History Main / LandMineGoesClick

Many video games feature land mines with ''serious'' design problems, so it's quick and easy for a single main character to avoid or disarm them, unlike in real life. Such land mines might even feature flashing lights and beep a few seconds before they go off, which rather defeats the purpose.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minesweeper}}''. What more need be said?

* Averted in the [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Dresden Files]] novel ''Blood Rites''. Harry, Murphy and Kincaid are breaking into the lair of a scourge of Black Court vampires, and when they discover a landmine blocking their way, Harry suggests that they disarm it with the classic "nice big rock to hold the button down" trick. Kincaid, who unlike Harry is a [[ProfessionalKiller professional weapons expert,]] comments that [[SarcasmMode that's an excellent idea,]] [[DeadpanSnarker assuming your enemies are using equipment from World War II.]]

** You can plant the other types of grenades as well. [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound They beep when they're about to detonate.]] [[OhCrap To the person on the receiving end, this means that they're]] [[InstantDeathRadius in an instant death radius and are almost certainly going to die.]]

Very occasionally, you'll get both. It'll give an audible warning that it's been triggered, but that's no help to the victim -- [[FiveSecondForeshadowing all he has time for]] is an OhCrap reaction before he's paté.

** You can plant the other types of grenades as well. [[MostAnnoyingSound They beep when they're about to detonate.]] [[OhCrap To the person on the receiving end, this means that they're]] [[InstantDeathRadius in an instant death radius and are almost certainly going to die.]]

* ''Combat Zone: True Tales of GIs in Iraq'', a ''Creator/MarvelComics'' book about a squad of 82nd Airborne soldiers in the Iraq invasion of 2003, subverts the trope for drama. One of the soldiers starts jumping up and down on what he thinks is a hub cap of some kind. His sergeant promptly informs him its an anti-tank mine and that the only reason he didn't blow up is that their designed to only go off when a vehicle passes over one.

* Played straight in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' and ''3''. You can punch surfaces with your grenades to set traps. This was a {{gamebreaker}} at the beginning of 2's multiplayer, because everyone spawned with one smoke grenade. This smoke grenade released smoke as a byproduct of what was apparently an omnidirectional [[KnightsOfTheOldRepublic force]] [[StarWars wave.]] This not only obscured the screen, but it also threw players up into the air, dropped them onto their backs, and then stunned them for several seconds before they could get back up and do anything. It also made people drop the meatflag, meatshields, and boomshields. Fortunately, this was nerfed so that all that happened was that you'd be stunned for a moment, drop the meatflag or a meatshield, or lose your boomshield if you weren't covering behind it.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Death of Innocents: the Horror of Landmines'' was a "landmine awareness" and "humanitarian comic book" published by Creator/DCComics in 1996. The purpose for publishing this particular Batman comic book was to teach the people of the United States regarding the dangers and consequences of landmines worldwide, left active in countries that had been under war.

** Wally deals with the issue of a landmine while in Afghanistan, and later appears to deal with it again in Iraq until it is revealed to [[AllJustADream actually be a videogame]]. The videogame incident generated some [[http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2007/02/26/funky-winkerbean-depiction-of-ied-blowing-up-american-soldier-generates-angry-response/ controversy]] that later warranted an apology from the creator.
** A second example in the comic has Wally step on a Bouncing Betty while trying to take a picture. While he initially yells at Khan to leave without him, Khan stays behind to try to disable the bomb, but finds he can't because the fuse is on the bottom. He then tries another method, [[spoiler:using a plank as a baseball bat to WHACK AWAY THE BOMB.]] It's a significant event for the two considering their original meeting years prior had Khan trying to kill Wally.

* ''Land Of Mine'' is about a detail of German [=POW=]s in Denmark after WWII assigned to disarm mines along the coast. Several men (actually [[WouldHurtAChild teenage boys]]) are killed accidentally in the process. [[spoiler: Out of the fourteen, only four survive.]] While the film is loosely BasedOnATrueStory, it should be noted using prisoners to clear mine fields, no matter how carefully trained they are, is actually banned by the Geneva Convention as a war crime.

