| 1 | [[quoteright:261:[[Manga/GunslingerGirl https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sentry_guns_2816.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ->''"How am I gonna stop some big mean mother-hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind? The answer: use a gun. [...] Like this heavy-caliber tripod-mounted little old number designed by me. Built by me. And you best hope -- not pointed at you."'' |
| 4 | -->-- '''TheEngineer''', ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Put simply, the Sentry Gun is a fixed gun with sensors that aims and shoots by itself -- you don't need to be standing next to it for it to do its work. Think of it as an AttackDrone without the propulsion system. You'd often find sentry guns in near-to-distant future settings, where automated combat is commonplace. With regards to behavior, one key difference from the AttackDrone is that a Sentry Gun usually [[RobotSoldier completely autonomous]]. In more realistic works, this generally implies a highly competent defense that you can just leave it on its own to do its work. In less realistic works, the odds are [[FriendOrFoe its friend-or-foe identification]] won't be reliable; thanks to [[AIIsACrapshoot ridiculously poor artificial intelligence]], the sentry guns are likely to shoot friendlies (and each other) by accident as much as they are likely to shoot their enemies. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | In video games, they're typically [[WeakTurretGun weak or fragile]] to emphasize the need of human intervention in area security, but they do make [[StormTheCastle base raiding]] all the more difficult for the attacking team. As such, they aren't usually capable of holding a ZergRush off by their lonesome, let alone a single powerful entity. It may have [[BottomlessMagazines infinite ammo]] in order to give it some persistence in battle. Sentry guns that fire other ammo, such as [[EnergyWeapon lasers]], [[{{Energy Ball}} energy balls]], [[MacrossMissileMassacre missiles]], or [[AbnormalAmmo weird things like fruit]] and so on also exist, especially in {{Shoot Em Up}}s. In Action games and especially platformers, despite not being designed to do so, Sentry guns are capable of [[CollisionDamage doing damage through direct contact]], making them somewhat annoying as they tend to pop up in the players way in time to collide with them. TheTurretMaster specializes in deploying these. Occasionally, they're [[RemovableTurretGun removable]]. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Almost inevitably, a Sentry Gun will resemble a fixed [[MoreDakka machine gun]], though they can technically be of nearly any shape. Even so, they tend to take several distinct appearances. Here are the most common forms of them: |
| 11 | |
| 12 | * '''Gun(s) mounted on legs:''' A gun which is put on metallic legs, usually a tripod or tetrapod. This type of Sentry Gun is commonly semi-portable and can be unmounted more easily than the rest of the subtypes. |
| 13 | * '''A surface-mounted gun:''' These are the guns that look like normal guns, but are firmly mounted on place and can be found on floors, ceilings and walls. Sometimes they can also hide inside the surface they are on. |
| 14 | * '''Hemisphere with barrel(s):''' This type of turret looks like a metallic hemisphere (sometimes more of a sphere is visible, sometimes less), usually with a groove where the gun barrel is located. These tend to shoot more futuristic stuff like [[EnergyBall Energy Balls]], [[EnergyWeapon laser beams]], and more. |
| 15 | * '''Core that fires stuff:''' This is a very simple form and can look as simple as a square with a center which fires projectiles. These normally fire slow projectiles or laser beams. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | All TowerDefense games are built around this trope -- you place multiple guns of different types down to prevent the enemies from reaching you. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Real life examples exist. While the military is reluctant to give trigger-pull authority to a computer, there are many forms of remote-operated gun platforms in development and in service today, controlled by a human operator at a distance. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 26 | * ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'': In the HotSpringsEpisode, rather than merely bathing with guns, Mao and Sousuke decide it would be better to plant landmines and install Sentry Guns in every square foot of the bathhouse, |
| 27 | * ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. The Agency deploys these to defend the compound (though they are never used) and terrorists holding a nuclear power plant make use of one to fend off the Agency assault. |
| 28 | [[/folder]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 31 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''. Edna Mode is taking Elastigirl to her secret design chamber. |
| 32 | -->'''Edna:''' ''(into voice-activated door control)'' Edna Mode.\ |
| 33 | ''(multi-barreled gun immediately drops out of the ceiling to cover a startled Elastigirl)''\ |
| 34 | '''Edna:''' ...and guest. |
| 35 | [[/folder]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 38 | * The Colonial Marines use some sentry guns to hold off a charge of alien drones in the director's cut of ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. The guns are arranged in two sets of two along a corridor. They watch in horror as the first two guns burn up all their ammo before they run out of targets...then one of the second pair...then... |
| 39 | --> '''Hudson''': It ain't stoppin' 'em, man... [[OhCrap it ain't stoppin' 'em...]] Come on baby, come on!\ |
| 40 | '''Hicks''': D gun's dry...C gun's down to twenty...ten... ''[grabs his pulse rifle in preparation for a last stand]''\ |
| 41 | '''Ripley''': No, look. They're retreating. ''[C gun's remote display is showing ten rounds remaining, less than a second's worth of shooting]''\ |
| 42 | '''Hicks''': Next time they [[PointDefenseless walk right up and knock]]...\ |
| 43 | '''Ripley''': Well, ''they'' don't know that. |
| 44 | * ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''. The laser cannons protecting the Starfighter base from the Kodan meteor gun attack. They work pretty well, at least until a spy disables them... |
