Reader Discussion: What Is Your Favorite Gaming Weapon?

Video games are filled with exotic locations, creatures, and ways to attack those creatures. Many of the ways we annihilate the bad guys in video games would never work in reality, but that's why video games are fun. What are some of your favorite video game weapons?

Personally – and I know this isn't going to be original – I'm really fond of the gravity gun from Half-Life 2. I especially love it near the end of the game when it becomes super powered and can pick up large items and even enemies. Maybe that gun is why Valve still hasn't released a Half-life 3; they can't think of anything to top themselves. I also love the Portal gun from Portal – though it's technically not designed as a weapon, it can be used to hurt things.

While, I'm a big fan of the weapons that Valve has made, there are plenty of other gaming companies that put a lot of effort into weapons. What about the Ratchet and Clank, Dead Rising, or even the classic Doom series? They all had great weapons. What are some of your favorite ways to bring the pain?