* ''Film/TropicThunder'' uses this trope in an unexpected and hilarious way. [[spoiler: The director, wanting to get his actors in the "real deep shit" to optimize their performance, takes them into the dense jungles of southeast Asia planning to leave them there while filming with hidden cameras. After giving a rousing speech about making the greatest war movie ever, he starts to walk off to prepare to film, steps on a landmine with an audible 'click', looks down, and explodes into many pieces. Despite this, [[AllPartOfTheShow Tugg Speedman still thought it was an act.]]]]

* In ''Film/BadBoysII'', the final showdown against the BigBad and TheDragon happen on a minefield outside Guantanamo Bay, but no one actually ''steps'' on a mine. [[spoiler: Syd throws her empty gun a mine right in front of the Dragon, causing it leap into the air and kill him. Marcus shoots the Big Bad in the head, and his corpse then lands on a mine causing his head to explode spectacularly.]]

* Played straight on ''Series/{{JAG}}'' in episode "In Country", and then averted in the very next episode. While in Afghanistan, Harm and Mac end up wrecking their Humvee amidst a minefield, and Harm ends up stepping on the Hollywood click-and-wait variety of mine. Mac takes cover on the other side of the Humvee while Harm prepares to drop a weight on the mine and leap away, barely escaping in the process (along with landing on Mac in quite the ShipTease arrangement).

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Trapper -- guided by shouted directions from map-reading Hawkeye, Radar and Henry -- has to inch his way through a minefield to rescue a child who has wandered innocently into it. Their flawed guidance unfortunately leaves him stranded holding the child with (untripped) mines six inches from him on all sides, requiring a helicopter to pick them up and lift them directly out of the field (even though in real life, this would be inadvisable, as the down pressure from the helicopter may very well set off mines. The best way to get out of a minefield is the hard, slow way).

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. Bodie dials the first number of his phone and suddenly realises it's booby trapped. Fortunately he's got his radio to call Doyle for help, who disarms it with their [[CasualDangerDialog usual exchange of banter]] (though somewhat more terse).

* ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' has a whole ''minefield''. Unusually for this trope, they actually notice the minefield a while before using it to blow up a phorusrachid.

* Used twice on ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', when a time-shift plunked a two characters who were scanning for temporal disruptions in a present day meadow into a 1940s-era security minefield. Like the ''Macgyver'' example above, it's rescuing a girl from the first mine that lands Fargo on top of the second one.

* ''Series/RizzoliAndIsles'': In "Bomb Voyage", Rizzoli, Isles and Korsak find themselves standing the middle of a field of improvised mines. While the bomb squad can extract Rizzoli and Isles relatively quickly, Korsak has trodden on the edge of a mine. Now he cannot move in case the mine shifts and goes off.

* The mines in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' "beep", instead of "click", giving the player just enough time to either try and disarm them, or get the heck off. Disarming mines does make them go "click" though.
** The longest mission in the game ("The Wasteland Suvival Guide") has a segment where you go to an entire ''town'' filled with landmines and [[EveryCarIsAPinto explosive cars]], and a man is shooting at you with a sniper rifle in an attempt to get you to kill yourself spectacularly. The entire area seems to be a meta-reference to Hideo Kojima games, coincidentally.
** ''Fallout 3'' offers four types of mines: basic frag mines, stronger plasma mines and anti-electronic pulse mines, The home-built bottlecap mines are technically [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_explosive_device IEDs]] but they are massively powerful. As an amusing example of VideogameCrueltyPotential, you can arm a mine and put it into your opponent's inventory for a quick and clean kill (clean, as in mines have more concentrated explosions than grenades so the chance of collateral damage is smaller; as for the target, it's very messy).