| 45 | * ''Film/UnderSiege''. A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS Phalanx CIWS (Close In Weapon System)]] aboard the battleship U.S.S. Missouri shoots down a jet fighter. |
| 46 | * ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''. The "crater guns" that Blofeld ordered to be used against Tiger Tanaka's ninja army. They're quite effective in holding them off until Bond and Tanaka succeed in opening the entrance to the volcano base. |
| 47 | * ''Film/StarWarsTheEmpireStrikesBack''. Han activates a small sentry gun, which drops out from the lower hull of the Millenium Falcon, against the snowtroopers trying to stop them escaping Hoth. |
| 48 | * The Australian ExploitationFilm ''Film/TurkeyShoot'' features several close-ups of twin CCTV-controlled [=MG3=] machine guns swiveling in a menacing fashion over the inmates of the re-education camp. When the break-out finally happens [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy they don't hit a damn thing]]. |
| 49 | * ''Film/JamesBond'' |
| 50 | ** In ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', Blofeld's VolcanoLair is guarded by "crater guns" which he brags can annihilate a small army, let alone Tiger Tanaka's elite ninja force. Fortunately Bond is able to open the vast sliding door covering the crater mouth, enabling the ninjas to get out of the line of fire and assault the ElaborateUndergroundBase inside. |
| 51 | ** In ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', Dr. Kananga has ScaryScarecrows guarding his hidden opium field to frighten away the voodoo-believing locals, but the heads are shown to contain surveillance camera 'eyes' and a silenced gun in the mouth. |
| 52 | * ''Film/JudgeDredd'': In the Aspen Penal Colony, Rico's cell has several automatic guns guarding him. They can be activated or deactivated by the Warden's vocal commands. Rico takes advantage of this to escape by shooting the Warden in the throat with a smuggled pistol, so the guns no longer recognize his voice pattern and shoot him instead. |
| 53 | * ''Film/{{Congo}}''. Double-barreled sensor-guided machine pistols mounted on tripods are used against the {{Killer Gorilla}}s when they attack the expedition's camp. |
| 54 | * ''Film/{{Cyberjack}}'': The office building taken over by the terrorists is decked out with a laser turret defense system. Two cops investigating the scene discover this the hard way. |
| 55 | * In ''Film/Saw3D'', one of these planted by Hoffman as a BoobyTrap takes out Gibson and two uniformed cops when they search around the office at the auto junkyard. |
| 56 | * ''Film/WonderWoman1984''. The soldiers guarding a US military base have an OhCrap when the Phalanx CIWS guns activate and ''empty their magazines'' into the air at an unseen target. Down swoops Wonder Woman [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe clothed in the golden armor of Asteria]] which makes her ImmuneToBullets. |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 60 | * ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr''. The protagonist turns up at a military base and presents his ID. Several cameras swing towards him "and other things that weren't cameras." Needless to say he stands very still until his ID is verified. |
| 61 | * In ''[[Literature/NightWatchSeries Twilight Watch]]'', Anton is attacked by a Chinese-made mounted sentry gun. Since the sentry gun has no soul or is not attacking with ill intent, Anton is unable to detect or counter the gun with magical means, almost resulting in his death. |
| 62 | ** This novel, more than any other, shows that human technology has reached to a point where it's a serious threat to the [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Others]], especially if it's magically-enhanced. The book's BigBad's plan of dealing with the most powerful Other since the Middle Ages is not some complicated spell or magical artifact. A suitcase nuke will do. |
| 63 | * ''The Indestructible Man'', a Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel by Simon Messingham. Jaime is held in an underwater prison; to get past the sentry guns he knocks out a visiting doctor and cuts out the identity chip implanted in his hand. Unfortunately the doctor wakes up and staggers after him, dying rather messily as a result. |
| 64 | * The Sentry Guns mentioned above on its film version also appear on the book version of ''Literature/{{Congo}}'' (and are actually a bit cooler, including silencers and the capacity of being aimed with [[TechnologyMarchesOn rifle-sized]] laser designators). Unfortunately for the expedition, [[MoreDakka their impressive firing rate]] eats through their available ammunition stores at an equally impressive rate, turning them into something TooAwesomeToUse for the camp's defense until the KillerGorilla pack decides to get ''deadly'' serious. |
| 65 | * ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. In ''Orbiting Omega'', Mack Bolan is fired upon while infiltrating a mountain base, only to find the base is entirely automated, including rifles with drum magazines triggered by sensors. However he realises the rifles are oriented to fire over the head of anyone triggering them, as the man who set this up believes in ThouShaltNotKill. |
| 66 | * In [[Literature/ThePolity Neal Asher]]'s ''The Owner'' trilogy, readerguns are gun emplacements placed on sentry posts or attack aircraft. They have a computer system that scans people's [=ID=] implants against a database of enemy listings, if there's a match - the readergun fires a 3 round burst of low-velocity bullets with inhuman precision to splatter the head of whoever's being targeted. Readerguns can also be programmed to target anyone who doesn't have the appropriate [=ID=]. |
| 67 | * ''Literature/RedPlanet''. The rebel colonists are trapped in a building, but when a couple of them are gunned down trying to surrender, the others realise that no-one is actually watching the door except some automatic {{Ray Gun}}s triggered by photosensor, so they're able to escape. |
