The MythBusters The MythBusters

MythBusters Episode 226: Video Game Special

Premier Date: January 31, 2015

It is possible to carry and deploy a large range of weapons and supplies without significantly reducing one’s speed or mobility. (Based on Doom and other first-person shooter games.)


Adam and Jamie replicated a Doom game level inside an abandoned military facility. Mock weapons, weighted with lead to match the weight of actual weapons, were stashed on the ground throughout the level. Crew members stood in for the enemies at random locations.

Adam and Jamie each ran through the level twice while picking up all of the items and attacking the enemies. For their first run, they discarded each weapon when they found a new one. For the second run, they had to carry everything (totaling 80 pounds (36 kg)) with them to the end of the level. Jamie achieved a time of 5:53 for his first run and Adam finished in in 5:38. Their respective times on the second run were 11:59 and 10:17; the increased weight and bulk of the items slowed them down considerably in the latter part of the level.

Finally, Adam and Jamie brought in a professional MMA fighter (Brendan Schaub) to run the level, as they considered him to be more like the heroic characters found in video games. He completed the level in 4:00 when discarding weapons and 4:03 while carrying them all, prompting them to declare the myth plausible as long as the person involved is in excellent physical condition.

It is possible to slice through airborne fruit using a katana with the same ease in reality as in the game Fruit Ninja.


Adam played three 60-second time trials of Fruit Ninja using a wooden practice sword as a motion controller, averaging 99 hits per trial. At a naval shipyard, the MythBusters built an elevated platform for Adam to stand on and slice real fruit with an actual katana as it was thrown up to him by three professional jugglers.

Adam achieved only 30 hits in his first 60-second real-world trial. However, the jugglers failed to match the game’s throw rate and also sent some of their throws outside of Adam’s effective range. A second trial closer to the in-game conditions yielded 55 hits. The myth was declared busted at this point due to the real fruit being smaller and falling faster than the in-game fruit. In addition, only the edge of the katana could inflict a slice. Jamie briefly demonstrated the test using a chainsaw as an alternative to a sword.