using special Pantone inks. Only 1,000 units of this Collector’s Edition will be produced, and once they’re sold, it will never be printed again.

Enter a world of nostalgic bullet hell with Run 'n' Gun: A History of On-Foot Shooters, written by award-winning video game journalist and comic book author Dave Cook. Hot on the heels of Cook’s previous Bitmap Books release, Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat Em Ups, this new project charts 40 years of run ’n’ gun history across over 496 gorgeous pages.

Opening with guest forewords by Mega Man’s legendary producer, Keiji Inafune, and Cuphead creators Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, our explosive journey begins with 1975’s Gun Fight and the birth of the run ’n’ gun genre, before marching onward throughout the decades. With over 300 games featured, you’ll uncover incredible behind-the-scenes stories, interesting quotes, mind-blowing trivia, expert gameplay tips, and beautiful high-quality screenshots.

All the classics are here, including Contra, Gunstar Heroes, Metal Slug, Mega Man, Sunset Riders, Midnight Resistance, and Turrican, as well as some hidden gems you might not have tried before, such as Demon Front, Nitro Ball, and Rapid Reload. As the years march on, you’ll become better acquainted with modern shooters, such as Cuphead, Blazing Chrome, Huntdown, and Gunvolt.

Featuring guest contributions from Chris Scullion, Kurt Kalata, Sega Lord X, and Graeme Mason, Run 'n' Gun: A History of On-Foot Shooters is an action-packed celebration of the genre. Whether you’re new to shooters or loading up your Spread Gun for the first time, this is the perfect reference guide.

Run ’n’ Gun: A History of On-Foot Shooters is printed lithographically to the highest standards. This ensures that the colors in the book are really vibrant and that the pages have a high-quality, luxurious feel to them. As standard, each book is offered in hardback with a spot-varnished fascia featuring artwork by artist Jorge M. Velez.

About the publisher:
Bitmap Books works with the world’s most experienced writers, designers, and gaming experts to create meticulously researched, visually ambitious retro gaming books. As a design-led publisher, visual quality matters to us. We don’t just obsessively pursue the best printing quality currently available; we want to constantly push the envelope when it comes to expectations about printing techniques.

Since its launch on April 21, 1989, the Game Boy has left its mark on the history of video games. After the worldwide success of the Game & Watch and Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System in the West), Nintendo's hardware master Gunpei Yokoi utilized his experience by designing a simple machine with undeniable advantages. Thus, the Game Boy (with 118 million units sold worldwide) became the first console to successfully democratize video games among a diverse public.

Six years later, the genius inventor leveraged this success by developing a brand-new machine that was mounted on a bipod and offered a unique two-color stereoscopic display - the Virtual Boy. This system would become one of Nintendo’s biggest failures.