| 68 | * In the climatic scene of ''Literature/TheAndromedaStrain'', to deactivate the nuclear SelfDestructMechanism, Hall has to climb the central core which is covered by TranquillizerDart guns ([[SlowLaser Slow Lasers]] in the movie) meant to stop escaped lab animals. InstantSedation is averted, but only because he's a lot bigger than a lab rat and it takes time to knock him down. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 72 | * In the pilot of ''Series/AlteredCarbon'', Takeshi Kovacs is detained by a gang of hitmen just as he's about to check in at The Raven, a hotel run by an ArtificialIntelligence. The hotel has no intention of losing the first guest it's had in years, so deploys GatlingGood from the ceiling and machine-guns them to death. |
| 73 | * ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': In "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak", the VillainOfTheWeek has several machine guns guided by motion-sensors set up in his lair, but Oliver Queen can move faster than they can track him so he's able to destroy each in turn. |
| 74 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978''. The guns that protected battlestars from enemy attack. |
| 75 | * ''Series/Cleopatra2525'' had some {{BFG}}s that came out from the walls to defend the underground city if/when Baileys came in. But they hadn't been used in so long that nobody knew about them until they automatically deployed. |
| 76 | * ''{{Series/Eureka}}:'' In the episode ''H.O.U.S.E. Rules'' we learn that S.A.R.A.H. has been outfitted with ion cannon sentry guns. |
| 77 | * One episode of ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' had a house defended by these. |
| 78 | * ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "Civil Defense", the replicator in the Command Center created a spherical weapon that fired phaser bolts at every non-Cardassian in the room. |
| 79 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'' has [=EarthForce=] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Interceptors]]. Once you activate them, enemy fighters ''will'' be swatted out of the sky, and [[ShootTheBullet enemy fire]] ''[[ShootTheBullet will]]'' [[ShootTheBullet be shot down]] (unless you have the Minbari advanced weapons). They can still be overwhelmed by [[MoreDakka enough volume of fire to overheat them]], though. |
| 80 | [[/folder]] |
| 81 | |
| 82 | [[folder:Other Sites]] |
| 83 | * ''Website/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1888 SCP-1888 ("Terraforming Temple").]] Facility 1888 (which contains SCP-1888) is surrounded by a barbed wire electric fence with automated sentry guns every twelve meters. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Pinball]] |
| 87 | * In ''VideoGame/AliensZenStudios'', a sentry gun is available at your service to deal with swarms of Aliens that creep towards the flippers en masse in some of the main missions. It may not have BottomlessMagazines, but spelling VASQUEZ makes it reload faster. |
| 88 | * In ''Pinball/{{Congo}},'' the upper-left flipper serves as a Perimeter Defense Gun, which shoots lasers (and pinballs) at an attacking gorilla. |
| 89 | [[/folder]] |
| 90 | |
| 91 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 92 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' had several of these. |
| 93 | ** ''The Neo-Anarchists' Guide to Real Life'' supplement had gun ports, which were weapons mounted in walls that hosed down with a room when activated. |
| 94 | ** Ares Arms Sentry weapons had a modular design which allowed the addition of optional sensor packages and various weapons (e.g. machine guns and miniguns). |
| 95 | ** ''Seattle Sourcebook'' (1990). The Renraku Arcology is protected by computer controlled sentry guns that can destroy incoming missiles. |
| 96 | * Early ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' products had a couple. |
| 97 | ** The Turner Snapdown Blaster system had an autofire blaster pop out of the ceiling and attack intruders. |
| 98 | ** ''The Blood and Dr. [=McQuark=]''. Several automatic weapon systems were used in Dr. [=McQuark=]'s base. |
| 99 | * ''TabletopGame/CarWars''. Autoduel Quarterly Volume 1 #4 adventure "Maniac". The Elm Grove Mall had Anti Vehicular Security Stations that fired at any vehicles moving at high speed. |
| 100 | * ''Mutant Future'' has the Robo-Turret, which defended government installations before the end of civilization. It combined some kind of firearm with either a grenade launcher or a missile launcher. |
| 101 | * R. Talsorian Games' ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'' supplement ''Night City''. Automatic APEX machine guns swept the open-air lobby of the CalBank Building at night. |
| 102 | ** Said turrets, featured in a ''Chromebook'' supplement, are widely used as point-defense weapons for places as rooftops of MegaCorp buildings. |
| 103 | * Several races in Warhammer 40,000 have these. |
| 104 | ** The Space Marines and Imperial Guard field "sentry guns," sometimes called Tarantulas, equipped with either heavy bolters or lascannons. |
| 105 | ** Due to highly active machine spirits, Space Marine tanks have been known to autonomously go on fighting even when their crews were incapacitated. |
| 106 | ** The Tau have drone sentry turrets, which can be armed with almost any of their weapons or with [[LaserSight marker lights]]. Their standard AttackDrone can double as this, when not detached from vehicles. |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 110 | * ''VideoGame/AceCombat'': |
| 111 | ** Allied radio chatter in ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' mentions the real-life Phalanx model. [[spoiler:It malfunctions and fires on nearby docks.]] |
| 112 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' features these. While AA guns and SAM sites on the ground are presumably manned, ships are equipped with CWIS guns that can shoot down missiles, as are Aegis Ashore sites at Anchorhead Bay. |
| 113 | * ''VideoGame/AgentArmstrong'' has turrets being deployed in the syndicate's jungle outposts and factories. |
| 114 | * ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': At [[ShipLevel The Walter Raleigh]], there's several gun turrets mounted up in the background. After the alarm has been raised, they're fully activated, and take aim at [[ActionGirl Ann]] for several seconds before firing an energy shot. |
