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In real life, police and military personnel are trained to fire at the center of mass (read: chest/heart), as the head is a small target that likes moving around a lot, while the center of mass is a relatively easy target that moves with the subject and also has lots of vital organs in it. And even if you miss, you might hit a limb (or, yes, the head) instead.
 
However, since games don't have problems with pesky gun sway (excepting the semi-realistic ones) and other stuff that screws with aiming and bullet trajectory, the head is the usual target of choice, a [[One -Hit Kill]] for most low level [[Mooks]], which makes it something of a [[Chunky Salsa Rule]]. Even in more realistic series, it's better to go for the head instead of the chest. This is really a gameplay concept more than anything else, as rewarding the more difficult shot encourages the player to shoot accurately; it should be noted that in videogames it tends to be easier to score a headshot, since cycled walk animations are inherently more predictable than someone's real-life non-repeating movements would be. Additionally, because of [[Critical Existence Failure]], it is important in games to kill targets as quickly as possible, whereas in real life a less lethal but more reliable shot might be enough to incapacitate opponents.
 
Rule of thumb: With weaker weapons (see [[Standard FPS Guns]]), people [[Cherry Tapping|Cherry Tap]] via sending a weak pistol bullet into your noggin.
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The [[Trope Namer|trope name]] comes [[Memetic Mutation|from a line spoken by]] "pro gamer" FPS_Doug on the ''[[Pure Pwnage]]'' [[Web Video|web TV series]].
 
In [[Real Life]], while being shot in the head is seldom a ''good'' thing, the actual effects may vary significantly from the usual [[Instant Death Bullet]] depiction; the brain doesn't take up the entire head, after all, and bullets can fail to penetrate or deflect off the skull. Even if the brain is hit, it [[Reality Is Unrealistic|might not be fatal]]; everyone who watches the news for a while has seen some story about someone [['Tis Only a Bullet In The Brain|surviving a wound to the head]] with a ridiculously large object, be it a masonry nail, tool blade or even a scaffolding pole. [http://www.thegunzone.com/11april86.html In fact, sometimes people even carry on fighting with such wounds]. In real life, a sniper has to aim at a ''specific'' part of the head if he's trying for a quick takedown; this is the medulla oblongata in the brainstem at the base of the brain, known as the "sweet spot" or "apricot", and it controls vital involuntary functions, most prominently breathing and heartbeat. Other military and police would only normally try for a headshot if there was some pressing reason they couldn't aim for the centre of mass (probability of an explosive vest detonating, preceding shot failed to put the target down, etc; in the latter case, a shooter is still more likely to aim for the target's ''legs'' as per Ned Kelly).
 
There is also a common technique known as the Mozambique Drill (also occasionally called the Failure Drill), wherein two shots are quickly placed at center of mass, followed by (if the target still seems to be a threat) a third, more carefully aimed shot to the head (This is [[Michael Mann]]'s trademark execution technique in almost all of his movies, from ''[[Heat]]'' to ''[[Public Enemies]]''). However, this is mostly employed in combat ''pistol'' shooting, and requires a semi-automatic weapon, which sniper rifles generally aren't.
 
Compare with [['Tis Only a Bullet In The Brain]].
 
