Emergency Weapon: Difference between revisions

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Often, this weapon is your bare hands, because if you "run out" of ''bare hands'', you probably have a ''lot'' more trouble on your, um, hands already than your limited weapons.

In [[First Person Shooter]] games, this weapon might be a melee weapon which, in many cases, is so dangerous to use and/or uselessly weak that it isn't much better than nothing. Other shooting games give you a small (equally weak) gun with infinite ammo.

In [[First-Person Shooter]] games, this weapon might be a melee weapon which, in many cases, is so dangerous to use and/or uselessly weak that it isn't much better than nothing. Other shooting games give you a small (equally weak) gun with infinite ammo.

Some stock emergency weapons are:

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This can be averted with [[Boss Arena Recovery]], allowing the player to restock their weapons/ammunition midbattle.

== First Person Shooter ==

* Many [[First Person Shooter]] games have a unique melee weapon - often a [[Improvised Weapon|random object]] that the protagonist uses like a club - which becomes iconic for the series, such as the crowbar from ''[[Half-Life]]''

* Many [[First-Person Shooter]] games have a unique melee weapon - often a [[Improvised Weapon|random object]] that the protagonist uses like a club - which becomes iconic for the series, such as the crowbar from ''[[Half-Life]]''

* ''[[Doom]]'' actually includes two melee weapons: plain old fists, and a powerful [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw]]. It also includes [[Quad Damage|Berserk Packs]] which make your punches ten times stronger, enough to [[Ludicrous Gibs|instantly gib]] smaller enemies. ''Doom 3'' has a similar powerup for the fists, but in addition to killing enemies instantly, it also slowed down time and made you invincible. Of course, it was only available twice in the ''entire game'', and it was accompanied by some rather disturbing screaming.

** ''Doom 3'' also adds the flashlight, which deals twice as much damage as the fists and actually [[Who Forgot the Lights|lets you see what you're doing]], but swings twice as slowly (and, in the PC version, has shorter range). ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil'' adds the Grabber, which can be used to grab barrels, crates, and even most enemy projectiles and fire them back at the sender, and in addition its Soul Cube analogue gives the same bonuses as the above-mentioned powerup from the base game, depending on how many of the Hunters you've killed.

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* The ''[[Half-Life (Video Game)|Half-Life]]'' series has the crowbar for every game except ''Opposing Force'', which gives you a pipe wrench and later a combat knife.

* ''[[Half-Life 2 (Video Game)|Half-Life 2]]'' also has the Gravity Gun, which has infinite uses and [[Wreaking Havok|can turn any loose object in the environment into a lethal projectile]], from boxes, oil drums, old tires, and iron stakes to giant buzzsaw blades, exploding barrels, and enemy grenades. Quite a fun weapon! Buzzsaw blades are particularly useful for bisecting crowds of zombies with one attack.

* ''[[Halo]]'' has the inventive solution of letting you [[Pistol Whipping|use your guns as melee weapons]]; a melee attack dealt to a sleeping or unaware enemy is a [[One Hit Kill]]. This has become somewhat popular in games such as ''[[Gears of War]]'', where your main gun has a built-in [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw]] ''[[Bayonet Ya|bayonet]]'' for just this purpose. Also found in the earlier [[Call of Duty]] games.

* ''[[Halo]]'' has the inventive solution of letting you [[Pistol Whipping|use your guns as melee weapons]]; a melee attack dealt to a sleeping or unaware enemy is a [[One-Hit Kill]]. This has become somewhat popular in games such as ''[[Gears of War]]'', where your main gun has a built-in [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw]] ''[[Bayonet Ya|bayonet]]'' for just this purpose. Also found in the earlier [[Call of Duty]] games.

** ''[[Halo]]'' 2 and 3 have weapons that only function in melee (specifically, an [[Laser Blade|energy sword]] and a [[Drop the Hammer|gravity hammer]]), but they have limited energy. The sword becomes completely useless when depleted, and the hammer (while still usable as a simple blunt object) loses its knock-back ability.

*** In ''[[Halo]]'' 2 and 3, you can use your regular melee, and he will be holding the hilt of the sword, so it is still a blunt object.

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** For those few situations where a bayonet will not do, [http://forum.pafoa.org/gun-pictures-24/10037-cz-75-sp-01-tactical.html breech teeth].

* In ''[[Golden Eye 1997 (Video Game)|Golden Eye 1997]]'', Bond can deliver a swift karate chop to take down enemies if he ran out of ammo.

** A karate chop to the back of the neck is more powerful than any other single attack in the game, with the exception of the [[One Hit Kill|Golden Gun]] of course.

** A karate chop to the back of the neck is more powerful than any other single attack in the game, with the exception of the [[One-Hit Kill|Golden Gun]] of course.

** In its spiritual successor, ''[[Goldeneye Rogue Agent]]'', the player is provided with a pistol with infinite ammunition, in addition to a few of the lethal uses for your [[Magic Tool|golden]] [[Electronic Eyes|eye]].