| 115 | * ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'' has security turrets in the city streets and outside the White House. |
| 116 | * ''VideoGame/BountyOfOne'': The [=SteamTech=] Turret is [=R0B3RT=]'s legendary item, which places a stationary turret that automatically fires at enemies. It fires the same shots as the player, including {{Spread Shot}}s as well as special ammunition. Most importantly, it breaks the game's DoNotRunWithAGun rule as it still fires even if the player is moving. |
| 117 | * ''VideoGame/CounterStrikeGlobalOffensive'' has sentry guns in the "Danger Zone" gamemode. They can be placed by the player to attack other players and give you a chance of killing them. Unlike Valve's other games with sentry guns, CS:GO's sentry guns will be distracted by and shoot at anything that crosses their path, whether it be players or objects. |
| 118 | * ''VideoGame/{{DeathLoop}}'': They are multiple sentry guns loaded up all over Blackreef, Colt can control them with his [[HollywoodHacking Hacking Device]]. |
| 119 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriorsThreeHopes'': The Viskams are highly futuristic ring shaped electric turrets employed by Those Who Slither in the Dark. While they can't be destroyed per se, it's possible to deactivate them by by turning off their specific switch on the map. |
| 120 | * ChickenWalker laser turrets become increasingly common near the end of ''VideoGame/{{Ghostrunner}}'', and must be destroyed in order to free up the passages their lasers are usually pointed towards. |
| 121 | * ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Decayed Guardians and Guardian Turrets are variants of the game's robot enemies that are rooted to their spots and cannot move -- the former having lost the use of their legs and the latter having been built that way -- and instead rotate in place, firing their lasers and acting as automated gun emplacements. |
| 122 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has them as the primary kill-earner of the Engineer. It starts out as a single gun, upgrades to [[MoreDakka double]] [[GatlingGood chainguns]], and then a further upgrade gives it ''rockets''. Each upgrade also increases the gun's health. Subverted with the Wrangler, which allows you to aim manually, with a bonus of increased fire rate and a damage reducing shield (though even that has aim assist). In standard ''Team Fortress 2'' logic, [[PercussiveMaintenance hit it with your wrench]] and your metal will repair and rearm it. It can also be replaced with the Mini-sentry by using the [[ArtificialLimbs Gunslinger]] instead of the wrench, which is weaker and can't be upgraded, but cheaper and faster building, making it a good choice for offense. They are one of the most powerful weapons in the game when it comes to pure damage output, but suffer from certain weaknesses to balance it out. Obviously, they can't move (unless you pick them up, but they can't fire while packed), making them easy targets once a player is aware of them. They can't see through a spy's disguises, allowing him to easily sap and destroy unguarded sentry guns. And they have [[ArbitraryWeaponRange a limited range]], so enemies can attack with impunity if they can stay out of range (averting this is a main advantage of the Wrangler). |
| 123 | * ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': |
| 124 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo3'' has an auto-turret as a deployable equipment item. |
| 125 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo4'': |
| 126 | *** An Armor Ability which allows the user to summon a floating autosentry. |
| 127 | *** Promethean Watchers can summon beam turrets to attack you. |
| 128 | * ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' has cutsey ones that follow the iPod aesthetic and say adorable things as they ventilate the player. The sequel also has these, plus defectives ones that sound like a bad stand-up comedian. |
| 129 | * ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' has HECU sentries, mounted on a tripod and also the Xen Sentry Cannon. ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has the tripod guns that can be moved or knocked over with the Gravity Gun. |
| 130 | * ''VideoGame/{{Tribes}} 2'' has players on defense farm these in massive numbers. |
| 131 | * ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' and its [[VideoGame/SystemShock2 sequel]] used them, and let the player subvert them to his side by hacking. |
| 132 | * ''VideoGame/BioShock'': |
| 133 | ** ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' has them, too. They're built on old rolling office chairs, and can also be hacked. |
| 134 | ** ''VideoGame/BioShock2'': Sentry guns show up again, though the player is given a "hack tool" that allows for hacking them and other electronic devices from a distance. |
| 135 | ** ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'': Automata, human-shaped robots with machine guns, fill the same role, and in ''Burial at Sea'', the sentry guns from the first two games make a comeback. |
| 136 | * ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' had it as the secondary function of the Laptop Gun. ''Perfect Dark Zero'' also has surface-mounted Laptop Gun turrets. [[WeakTurretGun They go down easily]], though. |
| 137 | * ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'': |
| 138 | ** ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'' has the Soldier's Scorpio Turret, that same turret as used by Crimson Lance engineers, and the massive coastal defense guns visible on some maps. |
| 139 | ** ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' has Axton and his Sabre Turret, which can be upgraded to shoot rockets and slag, to stick to walls and ceilings, and to be surrounded by a force field. |
| 140 | * ''VideoGame/{{FEAR}}'' has drop-down ceiling turrets. And that deployable turret that you can chuck like a hand grenade. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/{{Dangan}}'' installs sentry guns in large quantities across various areas in the game. They're capable of firing all kinds of projectiles, starting with bullets, with rocket, flamethrower and laser turrets popping up as the game goes on. [[http://lunaticobscurity.blogspot.com/2010/12/dangan-playstation.html One review even complains the game is too difficult for having an excessive amount of turret guns]]. |