{{examples|Examples}}
 
== Action Adventure Games ==
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* ''[[Counter-Strike (Video Game)|Counter-Strike]]''. Oh, so very much.<ref> This is actually the game FPS Doug was playing, making it the indirect Trope Namer.</ref> Indeed, the ''thwack!'' sound effect and special icon were firsts for FPS games, making this the [[Trope Codifier]] in some respects.
* ''[[Call of Duty]].''
** Worth noting are the Juggernauts from ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' and ''3''. Though they can stay alive even after multiple headshots from a Barrett .50 cal, a direct headshot from a Thumper or RPG-7 is still a [[One -Hit Kill]]. How you manage to line up that headshot between their [[More Dakka]] and [[A -Team Firing|the infamous difficulty of use/inaccuracy of those two weapons]], though...
*** Funnily enough, you're better off aiming for the centre of mass instead of the head in most Call of Duty games, since guns kill in about 1-2 seconds of constant fire anyway. Actual headshots generally were rewarded in multiplayer, however - ''Modern Warfare 1'' and ''2'', for instance, would both give an experience bonus and unlock a new camouflage pattern for the gun in question after a specific amount of headshots were made with it.
** ''World at War'' includes a Death Card for co-op mode that, when activated, causes enemies killed via headshot to ''explode''.
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** With the new [[Hand Cannon|Ambassador pistol]], Spies automatically get a critical hit on a headshot. The unpatched Ambassador used to be able to overpenetrate targets, with hilarious [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxTLeLCentE results].
** The Sniper does get one weapon that averts this though. The Sydney Sleeper can't headshot, but has the benefit of a faster scope charge and coating targets with [[Urine Trouble|Jarate]] on a hit.
* ''[[Golden Eye 1997 (Video Game)|Golden Eye 1997]]'' was an early example of this, and certainly made console owners aware of it. However, headshots only did amplified damage, as showcased by it taking several of them to kill an enemy with 1000% health. The [[Spiritual Successor]], ''[[Perfect Dark]]'', played it much straighter and had headshots be [[One -Hit Kill|One Hit Kills]].
** So was ''MDK'', which was highly praised for its then-strong graphics and gunplay, which featured a sniper option.
* The original ''[[Unreal Tournament (Video Game)|Unreal Tournament]]'' is responsible for the "HEADSHOT!" announcement so dominant in CS servers. ''[[Unreal Tournament 2004 (Video Game)|Unreal Tournament 2004]]'', ''[[Unreal Championship 2 The Liandri Conflict (Video Game)|Unreal Championship 2 The Liandri Conflict]]'' and ''[[Unreal Tournament III (Video Game)|Unreal Tournament III]]'' bring this to the extreme by adding the "Head Hunter" award, for 15 consecutive headshots, which typically result in the offending extremity vanishing in an [[Chunky Salsa Rule|explosion of red chunks]]. ''UT2003'' also introduced the Lightning Gun as a replacement/alternative to the normal sniper rifle - headshots with it [[Incendiary Exponent|set its victims' neck stumps on fire]] along with decapitation for good measure.
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* Parodied in ''[[Rayman]] [[Raving Rabbids]] 2''s FPS segments. You can get the regular headshot, but can also get a buttshot by hitting them from behind.
* The first ''[[Medal of Honor]]'' game had a way of naming the different places where you shoot someone the most (for instance, if you shot the Nazis in the arm the most in a level, one of the titles you could receive would be winger) so if you shot them in the head a lot, you'd get titles like melon popper, cap shooter, helmet plunker, ect.
** A shot to the center mass could also [[One -Hit Kill]] enemies, especially with higher-power weapons.
* In ''[[Soldier of Fortune]]'', in addition to headshots, [[Chunky Salsa Rule|any shot that removes a limb or disembowels the enemy]], [[Groin Attack|or a shot to the nether region]], is a [[One -Hit Kill]].
* The game Sniper: Ghost Warrior makes a definite point of forcing the player to think much like a real life sniper, though it somewhat averts this trope by allowing you to miss the sweet spot and simply remove a target's helmet without the insta-kill. Also averted in that a single center mass shot with the high powered rifle is typically enough to drop any target.
* In ''Clive Barker's Jericho'', there are the Achievements/Trophies named (Insert Adjective Here) Of Pop, where landing so many headshots nets you an additional character bio sheet in the extras section.
* Headshots in ''[[Project Blackout (Video Game)|Project Blackout]]'' are instantly lethal if the target isn't wearing a helmet.
* Just like the movie it was based on (see below), if Jet makes a head shot in ''[[Tron Two Point Oh (Video Game)|Tron 2.0]]'', it's almost always an insta-kill. The times it's not is when it's glanced off armor. Jet will also say something like "Ouch" or "Yes!" if he manages a perfect hit.
* Not only played straight but very nearly a [[Game Breaker]] in ''[[Ace of Spades]]'', as the hitbox for a player's head is enormous. The standard semi-automatic rifle is nearly as good as a [[Sniper Rifle]], and headshots with it are a [[One -Hit Kill]]. Being hit in the head by the sub-machine gun "only" costs you 75HP, which is hardly better given that most players who wield it ''really'' believe in [[More Dakka]], and the shotgun... Well, let's just say it averts [[Short Range Shotgun]] ''hard''.
* The bots of ''[[PAYDAY the Heist (Video Game)|PAYDAY: The Heist]]'' will encourage you to go for headshots, with shouts of "I want to see helmets flying!" Because yes, when you land a headshot, the hat or helmet worn by the victim will pop up as a "well done!" signal. Interestingly, the headshot-immune civilians are all bareheaded.
* [[Killing Floor]]'s Specimens all have a weak point in the head. Blowing said head off doesn't guarantee an instant kill, but it does prevent them from using any special abilities (the clot's grab, the bloat's vomit, etc), causes them to stagger around blindly (they can still hit you if they find you), makes any further damage hurt more, and kills them after a few seconds anyway. So, aim for the head.
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** Inverted in ''[[Virtua Cop]] 3'', however, where headshots are actually the least lucrative, as they score low and don't allow for chains. The better alternatives are [[Blasting It Out of Their Hands|shooting their gun]], or just chaining 3 hits starting with any other part of the body.
* ''[[Target Terror]]'' on the highest violence setting, had this. Multiple bullets in the head of a terrorist would result in [[Your Head Asplode]], a massive point bonus, and in the [[Updated Rerelease|Gold edition]], there's a combat medal for headshot streaks.
* ''[[Silent Scope]]'', obviously. Double points and a decent time bonus, plus [[One -Hit Kill]] on the bosses.
** In the third ''Silent Scope'' game, your [[Life Meter|life]]/[[Timed Mission|time]] meter will refill a bit on head shots.
** Headshots on most bosses are a [[One -Hit Kill]], unless they are wearing a mask/helmet.
* Averted in ''[[Point Blank (Video Game)|Point Blank]]''; in stages where you shoot at human-shaped cardboard targets, shooting the center of the chest yields 100 points, the highest point value on the target. Shooting the head only nets 60 points.
 
