Rocket Launcher.

who can deny the thrill of explosion sudden flash getting way too earth-shaking force an ignition of primal sense the gods gave us fire the blowing stuff up that was our idea the rocket launcher ranged explosive device an archetypal videogame weapon so where did the rocket launcher first enter pop culture how did they saturate a broad swathe of video games Roger and why does some people insist on calling them bazookas every action has an equal and opposite reaction Newton's third law and a major limitation of conventional kinetic weapons recoil one way to mitigate recoil is to allow the propellant to exert a counter force instead of absorbing energy into the weapon venting propellant gases to the rear of the shooter balances the forward momentum of the projectile so-called recoilless rifles operate on this principle open tube weapons that fire large artillery like shells from the shoulder such weapons remain in use today and while similar to rocket launchers they are technically distinct the difference lies in the propulsion of the projectile recoilless rifles impart all their energy of launch whereas rocket launchers incorporate the propellant means within the projectile and accelerating once fired in any case launching is only the means to an end there being the delivery of a payload onto a target when it comes to penetrating armor relying on kinetic energy will only get you so far explosives deliver far more bang per gram even so an uncontained detonation isn't particularly effective instead of dispersing in all directions to effectively tackle our map requires focus one of the ways you can do this is by forming a concave void in an explosive charge upon detonation the shock wave converges concentrating its force much like a lens my focus light a conical hollow proves most effective in focusing on a single point even able to punch holes in steel plate but for maximum effect a final element was needed a conical copper liner in front of the explosive charge the immense force generated by the concentrated shock wave forms a copper Lance a jet of molten metal traveling at hypersonic speed capable of passing an alarming thickness of Steel suddenly armored vehicles were no longer invulnerable since World War two the rocket launcher has been an essential tool in warfare and an instantly recognizable weapon seen in movies television and games however in the early 1980s this wasn't the case until then the only place you'd see them would be in war films comics or in the hands of toy soldiers invariably it was the American m1 bazooka seen in the hands of the heroes so names for its resemblance to a tubular musical instrument the nickname stuck to the point that bazooka became a catch-all term for any rocket launcher old or new a generic term that still remains in use and so it was stories of war that first introduced rocket launchers to popular culture but as a new era of action films came of age their influence would spread car chases and shootouts were a staple of 1970s crime films but as audiences appetite for destruction increased filmmakers look for new ways to raise the stakes something visually distinctive and touching on primal instinct a new form of explosive justice one of the key catalysts for this was Rambo First Blood using police action with military themes and fully embracing the potential of a chaotic hero on a rampage it resonated with the era and why there was no et its success triggered a sequence of explosive hits that would go on to shape a decade films like Terminator Red Dawn Commander Deathwish 3 and Rambo 2 by the mid 80s explosions were a currency of cool the best way to deliver them was by bazooka a flurry of military themes video games followed cinemas lead and about time too as the shooter genre had long been stuck in stay limitation of space invaders Capcom's commando was among the first to ride this trend followed in short order by Ikari warriors operation wolf and contra the shoulder-launched weapon was not always seen in the hands of the player grenades were another popular explosive choice but the second a tube coating sprite appeared on screen you knew of the school was by the end of the decade rocket launchers were firmly entrenched as a part of video games leading from military themed shoot-'em-ups and finding a place in newly flourishing genres the early 90s placed cutesy platformers center stage but earlier arcade action would still prove a major influence on gaming future direction the first-person shooter was emerging and its doom took the lead on what would become an incredibly popular formula with the diet of action movies and shoot-'em-ups the rocket launches reappear and should be no real surprise its power and ability to reduce enemies of jibs meant that it was always going to be popular but beyond that it became a prototype for future games to follow doom clones were judged from their weapons of action and gone on with so many one of these vying for its glory the rocket launcher quickly became an FPS institution however quake elevated it to an art form it remained a core weapon a perfect tool fragging for the potential to kill with a single hit or injure within its blast radius but beyond that explosives became an important part of mobility rocket jumping is a largely self-explanatory term making use of the repulsive power of rocket or grenade explosions prepare oneself across huge gaps or to reach high ledges executed well you can outmaneuver an opponent or snare a vital powerup just one of many facets that makes kill feeling exceptional these foundations laid for competitive shooters remain in place but the fast-paced formula isn't for everyone and besides how do you improve on perfection so in order to stay relevant the FPS genre had to evolve and while PC gaming was thriving the scale of the console market starting to our patient like the action films that inspired them early FPS games placed their weapons in a hierarchy with the weakest at the bottom culminating in power until a climax of wanton destruction this was a formula that would persist until halo trimmed its ready arsenal to a console centric two slots instead of course the rocket launcher was still there it was an essential inclusion with the SPN KR continuing the lineage started in marathon powerful naturally but now the player was faced with a dilemma do you make up the rocket launcher or take a more versatile weapon instead with haloes slower pace and simplified twin-stick controls the console FPS had finally matured and while never as fluid as their PC equivalent the broader platform would help the genre find mainstream success shooters are fantastically action-oriented but it's fair to say that in the mid-90s they were a little lacking in narrative some sorts correct this for instance halfway was a wonderful marriage of experiential storytelling with the usual boasts of shooting action however when it comes to a fusion of stories with combat it's war films that pull it off most convincingly and with a little help from Steven Spielberg FPS games were taken in a more cinematic direction the Medal of Honor series led a new obsession with world war ii taking the rocket launcher on a trip back to its roots the doom clones fictional Borges replaced with the more realistic bazooka Panzerfaust and panzerschreck by the time Call of Duty first emerged halos rule of two had become law so now the most powerful options were only dispensed at the time of requirement a panic rush as a tank emerges to find the explosive resolution these tank climaxes could be thrilling but the scripted moments lacked a certain freedom in any case once the world war well ran dry games sought another source with some banking on Vietnam as the next big thing of course it wasn't it was modern warfare instead the contemporary setting brought with it a host of cool gadgets both high-tech and I explosive the RPG seven shots of prominence and the Rambo films was once again relevant along with the later Western equivalents such as the 84 and small there's also the more intelligent munitions with lock-on capability guided anti-air options such as the fim-92 stinger and the terrifying hawk attack mode of the javelin the only trouble is the realistic setting Rob's most of the fun sure blowing stuff up is cool but an attempt to replicate the cumbersome nature of most launchers they're sluggish painfully so and worst of all boring it's worse in multiplayer too where balance must be preserved at all costs their explosive damage is reined in and you're lucky if you get more than one or two shots cinematic realism isn't without its downsides then but while modern military games were consistently topping the chance not many games veered into riskier territory however times change haled and the classic FPS has had a resurgence of late a rejection of the baggage tacked onto modern games in favor of the pure lack of restraint the made original FPS games so much fun faster paced more room to maneuver and the return to the rapid firing rocket launcher rampages that first defined the genre beyond the superficial improvements to graphics and sounds there have been some lessons learned modern controls better pacing and game flow amenities which we forgive for classics for but expect of any modern game the recent critical successes of the rebooted Wolfenstein and doom franchises might herald a new direction one less concerned with dramatic demonstration and one follow focused on fun but no matter where the first-person formula treads the rocket launcher always seems to be present it's woven into its DNA from its founding throughout its life the settings might change the virtual weapon on squeeze might look different there somehow it always comes back to explosions a weapon that truly belongs to video games its tubular form transcends the status of any specific launch art far removed from its armour-piercing origin and now a champion of forensic FBS may have home the rocket launcher classic frag ludicrous gibs monster kill thank you for watching and until next time farewell

