Gravity Gun (Half-Life)

:"For other fictional devices called "gravity guns", see Gravity gun."The Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator, or "gravity gun" is a fictional weapon from the video game "Half-Life 2". The weapon is given to Gordon Freeman by Alyx Vance in the Black Mesa East facility.cite web|url=http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Editorials.Detail&id=18|title=The Gravity Gun: The Nextevel in Interactive Gaming|publisher=Planet Half-Life|date=2007-07-03|accessdate=2007-12-17] Although it is designed for handling hazardous materials, the lab personnel use it mainly for heavy lifting.

Able to drag, pick up, carry, throw, or smash objects, the gravity gun is one of the core tools of "Half-Life 2"cite journal |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2004 |month=December |title="Half-Life 2" review |journal=Edge |volume= |issue=143 |pages= |id= |quote=Tearing a radiator from a wall and using it to swat a parasitic headcrab, while all the furniture in a room goes tumbling around you, is truly a gaming epiphany. ] and a demonstration of the interaction possible in the Source physics engine (its engine name is weapon_physcannon).cite journal |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2003 |month=June |title="Half-Life 2" preview |journal=Edge |volume= |issue=124 |pages= |id= |quote=The physics engine within Source is derived from Havok, which opens up a wealth of possibilities for object interaction – particularly when you consider that later in the game, Freeman receives an energy-beam weapon that lets him move huge objects... ] Possible uses include hurling large metal saw blades through enemies, knocking over or uprighting vehicles, dislodging sticky mines or picking up a filing cabinet and using it as a battering ram. It is considered one of the defining features of "Half-Life 2"'s entertainment value.

Gameplay

The gravity gun, like most weapons in "Half-Life", has two triggers. The primary trigger causes the gun to emit a small discharge which knocks back the targeted object. The distance is dependent on the object's weight. The secondary trigger attracts the targeted object to the gun and holds it in midair a few inches away, negating its weight and allowing the player to carry it with them. Using the secondary trigger again will drop the item, while the primary trigger will launch the object with considerable force. In this manner, the gravity gun can be used to turn innocuous debris into potentially deadly projectiles.

The gravity gun, with a few exceptions, cannot manipulate most biological matter or objects of a certain mass. Certain objects may still be pushed around by the primary trigger even if the secondary trigger cannot pull them. The gravity gun can repel headcrabs and antlions, though it does not harm antlions.

Dark Energy Field Manipulator

In the final level of "Half-Life 2", during Gordon's infiltration of the Citadel, the player is dropped into a weapon confiscation field which removes and destroys all of their weapons. However, when it tries to destroy the gravity gun, it instead empowers the device. The result of the empowerment is the Dark Energy Field Manipulator, an unstable, blue-glowing variant of the gravity gun which can manipulate objects far too heavy for the original gravity gun, as well as living people. It can easily tear monitors and consoles out of the wall and hold them, and can also kill soldiers with one "punt"; picking the soldiers up likewise results in their instant death, either by electrocution or by traumatic internal injuries caused by the gun's "grip". The gun is transformed a second time in "Half-Life 2: Episode One" by another confiscation field, but returns to its normal state after Gordon re-activates the containment field around the Citadel's reactor core.

See also

*Tractor beam

References