The weapons available in any video game can sometimes make a difference by giving the player an easy experience or a real challenge. When it comes to creating the best weapons for a video game, the developers need to consider several aspects. Firstly, the weapons have to be fun to use, and secondly, these weapons must not make the player too powerful when they progress through the game. That last point is extremely important when a video game has an online multiplayer component.

Related

Most Iconic Video Game Weapons

Certain weapons have transcended their virtual boundaries in video games to become iconic symbols of gaming history.

Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to get the balance between fun and power levels right when first creating a video game. These issues only present themselves after the game has been released. That is why some weapons can be nerfed in different ways in certain sequels.

5 Fists

Nerfed Between GTA: San Andreas and GTA 4

• Weapon Found: Available From The Start

The Grand Theft Auto series has always been one to provide players with a multitude of weapons to use to complete the story missions or create chaos in an open-world city. These weapons range from standard pistols, rifles, rocket launchers, and chainsaws. New weapons are added to newer releases, but the firearms and melee weapons rarely change once they have been introduced in the franchise.

However, players don't always need a weapon to cause trouble in GTA. Ever since the first game in the series, the player has always had the option to use their bare fists to attack NPCs. It allows them to get creative during a confrontation, and it normally only takes a few swings to knock out an enemy this way. Players will not find it this easy when jumping to GTA 4, though. With an entirely new game engine to work with, the NPCs in this game are far more resilient to a beating. They have more health than previous NPCs, and they are able to hit the player in the head for additional damage. Plus, more NPC civilians are likely to join in and help anyone the player attacks, turning a one-on-one fight into a large brawl.

4 Longshot Sniper Rifle

Nerfed Between Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3

• Weapon Found: Every Online Map

The Longshot Sniper Rifle has been a part of the Gears of War weapon options since the series debuted. With its ability to act as a powerful sniper rifle, online players have always recommended that at least one member of the team bring this weapon with them. Being able to spot an enemy player from afar and kill them with one or two shots is highly valuable. Plus, there is nothing the enemy can do about it without getting up close. That was until Gears of War 3.

Related

6 Best Gears of War Villains, Ranked

While The Locust Swarm is the main threat in the Gear of War series, it's the villains behind the scenes who are truly evil.

The Longshot Sniper Rifle is still as powerful and as readily available in the third game in the franchise. However, one small change made this weapon less effective than before. When a player targets an enemy with the scope, a small light will engulf the other player to let them know they are about to be shot. It is only a brief window, but alert players can dodge the Longshot Sniper Rifle's blast thanks to this extra feature.

3 Blade Of Woe

Nerfed Between The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and The Elder Scroll 5: Skyrim

• Weapon Found: Gifted As Part Of The Dark Brotherhood Quest

Over two hundred years have passed between The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. However, a few famous names and objects from the fourth game still made it into the newer title. One of these objects is The Blade of Woe. This small dagger is given to players when they join the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion. It isn't a great weapon, and it only does seven points of damage with no magic charge. With a charge, though, it can damage an enemy's health, magicka, and willpower by thirty-five points.

The Blade of Woe returns in Skyrim, and it can be found on Astrid's person. In this title, it does an increased twelve damage to enemies with no charge, but its magic damage only absorbs ten points of health.

2 The Red Nine

Nerfed Between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 4 Remake

• Weapon Found: Chapter 4 After Beating El Lagos

Defeating a boss to receive a weapon is a great reward during a challenging game. Sometimes these new weapons are a nice addition to the equipment that a player already has, and other times, they work to make the rest of the game a bit easier. The Red9 from Resident Evil 4 is definitely a weapon that fits into the latter category, as it has a laser sight for targeting enemies and deals 6.5 damage with every shot.

Related

11 Weakest Resident Evil Bosses, Ranked

Not all monsters are made equal, and these are the easiest boss fights from the Resident Evil franchise.

This powerful gun was not changed when Resident Evil 5 was released, but fans were disappointed to use The Red9 again in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Now, the laser sight does not work, and a fully upgraded version of this weapon will only do 2.7 damage to enemies.

1 Combat Pistol

Nerfed Between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2

• Weapon Found: Starting Weapon

Many players were left shocked when they first got to use the combat pistol in Halo: Combat Evolved. This beefy pistol is the first weapon that players are given in the game. Its powerful shots have the capacity to wipe out low-level grunts and jackals in a single shot, and it can remove the shield of an elite while killing it completely with another two presses of the trigger. Ammo for this gun is scarce throughout the campaign of the first Halo, but there is still little reason why players shouldn't use this weapon every chance they get during this game.

Sadly, the joy of rampaging around with a single pistol was taken away when Bungie released Halo 2. The gun did far less damage in the sequel and was more in line with what players would expect from a tiny starting weapon. It doesn't take out grunts in one shot anymore, and this nerf was clearly made as a balancing decision. This is especially necessary since Halo 2 was set to introduce hundreds of more players to online multiplayer.

More

The Best Shotguns In Gaming

Out of all the amazing shotguns that feature in gaming, these are some of the very best.