Channel: Ahoy

Views: 2,617,190

Keywords: xboxahoy, rocket launcher, rocket, rpg, bazooka, explosion, video games, gaming, games, frag, gibs, Doom, Quake, Commando, Call of Duty, FPS

Id: 1HOyLhYUfnA

Length: 13min 39sec (819 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 24 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/spungypirate]

I am never bothered by the time between his uploads, likely because of his excellent presentation, interesting history, and wonderful voice. I really hope he continues to make these videos, it is always enjoyable to learn more about where some of these 'standards' in video game arsenals came from and how they changed over time. I am really curious about how he goes about his research too...

[u/drfoqui]

As much as this is another fantastic video, I'd love to see Ahoy do something different than Iconic Arms next. It looks like his next project is the P90 which is cool but I'd love to see another "A Brief History of..." video. Maybe something by genre or types of games like a brief history of racing games, RTS games, stealth games, soccer games, 3D platformers, etc.

[u/Magikarp_13]

Oh wow, this guy's still going? Awesome, I remember spending ages watching his Black Ops weapon guides.

[u/AltimaNZ]

That was cool.

Slightly sad there was no clips from Red Faction, which boasts the Fusion Rocket Launcher, which is one of the most satisfying rocket launchers I've used in gaming. Despite killing myself half the time from majorly underestimating its explosion range :P

[u/ONeilcool]

Good video, but I can't help but think about the lack of the Solider from TF2 and Pharah from Overwatch.

[u/kidkolumbo]

The last one he released didn't have the magic they usually have, but I've been excited for this release and I'm ready to learn about the gun my friends told me growing up didn't exist in real life, at least from a personal launched perspective.

Edit: This is a good video.

[u/vessel_for_the_soul]

Very well presented on the information part. It all peaked when you learn about armor piercing innovation. The rest was a video game montage.

[u/camycamera]

Awesome, interesting video. I think that he also did a far better job actually relating it to video games this time as well, because the last video or so went way more into the history of the weapon itself, rather than the history of the weapon in games, which was a minor niggle I sorta had with his videos in the past.

Not that I had a problem with learning about the history of the weapon itself, it is interesting, but it felt kinda redundant and reaching to try and relate it to video games, and just having games be footage in the background.