** Both ''3'' and ''New Vegas'' play with this trope by having many of the standard frag mines placed in ways that hides the glowing light, such as stuffing them under traffic cones or placing them lit-side-down. There are also a few cases of mines being used as SchmuckBait, by placing one mine very prominently in the open with a second mine near enough to it that anyone trying to disarm the first mine will trigger the second one.

** Mines also beep before exploding in ''[[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Human Revolution]]''; however, the beep is so short, its main purpose is to let you know you're about to die via mine. They still constantly flash a color appropriate the the type of mine and beep faintly, though, and it's possible to get up close enough to disarm them and pick them up by moving '''''very''''' slowly (you have to crouch ''and'' switch to walking instead of running). Also you can set off your own mines (which are made by sticking a grenade into a mine template), which are activated a couple seconds after being set.

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the hopper mines, landmines with stake-like feet that stab the ground to keep the mine in place. Hoppers beep and flash if a hostile gets near them; when triggered, they disengage the stakes, [[MeaningfulName hop in the air]] with a quick "beep beep" and explode when hitting any solid surface. their main counter is the Gravity Gun: you can either rip the Hopper out of the floor or catch it as it hops, then either re-plant it on the ground (whereupon it'll be neutral to Gordon and Resistance members, and consider the Combine and non-Vortigaunt aliens as hostile) or just launch it like an {{explosive barrel|s}} at something you want destroyed.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' uses comic-book style onomatopoeia as part of its visual style, so the land mines not only click when you step on them, but the ''word'' "click" appears. The good news: They don't actually explode until you move off them, so if you heal yourself or have another unit disarm it first you could easily survive.

** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'', the Chinese can equip every structure with hidden (for enemies) land mines and neutron mines (in ''Zero Hour''), which kill infantry, even in vehicles, which you then can proceed to capture. They can also airdrop mine fields. Likewise, GLA demo traps are hidden barrels with proximity sensors and an explosive payload powerful enough to take out a tank, that stay cloaked until they're interacted with; for an extra mean kick in multiplayer, the player can set it to manual mode and detonate it that way. They take a second to bleep a very unpleasant sound and then proceed to explode, taking out anything that isn't very fast and just cruising past it like a Technical or Combat Cycle. {{Worker Unit}}s can disable mines, and in ''Zero Hour'', Demo Traps as well; the latter can also be revealed like any cloaked unit and shot until it detonates, and they even yield experience to the unit that deals the last shot.
** Nod in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'' also has a mine drop but it's less useful than in Generals as most enemy that detects them will automatically shoot them dead, though it is a good tactic to envelope an onslaughting armour columns with it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' - Trip mines beep loudly and glow, they are not hard to find at all. However, their explosive radius and damage is quite impressive, so if you hide them well or place them at opportune moments, they can be very deadly. It's also possible to actually walk over the mines without setting them off. You just have to crouch while walking by them. [[LuckBasedMission It doesn't work all the time though.]]
** What results in the most mine kills is that the maps which feature vehicles and landmines often have rather rough terrain, which means that it's quite possible to die because you never got a chance to correct your course.

* The Glukkons of ''VideoGame/OddWorld'' [[NoOSHACompliance liberally seed their factories and industrial complexes with mines]] [[StupidEvil for no very good reason]]. As well as the surrounding countryside. And their transportation hubs. Indeed, [[FridgeLogic it often seems]] like Abe would be better off finding out who is manufacturing them and shutting them down first, because whoever it is is [[IncrediblyLamePun making an absolute killing]]. The common type gives off a healthy red glow and beeps when it explodes. Another type blinks red and green in sequence, requiring you to tap it when it is green to deactivate it.

