Have you ever been playing a video game and imagined what life would be like if you could get your hands on one of the character’s items? I know I have on countless occasions. The amount of possibilities of items in video games is truly limitless and already filled to the brim with countless imaginative tools that both protagonists and antagonists use to make their lives so much easier. From boots that make you run faster to crazy tech that reads your body’s current state of health to computers that transport your consciousness to an ancestor’s, it seems that developers from all over the industry are always coming up with things that’d be beneficial to have in our reality. The following list contains my top 10 video game items that I feel would make my life far more effortless.
10. The Ocarina of Time (Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time)
Starting off the list really strong is the Ocarina of Time from Legend of Zelda: you know which one. Like the instruments in the other Zelda games, the Ocarina of Time has several abilities depending on how good you are at memorizing brief songs with only seeing the sheet music maybe once if at all. The Ocarina of Time can call horses, change water levels, make the weather miraculously shift, teleport you to key locations, and even time travel. With such an arsenal of possibilities how would this not be amazing to have in real life? I know you can go buy a replica online but, that thing can’t do what Link’s does. If it can I have been missing out! Just imagine how fun it would be to fast forward and backward through time. Even if it was just for a little while it’d be beyond fun to get a glimpse at what your future holds which is priceless knowledge. More often than not I’d probably just end up breaking street signs then playing Zelda’s Lullaby to magically restore them.
9. Hearthstone (World of Warcraft)
This one is for my inner laziness. As much as I love traveling, nothing is worse than having to either walk, drive or fly back to your house. This is especially true after a long weekend of partying and you know all that awaits you at your place of residence is the realization that life still exists, you have to go to work in less than five hours and there’s an hour drive home. Though this item wouldn’t sober you up or make the fact that work would be totally awful in that situation it’d wipe out the worry of still having to drive home. The Heathstone from World of Warcraft allows players to set an inn as their home location and every 30 minutes they can rub it a bit and WSHHH teleport right back to that spot no matter where they are. I could see myself using this all the time though, it’d have to know to port my car in the driveway and not in the middle of the living room.
8. Veritech (Robotech: Battlecry)
You may not have heard of Robotech but it’s a great game based off of an anime where giant human controlled robots duke it out on the battlefield. Imagine Pacific Rim meets Transformers. The veritech is the robot that pilots use. Like Transformers the veritech can transform between ground treading robots (that can sort of fly) and vehicles. While most of them are fully weaponized military grade assault vehicles like jets and hover tanks, they are still vehicles. Like Pacific Rim however is the fact that humans control these machines. Having a veritech in real life would not only put you on the government’s watch list but it’d make sure no one messed with you, especially if you had the only one. What would really make this useful is the ability to turn into a jet fighter. I really just want a personal aircraft. Having a robo suit at your disposal would definitely have it’s pluses though. But imagine the fuel costs… Yikes!
7. The Spy’s Disguise Kit (Team Fortress 2)
Who wouldn’t want the ability to transform themselves into somebody else for a while? The Spy’s Disguise Kit from Team Fortress 2 allows for just that to happen. Strategically, the item lets players sneak into enemy bases without enemies thinking twice about it. In real life however, you could use the Disguise Kit to get any seat at a fancy restaurant you want by changing into a celebrity and then, after you eat you could go to the bathroom, change disguises to someone else (maybe an employee) and just walk out of there without paying because, though you’ll look like Bradley Cooper or Scarlett Johanson you more likely than not won’t have a similar bank account. Sorry.
6. Health Potion (Any RPG ever)
If you’ve played an RPG you know about the iconic health potion. It’s a mysterious, often red, liquid that has the healing properties like nothing in our world. I see you’ve been lit on fire, shot with a dozen arrows, fallen off a cliff, run over by a horse, bitten by a poisonous snake the length of an 18-wheeler, warped through the fabrics of space-time and kicked in the shin by that little girl who’s balloon you popped with those massive spiked shoulder pads. NOT A PROBLEM! Just drink this stuff and all that pain will go away! Disclaimer: it will not stop the sorrow that girl feels nor will it unpop her balloon, jerk. Ahem, can you even fathom what healing potions would do to this planet? A singular medical treatment for all injuries and diseases would absolutely revolutionize the medical field. The best part is that anybody can use the stuff. It’s literally like drinking a bottle of Nyquil which I don’t recommend, but it instantaneously heals any ailments. I’d kill for the stuff during allergy season.
