Boom! Headshot!

The original Silent Scope games involved a sniper named Falcon who was called in after the American First Family was ambushed by terrorists. In the two sequels that followed, Falcon rescued hostages, raided smuggling rings, and took out hordes of assassins and ninjas. It was standard fare for the most part, but Silent Scope: Bone Eater dropped Falcon and the real-world setting in favor of an anime-inspired motif. The action was more over-the-top as a result, and Jin Arkwright’s missions were a lot more interesting than Falcon’s ever were. Whether he was jumping from one skyscraper to the next, picking off helicopter pilots from the back of a motorcycle, or sniping alien drones from a futuristic jet, Jin always managed to keep his cool. The fact that his spotter happens to be a total hottie is just the icing on the cake.

Of all of Commander Shephard’s potential squadmates in the Mass Effect series, Garrus Vakarian is the most compelling. He is initially introduced as a C-Sec officer, but his hatred for rules and regulations leads him to leave his post and throw his lot in with Shepard’s crew. His time in the military made him efficient with many types of weapons, but sniper rifles are a perfect fit for his personality. He’s normally quiet and professional, but he has an itchy trigger finger and is more-than-willing to use it. In addition to being a renowned marksmen, Garrus is a tactical genius and infiltrator. He can eliminate his opponents with well-placed shots, and he’s smart enough to use bullets to overload electronic devices. Garrus is the kind of individual who is always prepared for battle, and his targeting eyepiece is a permanent fixture on his face.

Craig Boone is a former NCR sharpshooter who was the best marksmen in the 1st Recon Sniper Battalion. Although he is still soldier at heart, he left the military following the death of his wife Carla and was psychologically troubled by the event. When Carla was kidnapped by slave drivers, Boone tracked the party down in the hopes of rescuing her. He found her being auctioned off to Legion soldiers along with hundreds of other slaves. Boone only had a single bullet left and his options were severely limited. Rather than subjecting Carla to a life of slavery, he chose to take her life in a mercy killing. His military career taught him not to hesitate on the field, but the trauma he experienced following this event turned him into a shell of his former self. Craig Boone became a stone-cold killer with the single goal of slaughtering Legionaires.

The city of Pitlover was a wretched hive of scum and villainy before Caitlyn took over as sheriff. She gallantly protected the city from chaos, and Pitlover became known as the City of Progress due to its low crime rate. Her knack for crime-fighting was brought to light at the age of 14 when she tracked down the men who had assaulted her father. She soon gained notoriety for both her ravishing beauty and her abilities as a sharpshooter. Not one to rest on her laurels, Caitlyn joined the League of Legends to hone her skills. She’s a marksman who can provide long-range support from behind the safety of her team’s vanguard, but she’s also mindful of her surroundings. When she’s not busy landing headshots on her opponents, she’s likely setting traps or planning ambushes to make it even easier to target her prey.

There are many snipers in Valkyria Chronicles that could have been listed here, but the decision came down to either Emile Bielert or Marina Wulfstan. Emile is effective on the ground and works well with other units, but Marina is much more effective when left to her own devices. Snipers in Valkyria Chronicles have limited mobility compared to other units and are unable to perform counter attacks, so the best strategy is often to leave them isolated and out of harm’s way. Marina’s abilities and personality make her an ideal fit for that kind of role. Her father taught her how to hunt at a young age, and Marina’s incredible marksmanship is unmatched in the Gallian Militia. Although she shows steadfast loyalty to her teammates, the aloof beauty has a stand-offish personality and actually prefers to be alone.

If his name and appearance on this list didn’t make it obvious enough, the Sniper’s role in Team Fortress 2 is to pick off enemies from afar. He is at a disadvantage at close range, so he has a tendency to head for higher ground or hard-to-see places. His single-shot, bolt-action sniper rifle has perfect accuracy and can kill nearly any enemy with a single shot. Inexplicably, the rifle becomes more powerful in accordance to how much time is spent zoomed in using the scope, so the Sniper is strongly encouraged to exercise patience. He was born in the “lost country” of New Zealand and raised in the unforgiving Australian Outback, so the Sniper is perfectly suited for a career that requires endurance and a love of the outdoors. His distinct Aussie accent and penchant for Australian idioms makes him endlessly entertaining.

A lot of the characters on this list would rank among the best marksmen in the world, but Mordecai is one of the best snipers in the entire galaxy! At the age of 17, he won a interplanetary sharpshooting competition with a revolver even though the other competitors were equipped with sniper rifles. He was accused of cheating, but he didn’t display any unsportsmanlike behavior until after the accusations began. Mordecai travels from planet to planet in search of money and a better gun, and he’s accompanied by a predatory bird named Bloodwing. Mordecai often unleashes his avian companion on his enemies, but he relies mostly on his skills as a sniper. He becomes a raging alcoholic after his relationship with a trollop named Mad Moxxi goes south, but he’s an incredible shot even when he’s inebriated.

An augmented SPARTAN-II super soldier who received military training from infancy, Linda-058 can eliminate targets so quickly that not even Master Chief himself is able to follow the action. Her ability to function as a lone wolf makes her an ideal sniper, and she seldom needs assistance from her team. In one instance, Linda managed to eliminate seven elite Banshee pilots while shooting one-handed and hanging upside-down from a cable. She was mindful to angle her body in such a way that the sun would not reflect off her suit, and this allowed her to hide in plain site as she shot her enemies out of their airborne fliers. Jun-A266 from Halo Reach was considered for this list as well, but he simply can’t compete with Linda’s vast experience. Linda-058 makes sniping seem like an art and stands as the most accomplished sniper in the Halo universe.

Patient, cold-blooded, and completely ruthless, Widowmaker is an assassin who shows no emotion or remorse. (She effectively made herself a widow after she killed her husband.) She’s not above destroying her enemies with mines or luring them into traps, but her trademark sniper rifle is ideal for eliminating targets from a distance. The rifle gives her extreme range, and her grappling hook can broaden her vantage point and allow her to line up perfect shots while she extends her view of the battlefield. She can even see through walls and objects, thanks to a recon visor that allows her to see the heat signatures of her targets! Widowmaker is an archetype sniper in the same vein as the Sniper from Team Fortress, but she’s even deadlier and seems a lot more focused. She’s a lot easier on the eyes too, and she really puts the “ass” in assassin.

Sniper Wolf was born on the battlefield and Quiet is a seasoned assassin, but no sniper in the Metal Gear series has more experience than the End. Born in 1860, the “Ancient Sniper” of the Cobra Unit was a veteran to countless wars. Incidentally, exposure to a strange parasite lengthened his lifespan and heightened his abilities. He earned a reputation as the world’s best marksmen and was known as the “Father of Sniping” for inventing countless techniques. His use of camouflage rendered him invisible even in the most well-lit areas, and his endurance allowed him to remain in position for weeks at a time. He would sometimes fall asleep on the battlefield due to his old age, but his trusty parrot companion served as a spotter and would wake him up when danger called. The End was over 100-years-old before he finally met his match.