Video Game Weapons That Work In Real Life
Many video game weapons are so bizarre and incredible, we figure there's no way technology will ever make them real. And yet, there are plenty with real-life counterparts, some of which really blur the line between fact and fiction. Just try to fight the urge to build (and wield) these yourselves.
The Gauss Rifle from "Fallout 3"
The Gauss Rifle was a weapon that you could get from the Operation: Anchorage DLC for Fallout 3. It was a sniper rifle that fired rounds propelled by electromagnetic induction. Upon impact, the rounds would give off a small explosion, which would then cause a bit of splash damage. If you wanted to hit a target next to your enemy's friend, you'd probably end up hitting both. NO one ever said it was easy living in the Wasteland.
This gun is actually based on a real-life weapon with the same name, also called a coilgun. Terik Daly and Michelle Maranowski of Science Buddies describe how you can make your own Gauss Rifle experiment, although it's not quite the same gun you find in the game. While this experiment is more tame and only involves some ball bearings and magnets, the video from Jason Murray shows an actual Gauss Rifle, and how much damage it can do, thanks to electromagnetic induction. Science for the win!
Gunblades from the "Final Fantasy" games
We all thought it would be super-cool to wield a gunblade like Squall's in Final Fantasy VIII (and other games in the series) from the first moment we saw it. Of course, we also thought the weapon seemed a little silly and wouldn't have any real-world applications in battle, but it turns out that pistol swords were very real throughout history.
According to Firearm History, pistol swords and knives existed in France and Germany, dating back to the 1500s. Some of these were used as secondary weapons, to use as backup for actual rifles used by hunters. Even though these combined weapons seem pretty cool, they weren't widely used, due to both the expense of slapping two weapons together, and how one part of the weapon would make the other part completely unwieldy. We imagine it would be pretty hard to aim a gun with a huge blade weighing it down, and the pistol itself would affect the balance of the sword. Still, pistol swords had a unique look, and at the very least, upped a person's cool factor a hundred-fold.
The Demon Sword of Paracelsus from "Resident Evil 3:Nemesis"
The Demon Sword of Paracelsus from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis has one of the coolest names ever, but also one of the most misleading, since it's not an actual sword. It is, however, a railgun, and while we might never use a railgun against undead monstrosities (a chainsaw seems more apropos, anyway), we do see real-world applications for such a device.
According to Jay Bennett of Popular Mechanics, the US Navy has actually developed a railgun for use. The project to develop this thing has lasted over a decade and cost $500 million, making it both a hefty weapon and a hefty drain on many a wallet. The railgun must store up to 32 megajoules of energy before it can send pulses down two rails, one positively charged and one negatively charged, which a 25-pound projectile then travels down. Watch the railgun in action in the video above, and stare in awe at the destructive power of science.
C. Viper's Stun Glove from "Street Fighter 4"
Crimson Viper from Street Fighter 4 is a badass femme fatale who exhibits a shocking (get it? Because her gloves shock and ... and ... whatever, it made us laugh) grasp when it comes to fights. But you don't have to be a World Warrior to wield one of these bad boys, because it seems as if people make stun gloves all the time online, like we can see in the video above. That said, even if they are fairly easy DIY projects, we don't recommend crafting them and zapping folk for no good reason. Johnny Law might have something to say about it.
A more proper use would probably be an armored stun sleeve. According to Brooke Borel of Popular Science, a man named David Brown created a glove that can stun, has a laser pointer, a flashlight and an armored sleeve. Maybe Capcom should turn him into a fighting game character.
Mei's Freeze Gun from "Overwatch"
Overwatch players know the pain of getting hit by Mei's freeze ray for a few seconds, only to wind up frozen and vulnerable to headshots. Skilled players know to keep the chilling hero at a safe distance, even though she can still pelt them with long-range icicles. Fighting Mei and her gun sucks in the game, but what if the freeze gun was a real thing? Namely, your real thing? Well, it just so happens that you can find real-life versions of the gun out in the world, although they're definitely less devastating than Mei's.
In the video above by The Backyard Scientist, we see a liquid nitrogen "freeze ray" in action. And while you probably won't freeze a gigantic German knight wielding a rocket-powered hammer in his tracks with it (if you do, let us know so we can worship you), the freeze ray is still capable of freezing flowers and extinguishing flames. Who knows — maybe after a few years and some development time, the gun will make ice cubes out of all of us!
Bouncing Betties from "Borderlands 2"
Bouncing Betties were modified grenades from Borderlands 2 that would pop up and send shrapnel flying everywhere. Just in case you thought these weapons, like most of the weapons in the game, were fantastic works of fiction, we can assure you that they existed back in World War II, as German shrapnel mines.
The S-Mines, or Bouncing Betties as they were known to American forces, were dug into the ground and would pop up when triggered, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. This means that whole groups could be hit by one mine, with the shrapnel usually flying around at stomach height. Like most weapons used in past wars, these mines were highly devastating, basically impaling you with sharp, metal debris if you got too close. Check out the video above for a brief history lesson on the Betties.
Cloud's Buster Sword from "Final Fantasy VII"
Cloud Strife wielded the comically-large Buster Sword in Final Fantasy VII, even though he physically shouldn't have been able to. We're not sure what kind of grip strength he had, but every picture of the shows shows fairly puny forearm muscles, so it should've been impossible for him to even lift that giant thing, much less wave it around victoriously after every battle.
While no one wielded anything as cartoonishly big in real life, zweihanders were pretty much the equivalent of the Buster Sword. These two-handed weapons had large blades, but could still be swung around effectively, by guiding the blade with a hand near the hilt and one on near the pommel. According to Schola Gladiatoria, these greatswords could be used to fight multiple combatants, usually to defend a point like a door.
While a one-handed use is demonstrated in the video above, it ends up using the sword as more of a spear, taking advantage of its great length. Sadly, as cool as these weapons are, we see no room for Materia slots, so no thanks.