Ever since the original Team Fortress set the standard, class-based shooters have followed a pretty simple formula. Your choice of specialized roles usually corresponds to where you want to be in a shootout: on the frontlines as an assault trooper, right behind them as a supporting medic, bringing up the rear as an engineer or anti-vehicle expert, taking potshots from afar as a sniper, or infiltrating enemy territory as a stealthy spy. It's nice that you can find the niche that best suits you - but wouldn't it be even cooler to play as a soldier that really stands apart from the usual archetypes?

As with the most , I'm fascinated by the stranger, more unique concepts that some multiplayer shooters have to offer. It's not rewarding enough to just point and shoot at anything that moves - you've got to score kills and capture objectives with your own distinct style. So, for your enjoyment, I present a list of the misfit classes that merrily defy the traditional class structure. You might die in the line of duty, but you'll be ten times more memorable than yet another humdrum Assault soldier.

requires you to bring a Medic along in your hunting party, but at least prospective healers get three options to choose from. While Val has the standard healing-beam and Caira wields an unconventional health-restoring grenade launcher, Lazarus is by far the strangest of the bunch. Why? He's a healing class who will watch unflinchingly while you die at his feet.

This Rasputin-looking physician does have the ability to heal his allies, but only in very limited bursts. His real power comes from his ability to instantly revive downed or dead teammates, paired with his personal Cloaking Device. A good Lazarus knows to wait patiently and invisibly from the shadows, keeping an eye out for timely revives instead of providing direct, continuous support. He'll gladly watch you get mauled to death, but only with the team's best interests at heart.

Frankly, every TF2 class has a ludicrously wide range of utility and possibilities within its prescribed playstyles. But if I have to pick one standout, it's got to be that ever-dapper Frenchman, the Spy. Plenty of shooters have a class that's meant to sneak behind enemy lines with temporary cloaking or disguises - but it's the Spy's methods that make him so distinct.

At launch, most players had a tough time spotting fake teammates intent on stabbing their tender back-meat. And just when people started to adapt to the Spy's subtle behavior patterns, new items gave him the tools to outsmart enemies once more - particularly the Dead Ringer, which lets you feign death to slip by defenders unnoticed. Succeeding as the Spy means thinking like your enemy, and blending in without being blatantly inconspicuous. Yes, that's an oxymoron, but TF2 vets know exactly what I mean.

Lead and Gold's playerbase has gone the way of the dodo - which is a shame, because it has some pretty distinct characters. I almost gave the nod to the Trapper, a lady with a coonskin cap, bear traps, and a sniper rifle - but the Deputy class (pictured front and center here) and his vigilant team leadership is too nuanced not to pick.

The Deputy can tag up to two enemies as targets, making them fully visible to his teammates (even through walls). Here's the catch: he can also remove those same tags from allies if they've been marked by an opposing Deputy. The juggling act of providing your team with built-in wallhacks while denying them from your enemy is key, giving the Deputy the power to control the flow of kills in a match without actually scoring them himself.

finally lets you play as everyone's favorite / most hated robot pal Claptrap. So how does one capture the essence of this delightfully / annoyingly chipper companion as a playable mercenary? Simple: by screwing with your teammates at every available opportunity. But in a productive way!

Claptr - sorry, Fragtrap's signature ability is VaultHunter.EXE, which lets you morph into different forms every 40 seconds (i.e. incredibly often). Thing is, the effects of this seemingly random transformation can also apply to your allies - and some are more disruptive than others. Your teammates might start cursing you out when they're suddenly bouncing around or uncontrollably firing off their entire clip in the middle of a heated firefight. That's when you shrug, wink, and sheepishly say "I was just trying to help!"

Despite all their freaky, incredibly invasive body modifications, the Strogg aren't so different from us. That's if Quake Wars is to be believed, since all the human classes have analogous counterparts on the Strogg side. Whereas the Global Defense Force has the Fields Ops role, a support class that can deploy turrets, call in airstrikes, and drop ammo for teammates, the Strogg can deploy the functionally identical Oppressor. Or rather, it would be identical if not for one crucial difference.