* Some newer games are providing very useful backup melee attacks. ''[[Counter-Strike (Video Game)|Counter-Strike]]'', the ''[[Battlefield (Video Game)|Battlefield]]'' series and later ''[[Call of Duty]]'' games feature a knife that is an instant kill, and ''F.E.A.R.'' not only has pistol whips and rifle butts but also jump and slide kicks that are instant kills.

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* ''[[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Team Fortress 2]]'' has a different melee weapon for every single class - A [[Batter Up|baseball Bat]] for the Scout, an [[Shovel Strike|entrenchment Shovel]] for the Soldier, a [[Percussive Maintenance|Wrench]] for the Engineer, a [[Butterfly Knife]] for the Spy, a [[Kukris Are Kool|Kukri]] for the Sniper, a Bonesaw for the Medic, a whiskey Bottle for the Demoman, a [[Axe Crazy|Fire Axe]] for the Pyro, and [[Good Old Fisticuffs|bare Fists]] for the Heavy. The 'unlockables' added in subsequent patches provide alternative melee weaponry on top of these.

** Inverted with the Spy class however: the Spy's ability to [[Back Stab]] makes the butterfly knife his primary weapon most of the time, while his [[Revolvers Are Just Better|Revolver]], while still powerful, is the [[Emergency Weapon]] in case he gets caught. In fact, the [[Item Crafting]] system categorized Spy knives as primary weapon.

** Indeed, the unlockables in the game can end up being that character's secondary or even primary weapon! For example, the "DemoKnight", in which the Demoman trades in his Bottle for various [[Heroes Prefer Swords|swords]], his Stickybomb Launcher for a [[Luckily My Shield Will Protect Me|shield]] which grants him a [[Foe Tossing Charge]], and sometimes even his [[Grenade Launcher]] for [[Tricked Out Shoes]] that give some extra health and the ability to turn while charging with the shield.

** Indeed, the unlockables in the game can end up being that character's secondary or even primary weapon! For example, the "DemoKnight", in which the Demoman trades in his Bottle for various [[Heroes Prefer Swords|swords]], his Stickybomb Launcher for a [[Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me|shield]] which grants him a [[Foe-Tossing Charge]], and sometimes even his [[Grenade Launcher]] for [[Tricked Out Shoes]] that give some extra health and the ability to turn while charging with the shield.

*** It seems the game is deliberately programmed to enforce this trope: one of the Spy's unlockable weapons is an icicle that, when the Spy is lit on fire, melts to grant the Spy immunity to fire for two seconds. Normally the icicle takes an additional 13 seconds to regenerate, but in Medieval Mode, where the Spy has no other weapon slots, the icicle regenerates instantly.

* ''[[Duke Nukem 3D (Video Game)|Duke Nukem 3D]]'' had Duke's Mighty Foot, which was, oddly enough, more powerful than the pistol. In fact, in the original version of the game, it was possible to set your weapon to kick and use both that and the quick-kick button ''at the same time'', [[Good Bad Bugs|giving the impression of dropkicking the enemy several times in succession or doing]] [[That Russian Squat Dance]] (dealing great damage in the meantime). If you do the same [[Literally Shattered Lives|while auto-kicking a frozen enemy]], you can get '''three legs on screen'''!

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* ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Republic Commando]]'' has melee attacks associated with every weapon via the melee quick-hit button. The default Commando-issue [[Swiss Army Weapon|Swiss Army Rifle]] includes a deadly strike with the [[Blade Below the Shoulder|retractable blade in the left glove]], while other weapons resort to [[Pistol Whipping|beaning your enemies with them]]. The actual emergency weapon slot is the DC-15s pistol that you to fall back on if you manage to run out of ammo for ''all'' your weapons. It has infinite ammo, a recharge time, and about zero usefulness other than saving ammo. Actually [[Pistol Whipping]] with said pistol is the weakest melee attack in the game (which wouldn't be so bad, except you can't switch to an empty weapon should you want to melee with that one instead).

* The starting weapon in ''[[Far Cry]] 2'' is an enormous machete the [[Big Bad]] slammed into the wall just above your head. Any attack from stealth with it will either kill or critically wound the target, but they'll usually shout and give away your position before they die.

* ''[[Crysis (Video Game)|Crysis]]'' allows you to use your fists as melee weapons in addition to a [[Pistol Whipping]] quick-hit button. While this may sound fairly unimpressive, remember that the [[Player Character]] is clad in [[Powered Armor]] and can punch holes in brick walls. As a result, your fists wind up being one of the most lethal weapons in the game; a single punch in Strength Mode is a [[One Hit Kill]] to everything except bosses.

* ''[[Crysis (Video Game)|Crysis]]'' allows you to use your fists as melee weapons in addition to a [[Pistol Whipping]] quick-hit button. While this may sound fairly unimpressive, remember that the [[Player Character]] is clad in [[Powered Armor]] and can punch holes in brick walls. As a result, your fists wind up being one of the most lethal weapons in the game; a single punch in Strength Mode is a [[One-Hit Kill]] to everything except bosses.

