I mean the physical design of the gun, not the projectile or effect.
I always loved the Needler from the Halo series. It was a really unique design at the time and probably the most fun I’ve had with any weapon in a first person shooter. Also, the explosions and the ching it does when reloading are just perfect.
One of my favorites.
While I never got into Halo, I have allways liked the Needler’s design, it looks sort of biological…
All of the Covenant designs are meant to be very organic looking. In the novels, the ships and such are described as “looking like undersea predators”
I really like the Aperture Labs portal gun.
It is a cool 50s design, round but sleek shapes
The pod gun from Fifth Element is one of the most interesting from both a design and an effects perspective IMO.
Ah, the Zorg ZF-1, nice one!
Four full crates, delivered right on time! What about you, my dear Aknot, did you bring me what I asked you for?
Deckard’s gun in Blade Runner was always my favorite. Somewhat uncanny because it was clearly sci-fi, but retained that hard boiled detective aesthetic, like you misremembered a noir shootout.
Noisy Cricket
I wouldn’t call it the best, but it’s definitely one of the most iconic.
I have way too little knowledge about the genre in general but there was something oddly satisfying about the Service Weapon a.k.a. Director’s Gun from the Federal Bureau od Control…
But I am guessing the part of using it as a game mechanic makes a big difference, there were plenty cool looking things in movies or series — but this one just jumped first to my mind.
The Service Weapon was awesome. It’s got an intense sort of gravity around it. Hell, the first interaction with it is fighting a battle of wills in order to not shoot yourself in the head with it. The gun itself doesn’t look all that impressive but I do think it’s neat enough, and if you look at it from the perspective of the Service Weapon being a character in the story of Control, it’s really, really cool.
Came here to say this. Somehow looks brutalist in a hard sci-fi way, while also giving Eldritch vibes.
The entire game just oozes style
I can see that, though I have allways thought it was a bit too chonky
6 different guns in a such compact form factor for a price of not dying while being chosen to actually use it, with a tiny little perk on the side of automagically becoming the Director of the Bureau with the side hustle of talking with Paranatural Entities/The Board — how’s that too chonky?
We are just talking about the visual design, not the functionallity, and from the perspective, it looks very chonky, I like the game, and the gun is cool, but it is a chonky gun
That’s what I meant — it has six different designs depending on the mode you are in — for me that’s the definition of a functional design in action…
Sidenote, this was the first game, while playing, I felt like they actually figured out a solid idea for fixing the regular overkill artillery in so many games. I remember you, Max Payne with 10 guns in pockets, grenade launcher plus nades and molotovs…
This guy has Trump hands
Why insult me?
Look at a screenshot of it, it is a chonky gun:
https://control.fandom.com/wiki/Service_Weapon?file=Service_Weapon_Trench_Form.png
I guess you could just be blind
Why keep insulting me?
And fully lacking any self-awareness
They crazy gun from The Fifth Element.
The ZF-1. [activates a ZF-1 and holds it] It’s light; handle’s adjustable for easy carrying; good for righties and lefties; breaks down into four parts; undetectable by X-ray; ideal for quick discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Titanium recharger; 3000-round clip with bursts of 3 to 300. With the replay button, another Zorg invention, it’s even easier. [lights reveal a mannequin in police gear] One shot… [shoots mannequin]…and replay sends every following shot to the same location. [turns around, shooting in the direction of the Mangalores; bullets curve their trajectory and hit the mannequin instead] And to finish the job, all the Zorg oldies-but-goldies. [fires every weapon at the mannequin as he mentions them] Rocket launcher… arrow launcher, with exploding or poisonous gas heads, very practical… our famous net launcher… the always-efficient flamethrower, my favorite… [winks to the Mangalores] and for the grand finale, the all-new ‘Ice-cube System’! [fires a cloud of liquid nitrogen which freezes the remains of the mannequin. Mangalores applaud politely by carnage]
Oldman is so fucking good.
Now a real killer, when he picked up the ZF-1, would’ve immediately asked about the little red button on the bottom of the gun…
You forgot to mention the ‘little red button’ :) - Well played for putting his whole monologue here - I was going to suggest that gun.
Fuck. Too many choices bru.
Halo’s OG AR, the MA5B has that utilitarian look to it, like the rest of that universe. I like that because it feels realistic in a way (think of the utilitarian designs to the armor and vehicles in Aliens, for example.)
The railguns in Eraser, with their oversized x-ray scopes. Nothing special in retrospect, but I thought they were awesome when I saw the movie in theaters.
Weta Workshop has put out some cool-looking stuff. The Chemrail in Elysium for instance. Although, I think I’m more enamored with the in-universe lore of it. From the fandom page:
It is a dual-stage weapon, use chemical propellant first and then electromagnetic rails as the second stage.
Pretty cool actuation! That and the Lightning Gun from Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 are the only two with memorable (lore-wise) firing mechanisms for me. Here’s the Lightning Gun’s:
Once the target has been acquired, the operator depresses the trigger, painting a proton “patch” on the target. Milliseconds later the rifle emits a high voltage arc of electricity, which seeks out the charge differential and annihilates the target.
