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!
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.
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.
I have way too little knowledge about the genre in general but there was something oddly satisfying about the Service Weapona.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.
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…
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.
I guarantee you’ve never heard of it because it only appears in a series of novels by Steve Perry, the Matador books.
The gag is, it glues to the back of your hand. The barrel runs along your index finger, and you fire it by pointing your finger and touching the barrel tip with your fingernail.
It fires microdarts which can have a variety of effects, the #1 use being a drug called “Spasm” which makes every muscle in the body contract involuntarily, leaving the victim tied in a knot for 6 months.
The original trilogy of books:
The Man Who Never Missed
Matadora
The Machiavelli Interface
I’ll take the boring route. I respect the gun design of the N7 weapons. They look like futuristic versions of our current weapons but the paint design is on point.
The Tex Mechanica guns are my favorite. Especially Cayde’s revolver, Ace of Spades. The clockwork sounds and the holster and ready animations where you twirl it… very satisfying.
The IMFDB entries for older shooters really show how many misstakes they made, look up Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Half Life, Half Life Opposing Force, Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam for some good articles
Add comment