** In some games you can attack a landmine and have it go flying. Some games even have achievements for offing an opponent like this. It's also practical, since in most games you're given limited ammo, but you can prod or whack a mine with baseball bats or your finger, which are generally set to Unlimited.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' series, mines are {{Magitek}} artificial life forms. Trap mines, which can be disarmed, will go click and have a short pause between triggering and detonation. Spore mines, on the other hand, will go off as soon as a target is close enough. There's also a scene in the fourth game in which a servile has stepped on a spore mine not targeted at serviles and irritated it enough that it's ready to go off anyway. The player can either help the poor guy and disable the mine, or let him panic and trigger it.

* ''Videogame/SecretAgent'' has flashing, obvious landmines all over most of the levels. These kill you instantly as opposed to just knocking down your health and, infuriatingly, [[HitboxDissonance their hitboxes are a little bigger than their sprites]], meaning that it's very easy to blow yourself up on them. If they're on the stairs, then it's impossible to clear them without a very skillful exploitation of JumpPhysics.

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'': besides the fact that the keypad on the top has illuminated buttons, the land mines actually have a quite smart design... it's their users who are stupid beyond belief. The mines are "smart mines" that can distinguish between friend and foe, and the default "foe" setting is "anything taller than a Trandoshan"[[note]]save for one very specific set of mines that's programmed to explode for ''anything''[[/note]]. Now, a player character on his knees isn't taller than a Trandoshan, so you can just hold the crouch button and disarm them at your leisure.

* In the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series, as with ''Franchise/MetalGearSolid'', landmines are silent and can only be seen through the thermal goggles. Unlike ''MGS'', you can't disarm them. By contrast, wall mines have obvious flashing lights and can be disarmed provided you press the action button when the light is green, otherwise it will blow up in your face.

* Gags involving mine fields were very common on ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''. Usually it involved one character setting up the mines for another character but ending up in the middle of the field and having to slowly make his way back to safety. Since the mines were easily detectable under conspicuous mounds of dirt, the character manages to escape without a scratch... until he unwittingly steps on that one mine he hid too well.

A recent variation is a 'claymore' or directional mine. Rather than just blow up and hope someone's over it, these consist of a mounting plate, the explosive charge, and the soon-to-be shrapnel. The charge is set up so that the explosion fans shrapnel out in an arc in front of the mine, similar to a shotgun blast, rather than a general disorganized kaboom. [[CaptainObvious It is important that the right side is facing the enemy]], thus American versions have a large 'FRONT - TOWARD ENEMY' label embossed on them. These are usually set off by either a tripwire or a wired remote-trigger (which really does go 'click') in the hands of someone a safe distance away from the mine - so chances are, surviving the blast still leaves you in a gunfight with whoever just decided to try and blow you up...

* ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' uses this as a trap in several characters' move-set, to help deny a ground approach, used by Franchise/SlyCooper (Explosive Hat Technique), [[VideoGame/TwistedMetal Sweet Tooth]] and [[Franchise/DeadSpace Isaac Clarke]].

* Averted in ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'', land mines instantly kill you if you step beyond the signs. In one of ''Allied Assault'''s expansion packs, you have to probe your way through a minefield with a mine detector.

* ''WebAnimation/ASDFMovie 5'' first shows off ... Mine Turtle! He's so cute and adorable as he says 'hello'. And has a button on his shell ...

* ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon FEAR]]'' has mines with obvious flashing lights on them, [[ArtificialStupidity this does not stop the enemy stepping on them]]. The do beep, but only while jumping two foot in the air and exploding.

** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'', the Chinese can equip every structure with (for enemies) hidden land mines and (in ZH) neutron mines, which kill infantry, even in vehicles, which you then can proceed to capture. They can also airdrop mine fields. Likewise, GLA demotraps are hidden barrels with TNT and stealth. They take a second to bleep a mean sound and then proceed to explode, taking your unfortunate tanks with them.

* In ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'', one of the team accidentally steps on a mine and cannot move (with a LampshadeHanging on how few mines don't immediately go off). The rest of the team, especially his good friend Spike, does everything they could to get him out. [[spoiler: [[BlackDudeDiesFirst When the trapped character realizes Spike is more likely to blow himself up also than succeed in disarming the device,]] [[HeroicSacrifice he deliberately lifts his foot to set the thing off rather that let his friend die with him]].]]

