Science fiction games can be broad in scope and consider the future, space travel, alternate dimensions, and the technology that could be created. This makes the genre a fertile ground for designers to develop their imaginative works of fiction. Some futuristic concepts are grounded in reality and focus more on how the present technology can be refined and developed, yet others focus more on wild and crazy ideas around some as-yet-unknown science.
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The game franchises below explore these concepts to one degree or another, but all of them provide a unique spin on warfare and the weaponry that could be used to fight it. While Albert Einstein may not know what the weapons used to fight in World War 3 might be, these game developers might have an idea.
10Starcraft 2: Three Different Takes On Technology
In thefar future, Terrans (humanity)still primarily use ballistic weapons but have developed cloaking technology and implement the devastating power of nuclear weapons. They are the most grounded in current human technology, but hardly bizarre.
By contrast, the Zerg demonstrate how organisms can themselves become weapons. Even in such a faraway galaxy, this monstrous species fight on equal terms with races using explosives and laser weapons and does so by being bigger, tougher, and faster than the ones pulling the triggers.
The Protoss are beings of pure science fiction that use psychic powers, laser swords, and crystal technology to warp in pre-fabricated tools, buildings, and vehicles. While it is unclear how their systems work, the things that the Protoss can do with their technology are certainly some of the most advanced in gaming.
Dead Spaceis unique as its futuristic weaponry is primarily designed to reflect that world’s power tools. The game’s protagonist, Isaac Clarke, is an engineer and uses dangerous cutting tools to carefully dismember his opposition as the only safe way ofdispatching the fearsome necromorphs.
The technology is never fully explained in the world as it is taken for granted by the characters that these things exist. However, in addition to beam weapons and harpoons, their future tech also includes telekinesis and stasis attacks that can launch objects at enemies or slow them to a crawl.
8Doom Eternal: The Power Of Hell In Your Palm
The weapons used in theDoomfranchise have not changedthat much since the original game from 1993 and can be as impressive back then as recent entries into the franchise. While the bulk of weapons inDoomuse bullets, shells, and rockets, there are more futuristic weapons including the plasma rifle and the iconic BFG.
What is unique about the BFG is that each blast of this weapon harnesses argent energy from the hell dimension. Firing this weapon once will launch a ball of energy so devastating that most enemies are destroyed entirely and even more powerful demons have a substantial hit to their health.
7Halo Infinite: The Weapons Of Your Enemies
Humanity’s greatest heroes, the Spartans are specialists in weapons of war. While they may find themselves mostly using the futuristic rifles and machine guns of humanity, they often have to use what they can find and have no issues adapting to the plasma weaponry of the Covenant, the projectile explosives of the Brutes, or the hard light technology of the Forerunners.
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Plasma weapons fire superheated material that overloads shields with ease and burns away at the armor beneath while Forerunner weapons use light itself as a weapon that can prove far more deadly. In theHalouniverse, any or all of these weapons can be deadly in the right hands.
6Predator Hunting Grounds: Sports Hunting With Advanced Technology
In the world of the Predator, the glory of the hunt is the most important aspect of bringing honor to young hunters.These warriors stalk their preyand attack with the least amount of weaponry they can carry in order to make the sport more challenging and enjoyable.
The Predator can turn itself practically invisible, fire energy beam weapons, and view different light spectrums to locate their prey. With all this technology and weaponry, however, it can only be speculated that if these are the weapons they deem to be weak enough to make a hunt sporting, then their level of technology must be far above what can be seen in the games.
5Star Trek Online:Space Ships With Strange Shapes
Phasers and photon torpedos tend to be the weapons of choice for the Federation in anyStar Trekgame, but their enemies use far stranger and wilder technology to impressive effect. The strangeness of design is clearest in thespace-faring ships ofStar Trekthat come in a myriad of designs with unusual capabilities.
The Borg fly through space in simple geometric shapes and rely on highly advanced technology to defeat their enemies. The Undine instead use psionic biotechnology to overpower their opponents. It might not always be flashy but the ideas around alien development are impressive and intimidating.
4Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order: From Clumsy Blaster To Graceful Lightsaber
Though theStar Warsuniverse apparently existed a long time ago, the technology shown is still far in advance of humanity’s own. From the humble blaster that fires beams of energy to the elegant lightsaber, the technology exists in this universe to allow strange and varied adaptations in warfare.
The Force may be a Jedi’s primary weapon, but Cal Kestis is pretty handy with a lightsaber and uses the energy sword to defeat themost advanced technology available. The weapon is iconic and while one day the technology may exist to create something similar, the concept of a beam of energy that can cut through anything and deflect other lasers is simply impossible.
3Turok: Fighting Off Dinosaurs With Alien Technology
While theTurokfranchise may not have made much of a splash with its attempted 2008 reboot, the games still have a place for some of the strangest use of future technology available in a computer game.
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Weapons such as the Emaciator or the Cerebral Bore took the science fiction violence up to 11. The former weapon reduces the enemy’s body mass until they simply turn into nothing while the latter fires a drill into the poor victim’s skull and then explodes seconds later.
2Mass Effect: Messing With Inertia
The lore surroundingtheMass Effectgamesis more grounded in reality than other science fiction games but still involves powers and abilities beyond that of present-day humanity. Almost all weaponry withinMass Effectemits slivers of metal taken from a single block inside the weapon and fires them through mass generation like a rail gun.
The more fictional element of the games' science fiction comes in the form of the mysterious Element Zero, which enables much of the weaponry to function and allows humans and other species to use the deadly pseudo-magic known as biotics.
1Fallout 3: Stand Well Clear
From its humble beginnings as an isometric role-playing game,theFalloutserieshas never shied away from strange or unusual weaponry. Lasers and plasma weapons exist in this futuristic dystopia along with chainsaw swords and the iconic Fat Man.
The Fat Man shoulder-mounted micro-nuclear warhead launcher is theoretically possible and was even developed in the 1950s as the Davy Crockett launcher. However, while it is possible to create a shoulder-mounted nuclear weapon, it probably isn’t a good idea.
