If there's one weapon that can perfectly represent the quintessential video game, it's the gun. Ever since the evolution of the first person shooter (and even before that), the gun has been the focal point of a metric ton of video games. Let's take a look at 15 video game guns that stand out as the best of the breed.
The Gravity Gun (Half-Life 2)
Even though it appears only near the end of Half-Life 2, the Gravity Gun or the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, soon becomes the most fun tool in Gordon Freeman’s arsenal. In its basic mode, the Gravity Gun can be used to pick stuff up and fling them at enemies but once it comes into contact with the Confiscation Field in the Combine’s citadel, it becomes a weapon of mass destruction and infinite awesomeness.
The Painkiller (Painkiller)
The Painkiller may be the first gun you get in the game, and is certainly not the most powerful, but it perfectly encapsulates what you can expect from the game. Like all guns in the game, the Painkiller also has two modes- the basic one involves whirling blades that can reduce most enemies into sacks of gore, while the second mode creates an energy beam that damages anything that crosses your path.
The BFG 9000 (Doom)
The BFG (Big F**king Gun) 9000 may just be the OP weapon in all of video game history. On pressing the trigger, the gun releases plasma that explodes on contact with an enemy and then fragments and causes further explosions. One of the best things you can do in a Doom game is to fire the BFG into a room full of enemies and then enjoy the all new red paint-job.
The Chainsaw Gun (Gears of War)
The Chainsaw Gun, also known as the Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle, is perhaps one of the most iconic guns from the previous decade of video games. It comprises of a standard burst fire assault rifle combined with a wicked chainsaw bayonet affixed below the muzzle. Most GoW players ignore the rifle and find it much more satisfying to tear into their opponents’ bodies with the chainsaw’s steel teeth.
The Bastard (Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light)
Like the Painkiller, the superbly named Bastard, is also a near perfect symbol of its game. The rusty, ramshackle looking carbine with its horizontal magazine is one of the most basic weapons in the Metro games but watching it shred the enemy is a consistently satisfying affair.
The HV Penetrator (F.E.A.R.)
The Armacham 10mm HV Penetrator is a slow weapon that requires a lot of accuracy to be effective but it remains a spectacular weapon. ‘The Penetrator’, as a gun’s name, is as literal as it gets, and fires 10mm steel stakes at such incredible speed that they can pin an enemy from surfaces as hard as steel and concrete. Plus, leaving behind dozens of enemies hanging from the walls, only adds to the creepy atmosphere of F.E.A.R.
The Railgun (Quake 3)
If you were in Q3DM17 or ‘The Longest Yard’, the most popular Quake 3 map, you had but one objective: try to jump to the farthest center platform and get your hands on the Railgun. In the history of ‘one-shot kill’ video game guns, the Railgun holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers who relied on their accuracy and the gun’s slow but immensely powerful single high caliber shot to drill holes in the heads of their opponents.
The Plasma Cutter (Dead Space)
While ‘basic’ guns like the Bastard or the Painkiller quickly outlive their usefulness in the face of powerful bosses, the 211-V Plasma Cutter is the only weapon you need to finish any of the Dead Space games. The re-appropriated mining tool becomes a particularly useful weapon in the hands of Isaac Clarke because of two reasons - the extensive upgrading system in the Dead Space games, and the ease with which the Plasma Cutter can be used to follow the series’ one basic tenet- ‘Cut off their limbs’.
AK-47 (Counter-Strike)
Just like in real life, the AK-47 is the most popular gun in the Counter-Strike games. Thanks to its range, accuracy and power, the AK-47 immediately puts the Terrorist team at an advantage in Counter-Strike matches. In fact, the AKs are so popular that the aim of many gamers playing as Counter-Terrorists is to kill a Terrorist and grab their Kalashnikov.
The Needler (Halo)
The Needler, or the Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher, isn’t the most powerful, most accurate or, even, the most efficient weapon in the Halo series. What it is, is the weirdest and most unique weapon that you can get your hands on in the Halo games. The weapon fires a bunch of darts or ‘needles’ which automatically track down the enemy and embed themselves into their skin/armour, and after a short delay, they explode. The Needler’s special ability means that you don’t need to be particularly accurate to harm your enemy; just aim at the general direction of your enemies and watch the show.
The Portal Gun (Portal)
Without the Portal Gun, there would be no Portal game, which should tell you how significant it is. Unlike the other guns in this list, the Portal gun is a ‘gun’ in name only. It’s not an offensive weapon, and instead is a puzzle solving tool as its official title of ‘Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device’ suggests. The gun has the ability to create linked portals that you can travel through and can also be used as a tactical defensive weapon by creating portals below turrets and destabilizing them.
The Spread Gun (Contra)
Okay, this isn’t exactly a gun but rather a power-up for the basic and only gun in the Contra. Unlike the useless ‘M’, ‘F’ and ‘L’ powers, the ‘S’ or Spread power greatly improves upon the basic firing mode and massive increases the area of effect of your firepower.
The Five-seveN Pistol (Splinter Cell)
The Splinter Cell games are all about stealthily taking down armies of mercenaries and soldiers. While ideally you would play Sam Fisher as someone who does so non-lethally, you can take the slightly easier way out and permanently incapacitate the opposition with the help of this suppressed, semi-automatic Belgian 5.7mm handgun. The fact that it is Sam Fisher’s signature weapon means that it deserves to be on this list.
The Dubstep Gun (Saints Row IV)
Use this gun to make your enemies dance till they die to some sick wub-wub Dubstep beats. That’s pretty much it.
The Experimental MIRV (Fallout 3)
The Experimental MIRV doesn’t look like much but it can fire eight mini-nuclear bombs. There’s really no way to overstate the damage that the Experimental MIRV can do in the Fallout 3 world and just the ability to fire a nuclear missile anywhere and anytime you want, makes it incredibly valuable.