[Part 1: Top 10 in-game gadgets: 10-6]

You've waited in eager anticipation for the conclusion of our list of amazing in-game gadgets, and here it is! Enjoy the top 5 video game gadgets of all time and then get out to that workshop of yours and make them a reality!

 

5. The Time Sweeper - Blinx: The Time Sweeper (Xbox)

Blinx' Time Sweeper has the distinct honor of being the only gadget on our list that appears in the title of the game itself. In Blinx: The Time Sweeper, the player takes on the role of Blinx, a cat (we know, but the gadget is cool, we promise) who is sent by the Time Factory to correct glitches and paradoxes occurring in the regular flow of time throughout the galaxy. In order to complete this task, Blinx must use his Time Sweeper, a device that allows the manipulation of time itself. It's hard to understate the sheer awesomeness of time manipulation, especially when the device doing the manipulation looks like a vacuum cleaner on steroids. However, like any super-advanced gadget, the Time Sweeper sucks power like nobody's business. In order to power-up the device, Blinx must find Time Crystals which allow different manipulations of time depending on the number and type of crystal obtained. This drawback is really the only thing that keeps the Time Sweeper from showing up higher on the list. Now if there were just some way we could combine the abilities of the Time Sweeper with the never-needs-recharging power supply of Mr. Bellic's cell phone...

 

4. The Rig - Wild 9 (Playstation)

 

Not many people have had the pleasure of enjoying our fourth coolest gadget of all time, but that doesn't make it any less amazing. In the now-retro days of the Sony PlayStation, a developer named Shiny Entertainment unleashed a fantastic action-platformer upon the world in the form of Wild 9. Despite receiving above-average reviews, the game was met with luke-warm sales and was generally regarded as a "decent" game that just got lost in the shuffle. Leave it to us to tell you that it was so much more than that. Wild 9 was one of the most original ideas of the generation and its execution was nearly flawless. In fact, the game was so great, that it also gives us one of the coolest gaming gadgets of all time: the Rig. 

The Rig was a device that the main character, Wex, wore on his his back and arm that allowed him to dish out an unending amount of punishment on his foes. The main concept behind the combat in Wild 9 was to dispatch your enemies in the most insane manner possible. When activated, the Rig launched a beam of energy at whatever you had it pointed towards at that particular moment. The beam would grab onto anything in its immediate path and allow you manipulate it to your desire. Given that the main purpose of the combat was to torture your enemies as much as possible, being able to toss them about was quite an advantage. There would also typically be plenty of environmental hazards at your disposal with which to harass your foes. Dangling an enemy in an open flame, smashing them between the ceiling and floor, and finishing them off with a nice impalement on a bed of spikes definitely left an impression with every gamer who had the pleasure of stumbling across this gem of a game.

 

3. Isaac Clark's Armor - Dead Space (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

 

Not many games are intrepid enough to take on the elimination of one of gaming's longest-held conventions, but EA decided to take that very chance with Dead Space. The main character in Dead Space, Mr. Isaac Clark, is a futuristic engineer sent to investigate and, if necessary, make repairs aboard the mining super-ship Ishimura. Once aboard, Clark realizes that things aren't at all what he had planned on, and much gory combat ensues. He doesn't have to go it alone though, as he is also in possession of our third coolest gaming gadget. In fact, he's not just in possession of it, he's wearing it. Yes, Isaac Clark's super-advanced armor suit takes the next place in our list.