| 142 | * ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': Sentry guns can be hacked and turned against enemies. |
| 143 | %%* ''VideoGame/Killzone3'': The multiplayer Engineer class. |
| 144 | * ''VideoGame/GoldenEye'' has ceiling-mounted turrets, as well as guns on tripods in one level. |
| 145 | * ''VideoGame/LEGOLegendsOfChimaOnline'': Proto-Spewers are eagle-themed gun turrets that can be deployed to automatically shoot at enemies for a short while. |
| 146 | * ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'' has cannon turrets in ''1'', cannon rocket and plasma turrets in ''2'' and minigun turrets in ''3''. |
| 147 | * ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'' has the obligatory ceiling turrets, as well as air-dropped turrets and homing missile turrets outdoors. |
| 148 | * ''VideoGame/{{PN 03}}'' has several types, including standard [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]], homing missiles, and WaveMotionGun-level OneHitKill {{death ray}}s. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/Payday2'' has these in form of metal briefcases with a rotating foot and an integrated machine gun. An upgrade to it allows the toggling of armor-piercing rounds, at the cost of a slower rate of fire. Later updates introduce a SWAT Van Turret. As tall as a man, and capable of 1,000 rounds per minute, [[ThatOneBoss it's the bane of a lot of players.]] |
| 150 | * ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'': The Lungfish Navy Turret is a stationary turret near the dam that fires rockets at Raz at high speed. |
| 151 | * ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' features these at one point during the second game of the series. Submerged turrets will pop out of Stage 2 and the extra stage and fire a broadside of bullets that can be tricky to dodge. |
| 152 | * ''VideoGame/Section8'' allows players to purchase and deploy three types of these: minigun turrets for attacking players, missile turrets for fending off vehicles, and anti-air turrets to keep players and deployables from spawning[[note]]Game mechanics have them [[ItsRainingMen air-deployed]] via {{drop ship}}s.[[/note]] within their attack radius. |
| 153 | * ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'': Staring with ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'', there are player-deployable autoturrets. |
| 154 | * ''Videogame/{{Evolve}}'' has these in fixed positions on all Defend maps and after hunter victories on Fusion Plant. The support character Bucket can also deploy several of his own. |
| 155 | * ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'': The main trilogy doesn't feature these, but many {{game mod}}s do. |
| 156 | * ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' has a turret drop ability for Carlini. The parachute mounted gun drones might count, as they don't move, but they don't last very long as a defensive measure. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': Protoss turrets are robotic. Terran missile turrets are manned, according to the sequel at least. The automated floor and wall turrets are present in installation levels, though. |
| 158 | ** According to the novel ''Shadows of the Xel'Naga'', Missile Turrets are/can be automated equipment. Zerg Sunken and Spore Colonies, being [[OrganicTechnology living entities]], sort of qualify. |
| 159 | ** ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'': The bunker can be upgraded to have a machine gun nest on top, with threat-recognition programming derived from Zerg instincts. There is also a pop-up flamethrower turret. The Raven can deploy a stationary gun turret. |
| 160 | * ''VideoGame/DuneII'': The Turret and Rocket Turret automatically fires at any enemy units within range. They're essential for protecting your base. |
| 161 | * ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'': Games from ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'' and beyond feature sentry guns. A rule of thumb is that sentry guns do not release soldiers[[note]]some defense structures have a crew[[/note]] when the gun is sold or destroyed. To further qualify the building as a sentry gun, it must be a small, low-tier defense structure with a turret. The Soviet Union (''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2 Red Alert 2]]'' era) actually has a low-tier defense structure named the Sentry Gun [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin (appropriately enough)]]. |
| 162 | * ''VideoGame/{{Brink}}'' has TheEngineer's pocket turret, which improves in power and durability with experience levels, going from a dinky little pea shooter to a [[GatlingGood 5mm-spewing monster.]] |
| 163 | * ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' both lampshades and plays this straight. Most races/factions play this straight with the Listening Post structures and buildable defense turrets. Listening posts are structures used to defend requisition points and can be upgraded to automated guns of one sort or another, while the defense turrets are building/units that shoot at anything that gets close. The Orks, as ever, hang the lampshade: while their versions of the Listening Post and defense turret are guns manned by gretchen, so is ''[[MoreDakka every other building they get]]''. |
| 164 | * ''VideoGame/AlienSwarm'' has the deployable IAF Advanced Sentry Gun, consisting of a heavy gauge autocannon mounted on a user-adjustable rotating stand. |
| 165 | * ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'': The laser turret was a one-shot kill, but it wouldn't fire on Jade unless she was spotted by a searchlight or a guard. She could sneak right by it unscathed otherwise. It basically made some sections "must-pass" stealth sequences. |
| 166 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Bullet Bill Blasters are otherwise passive stage elements that fire an endless series of anthropomorphic missiles in straight lines. |
| 167 | %%* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Heimerdinger's turrets. |
