HAMMER OF DAWN

In a game jam-packed with unique - and uniquely gruesome - weaponry, it takes a very special device to win the prize for most original. Meet your champion. Now run away.

The best description for the Hammer of Dawn we've run across is "thing that calls a giant laser from space." Yup, that about sums it up. It's the Hammer's apocalyptic wake, however, that defies words. Incineration? Well, bodies do seem to instantaneously transform into ashy shells of their former selves... yet they also manage to produce a shower of blood and guts at the same time. Radiation? Perhaps... there's definitely some unnatural cooking going on before the splat.

Whatever's going on is weird and macabrely wonderful. Just be careful when enjoying because...

Strategy: Obstacles will screw you

The Hammer of Dawn's beam lasts for eight seconds before dissipating. But unless you're deploying it on a wide and open playing field, two-thirds of that time will be spent trying to maneuver it off or around all the crap in its way. We've experienced the laser getting stuck on concrete blocks, awnings and building corners, just to name a few examples.

Learn from our mistakes and analyze the landscape in front of you carefully before pulling out the Hammer. For example, using it on the multiplayer map Rooftops... not such a hot idea.