So many games, so many guns. Most are good, but some have to be the best, and itâs only the best that weâve decided to hang on our Kotaku Gun Rack. Keep the crows off our porch.
Thereâs no room for funny guns here. Nothing stupid, or novel, or unique. No, only guns that do an exceptional job of killing things are worth a spot on our hand-crafted pinewood rack. That or ones that are just OK at killing, but have won our hearts nonetheless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du6WAKLCucM
M1 Garand (Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Battlefield & More)
There is no weapon in all of video games more cathartic than the trusty old M1 Garand, standard issue rifle for US infantrymen in the Second World War.
Itâs old. Itâs got a small ammo capacity. Itâs inaccurate. And you canât even reload it mid-clip. But that âpingâ noise you hear when you empty a cartridge, and the spent casing goes flying off the screenâŠyou know youâve shot a man to death with more bullets than were needed, just for the fun of it.
Lancer (Gears of War)
The Lancer is a decent enough rifle in its own right, but its two other features that make it stand out. The first is the fact its got a reloading minigame attached to it, turning what is normally a tedious waiting period into something you can turn to your advantage.
Secondly, it has a chainsaw on the end of it.
Pistol (Halo)
Thereâs only one pistol from the Halo universe weâd want in our collection, and itâs the one from the first game in the Halo series. The backup firearm may not have looked like much, but it had it where it counted, a quick rate of fire and surprisingly hefty punch making it, pound-for-pound, the most useful weapon in the game. And the cheapest in multiplayer.
AWM/P (Counter-Strike)
The gun so good Valve had to tone it down. Back in Counter-Strikeâs prime, around the turn of the millennium, this gun would kill you if it even turned its barrel in your general direction. Thatâs no joke. It was one shot, one kill. While later revisions have scaled back the sniper rifleâs raw power, we were lucky enough to grab an earlier model, which now enjoys a retirement spent shooting cans off our back fence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRpV15D77Gg
BFG (Doom series)
BFG. Stands for BIG FUCKING GUN. Itâd be an arrogant title were it not also so apt, the weapon not only dwarfing others in Doomâs arsenal, but also being one of the most powerful firearms in video game history. You walk into a room, you pull the trigger, and everything dies
Schofield Revolver (Red Dead Redemption)
Weâve selected most of the weapons on our rack based on their raw kiling power, but the Schofield is a little different. Itâs not that it isnât a handy weapon â itâs one of the gameâs better sidearms â itâs just that not many guns in a video game are so emotional.
Itâs given to you by one of your only real friends in a game where most people are strangers or enemies, and from that moment onward, becomes most peopleâs go-to-gun. Also, itâs a Western. Using anything other than a gunslingerâs trusty six-shooter just feels wrong, doesnât it?
Fat Man (Fallout 3)
A portable nuclear weapon launcher. We like the standard version, but itâs the MIRV â which launches multiple warheads at once â that earns pride of place on our gun rack. Just look at that clip above. Look what happens.
Double-Barrel Shotgun (Doom II)
If you need an explanation as to why this is on the list, we have no idea why youâve read this far down the page.
There are plenty more weapons we could have added â some Desert Eagles, maybe a rocket launcher or two from the Grand Theft Auto series â but Kotaku Tower is only so big, which means out gun rack can only be so big.
Letâs say, though, we could squeeze some more weapons on there. Which would you like to see? A crossbow from Half-Life? Quakeâs railgun? Something from Contra? Metal Slug? Metroid? Something else?