The Oppressor - great name for a cyborg alien soldier, by the way - isn't able to resupply his allies with extra ammo. Instead, he gets the ability to plant tactical shields around the map, creating temporary cover for his teammates where there was none before. In the hands of a tactical mastermind, the Oppressor's power to transform the battlefield by creating new chokepoints or offensive bulwarks makes him one of the most influential shooter classes ever created.

Imagine staring down an entire legion of Oddjobs. Now give them luscious beards. That's Shadowrun's Dwarfs in a nutshell - short in stature, but no less lethal for it. Instead of a class system, this cyberpunk shooter lets you pick a soldier from one of four races and equip them with whatever magic or tech you like. Succeeding as a Dwarf is a matter of tricky resource management: your spell-casting energy regenerates at a snail's pace, so you need to drain essence from your enemies - or leech off your teammates, oddly - to stay useful.

But here's the weirdest part: scoring a headshot on a Dwarf is meaningless, because unlike the other races, it won't inflict increased damage. As with the Necromorphs in Dead Space, defending yourself against these fighters goes against the cardinal rule you learned in every other shooter.

Halo 4 doesn't have classes in the traditional sense, but it does have specialized loadouts. Once you've hit level 50 in the Spartan Rank progression system, you're given a choice from eight distinct classes, which have to be leveled up individually if you want their respective rewards. The most tasty carrots on this stick are the perk-like buffs you get for maxing out each class, but they also come with a spiffy suit of unique Spartan armor.

All of the Support Upgrade and Tactical Package rewards are functionally useful; Operators make vehicles more resilient, Rogues have steadier aim, and Wetwork operatives get quieter footsteps. But there's one oddball: Pioneer, the Neon Genesis Evangelion-looking commando you see above. His signature ability? Gain more XP after a match. That's it. In a group of specializations that provide tangible benefits during gameplay, the Pioneer offers you exactly nothing in the heat of a firefight. In essence, the Pioneer only exists to grant a perk that unlocks other, more useful classes slightly quicker.

Typically, if your teammates are screaming that you're the one to blame for a loss, they're just a bunch of whiny babies who can't understand the concept of collaborative effort. But in the case of Red Orchestra 2, that blame-throwing might actually be appropriate. Like any real fighting force, teams in this WW2 shooter have a handful of Squad Leaders, but only one Commander. Playing as the Commander is a critical responsibility, since you and you alone have access to the Radio, a tool that facilitates airstrikes, aerial recon, and ally-respawning reinforcements.

Because RO2 servers support up to 64 players, that means you might have 31 other people relying on you to make the right calls. Your tactical insight - or idiocy - can lead your team to organized victory or disgraceful, discombobulated defeat. If you're not prepared to do some extensive voice-chatting, or take serious heat when you make a blunder, the Commander is certainly not the class for you.

Unless you're a Call of Duty vet, you might be unfamiliar with the concept of TTK. Short for Time To Kill, it's the measure of any given weapon's lethality, reducing all that twitch shooting to cold, hard math. Being pro at CoD means obsessing over your TTK, since you want to be racking up headshots and calling in killstreaks as quickly as possible. That's what makes the Riot Shield such a strange, typically undesirable choice for your primary slot: it's a slow, clunky means of self-defense in a series that's all about frenzied killing.

And yet, the Riot Control loadout, which revolves around the use of the Riot Shield, is one of the preset builds provided in both Modern Warfare 2 and Ghosts. Seeing as Riot Control is presented to new players as one of a few default class options, it seems bizarre to promote a playstyle that runs counter to everything CoD stands for. Then again, the general public's unfamiliarity with how to fight against these shield-wielders could be the perfect edge.

Meet the mysterious tenth class in the Team Fortress universe. Shooters often include modes where you escort an objective - typically an NPC hostage, or some kind of explosive payload - from point A to point B. But when playing as the Civilian, you are the objective. Caught between a team of Assassins that want to snipe your head off and the Bodyguards attempting to protect you, the outcome of each round in VIP mode hinges directly on whether you live or die.

