10 Outrageously Inventive Video Game Weapons

by Patch Huish

1. Gravity Gun – Half-Life 2

Half Life 2 Gravity Gun
Valve

Half-Life 2 is one of the most inventive and influential games of all time, and its beating heart is the truly iconic Gravity Gun. This attractive armament works like a supercharged electromagnet: right-click to reel in objects from across the room, then left-click to fire them out as improvised projectiles.

The Gravity Gun is at its most compelling in the game’s infamously spooky standout level, “We Don’t Go to Ravenholm”. Littered with giant saw blades and explosive gas canisters, Ravenholm encourages you to make creative use of the Gravity Gun to survive the encroaching horde of headcrab zombies. Here, Valve’s impeccable level design teaches players how to take full advantage of the Gravity Gun without them even realising they’re being taught.

What makes the Gravity Gun such an intelligent piece of design is that it unifies Half-Life 2’s dual gameplay focuses: combat and puzzle-solving. Valve are experts at this kind of holistic design, and it’s fantastic to see the concept of the Gravity Gun make its long-awaited return with a twist in the form of the Gravity Gloves in their flagship VR title Half-Life: Alyx. Let’s just hope gravity itself hasn’t ceased to exist by the time Half-Life 3 is finally announced.

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Patch is a pop culture enthusiast and purveyor of puns. He writes about media in a vague attempt to justify the alarming amount of time he spends consuming it. Nobody's convinced... but nobody's told him that yet. He spends his spare time working on Portal 2: Desolation, an ambitious fan-made sequel to Valve's beloved puzzle games.