Violence is an integral part of modern gaming. I don’t know why gamers are so infatuated with violence but it is one of the most alluring aspects when it comes to considering what title to buy next.
Maybe it’s because the art of gaming is mostly indulged in by the male half of the human race (I can already see sexist activists cringing in their seats)? Perhaps it’s because it’s a hyper-vivid reality in the world we live in today? Or possibly it’s because that no matter what, we are constantly searching for any form of excitement to escape the dullness of our everyday lives.
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Whatever the reason, we cannot deny that violence has become synonymous with gaming. So it is no surprise that game developers have come up with exceedingly creative ways to satisfy our blood-lust. This has provided us with an arsenal of fantastic weaponry to perpetuate our sometimes aggressive obsession.
And in this vein, here’s a list of some of the best destructive creations we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in gaming history.
Tactical Nuke – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
This is more a state of affairs than a weapon. But the mere mass of its effect and its concluding result reserves it a place on this list. But it is not an easy weapon to use. Before you are provided access to this crazy weapon of mass destruction, you need to perform a kill-streak of 25 (25 consecutive kills) and it is the hardest kill-streak award to obtain in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Once you use the tactical, a tense ten second countdown begins, shown on all players’ screen, as a siren sounds in the background.
It’s the kind of moment in a movie where you hear people screaming in the background and babies are left crying, abandoned by their fear-stricken families (although this is probably taking it too far). Once the ten second countdown had finished, a white light engulfs the screen. All other kill-streak rewards are destroyed and all spawned players are disintegrated by the blast of the nuke, including the player who launched it. An important thing to note it that this results in an automatic win, no matter what the current score of the match is. Now that’s a reward worth playing for.
Chakrams – Kingdom of Amalur
This might not be the most vicious piece of weaponry but it is certainly one of the most entertaining to use. These circular blades find their origins in India but have taken on a completely new form in Kingdoms of Amalur. Each pair of chakrams is imbued with the power of a specific natural element and, not something novel in the gaming world, defies the laws of gravity by flying in amazing circular patterns around the player, miraculously returning to their grasp. These enchanted blades make it onto this list because of its amusing acrobatics and extremely far reach.
Gravity Gun – Half-Life 2
M-920 Cain – Mass Effect 2
I can remember the first time my Commander Shepard picked up this weapon. One of the reasons this weapon was so absolutely epic was that I had no idea what to expect of it. I pulled the trigger and not much happened. A few blades started spinning at the front of the gun and I could hear something charge. Its ammo was limited, with a percentage meter that regulated the degree of the eventual attack, so I decided not to use it immediately. And then the moment came.
The Fatman – Fallout 3
It does have its downfalls such as slow reload time, ammo capacity of one and a dangerously short firing distance which means you could end up in the blast range. But none of this matters once you’ve used the Fatman. You will constantly be looking for groups of enemies to annihilate, basking in the awesomeness of this divine device. After Mass Effect 2’s M-920 Cain, this is probably my personal runner-up. I guess I must be pretty shallow, but I just love massive explosions.