It's the ultimate fantasy fulfillment for players that love being the center of attention - though you won't be doing much shooting yourself, since the Civilian's only weapon is a plain old umbrella. Will you dazzle everyone on the server by ? Or will you singlehandedly unbalance the entire game mode by utterly failing at self-preservation? That's really for you to decide.

Though this class title reads like a kindergartener proudly writing his name for the first time, it's actually an acronym for Mechanized Assault Exo-suit. And to call the MAX a class almost feels like a misnomer, since it's essentially a walking tank on two legs amidst a crowd of regularly proportioned soldiers. But hey, that's how PlanetSide 2 labels it, so who am I to argue? Even though you can't deploy as a MAX right from the get-go, it has its own set of customizations to unlock and intricacies to learn just like any other class.

For starters, there's no aiming down your sights - the MAX has two giant guns for arms, so pinpoint targeting isn't really an option. You also have to decide if you want to be built to counter infantry, aircraft, or ground vehicles, which presents an interesting quandary. Do you spec yourself to be a godsend in one type of scenario but useless in others? Or do you go with a more adaptable loadout that can deal with anything but excels at nothing? Whatever you go with better be good, since you're spending precious resources every time you don this robo-suit.

If you've ever wanted to play as a perpetually farting mercenary in a class-based shooter, this is the best chance you're ever going to get. Everything about the Astrek Recluse brings flatulence to mind, given that this advanced Biotech battleframe (read: subclass) is defined by its use of noxious gas. Biological warfare isn't funny, but watching your souped-up soldier vault away from enemies with a blast of greenish-brown gas really, really is. That move is called Evacuate, by the way; it's unclear whether or not bowels are involved.

Maybe I'm just immature as all hell, but I would relish every opportunity to brag about killing my enemies when they caught a whiff of my Creeping Death. Not every shooter lets you combat the opposition by creating a around yourself. Firefall does.

In a game like Tribes, where everyone's soaring around the map like majestic eagles, the Juggernaut feels about as mobile as an overfed pig. But when you pack this kind of heavy firepower, you don't need to be fast. The Juggernaut's Fusion Mortar launches devastating explosive rounds, letting you bombard the enemy base until the flag runners come home. Once you're able to accurately judge the giant arc of your shot, you'll be a one-man airstrike on any stationary fortification.

But the true beauty of the Juggernaut class is that moment when an enemy zooms by, and you reflexively launch a fiery emerald mortar bomb over the crest of a nearby hill - not where your prey is now, but where they will be in a few seconds. You'll probably be too far away to even see the resulting kill, but it's as joyous as shooting a swish from half court, or that long-bomb snowball throw from Elf.

Ah, Wascot - the evil doppelganger of MNC's smiley mascot Bullseye, and my absolute favorite class from this criminally underplayed shooter. His backstory is perfect: Wascot's an obsessed fan who both adores and wants to murder the foam-headed hypeman for this futuristic bloodsport. But besides the hilarious lore, Wascot's playstyle is an absurdly unique take on close-quarters hit-and-run tactics in shooters.

Getting in someone's face is easy thanks to Wascot's Crook Hook, which yanks him directly to his stunned target - and if anyone tries to throw you, activating Shifty Shuffle will automatically counter them (and give you some lifesteal to boot). Instead of killing players directly, Wascot's primary Coin Launcher weapon shoots damaging doubloons that enemies will foolishly try to collect - it's an ingenious take on Mario Kart's decoy item boxes. And unlike the deadly melee weapons used by other Commando types, like the Assassin's dagger or Captain Sparks' electrified sword, Wascot simply uses a paddle. All the better to spank the opposition with, my dear.

You probably recognize these pillbug-like automatons from The Phantom Menace, where their firepower was enough to make even trained Jedi run away with their lightsabers between their legs (pretty dangerous, if you ask me). They're called Droidekas, and they're an exclusive asset to the Confederacy of Independent Systems in Battlefront's massive multiplayer shootouts. It's what you would get if you took a durable, stationary turret, then gave it the power to zip around in spherical form like AiAi from Super Monkey Ball.