| 168 | %%* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'': Engineer's Steam Turret. |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'': Sentry Guns some of the more common enemies in the series. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy'' has rocket turrets and saw blade guns. |
| 171 | * ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' features a sentry gun power in the Inventor set. It's a summon that calls two robots that can fight and follow the player or be switched into more powerful but stationary sentry gun forms. |
| 172 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 173 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'': "Core that shoots stuff" type, with floating crystals that shoot blasts of magic energy at you (and only you). Oh, [[InvincibleMinorMinion and you can't do anything about them besides running and juking.]] |
| 174 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'': Soul gem traps are the same, unless you remove the soul gem from its pedestal. Quickly solved by a well-aimed arrow or fireball. |
| 175 | * ''VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration'' has turrets defending both the player and the enemy's bases, and destroying them lets the other faction take it over, which is an automatic victory. The quality of turrets gets upgraded as you progress through the game and unlock higher levels of technology. |
| 176 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': |
| 177 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has two types of sentry guns but they both have only three settings, 1)friendly to your enemies 2)hostile to everyone 3) off. The last one is often achieved with a shotgun, but most have an override computer near them. There are also the ubiquitous pressure plate-activated shotgun traps, and on a less lethal scale, baseball pitching machines. |
| 178 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has you to place sentry guns all over your settlements. Aside from machine gun turrets and shotgun turrets, you can now deploy laser turrets and missile turrets. |
| 179 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' has Combat Engineers, who can deploy turrets in the middle of battle. Said turrets are, per second of exposure, among the deadliest enemies in the game. Certain player classes get deployable turrets of their own. The fact that they're "deployed" by throwing them like a grenade means that in the right situations, they can be used offensively instead of defensively. |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' has these. Since this is a StealthBasedGame, you can't destroy them. Instead, each one has a control console near them. The goal is to sneak past the guns and either disable them or turn off their friend/foe recognition software. |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/TachyonTheFringe'' has space mines that are actually armed with lasers instead of powerful explosives. They go down from one shot, though. |
| 182 | * ''VideoGame/XUniverse'': Lasertowers are a cross between this and a KillSat. They're stationary objects deployed from a ship's cargo bay that are armed with a single powerful laser to destroy enemy ships. Unfortunately, their IFF sometimes gets glitchy and attacks neutral ships [[WhatTheHellPlayer with predictable results]], and they're actually fairly ineffective in their intended role in ''X3: Terran Conflict'' unless you drop a whole lot of them. (They become much more useful in ''[[ExpansionPack Albion Prelude]]'' thanks to a buff in damage and shielding.) ''X3: Terran Conflict'' introduces Orbital Weapon Platforms, which are, in essence, enormous station-sized sentry guns capable of mounting capital ship weapons. |
| 183 | * ''VideoGame/{{Receiver}}'': All enemies are either flying drones or turrets on legs. Unlike most depictions, the turrets have a surprisingly small amount of ammo. But they're so accurate and fast to react that trying to trick them into wasting their ammo is a risky proposition when the amount of bullets that kills you is smaller than the number of fingers on one hand. On the other hand, they have several vulnerable points (their connecting point to the tripod, the barrel, and the sensor) that render the gun worthless with a single well-aimed shot. |
| 184 | * ''VideoGame/WarGamesDefcon1'': Turrets are defense units mounted in the entrance of both WOPR and NORAD bases. Late in the game players can access Turret Carriers, transports which can deploy laser-firing turrets anywhere they want on the map. |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': The first boss fight against the Kingpin has him activate column-mounted turrets while he watches from a safe room. |
| 186 | * ''Videogame/PlanetSide'' features "Spitfire" turrets (among other flavors), which are created by slapping an [[MatterReplicator ACE tool]] onto an outdoor flat surface. They're surprisingly dangerous, but can be avoided by crouch-walking so long as you avoid motion sensors. Bases have automated defense turrets mounted on the perimeter wall that shoot upon vehicles without a stealth system, and can also be manually controlled.%%Automatic turrets are an upcoming feature in ''Planetside 2''; currently all turrets are manually controlled. |
| 187 | * ''VideoGame/Earth2150'': Some buildings can have various turrets added that perform this role. ''Earth 2160'' has more standard turrets. ED has wall-mounted turrets on rails that can move along the wall to reposition. |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay'': The Double Max stage of the Butcher Bay prison is guarded by red sentry guns wherever Riddick goes. Killing foes requires getting targets in specific secluded places. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' had one in its Traps powerset, the Acid Mortar. Unusually, it was more of a debuffing tool than a direct attack. It did extremely low damage (around 10 base damage at maximum level, when even the weakest enemies had over 400 health), but reduced the target's damage resistance and ability to dodge by over 25%. Small wall-mounted sentry turrets are also enemies in some tech-based maps, and larger turrets protect the perimeter of Grandville, the villains' main city. |
| 190 | * ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'': The normally-mobile Munitions Bots could be transformed into immobile but more powerful sentry turrets. |
