Fans of the first-person shooter genre will know the initial frustrations of being thrust into a new world, armed only with the most basic weapon the game offers. Whether it be the rickety old pipe gun in Fallout 4 or the pitiful single shot blaster in Quake 2 (which sounds like a child’s impression of a laser gun), players will be itching to ditch that opening firearm.

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But it is worth battling on through those early levels, beating low-level grunts with the basic armaments on offer, because we know soon enough the stakes will be raised, and the tougher baddies will need to be faced. To do so, we’re going to need bigger guns; the crazier, the better.

10 Cerebral Bore (Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil)

A Cerebral Bore detonating in its target's skull

Originally based on a comic book, the Turok franchise has become a hit across multiple platforms. For fans of the Turok: Dinosaur Hunter franchise, this is a weapon which is likely to get stuck in player's head (pun intended!). The Cerebral Bore is an immensely effective device, often described as the most gruesome weapon in the history of gaming.

The launcher scans for nearby brain waves and, once locked on, fires a projectile which latches onto the head of its target and drills its way into the brain before exploding. Whoever created this grizzly weapon even included a bone-crunching audio file, which puts the user in mind of a trip to the dentist.

9 Dark Matter Gun (Quake 4)

A dark matter core hurtles towards a giant boss

Another unique weapon is the Dark Matter Gun from Quake 4, which can be found only once, in the Data Storage Terminal.

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This hulk of a gun fires a dark matter core which travels slowly through the air, sucking any nearby enemies into a miniature quantum singularity. This weapon is particularly effective for wiping out clusters of enemies or for inflicting immense damage on a larger, more powerful foe.

8 Shrink Ray (Duke Nukem 3D)

3D rendered Shrink Ray

If ever there was an FPS game in need of a reboot, it is Duke Nukem 3D, with its tongue-in-cheek humor and wide variety of insane weapons. Looking to insult enemies before killing them? Look no further than the Shrink Ray (also known as The Shrinker). This portable rifle is charged with mysterious green crystalline ammunition and emits green energy-based projectiles which deal no damage to the enemy, but shrinks them down to the size of a child’s toy.

When Duke walks over to his tiny adversaries, he will crush them under his boot with a satisfying crunch. Be careful though, if players wait much longer than ten seconds, the enemy will grow back to full size and with a greatly diminished sense of humor

7 Flare Gun (Blood)

A player fires a flare at an enemy while others burn

The fact that this weapon is found almost immediately on the first level is testament to the intensity of the game and the weapons which feature in it. When fired, the flare lodges in the opponent’s skin and continues to burn doing damage. If enough shots are fired, the enemy will erupt into flames in a dramatic death.

This weapon also has an alternate fire-mode, which sends out a diamond-shaped flare which bursts into flames on contact with any surface or object, causing fiery mayhem in its wake.

6 Sanguine Rose (The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim)

The Sanguine Rose as shown from the item selection screen

A Night To Remember is one of the more enjoyable side quests in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. It starts, as many problems do, with a drinking contest. If the player is successful, the quest ends with the acquisition of a powerful new weapon, which will serve the player well in future quests.

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The Sanguine Rose is actually a staff which, when activated, will summon a Dremora to fight for the wielder for one minute, keeping opponents occupied and allowing the player to take a step back from the fighting and hit enemies with ranged weapons or spells.

5 Energy Sword (Halo)

Infinite Master Chief brandishing an activated glowing energy sword

The signature weapon of the Sangheili and an iconic part of the Halo franchise, the Energy Sword is a close-combat weapon of the Covenant Empire.

It comprises an energy storage module and a plasma-projecting device which emits a curved blade-like form of ionized gas capable of slicing through the toughest materials with little effort.

4 Golden Gun (Goldeneye)

Image of the Golden Gun up close

One shot from this, and it is over; even if the opponent has full health and armor. The one sting in the tail is that it can only carry one bullet (presumably golden) and so it needs to be reloaded after every shot.

The aspect of this gun which was most game changing was how it shifted the dynamic in multiplayer games. If the player’s opponent wielded the Golden Gun, then a very different tactical approach was required to defeat them.

3 Fat Man (Fallout 3)

Fat Man and 2 x mini nukes lie on a table

A reference to the codename of the nuclear bomb which was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, the Fat Man is a ‘pre-war’ heavy weapon which launches mini-nukes in the style of a grenade launcher.

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Because of the trajectory of this weapon, it is possible for the player to get caught in the immensely damaging blast radius if the projectile is not aimed correctly, so it must be fired with caution.

2 Gravity Gun (Half-Life 2)

Alyx Vance uses the gravity gun to hold up a toilet basin to block incoming fire

If the original Half Life was revolutionary in terms of interaction with non-player characters, then Half Life 2 lead the way in terms of interaction with the immediate environment. To showcase this, Valve Corporation developed one of the most unusual, but well-known, weapons in the FPS genre, the Gravity Gun.

A tractor-beam style weapon, the Gravity Gun, or Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, to give its proper name, had two fire modes. The primary mode released a powerful energy blast, which sent the targeted object flying. The alternate mode picked up the targeted item and held it close in front of the weapon until it was either dropped or launched using the primary fire mode. The weapon was an absolute must when navigating the creepy town of Ravenholm, where ammunition was scarce.

1 BFG 9000 (Doom)

Player fires the BFG at a room full of Pig Demons

The BFG is probably the most iconic weapon in FPS history. It first featured in the original Doom game from 1993 and was carried over, largely unchanged, to the 1994 sequel Doom 2. It has continued to feature throughout the Doom franchise and similar iterations have made their way into other games.

Effectively, the original BFG 9000 fired an enormous mass of green energy which, upon detonation, instantly eliminated every (lower level) enemy in the room and caused immense damage to more difficult baddies. As the weapon evolved, the projectile damage mechanism became more nuanced, with energy strands damaging nearby enemies as it passed.

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