'' (Massive explosion that kills most of the sewer-dwelling cannibals that were chasing them)''\\

In reality, most personnel mines will go off whether or not you release the button. Which makes sense, if you consider that a pressure-release trigger would be more complicated and more prone to failure. Also, the only benefit from a mine following this trope is that a group of soldiers are delayed trying to help their friend. If the landmine simply blows the poor guy's leg off, TheSquad still has to tend to him, only now the explosion has tipped off any nearby defenders to intruders. That said, if the mine is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouncing_Betty Bouncing Betty]], the most effective thing to do is dive and duck immediately to receive minimum damage from the shrapnel, as it mainly spreads horizontally.

A recent variation is a 'claymore' or directional mine. Rather than just blow up and hope someone's over it, these consist of a mounting plate, the explosive charge, and the soon-to-be shrapnel. The charge is set up so that the explosion fans shrapnel out in an arc in front of the mine, similar to a shotgun blast, rather than a general disorganized kaboom. [[CaptainObvious It is important that the right side is facing the enemy]], thus American versions have a large 'FRONT - TOWARD ENEMY' label printed on them. These are usually set off by wired remote-trigger (which really does go 'click') in the hands of someone a safe distance away from the mine - so chances are, surviving the blast still leaves you in a gunfight with whoever just decided to try and blow you up...

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the hopper mines, landmines that beep and flash if a target gets near them, followed by a distinctive sound if the player gets close enough to trigger it. Once it jumps into the air, it makes a traditional clicking noise as its grappling 'legs' disengage. The player then has a whole second to jump out of the way as the mine is launched to eye level (similar to a Bouncing Betty) or grab it in midair.
** You're supposed to use the gravity gun to pull it out of the ground, then toss it into a convenient enemy or somewhere where it won't hurt you when it explodes.
** Or re-set it on the ground so that it will blow up on your enemies...

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the hopper mines, landmines that beep and flash if a target gets near them, followed by a distinctive sound if the player gets close enough to trigger it. Once it jumps into the air, it makes a traditional clicking noise as its grappling 'legs' disengage. The player then has a whole second to jump out of the way as the mine is launched to eye level (similar to a Bouncing Betty) or grab it in midair.

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' had laser-controlled claymores. Once placed, the mine will release a warning whine for a few seconds then emit a faint blue laser (it's visible to the naked eye but only one type of NPC actually takes notice). If you break the laser, the mine will instantly explode without warning; even if you have full health and armor, the mine WILL kill you. They cannot be disarmed, only prematurely detonated via gunfire or explosions; on the other hand, they stick to the wall hard enough to hold your weight so you can stand on top of the mine. Some singleplayer maps (hint: exterior of the infamous ordnance warehouse level, A.K.A. mine maze) also sported conventional landmines which were invisible but explosives could be used for impromptu minesweeping.

* ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}'' offers (advanced) rules covering a variety of mines with differing triggers and effects; whether or not entering a hex that contains mines will set them off can depend on unit type, movement mode used, and of course the ever-popular whim of the dice. The example playing the trope the straightest are probably "vibrabombs", which can ''only'' be set off by [[HumongousMecha [=BattleMechs=]]] because their triggers are sensitive to the specific vibrations caused by their steps, and can even be set to ignore 'Mechs lighter than a desired target weight.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has mines that beep and flash if a target so much as gets near them, followed by a distinctive sound if the player gets close enough to trigger it. The player then has a whole second to jump out of the way as the mine is launched to eye level (similar to a Bouncing Betty) or grab it in midair.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "Genesis of the Daleks", the Doctor steps on a partially-buried mine in the rubble of Skaro, and his companion Harry has to wedge rocks under the mine so that he can lift his foot off it without it going off.