** In Strength Mode, you can also throw barrels/crates, debris, and even [[Grievous Harm With a Body|enemy Mooks at each other]] as your [[Emergency Weapon]].

** ''Crysis 2'' does away with having fists in a melee weapon slot, but combines more functions into the quick-hit button. Tapping it deals a regular punch, holding it down launches a Strength Mode kick (Strength Mode is no longer a separate suit mode), and pressing it while behind an enemy deals an instant-kill [[Back Stab]].

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* The ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' series has Lara with her defaul dual Pistols that have unlimited ammo, which is used mainly as a backup weapon halfway through the game once you collect other guns and ammo. It's the weakest weapon.

* In [[Psi Ops the Mindgate Conspiracy (Video Game)|Psi Ops the Mindgate Conspiracy]], you have your silenced pistol with rare ammunition (since no enemy really carries one) and a larger gun. Since it usually takes about a clip, per enemy thankfully you have [[Telekinesis]] as back-up or your main weapon. If you run out of psi energy, you'll still have [[Good Old Fisticuffs]].

* The first ''[[Syphon Filter]]'' had the Air Taser, which uses no ammo, had long range, counted as a silent weapon (unless the enemy starts screaming when they get lit on fire), and is pretty much an instant kill if it latches on any part of the enemy's body. The developers seem to have realized how they've made the [[Emergency Weapon]] too damn useful, so they changed it to a combat knife in later games. [[They Changed It Now It Sucks|And killed all the fun.]]

* The first ''[[Syphon Filter]]'' had the Air Taser, which uses no ammo, had long range, counted as a silent weapon (unless the enemy starts screaming when they get lit on fire), and is pretty much an instant kill if it latches on any part of the enemy's body. The developers seem to have realized how they've made the [[Emergency Weapon]] too damn useful, so they changed it to a combat knife in later games. [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|And killed all the fun.]]

** ...Though they did include it as an [[Infinity ~~Plus One~~ Sword|unlockable weapon]] in at least one of the later games. One of the rare cases of a weapon appearing on BOTH ends of the spectrum. Oh, and the by the way: "long range" means technically ''infinite''. The game is also nice enough to tell you when you're aiming at someone's head, so that street with a bunch of snipers just waiting for you to walk down becomes trivial when you realize you can sit far beyond their engagement range and fiddle with your aiming until you ''light them on fire''.

** ...Though they did include it as an [[Infinity+1 Sword|unlockable weapon]] in at least one of the later games. One of the rare cases of a weapon appearing on BOTH ends of the spectrum. Oh, and the by the way: "long range" means technically ''infinite''. The game is also nice enough to tell you when you're aiming at someone's head, so that street with a bunch of snipers just waiting for you to walk down becomes trivial when you realize you can sit far beyond their engagement range and fiddle with your aiming until you ''light them on fire''.

* In ''[[Jet Force Gemini]]'', your basic weapon is the Jet Force pistol. It's weak, can only be fired 5 or so times before needing to pause, and has limited ammo. But if you run out, it can still fire an infinite supply of emergency pellets, which are even weaker.

* ''[[Metal Arms]]: Glitch in the System''. The starting weapon is the recharging "mining laser", and even fully upgraded, it's only slightly better than useless. And even that's better than Glitch's weak Melee.

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== Platformer ==

* ''[[Mega Man (Video Game)|Mega Man]]'' always starts with his basic Mega Buster, and it never has finite ammo. If you run out of the weapon a boss is [[Elemental Rock Paper Scissors|weak against]], the buster can help you finish the fight. In fact, completing the entire game with only the buster is possible (save for at least one puzzle per game, but those only appear in Dr. Wily's fortresses), and it isn't too much more difficult than the regular [[Nintendo Hard]] game. The [[Updated Rerelease]], ''Mega Man: Powered Up!'', even ''encourages'' you to kill bosses using only the Mega Buster, allowing you to play though the entire game as that boss.

* ''[[Mega Man (Video Game)|Mega Man]]'' always starts with his basic Mega Buster, and it never has finite ammo. If you run out of the weapon a boss is [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors|weak against]], the buster can help you finish the fight. In fact, completing the entire game with only the buster is possible (save for at least one puzzle per game, but those only appear in Dr. Wily's fortresses), and it isn't too much more difficult than the regular [[Nintendo Hard]] game. The [[Updated Rerelease]], ''Mega Man: Powered Up!'', even ''encourages'' you to kill bosses using only the Mega Buster, allowing you to play though the entire game as that boss.

** Note that the Mega Buster actually becomes ''more'' useful than some boss weapons in later games, once the [[Charged Attack|charge-shot ability]] was introduced in ''[[Mega Man (Video Game)|Mega Man]] 4''.

* ''[[Harry Potter]]'' video games have introduced the Flippendo knockback jinx, a basic attack spell which consumes no [[Mana]].