Take my ax — and my broom: How creative weapons improve video games

Swords and guns. It’s hard to find a game without one or the other. But some developers are thinking a little harder about how we blast away the bad guys.

Dustforce has players sweeping dust and attacking enemies with a broom. Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft can sink an ax into her foes and a cliff wall. And titles like Mike Bithell’s upcoming stealth game Volume and Harmonix’s first-person music-shooter Chroma use sound as offensive and defensive tools.