Double-Barreled Shotgun.

[Music] some weapons are so iconic they don't even need a name no make a loan model all you need to make an impression is a twin 12-gauge the double-barreled shotgun is a classic frontier weapon with an imposing profile they've been around forever and is still widely used today so why is this basic design so enduring what makes them a common sight in video games and do double the barrels mean double the from shotguns are simple versatile weapons that are capable of using a wide variety of ammunition they have a long history dating to the earliest days of firearms development with roots lying in large caliber muzzle loaders such as the musket and blunderbuss with the adoption of rifled barrels shotguns diverged as a separate class of weapons with their smooth bore barrels more suitable for firing multiple projectiles at once from the tiny pellets of birdshot to the sheer stopping power of solid slugs load versatility made shotguns ideal for hunting all kinds of quarry the most common 12-gauge load is double-aught buckshot typically a pallets 0.33 inches in diameter such cartridges offer balanced performance against deer and human size targets alike prior to the invention of lever and pump action weapons most breech loading shotguns were break-action with hinged barrels that would expose the chambers for shell extraction and reloading and the absence of a magazine such weapons were single-shot but the simple addition of another parallel barrel would double ready firepower there have been triple and even quadruple barrel shotguns made but the classic double barrel seems to offer the perfect blend of firepower against added weight and complexity there exist two major configurations with either horizontal or vertical barrel placement the former are called side by sights and the latter over-unders side by sides are perhaps the more classic design evoking traditional coach guns but the vertical arrangement offers a single side plane and more manageable recoil our beard at the cost of greater internal complexity in all its forms the double barreled shotgun has been present since the dawn of the American frontier an equally since the emergence of first-person shooters with distinctive appearance in spite of specific model a generic profile made an ideal fit for low resolution renditions in earlier games and one title in particular would have immense influence on what would follow the super shotgun in tomb 2 is legendary while the original shareware version had a shotgun the retail sequel bumped it up a notch with the inclusion of a double-barreled option the basic shotgun was good but the super shotgun was better they chewed through mo like nothing else the few opponents could stand up to a full frontal blast from both barrels the gun tore through hell spawn like tissue paper and launched its place in history as a firm favorite of many the mid to late 90s a surge in FPS games at the time known simply as doom clones these old-school shooters in the vein of doom had a strict hierarchy of weapons with your available arsenal slowly becoming more and more powerful as you progress this makes the double barrel leg particularly strong candidate for inclusion if you need to double the damage why not double the barrels after doom can quake this time with a more gothic theme for the shotgun and super shotgun combo returned it's almost a trademark of its games even today there are games in this old-school vein and it's not uncommon to see the close range punch of a twin barrel favorites do clones aside there are plenty of historical reasons to include a double shotgun in the game and they sometimes appear in a realistic military setting although their use has been limited even since before World War 2 still they do crop up from time to time with double barrels appearing in the hands of civilian or partisan fighters and other irregular troops however far more widespread use can be found in the Old West bolstered by legends recounted in literature and cinema it's the perfect place to find such a weapon its rustic charm rubbed shoulders with revolvers and lever-action rifles in a world of cowboys and stagecoach robberies that double barrel is a natural fit for a frontier the shotgun was a hugely important tool at this time far more than just a weapon they were both a means to hunt for food and to defend a homestead the twin-barrel speak of a confident self-reliance and such as the weapons impact it has lodged itself permanently into culture intertwined with an emergent Americana an inelegant weapon for a less civilized time than and one fictional setting is another popular place for such shotguns to shine in fact if there's one thing that guarantees the weapons presence it's the apocalypse when civilization crumbles the rugged shine spurred on by depictions and films like Mad Max if you're gonna tread the wasteland you're gonna want a reliable weapon at your side the fall of order brings a Frontera new and the double-barrel often reprises its role as a tool for survival with its youngest franchise rage we come full circle a post-apocalyptic game of the same lineage as do the double-barreled shotgun is a familiar fit and an almost essential inclusion something about its presence just feels right with dusty sun-bleached terrain tribal disputes and two barrels worth of buckshot the double-barreled shotguns impact transcends manufacturer and model this form factor alone is enough to conjure it's an iconic identity because of this it often serves as a generic inclusion in games and back to the very roots of modern shooters it is an identifiable and enjoyable choice while the fire twice in succession or both barrels simultaneously the weapon is invariably powerful devastating info caught in a close-range blast and if two barrels aren't enough sometimes you'll even come across in quad barrel although these reside outside the realm of practicality two barrels is more than enough for most to wield power and reliable function through simplicity the double-barreled shotgun Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels thank you very much for watching and until next time farewell [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 3,103,811

Rating: 4.9631591 out of 5

Keywords: xboxahoy, Double-barreled Shotgun

Id: EY2lWmZN5TQ

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 24 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Damn, this is like old school Discovery Channel for video games.

[u/mortal_rombat17]

I like watching shit like this simply because I really enjoy footage of video games for some reason.

[u/Camakazi]

His videos are fantastic, also the most buttery voice ive ever heard.

[u/odaal]

The AK-47 is also a good episode!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiZHgwICPlU&list=UUE1jXbVAGJQEORz9nZqb5bQ

[u/Coolguyzack]

Finally a good video with a narrator that doesn't sound like he just got back from Candyland.

I'm so sick of the "HEY SPORT!" chipper-voiced bullshit.

[u/Lemonlaksen]

I think the episode misses a lot on the game balance side of the double barrel shot gun and why it is really so popular. Imo it is because it offers such a possibility for the Devs to make a weapon with balance between raw close combat power and a weakness from slow reload time. Can be hard to come up with anything similar nice game balance since you can always come up with weapons with tons of power without any real downsides.

[u/EdLoad]

For those that don't know, this is XboxAhoy. He's probably most famous for his Call of Duty weapon guides back in the day, but has now considerably branched out, and independently produces some of the most professional-looking videos for YouTube. It's nice to see him posted here, he puts a lot of effort into his videos.

[u/nicethingyoucanthave]

It's worth noting, since he mentioned Quake 3 right after saying "strict hierarchy of weapons" that one thing which made Quake 3 unique was that many of the weapons did the same amount of damage - it's just that they did damage in different ways.

The shotgun: http://quake.wikia.com/wiki/Shotgun_%28Q3%29

Rocket launcher: http://quake.wikia.com/wiki/Rocket_Launcher_%28Q3%29

and even the Railgun: http://quake.wikia.com/wiki/Railgun_%28Q3%29

All do about 100 points of damage in Quake 3. I'm not aware of any other game configured like that. What this means is that Quake isn't about getting the best weapon, it's about understanding how to use each one. If I have a shotgun and my opponent has a railgun, I'll try to close the range, and he'll try to open it.

Movement is how you win in Quake 3 - not just by pointing and shooting.

EDIT: Just wanted to drop a gameplay video here in case anyone wants to see what Quake 3 looks like these days.

[u/[deleted]]

Triple Threat in action