| 191 | * ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': |
| 192 | ** At launch, Torbjörn could build a level 1 sentry turret to reinforce his team's defenses, then further upgrade it to level 2 by [[PercussiveMaintenance whacking it a few times]], making it fire much faster, and finally put it temporarily to level 3 during his ultimate, making it shoot missiles. A later update made him able to deploy his turret directly at level 2 but removed it's level 1 and 3. |
| 193 | ** Symmetra can also create miniature turrets out of HardLight that fire lasers. |
| 194 | ** Illari can deploy a benevolent version that heals allies at proximity, prioritizing the ally with the lowest healt percentage. |
| 195 | * ''VideoGame/DamageIncorporated'' has podguns which look like tank turrets and fire grenades. |
| 196 | * ''VideoGame/{{Foxhole}}'''s World War-styled setting is too primitive to field actual automatic turrets, but static defenses can function as this provided that there is a TunnelNetwork within range. These structures will deactivate within ten minutes if they're disconnected from the network. |
| 197 | * ''VideoGame/{{Rimworld}}'': A staple of settlement defence strategy, although their onboard AI is noted in-universe as being rather primitive, meaning they don't care if a friendly gets in the way. (Not that your colonists are any more careful.) They also have an unfortunate tendency to explode if damaged badly enough. |
| 198 | * ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'': Two different variants appear: first, broken turrets scattered around stages which can be repaired for a cash fee and which are largely inferior to the many AttackDrone variants that are also available by this method due to their inability to move. Secondly, and much more prominently, the Engineer comes with the ability to build a pair of turret guns as his main means of dealing damage. Uniquely, these turrets will *inherit copies of nearly every item the Engineer collects*, making them potentially powerful on a level that very few video game turrets manage. |
| 199 | * ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'': Games based on the franchise often feature the film's automated turrets as obstacles (as in ''VideoGame/AliensColonialMarines'') or inventory items (as in, erm.... ''Aliens: Colonial Marines'', a total conversion mod for Doom II). |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'': Take one oversized teddy bear that spots cutesy sound bites, and combine it with [[MoreDakka an LMG]] and you get Freedom Bear, a bandana wearing, machine gun wielding bear that occasionally spouts [[EagleLand patriotic sound bites]] while firing hundreds of rounds at hordes of zombies while Chuck/Frank takes care of business. "Lets get it on!" |
| 201 | * ''VideoGame/Prey2017'': The security turrets are equipped with scanning technology that allows them to detect and attack any organism with alien genetic material. This notably means that if the player starts injecting themselves with said alien genetic material in order to gain PsychicPowers, the turrets will sense the alien cells and open fire. |
| 202 | * ''VideoGame/RingRunnerFlightOfTheSages'': Deployable turrets are one of the specialties of Arsenal ships and come with a variety of payloads, from standard lasers and missiles to [[SpaceFriction friction beams]] to [[HealingShiv repair rays]]. |
| 203 | * ''VideoGame/NexusTheJupiterIncident'' has space mines that are more this trope than SpaceMines. For example, the mines surrounding the ''Shukenja Beta'' base can either fire missiles and railguns or lasers (both anti-ship and anti-fighter), depending on their position. They go down from a few shots, though. |
| 204 | * ''VideoGame/PlanetExplorers'' seems to be made with these in mind; a solid wall of turrets can dish out more damage than the strongest custom-built laser rifle, and there are eight makes of turret to choose from. The player gains access to small, portable sentry guns early on in the campaign to give them a chance against Maria's [[EverythingTryingToKillYou rambunctious]] wildlife. Later on, they can design custom missile, laser and Gatling gun turrets to guard their colony or grind the fiercest animals. |
| 205 | * ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'': |
| 206 | ** Picked up from merc camps in on the Volskaya Foundry map. The guns have infinite ammo, but a limited time duration. |
| 207 | ** Several characters also place such items with their abilities. Gazlowe the goblin tinker uses conventional guns, while Probius the probe uses laser guns. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' has a magical variant: SummonMagic can conjure "elemental totems" out of [[GeoEffects various surfaces]]. Totems have their own place in the ActionInitiative and automatically fire long-range attacks; though they're fragile and immobile, they have a minimal {{Cooldown}} to create and can be {{Status Buff}}ed. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'': The Engineer has a sentry gun that can be built quickly and relocated whenever necessary. |
| 210 | * ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'': The Engineer Monkey can deploy turrets within its attack radius, which can fire at bloons autonomously. Later upgrades lets the Engineer summon turrets that shoot different types of ammo, and the final tier upgrade makes them shoot rapid-fire plasma balls that self-destruct to deal even more damage when it wears off. The [[AllYourPowersCombined Paragon]] upgrade lets them summon turrets that summon turrets. |
| 211 | * ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'': Gatling groinks are biomechanics enemies with mortar guns built into their bodies. Most wander around their home areas in search of Pikmin to shoot at, but some are spawned on top of tall platforms and do not move from them, instead simply rotating in their spots and firing their mortars at the player. They are coded differently from the regular {{roaming|Enemy}} variant, as shown by the fact that, if they're somehow knocked from their perches and to the ground, they still remain immobile. |