Anyone foolish enough to stand in your way will be gunned down instantly by your dual laser blasters, and your personal shield emitter gives you the ability to act as a slow-moving blockade. But the trick is knowing where you're needed most, because once you've switched forms, you're pretty much committed until your targets are eradicated or you're a scrap heap on the ground.

Do you play Destiny and love the distinct abilities and exclusive armor types worn by your Guardian? Then you absolutely have to try Warframe, because its rich, exotic flavors of player classes make Destiny's trio look like lukewarm vanilla ice cream. Each of the collectible, craftable Warframes acts as both your armor type and your spell selection, and they're all gloriously unique in both form and function.

No matter which Warframe suits your fancy, they're all quite capable of excelling in the missions, though by very different means. Maybe you want to teleport around as the backstabbing Ash, zap targets with weaponized lightning as Volt, become a killer sci-fi airbender as Zephyr, or misdirect enemies with clone decoys as Loki. To me, the 22-and-counting classes feel like rare jewels in a sea of shooter stereotypes. It might cost you a small fortune or years of dedication to unlock them all, but you don't have to play every last Warframe to appreciate their invigorating originality.

Pretty awesome, right? The next class-based shooter I'm stoked for is , which is sure to introduce tons of unique character concepts. For instance, take Tracer (pictured above), who can rewind time mid-firefight. Which oddball shooter class is your favorite? Tell me all about it in the comments below!

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Do you ever find yourself getting a little bit sidetracked in games? Some journey needs embarking on or some nefarious tyrant needs toppling, but you just can't summon up the interest to slog through the grand ordeal. On the other hand, helping this dude you met on the side of the road find his lost goat sounds pretty damn compelling.

Games like Chrono Trigger have awesome side stories that let you literally reshape the world just by checking out some stuff that's off the beaten path. Still, the journey to destroy Lavos was pretty epic itself. Instead, this week's Top 7 is dedicated to games with campaigns that couldn't help but be a little bit overshadowed by their tremendous side quests. Just make sure you read them all before you start the final mission, or else you're totally gonna miss out.

Lots of folks complained that the ending of Mass Effect 3 was too impersonal, that it boiled three games worth of choices and relationships down to a handful of color coded options. Whether you feel that way or not, you definitely can't say the same about Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC, which adds a fairly involved side story concerning a plot to assassinate Commander Shepard. Fortunately, Shepard's made a bunch of friends along the way - and they're all quite happy to help him deal with his would-be killers.

That's not really the point of the sidequest, though - the point is that you get to throw a massive party at the end and invite everybody you've ever fought alongside (and hasn't been blown up/shot by Collectors/killed by Cerberus yet). It's cheesy, sappy, and fan-servicey, but it's exactly what you need to break up Mass Effect 3's apocalyptic despair. Plus, you can have a one-night stand with Vega and let him cook you breakfast in the morning. Turns out he's good for something other than coming up with shitty nicknames.

World of Warcraft is full of stories - literally, that game has about a bazillion quests, even if most aren't much teresting than "bring me 10 murloc heads". But there are some seriously eye-opening events hidden in that huge pile-o-narrative, and my favorite is the sad tale of Tirion and Taelan Fordring.

For tragic reasons (those are kind of a theme with this guy) that I won't get into here, Tirion is banished from his home and family in Hearthglen. He stays nearby to watch his son Taelan (who thinks Tirion's dead) grow up and follow in his footprints as a paladin. Unfortunately, without his dear old dad to show him the ways of the world, Taelan joins the religious zealots of the Scarlet Crusade. That's where you come in - by collecting artifacts of Taelan's childhood, you can convince him that his father lives, allowing him to abandon the crusade and reunite with his long last pappy. Expecting this to end with a tearful reunion between father and son? Well, you're half right…

There are so many different angles to consider about Tenpenny Tower that I'm still amazed it's entirely optional - just make sure you look for the tall (and oddly well preserved) skyscraper standing a few miles west of the ruins of Washington DC. Tenpenny Tower spins a subversive story of haves and have-nots in the nuclear apocalypse which makes the campaign to restore Project Purity seem one-dimensional.

