Weapons are central to the gaming experience, offering infinite and imaginative tools to wield, waste and destroy. The best in-game weaponry is a topic often debated here at IGN. What is the ideal weapon in any given situation? Which guns, swords, knives and wrecking balls stay in the memory? Which characters are so closely allied to their gear, that separation is unthinkable?

The IGN team decided to create a list of the Top 100 Video Game Weapons. As always it's a good idea to be clear on criteria. First up, we didn't want to include anything that originated in comics or movies. We've seen items like the lightsaber appear on a lot of lists, but it has no place on a list specifically about video game weapons. Major items like Batman's Batarang are undeniably cool, but because it originated in the Batman comics it's ruled out.

The weapons you're going to see here aren't necessarily from the best games of all time, but they're unique, tell a story, are awe inspiring, or they just made us say "wow."

So, here are the Top 100 Video Game Weapons as decided by IGN editors. Be sure you sound off in the comments below and let us know which are your favorites.