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** In ''[[Fable II (Video Game)|Fable II]]'', the last dexterous style is sub-targeting, which allows you to target specific spots on an enemy such as the hand (to disarm them), groin, or head. A headshot will often kill an enemy in one shot, decapitating them in the process.
*** You can boot the heads around when you shoot one off, too.
* A successful headshot in ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' will cause [[Critical Hit|critical damage]] to the opponent. For snipers, who are good at this sort of thing, it's almost a guaranteed [[One -Hit Kill]]. You can protect yourself from these types of hits by crouching behind sandbags or laying down in the grass where the enemy can't see you.
** Specifically, going into cover (grass or sandbags usually, but other things can give cover, too) prevents critical hits from actually happening, even if a character is actually hit in the head. Unfortunately, it works both ways. Enemies under cover can't receive criticals, either.
* Though you can't actually aim for heads in ''[[Dragon Age]]'', one of the death animations for humanoid enemies has the attacker make a wide swinging blow that slices the head of in a [[Pink Mist|huge gush of blood]].
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** A very satisfying boom.
** Your squad mates will sometimes compliment you if you make a headshot, particularly Garrus: [[Memetic Mutation|"Impressive!"]]
** You can also score perhaps the ultimate headshot on the final boss. {{spoiler|Human-Reaper's head, meet [[Nuke 'Em|Cain.]]}}
** Headshots also tend to leave lots and lots of splatters.
** There are even armor pieces to improve the power of your headshots ([[Cold Sniper|Garrus]] wears one).
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== Shoot 'Em Ups ==
* In ''[[Time Crisis]] 2'', ''3'', and ''4'', hitting non-armored [[Mook|Mooks]] anywhere will [[One -Hit -Point Wonder|kill them]], but headshots yield the most points, followed by body shots, then limb shots.
** However, getting points doesn't stop at a headshot; shooting the head once and then shooting their body twice (you can hit a Mook twice more after the initial hit) yields the most points.
* ''[[Star Fox (Video Game)|Star Fox]] Assault'''s Sniper Rifle does bonus damage on a head shot. Of course, the thing is so powerful, you don't even need a headshot to take most opponents down. Wolf is the only multi-player character that can survive being shot at all, but he's also the fastest.
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* Subverted in ''[[Dead Space (Video Game)|Dead Space]]''. The Necromorphs can be decapitated with a headshot, but that'll just piss them off.
* ''[[Rune]]''. Remember the zombies in ''[[Quake (Video Game)|Quake]]''? ''Rune'''s zombies are just like that, except since the game has a medieval fantasy setting, your only real options are fire and decapitation. Since normal blows just make them fall over for a few seconds (and you can't decapitate them while they're down,) you don't have access to fire weapons for many levels, and only a spinning jump-slash will reliably decapitate them (plus they're otherwise just harmless but annoying [[The Goomba|goombas]],) zombies get really old REALLY fast.
* ''[[Gears of War]]'' cannot be forgotten, seeing as a head shot sometimes results in Marcus Fenix (at least in the Campaign) saying Boom Headshot. Or other [[Bond One -Liner|witty things]] such as, "look Ma, no face" in Gears 2.
** Everyone has headshot quotes including Baird's "Sorry was that your spine" and the epic "So good I should charge admission"
* ''[[Syphon Filter]]'' had this, too, even explicitly telling you that headshots in manual aim were more lethal. Especially needed when enemies started wearing flak jackets, which could take dozens of rounds to penetrate. Nothing says 'I hate you' like a headshot with the lethal taser.
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*** Don't get any ideas that it's easy though because unlike humans, the actual 'head' on mechs may not correspond exactly to where one would assume the head is.
* in the ''[[Transformers]]'' game for the Playstation 2, there is a specific Mini-Con upgrade that allows for Sniper rifle Head shots that are OHKO's for a great many units, though it does take 3 Headshots for the Heavy units, and a couple of Enemies have no head, being non-humanoid Mecha.
* The ''[[Twisted Metal]]'' reboot introduces the Sniper Rifle as a weapon pickup. The longer you keep an aim on the target, the greater the damage will be dealt. However, if you take aim long enough and let the weapon fully charge, you shoot the driver's head instead and [[One -Hit Kill|destroy his/her vehicle instantly, regardless of how tough or how much health it has left]]. Yes, its possible to destroy [[Boss in Mooks Clothing|Juggernaut]] this way. The catch is that [[Difficult but Awesome|the charging time is freakin' long, not to mention hard to take aim in a fast-paced game]].
** The [[Sawn Off Shotgun]] sidearm and the Shotgun pickup from the same game. Shooting at the target's windscreen earns you the Point-Blank bonus which deals massive damage. Its essentially headshoting a ''car''.
 
