When you're caught between a rock and a hard place, you can't always be picky about your choice in combat implement. Even in video games, you can't always find a perfectly-sharpened katana or a fully loaded firearm just ready and waiting for you to use. Sometimes, you just have to improvise.
Luckily, certain characters are quite well versed in the improv scene. Whether it's because they don't have access to the training and resources that would let them use proper weapons, or it's just faster, these folks can just grab whatever's nearby and start swinging it around like there's no tomorrow (because if they don't, there won't be).
10 Frank West - Dead Rising Series
A giant, family-shopping mall is full of all kinds of odds and ends, but actual weapons tend to be at a premium (unless there's a cutlery store, maybe). When Frank West is trapped in such a mall with hordes of the living dead, he has to get a bit creative to stay alive. Basically, Frank could pick up anything that wasn't nailed down and slug a zombie with it.
TVs? Sure. Bowling balls? Why not? An entire park bench? Surprisingly easy to lift and swing, as it turns out. In subsequent Dead Rising games, Frank got even more creative thanks to some knowledge on combo weapons sourced from the likes of Chuck Greene. A little duct tape can turn improvised weaponry into a full-on arsenal.
9 Jimmy Hopkins - Bully
As a vigilante bully, Jimmy can't exactly go around brandishing obvious weaponry. He's still a student, after all; he'd be immediately wrestled to the ground by prefects or police officers. As such, Jimmy turns instead to the old standbys of playground mischief.
Drop some marbles on the ground for chumps to trip over, sling a pouch of dollar-store itching powder in someone's face, or grab a cafeteria tray to club someone in the face. Jimmy doesn't need to employ deadly force in order to make his point.
8 Gordon Freeman - Half-Life Series
In case anyone forgot, Gordon Freeman has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. This is primarily for, you know, theoretical stuff such as the experiment that resulted in the Resonance Cascade, but it also means he's no slouch when it comes to traditional physics.
Even before he obtained the Gravity Gun in Half-Life 2, Gordon was skilled at making use of simple concepts like weight and leverage to create traps and ersatz weapons to deal with his alien foes. Of course, that became much easier when he could launch any random object on the ground with the power of the Gravity Gun.
7 The Lone Wanderer - Fallout 3
While the Wastelands of the Fallout universe are surprisingly plentiful in the firearm department, it never hurts to have a few extra options open. With a bit of creativity, the Lone Wanderer can create various forms of improvised weaponry from random junk scavenged from ruins.
A toy car and a paint gun make a poison dart gun, a lawnmower blade and a motorcycle gas tank make a flaming sword, and a hand brace and a severed Deathclaw hand make... well, exactly what you'd think. At the top of the DIY food chain is the Rock-It Launcher, a pneumatic weapon that can launch any small object at skull-crushing velocity, perfect for situations when ammo runs dry.
6 Guy Spelunky - Spelunky
Ol' Spelunky may be armed with his trusty whip as he explores the caves leading to Olmec's Temple, but one whip with - let's face it - not much range or strength, won't get him that far. Luckily, Spelunky's got a strong core, so he can pick up just about anything (or anyone) he finds and lobs them at terminal velocity.
There's certainly no shortage of arrows, boulders, and hairy cave dudes flying at his head, so when presented with the opportunity, he's well within his right to co-opt them for more practical purposes.
5 Kazuma Kiryu - Yakuza Series
Former Yakuza thug, Kazuma Kiryu is known for his legendary hand-to-hand combat prowess, but perhaps the thing he should really be known for is his willingness to pick up just about anything off the street to club dudes with.
This practice was actually the backbone of the Beast fighting style he learned in his younger years: grab any object you can find and swing it as wide and hard as you possibly can. Even something as innocuous as a milk crate, when swung with Kiryu's titanic strength, becomes a whirling dynamo of jaw-breaking terror.
4 Steve - Minecraft
Considering Steve has to craft all of his weaponry by hand (and it can easily be lost in a pool of lava), it's good that a sword isn't the only thing he can fight with. Any object Steve can hold in his hands can be used to smack something right in front of him.
Obviously, this isn't as efficient as using an actual weapon, or even a tool like a pickaxe, but pummeling a zombie with a metal bucket certainly beats the heck out of doing it with your bare, square hands. On the bright side, it's pretty hilarious to beat a skeleton into dust with nothing but a carrot and some gumption.
3 Marina Liteyears - Mischief Makers
Marina's first and foremost tactic for both combat and movement is to pick something up and give it a firm shake. As a cyborg, Marina is strong enough to lift up to 100 times her own weight, so even something like a small rock or a box, when thrown with her strong arms, becomes a deadly projectile.
This is actually reflective of Marina's personality; she's a very kind person at heart and doesn't like hurting others, so she'd rather just throw her enemies out of her path or into each other to get them off her back rather than employing any kind of actual weaponry.
2 Agent 47 - Hitman Series
Agent 47 is the world's foremost hitman. As you'd expect, he's quite talented with guns, blades, and his hands, but his strongest weapon is his creative instinct. Any kind of innocuous object or installation, when viewed through 47's eyes, can become a tool of discrete (or not-so-discrete) murder.
From handheld objects like pool cues and kitchen tools to large objects like chandeliers, anything can become a deadly weapon when in 47's control. Sometimes, he doesn't even need a physical weapon to deal with his targets; all 47 needs is a high place, a flat hand, and good ol' gravity.
1 Frank Goldfinger - Shadow Hearts: From The New World
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As a wannabe ninja, Frank doesn't exactly have the best frame of reference when it comes to proper ninja weaponry. In Frank's mind, if you can stick a sword hilt to it and swing it around, that automatically makes it a ninja weapon. His very first weapon is a large logging saw with a hilt attached, which kind of works, but it gets weirder from there.
Standouts from Frank's arsenal include a bus stop sign with a hilt attached, an entire swordfish with a hilt attached, a cactus with a hilt attached, and the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur... still inside the stone and with a hilt attached to its existing hilt.