When EA wanted to put the dagger in the heart of the HUD (heads-up display), they realized they needed to come up with another, equally convenient solution for allowing the player to gauge their heath, as well as manage inventory and change game settings. They wisely decided to pack all this functionality right into the suit itself, creating one of the most advanced gadgets in all of gaming. And when we say it makes the standard HUD obsolete, we really mean it. Nearly everything you have ever been able to manage or monitor from within an in-game menu or on-screen display can be done from Clark's suit. Incoming message from one of your partners? A 2D holographic display pops right out of the suit. Need a little extra health for your next brutal encounter? Simply activate the suit's health-regenerator, which will automatically use a portion of your inventory of health packs. Speaking of health levels, that's where Isaac's suit really shines...literally. Running down the spine of the suit is a glowing health meter than is always visible to the player, allowing you to see how Isaac is feeling at all times. Add to that the fact that the suit is constantly getting amazing upgrades as the story progresses, and you've got yourself a HUD-killer for the ages. The only thing this amazing gadgety outfit is missing is an MP3 player... I mean seriously, this is the future, right?

 

2. The PIP-Boy (2000,3000) - Fallout (PC), Fallout 2 (PC), Fallout 3 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

Ah, the future. If the Fallout series has anything to teach us about the days ahead, it's that we have plenty to look forward to. Nuclear war, roving bands of outlanders waiting to take any last possessions, ambushes from Buick-sized scorpions, and, of course, the PIP-Boy.  Acting as an always-with-you inventory and perk management system, the PIP-Boy is an invaluable piece of hardware for every vault-dweller. Oh, nobody told you about the vaults? Don't worry, they're just the places where the majority of the human race will be living while trying to avoid growing extra limbs in the nuclear wastelands of the future. But we digress; the point is that every person living within the vault will receive their own personal PIP-Boy when they reach the appropriate age. 

The Pipboy is a fantastic piece of hardware for absolutely everyone, regardless of gender, profession, or political affiliation. Your PIP-Boy will allow you to personalize many aspects of your life, including perks like personality, strength, and how adept you are at hand-to-hand combat. Not only that, but your handy wrist-strapped gadget also acts as a fantastic GPS locator, showing you the world around you with the flip of a switch. Did I mention it also comes with a built-in AM radio? Yep, the future sure sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

 

1. The Gravity Gun - Half-Life 2 (PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 3)

Half-life 2 has been hailed as one of the finest gaming experiences of our time, and with good reason. Never before has a virtual world come to life in the same manner as the game's notorious City 17. Every character has a unique personality, the action is perfectly paced, and developer Valve even managed to create an intelligent female sidekick that people actually sympathized with — and they didn't even have to put her in a g-string to do it. With all these things going for it, Half-life 2 was already destined to be a hit, so the addition of the coolest gaming gadget of all time, the Gravity Gun, just happened to be the icing on the totally not-a-lie cake. For the first time in history, gamers were able to effortlessly manipulate the world around them without worrying about energy packs or time limits. Plus, the character controlling it wasn't a fantastical wizard, or some super-human soldier, he was just a normal (if extremely intelligent) bespectacled guy with a ridiculously kick-ass piece of hardware in his hands, and that's what made the experience so amazing.

The Gravity Gun can be used to build structures to overcome obstacles, hold objects up as cover from enemy fire, and even launch any reasonably-sized object at enemies. This might seem considerably less exciting than running around with a high-powered machinegun, but trust us, it’s not — especially when you stumble across a dilapidated shed full of saw blades and other lovely, shiny sharp objects. The Gravity Gun also excels at being perhaps the most enjoyable “let’s see what I can do with this” gadget on the list. When you find a room or open clearing with a bunch of random objects laying about, it’s just endlessly entertaining to toss stuff around, stack stuff up, or destroy everything that can be destroyed. Holding the Gravity Gun in your (Freeman's) hands seems like a mini-game all on its own. You'll try to pick up everything around you, just to make sure you can. The Gravity Gun is, without question, the most epic time-waster and perfectly-crafted gadget in gaming history.

So there you have it: the greatest in-game gadgets of all time. Closure feels good, doesn't it? Anyway, enough chit-chat, it's about time you made a trip down to your local hardware store and picked up some supplies. We want a Gravity Gun on our desk by 8 o'clock Monday morning, and you've got some sleepless nights ahead of you. Get to it!

 

Did you miss Part 1 of the list? »