Design-wise though, I think Weta’s weapons in District 9 were more appealing—more exotic, u noe? E.g., the ARC gun, and the Repeater.
I think the District 9 designs must have influenced the weapon design in the Titanfall franchise too, and I like the weapon designs there as well. The Flatline is maybe my favorite pilot weapon design (not to use though). Charge Rifle is pretty cool too though, with the ‘breathing’ capacitor banks on the sides. Titan-wise, gotta be Tone’s cannon, hands down.
But there’s so many more!
All the guns in Elysium where amazing.
Even the rusty old AK was converted to an awesome gun that shoots even more awesome cartridges.
I’m partial to the sub-orbital MANPAD Copley pulls out to shoot down one of the refugee shuttles.
A regular sci-fi gun sommelier.
I want to toss the Type-2 phaser from Star Trek (circa 24th century) as my personal favorite. It has this design which reads as a tool more than a weapon, which I love.
You only had to mention UT2004 to get my attention, design wise, the Lightning gun is great, I like the yellow shell and how the lightning emitter moves between shot, but for actual gameplay, I am definately a flak monkey.
I’m rather fond of Murphy’s burst-fire pistol and hide-away leg holster in Robocop. If we are talking the coolest gun, it’s got to be the Zorg ZF-1 from the Fifth Element.
https://grabcad.com/library/zorg-zf-1-with-shutters-1I’m partial to the Judges’ guns, particularly from the Urban-led movie, as I’ve not delved much into the comics.
Also, I think this falls more into the fantasy category, but I love the chonkiness of Hellboy’s Samaritan.
I want to toss the Type-2 phaser from Star Trek (circa 24th century) as my personal favorite. It has this design which reads as a tool more than a weapon, which I love.
I prefer the retro aesthetics of the TOS Type 1, especially for the integrated Type 1, but regardless, it’s an excellent choice for the reason you state: it’s a very versatile tool!
You said Type-1 (the compact, key fob looking TOS phaser), but linked a picture to the TOS Type-2 (the pistol). Which did you prefer?
I love the concept of the Type-1, and it would definitely be my favorite pick of the phasers based on function. But for how it looks, I like how the TNG Type-2 kinda blended the TOS Type-1 concept as a tool, but sized it up to the TOS Type-2 pistol in size. Best of both worlds. Still feels like a tool, but more power drill, less garage door opener or handgun.
EDIT: my autocorrect kept messing up the link.
Yah, editing typo. I meant the TOS Type 2, which had a removable Type 1 in it.
Oh, cool. I never knew about that. Thanks.
It always bugs me a bit that all ST handgun-like phasers are “Type 2”, regardless of which design. I get what they’re doing, it’s just confusing. There are more than one TOS Type 2 designs, and obv. TOS Type 2 are radically different from TNG Type 2, of which there were several variations. The toxonomist in me wishes they’d been given at least sub-types; as it is, they’re categorized by (in-universe) date of introduction. But the shows and props department were sort of all over with them, making tweaks between seasons, so it can be rough to talk about without having memory-alpha up in a window.
Zat’nik’tel from Stargate SG:1.
First shot stuns. Second shot kills. Third shot disintegrates.
Michael Shanks disagrees with calling the penis gun a good weapon.
I love Daniel Jackson but Michael Shanks is such a d-bag in basically every interview (and there are some very questionable “behind the scenes” stories about him…). In that clip he somehow manages to be the most obnoxious Comic Book Guy fan ever… while being on the stage.
The 1-2-3 is REAL stupid, no arguments there. Well, specifically, the “3 shots disintegrates” is. The 1-2 is not. Killing someone with a “less than lethal” weapon is just reality. And you can potentially get some real awesome moments when Teal’c or Ronon show how much of a beast they are by tanking multiple zat shots before succumbing.
But also… the 3 is incredibly useful from a narrative perspective and is the same reason that Starfleet uses phasers. Having one prop that can fulfill multiple roles and act as a “get out of plot hole free” card (as mentioned with hiding the bodies) is incredibly useful narratively.
All that said: I do love that the Tau’ri were very clearly about “more dakka”. Insert meme about Starfleet being afraid to intervene with other cultures and Stargate wanting to get their Nic Cage on.
Stargate wanting to get their Nic Cage on.
Episode 200 of SG1 is calling.
I am going to have to agree with Michael Shanks from the orher comment here, it looks like a penis.
I mean, it raising itself up before it can fire is a cool effect, but the design it self it not a favourite, and I love SG1
That reminds me of the thing in Destiny where you punch an enemy and they disappear.
Since I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, the M56 Smartgun from Aliens is pretty awesome.
The steadycam gun!
The iconic and tastefully restrained design of the Blade Runner handgun https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/(Blade_Runner)_-_LAPD_2019_Blaster
I don’t know if anime counts, but the Psycho-Pass “Dominator” is a really cool science fiction concept in itself.
You can’t mention the dominator and not add a gif of it moving from non lethal to lethal mode
Hey, power that thing down!
Especially when it changes between the three modes (non-lethal, lethal and destroy-decompose)