Unlike almost everywhere else you go in the Capital Wasteland, the tower is pristinely maintained and reassuringly secure. That's because the owner only lets a select number of rich residents stay - even though there's enough clean water and electricity to house dozens more. A group of ghouls would like to see that policy changed, and helping them talk their way into the Tower seems like the obvious, goodie-two-shoes thing to do. Until you come back a few days later, at which point you'll find all the human residents gone. The ghoul leader mentions a "disagreement" and, oh yeah, don't worry about that rotten smell coming up from the basement. Whoops.

The Riddler's always been a bit of a second-rate Batman villain. Unlike the Joker, the Penguin, and the other stars of the evil menagerie, he's more preoccupied with proving he's smarter than Batman (spoiler: he's not) than taking over Gotham. His endless schemes endanger some civilians here and there, but ol' Edward Nigma is usually as much of a threat to himself as he is to anybody else.

His talents finally get a fitting spotlight in Batman: Arkham City, where players can spend the entire game searching for hundreds of trophies that he's hidden in various nooks, crannies, death traps, and hostage situations around the chaotic streets and desolate buildings. You may think Arkham City is about taking down Dr. Strange's nefarious schemes for the city, but it's actually about collecting Riddler trophies. And when you finally get them all, you get to track down the Riddler and subject him to his one of his own sadistic schemes before taking him out. I'll take that over concept art any day.

If you try to play Persona 4 like an old-school JRPG, charging into a dungeon at every opportunity, grinding up your stats, and collecting all the Personas, you'll probably have a pretty awful time. It's all perfectly competent, but there just isn't enough to unravelling the mystery behind the Midnight Channel to keep you coming back for dozens of hours. What will really keep you playing are the Social Links.

Yeah, going out for steak skewers or attending basketball practice does come with a sort of XP system and some video gamey rewards. But that's not what makes Social Links fun. They're a surprisingly poignant metaphor - it's up to you how to spend the little time you have in Inaba (or in life, man) and you're going to get out what you put in. So let the next dungeon slide for a little while. It'll be there when you're ready for it. Until then, while away some afternoons hanging out with Yosuke and the gang.

The main quest of Skyrim is fine, if you like prodding at dragon corpses and getting wrapped up in the fictional politics of fantasy Swedes. But it still can't hold a candle to all the other crap you can do in that game, particularly the crowning non-critical path that culminates in the assassination of the emperor. Yup, the real emperor of Tamriel (though you do mistakenly kill his double first), not some podunk twerp who will be written off from the canon either way. But you've got to join the Dark Brotherhood if you want to do the deed.

Rising through the ranks of the brotherhood starts with taking a contract from a little boy to kill his cantankerous orphanage headmistress, and it only gets more twisted from there. You aren't just joining an order of assassins - the Dark Brotherhood has some seriously freaky stuff going on, of which you'll be well aware by the time you spend a night in a sarcophagus next to a shriveled, telepathic corpse. Y'gotta do what y'gotta do if you fancy some regicide.

Majora's Mask is unlike any other Zelda game, partially because its main campaign is a bit… more compact. While Ocarina of Time has eight huge dungeons between you and the credits screen, Majora's Mask only has four. But if you take the time to explore Termina and help out its many residents, this quest feels no less grand and yet immensely timate. After all, could you help a couple face the end of the world together in Ocarina of Time?

The process of reuniting Kafei and Anju is long and involved, requiring keen observation and multiple trips through the three-day cycle. Once you finally bring the young lovers back together, you're reminded that this is still just a side quest… and the mad Moon is still going to destroy everything. There's no grand redemption through the power of love (even if it is tougher than diamonds and richer than cream), just the comfort of gazing into oblivion side by side. You want to shout at them to keep fighting, but it's midnight on the final day and there's nothing more to do but wait. It's sad, happy, frustrating, satisfying, and a more compelling conclusion than a thousand dead Ganons.

Those are some of my favorites, but video games have definitely made a habit of overshadowing their main stories with awesome offshoots. What side quests have kept you amused long after the thrill of the campaign wore off? Let me know in the comments!

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