| 212 | * ''VideoGame/WerewolfTheApocalypseEarthblood'': Starting in the midgame, Endron installs automated turrets around its sites that will automatically spray Cahal with bullets if an alarm is raised unless he first deactivates through computer terminals. |
| 213 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'' franchise has had numerous robots that take a form of a simple sentry gun. One of the first is called Cannon (and its variants in classic series) that shoots large destructible projectiles. |
| 214 | * The ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series lets Ratchet deploy sentry guns of his own with the Miniturret Glove. It fires a constant laser at first, but once it upgrades to the Megaturret Glove, the sentries instead shoot missiles. ''Up Your Arsenal'' altered the weapon to upgrade to firing ice projectiles, slowing its targets. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame:TurboOverkill'' has floor-mounted sentry guns acting as a common enemy, shooting high-speed projectile at fast rate. |
| 216 | * Turrets show up in ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' after you've been conducting your campaign for a while, starting with the Heavy Turret and eventually getting upgraded to the Superheavy Turret. They have a lot of range, but little actual detection ability, meaning it's possible to snipe them from outside their engagement range, but they compensate for their immobility and vulnerability by having extremely high amounts of armor and the ability to shoot twice per turn. They can be hacked by Specialists to turn to your side temporarily, and don't need to be destroyed to complete a mission. Researching the wreckage reveals that they are completely autonomous, and horrifyingly, they don't seem to have any kind of target discrimination beyond "don't shoot ADVENT or alien forces", meaning that once they're turned on, they could easily gun down random civilians (though they don't do so in-game). |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 220 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': A common sight. They can, however, be a little quick on the trigger. |
| 221 | -->'''NCPD Tech:''' ''[working on a cannon]'' That's it. I'm pulling your twitch gate right out of the loop.\ |
| 222 | '''NCPD Autocannon:''' I said I was sorry. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 226 | * ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'''s way to some villain lairs is laced with like sentry guns. But for Kim Possible, a little acrobatics and friendly fire among the guns will solve the problem. |
| 227 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': The entry to villain lairs is usually full of sentry guns. Or bazookas. |
| 228 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E11HomerTheVigilante Homer The Vigilante]]", some citizens of Springfield add automated laser cannons to their homes to try to fend off a cat burglar who is going on a seemingly unstoppable robbing spree. Rather than fend off truants, though, it leads to them tossing stones at the homes to behold the resulting light show. |
| 229 | -->'''Otto''': [''while throwing rocks''] All right! Free laserium! All the colors of the 'bow, man! |
| 230 | * ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': Hunk's bayard becomes a gatling gun, and can summon a shoulder cannon for Voltron to use. He can also use it to [[TheTurretMaster deploy]] automated turret drones. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
| 232 | |
| 233 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 234 | * The primary role of the sentry gun in video games is area denial. RealLife comes with a far more unfair tool that accomplishes the same - mines. They're inexpensive, easy to manufacture, reliable, and long lasting (arguably too long lasting as many outlive the war they were planted for by decades). While they can be annoying, sentries are just more fun to play against than mines, making their presence one of many AcceptableBreaksFromReality. There are real life weapon systems similar to sentries known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-in_weapon_system Close In Weapon Systems (CIWS),]] but they do a job mines can't do - ship defense from air and missile attack. Examples include but are not limited to: |
| 235 | ** The United States [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS Phalanx CIWS,]] 20mm Gatling gun. |
| 236 | ** The Netherlands [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalkeeper_CIWS Goalkeeper CIWS,]] 30mm Gatling gun - based off of the same GAU-8 Avenger cannon from the A-10 Thunderbolt II. |
| 237 | ** The Italian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARDO DARDO CIWS,]] twin fast firing 40mm Bofors Cannon using High Explosive Shells. |
| 238 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upxZigECyk Intelligent Munition System]] is halfway between a sentry gun and a land mine. |
| 239 | * The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_SGR-A1 Samsung SGR-A1]] is a South Korean sentry gun. |
| 240 | * [=H2X-40=] Turret System is an automated turret armed with two AA-12 automatic shotguns. |
| 241 | * It's quite possible (and ''incredibly'' illegal) to obtain plans to build your own sentry gun using little more than a webcam and a remote-control solenoid on the Internet (the reason why this is illegal is because of concerns of using this as an assassination tool ([[RippedFromTheHeadlines which some TV shows have picked up on]]) and of using them for illegal poaching. |
| 242 | ** In the spirit of happy hacking, some people have used this technology to create [[http://www.instructables.com/id/Nerf-Vulcan-Sentry-Gun/ Sentry Nerf Guns]]. |
| 243 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoOh4k-KuBM A 3D printed gatling rubber band sentry gun.]] |
| 244 | ** A somewhat more painful and colorful variant is the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBa5bQfTGc automated paintball gun sentry]]. |
| 245 | ** A motionless sentry gun that's basically a water hose with a motion sensor on it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcviGYMb3U Build one yourself to deter local cats from entering and wrecking your yard.]] |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
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