5. Gravity Gun (Half-Life 2)
Just as revolutionary as a health potion is the gravity gun from Half-Life 2. This handheld tool lets its users lift and move anything with ease no matter the size. And with the simple click of a button you can turn every day objects into high velocity projectiles. What would make this video game item so useful in real life is the endless possibilities it would have for construction and even day to day life. Tasks that’d normally take a handful of people to do or a heavy machine could be done by a single person and a gravity gun. Getting your car out of that tight parallel parking spot would never be easier.
4. The Sands of Time (Price of Persia: The Sands of Time)
I can’t begin to tell you how many situations the Sands of Time would have been helpful in. From Price of Persia, the Sands of Time is actual sand just with magical properties. When used (however you use sand) the Prince is able to rewind time and repeat anything he may have messed up. What puts this higher than the Ocarina of Time is the flawless transition from failing, to fixing your mistakes. No stopping to fiddle with an instrument here. Already your brain must be spitting out memories of times this would have been useful, right? I remember once in high school I was really nervous because I convinced myself to ask out this girl. Typical high school band geek situation. My brilliant idea was, for whatever reason, to convey my feelings via note. Yes, note. Basically the story ends with HAHAHA NO THANKS scribbled in pink gel pen. After that I would have loved to use the Sands of Time to either try a different tactic or just not even bother. Oh, the discouragement.
3. Hammerspace (The Sims or a plethora of other games)
Do you own too much stuff and not enough room put it? #firstworldproblems. Hammerspace is the fan created idea behind video game character’s ability to fit a ridiculous amount of items into a backpack or satchel. A great example of this is in The Sims. Have you ever opened up your inventory to notice your Sim has for some reason picked up a drum set, your book shelf and that row of elegantly arranged flowers you just planted? That’s hammerspace. Though I personally love having all of my possessions out on display for friends and guests to see, I can think of several situations in which it’d be handy to fit everything into a Ziploc freezer bag. Moving for example would be ten trillion times easier. Hammerspace would eliminate the need for boxes and moving trucks. Simply throw everything into your favorite travel bag and you’re on your way. How is this not number 1?
2. Aiden Pearce’s Smartphone (Watch Dogs)
The ultimate hacking tool, Aiden Pearce’s smartphone in Watch Dogs, would be the ultimate tool for city living. With the right apps and hacking ability, Pearce is able to accomplish some pretty unrealistic things with only a weird iPhone, Samsung, Windows Phone combo. From changing traffic lights to making things explode to listening to music but NOT making a phone call, Pearce’s “smartphone” can almost do it all. In real life, like emergency vehicles, with this smartphone you’d be able to switch red lights to green and vice versa. That alone is worth every hour learning to become a professional hacker and definitely worth mentioning on this list. I don’t know about you guys but nothing bothers me more than those unlucky days when you’re trying to get somewhere real quick and you hit every single red light. This would solve that and I’d be excessively happy about that.
1. Maxwell’s Notebook (Scribblenauts Unlimited)
Lastly is basically the God Mode of video game items. Maxwell’s notebook in the adorable puzzle game Scribblenauts Unlimited gives this funky hat wearing kid the ability to create ANYTHING just by scribbling the word or a picture onto the page. Almost anything that is. It’s a rated E title people. Real life isn’t rated E however and with that would mean a much larger word pool to choose from. I’ll give you some time to let your mind wonder. Okay, back to reading. A notebook with this power could solve every major world problem out there. World hunger? 10 trillion fried chickens with gravy! Cancer? Miracle vaccine! Demon possession? Super Priest! Lonely? ALL THE BEN & JERRY’S! So on and so forth, you get it. This would be the Holy Grail of items to exist and would probably cause more harm than good but just imagine the potential!
Like Maxwell’s notebook and as mentioned before, video game item possibilities are virtually infinite and simply rely on developers’ imaginations. This is only my top 10. There are many more amazing video game items out there that’d be useful in real life that didn’t make it but were close to it. What are some items you’d like to have at your disposal? Do you agree with any of mine? What would you do with them? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me @derekbyron and stay tuned to Gamer Headlines for more gaming articles and news!