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*** ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'' had this, too. If you're close enough, the auto-target will go from center of mass up to head. Which makes sense--if you're at, say, 5cm range, why not?
* Headshots seem to do more damage in ''[[Bully (Video Game)|Bully]]'' too, when using the slingshot at least. A fully-charged shot to the head will drop almost any student.
* In ''[[The Godfather (Video Game)|The Godfather]]'' game headshots are a [[One -Hit Kill]], allowing you to go through enemies more efficiently. Given that Tommygun and shotgun users show up quite early and you don't become [[Made of Iron]] until quite a bit later, this is important. You can even go through mob wars using just your .38 pea-shooter by taking cover and making precision headshots. Bonus assasination missions sometimes asked for headshots; this meant even more cash.
* ''[[Mount and Blade (Video Game)|Mount and Blade]]'' featured the ability to score headshots and deal critical damage with any projectile, including stones, arrows, crossbow bolts, throwing knives, ''throwing axes,'' and '''javelins.''' Now consider that sharp projectiles sometimes remain visible in an enemy's corpse...
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'': While it is certainly possible to kill things by severing their heads, in practice not only are called shots to the head with a ranged or thrown weapon considerably harder to achieve, but arrows and crossbow bolts will bounce off even a low-grade helmet. Melee attacks to the head, on the other hand, are significantly more reliable.
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== Fan Fiction ==
* In ''[[Half Life Full Life Consequences|Half Life: Hero Begginning]]'', when Henry Freeman's mom protests the Combines pointing their lasers at him, they shoot her and laugh at her. Despite this apparently destroying her head ("haha stupid humen girl with no head"), she's able to tell Henry Freeman to run away before she dies.
* In'' [[Revenge Road (Fanfic)|Revenge Road]]'', Hikaru shoots [[Murder the Hypotenuse|Madoka]] in the head, [[Instant Death Bullet|killing her instantly]]. She thinks Madoka has to die for stealing Kyosuke away, but doesn't think she deserves to suffer because she was her friend for a long time. As for Kyosuke, [[Cold -Blooded Torture|she's nowhere]] [[Cruel and Unusual Death|near as merciful]] with him.
* In Chapter 20 of ''[[Team 8]]'', {{spoiler|Kurenai}} is killed by being hit in the head with a kunai after {{spoiler|breaking Tsukuyomi}}.
 
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* One of the most famous examples occurs in ''[[Maniac (Film)|Maniac]]'' when Tom Savini's character gets shot in the head at point blank range causing his head to explode.
* In the ''[[Transformers Film Series]]'', Optimus Prime seems obsessed in destroying the heads of his enemies. Throughout the course of all three films, he decapitates Bonecrusher, shoots Demolisher in the head, tears Grindor's head in two, shoots off half of Megatron's face (with his own cannon), tears the skin off The Fallen's head, rips {{spoiler|Shockwave's eye out of it's socket}}, shoots {{spoiler|Sentinel Prime}} twice in the head, and finally tears off {{spoiler|Megatron's head and SPINE.}}
** [[Out -of -Character Moment|GIVE ME]] [[Memetic Mutation|YOUR FACE!]]
* Both versions of ''[[Dawn of the Dead (Film)|Dawn of the Dead]]'' feature shotgun-blast-to-the-head scenes. [[Dawn of the Dead 2004 (Film)|The remake]] also has a scene where a character unerringly picks off a string of zombies with headshots, but he's a gun-store owner doing it from a safe rooftop, with a high-powered sniper rifle, while the zombies aimlessly mill around below. And it's all just a morbid way of killing time.
* Everyone in ''[[The Zombie Diaries]]'' seems to know that the only way to stop the zombies is to shoot them in the head.
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== Web Originals ==
* [[The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Critic]] does this to keep Roger the Angel from killing him in "[[ItsIt's a Wonderful Plot|You're A Rotten Dirty Bastard]]." Much to Roger's surprise since he thought angels couldn't be killed.
{{quote| "Hmm...so God lied to me....that seems like a bit of a dick move." }}
* ''[[The Onion]]'' takes this trope [[Up to Eleven]] in their report on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYQhvW-tjNM&NR=1 "Close Range"].
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