Promoting the launch of Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time for the PlayStation 3, Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand and WETA are offering one lucky amateur engineer the chance to have their very own intergalactic tool of destruction brought to life by the legendary workshop.

Weapons, they're nasty horrible hurty things that absolutely nobody likes. Unless they're really fun. And they don't come much more fun than the bizarre gadgets of destruction on display in the Ratchet and Clank series. Still, if there's anything that runs deeper within humanity than empathy and compassion it's our ability to create bigger and better ways of killing ourselves, an impulse that the legendary WETA Workshop would like to reward if you can out-weaponize Ratchet and Clank.

The Annihilator, Buzz Blades, The Groovitron, The Vortex Cannon, The Omega Qwack-O-Blitzer; this is the top shelf of vide game weaponry we're dealing with here, but if you fancy your chances at outthinking the troubled minds at Insomniac Games then by all means get creating. The contest is open until November 28th, and you can submit your machinations online here, or post them to Ratchet and Clank Weapon Competition, 100 Victoria Street West, P0 Box 3819, Auckland.

That's an irresistibly cool prize really, WETA Workshop have created tons of amazing weapons, replicas and props for all manner of projects, from fantasy fare like Lord of the Rings, Hellboy and the upcoming Avatar, to historical pieces for films like Master and Commander and Indiana Jones. A one-of-a-kind killamajig from them would surly be the centerpiece of any geek trophy room.

Even so, I'll eat my fancy hat if anyone manages to best the good old OmniWrench, that's just the handiest artefact of skull-caving destruction I've ever encountered. If you do decide to enter the contest feel free to share your designs here, too. Oh, and it's only open to New Zealand residents, sorry International folk.