If you all remember my last top ten, then you know that I covered swords which are one of my favorite melee weapons. However, if a sword or any other type of melee weapon is unavailable, then I guarantee you I'll be picking a gun instead. There is just something about the complexity in a firearm that just triggers a sense of destruction in me, especially if the weapon is big and overpowered as hell. So I present to you my top 10 most iconic guns, cannons, and firearms in video games in no particular order.
(Please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased)
The BFG 9000 from the DOOM series
With a name that is literally an abbreviation for "Big Fucking Gun," you can just imagine the kind of sheer force that is expelled from the barrel of this monster. The BFG 9000 fires highly concentrated bolts of plasma that explode into an immensely powerful concussive shockwave vaporizing anything unlucky enough be to within range. The BFG also appears in the DOOM film that was released in 2005, but it was renamed as the Bio Force Gun.
The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device from the Portal Series
While not a weapon per say, the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, otherwise known as the Portal Gun (or as I like to call it, the ASHPoD) is used primarily for opening miniature wormholes to get you from point A to point B much faster. This also makes solving the puzzles issued by the psychotic GLaDOS during her little "tests" much easier as just about all of them need the Portal Gun in order to complete them. Plus if you happen to know a thing or two about physics, you could turn all of those cubes that you have to lug around into catapults using gravity alone.
The Needler from the Halo series
Unlike most people, I happened to like the Needler from the first Halo. If used properly, the weapon's explosive glass needles would deal a ton of damage against whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end. I suppose the only real downfall is the fact that its shots moved through the air at a snail's pace, but in my opinion, the homing feature makes up for that. Plus it can be dual wielded in Halo 2, doubling the amount of explosive crystalline fury at hand.
The Super Scope accessory from Nintendo
Unlike every other gun on this list, the Super Scope was a real accessory that was made by Nintendo for use with a small handful of games on the SNES. It was calibrated with a sensor that was placed on top of your TV set and was powered by six AA batteries. Because of the impact this particular weapon had on the gaming community (and because of how cool it looked), this weapon was revived in the Super Smash Bros series, but instead of it being a harmless toy, it instead fired bolts of light that could be charged up for extra power.
The Scarborough Fair from Bayonetta
While this weapon is technically four separate handguns by the names of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, the Scarborough Fair instead feels like one gun as they are part of Bayonetta's fighting style called Bullet Arts. She grips one gun in each hand and the other two are strapped to the heals of her boots. They are made of a demonic alloy that makes them virtually indestructible and are used for killing angels due to a contract she made with a demon called Madama Butterfly. These guns are replaced by a blue variant called Love is Blue in the sequel, but I think these guns are more cleverly named and look much better as red.
The R.Y.N.O. from the Ratchet & Clank series
Bought by a shady looking merchant at the end of an alley on a distant planet, the R.Y.N.O. is a portable auto-targeting rocket launcher with multiple barrels making it obscenely powerful, especially considering that "R.Y.N.O." is short for "Rip You a New One." It also changes its appearance in each game, but that doesn't diminish its power in the slightest. It's just too bad that it is the most expensive weapon in the series, often costing millions of bolts to purchase.
The Morph Gun from the Jak & Daxter series
This gun, which is given to Jak by Krew as payment for an important delivery, has the ability to be quickly modified on the fly into one of 12 different weapon styles. These include a close range shotgun, a rifle with a laser scope, an arc cannon and even mini nuke launcher. This was one of the best and most versatile weapons in any game I've ever played, and the games were also good enough to back that claim up.
The Crossbow from Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
This is probably one of the most unusual firearms I've encountered, but also one of the most unique. This crossbow was custom built to be used by a bounty hunter known as the Stranger and is mounted on the back of his right hand. The crossbow itself is nothing special on its own, but the ammunition it uses is very unique to be sure. Unlike most crossbows that use arrows or short bolt-like darts, this one uses creatures picked up by the Stranger as he's on his hunts. Some of these creatures are zappflies, stingbees and fuzzles and each one is unusually dangerous despite their names.
The Peanut Popguns from the Donkey Kong Country series
These wooden handguns first appeared in Donkey Kong 64 and are wielded by Donkey Kong's nephew, Diddy Kong. Despite the fact that they are made of wood and their ammunition is peanuts of all things, they are surprisingly powerful and have left quite an impact on the series as they reappear in later Donkey Kong Country games whereas the weapons of the rest of the DK crew didn't. They are even used by Diddy Kong again in the Super Smash bros series where the ammunition will sometimes drop shelled peanuts that can be eaten to regain health.
The Blazefire Saber from Final Fantasy XIII
Okay, I'll admit this is cheating a little bit, but the way I see it is that even though it is technically a sword, it can still fire live rounds which effectively makes it a gun. This weapon (and variations of it) is used by Lightning in the Final Fantasy XIII saga and in Dissidia 012. Because it is also a sword, if it happens to run out of ammo (which never happens in the game), you can still use the blade for melee strikes. This gun also appears in the game The 3rd Birthday as an unlockable bonus.
Well, that's my list folks, if you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. Until then, I'll be seeing you.