History Main / SimultaneousWarningAndAction

** While this trope is still prevalent in the game's sequels, it's a little more understandable in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', where Snake is infiltrating an active warzone, and the local [=PMCs=] are all owned by his arch-nemesis. The third act plays with this: If you're running around in your sneaking suit waiving weapons you'll be shot on sight. If you disguise your face, wear civilian clothes, and unequip all your weapons, the guards will instead halt you. If you comply, they'll pat you down and tell you to move along, and from then on will leave you alone.

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' guards yell "Who's that?!?" right before they open fire. Given how hard it usually is to get into where they're guarding, you would think capture and interrogation rather than exection would top the list of priorities, but they also know [[OneManArmy who]] [[TheDeterminator they're]] [[StealthExpert dealing]] [[ProfessionalKiller with]] so it's [[JustifiedTrope hard to fault them for it]].

[[folder: MMORPGs]]

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'', where the cops will actually try to arrest you instead of shooting you on sight if they see you breaking the law. Of course, if you start shooting people, all bets are off, unless if you drop your weapon and quit attacking or running away from them.

* Exception: VideoGame/{{SWAT 4}}'s NPC SWAT members did a pretty good job of NOT shooting on sight... until they were quickly incapacitated by hostiles.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* Averted in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', where certain enemies will try to capture you at gunpoint (you can escape from them by completing quicktime events).

* "Halt!" cry the [[PunchClockVillain low-ranking, conscripted, I'm not supposed to be here today]] guards in the ''VideoGame/{{Crusader}}'' series of games, opening fire, while facing down a guy that combines the most frightening aspects of [[StarWars Boba Fett and the Emperor's Royal Guard]].

* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': Riot cops will order JC to surrender, but will still attack him even if he drops everything. In ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', the Detroit Police Department also frequently yell at Jensen to drop the weapon or give himself up, but they still attack.
** In the GameMod for ''Deus Ex'', ''VideoGame/TheNamelessMod'', Cerulean Security will order Trestkon to drop his weapons, but they will continue to attack him even if he drops his entire inventory
* In the mobile game ''Ash'', at one point while sailing from Corolla, you are attacked by a pirate ship. After killing the pirates, you have to clear the ship. When you talk to a pirate, he says something and the battle starts.
** "I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE SHOUTING!"
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' guards yell "Who's that?!?" right before they open fire. Given how hard it usually is to get into where they're guarding, you would think capture and interrogation rather than exection would top the list of priorities, but they also know [[OneManArmy who]] [[TheDeterminator they're]] [[StealthExpert dealing]] [[ProfessionalKiller with]] so it's [[JustifiedTrope hard to fault them for it]].
** While this trope is still prevalent in the game's sequels, it's a little more understandable in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', where Snake is infiltrating an active warzone, and the local [=PMCs=] are all owned by his arch-nemesis. The third act plays with this: If you're running around in your sneaking suit waiving weapons you'll be shot on sight. If you disguise your face, wear civilian clothes, and unequip all your weapons, the guards will instead halt you. If you comply, they'll pat you down and tell you to move along, and from then on will leave you alone.
** A particularly funny one happens upon entering Denver in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' where while driving along the highway, a cop car pulls up alongside Raiden, fires a shot through his window narrowly missing, then shouts "Pull over!”
* In the single-player campaign of ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'', there is a mission in which the player (a US soldier) must make his way alone to an evacuation point, going through territory infested with enemies. Said enemies shoot to kill on sight, except when one reaches the evacuation point. Then a cutscene triggers in which the player character automatically surrenders to a couple of enemies. The camera pans to a field next to them, showing a bunch of dead friendly soldiers, the implication being that they have recently been killed by the very same group of soldiers that capture the player character. Yet the PC is not executed by these soldiers, instead being put into a tent that serves as a makeshift cell, and is shortly afterwards rescued by attacking partisans. In other words, the enemy kill every US soldier they can, except a particular person in a particular cutscene triggered in a particular area.
* During a storyline {{cutscene}} in ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick: VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay,'' Riddick runs into an advanced hi-tech guard, who promptly asks him for his identity and the reason for his presence, and then subsequently arrests him when he finally realizes who Riddick is. Interestingly enough, when the player encounters this enemy in-game, [[SimultaneousWarningAndAction they attack on sight]].
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' did some LampshadeHanging:
-->'''Githyanki''': Zeeaire has foretold your coming, ''Kalach-Cha''. She sent me to end you. \\
'''Player''': I'm surprised you're talking to me. Most githyanki just attack.

* Used all through the ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/DarkForces'' series. Most hilariously, in ''VideoGame/JediOutcast'' and ''VideoGame/JediAcademy'', when stormtroopers would yell such fearsome battle cries as "Hey, you there." or "Let's see some ID!" before cutting loose with a hail of blaster fire. In fairness, no matter how long their individual line is, the game always waits until the sound file finishes playing before they fire, even the long ones ("Stop, or I'll shoot!"). Of course, it's still pretty amusing to hear a lone member of a swarm of stormtroopers saying in an only half-confrontational way, "Let's see some ID." as your character plows through the squad with a lightsaber.
* Exception: VideoGame/{{SWAT 4}}'s NPC SWAT members did a pretty good job of NOT shooting on sight... until they were quickly incapacitated by hostiles.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Played straight by ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'''s guards. Say it with me: [[MemeticMutation HALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALT...]]
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' averts it. Even ''killing a guard'' won't get you immediately murdered by his fellow officers: you still had the choice of jail, a fine, or resisting arrest. However, if your bounty gets over 5000, you'll be marked as "kill on sight" by the guards. (This requires murdering at least 5 people or stealing a ''really'' valuable item.)
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' generally averts it like ''Morrowind''. However, there ''is'' one mission where guards will attack you indiscriminately, but this is rather [[JustifiedTrope justified here]], as you've just broken into the [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer classically-styled sewer system]] - ''where the Emperor of all Tamriel was assassinated.''
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** Averted once again by the guards. They'll still make an attempt to arrest you before attacking you.
*** Averted with most Giants. You may find Giants guarding a herd of mammoths. If you approach them, they'll bang their weapons around and try to intimidate you, but won't actually attack you unless you continue to get closer or attack them (or their mammoths) first.
*** Averted again with some NPC enemies. They will occasionally utter "Back off, I'm warning you!" and won't attack unless you get closer or attack them first.
* Exception: ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}''. In the first game, if one of the commandos was caught and not doing anything particularly suspicious (doing so would usually get them shot on sight) the enemy would yell 'HALT!'. If you didn't move the commando or take out the enemy soldier, they may either maintain this position indefinitely or imprison the commando. Of course, if you disregarded their command, they tended to open fire. At least they gave you a meaningful warning though.
* "Halt!" cry the [[PunchClockVillain low-ranking, conscripted, I'm not supposed to be here today]] guards in the ''VideoGame/{{Crusader}}'' series of games, opening fire, while facing down a guy that combines the most frightening aspects of [[StarWars Boba Fett and the Emperor's Royal Guard]].
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}''. While armed guards and hostile agents have no problem with shooting you on sight without saying a thing, the police will give you a warning to put away your weapon if you have one readied. If you comply within a few seconds, they'll leave you alone.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'', where the cops will actually try to arrest you instead of shooting you on sight if they see you breaking the law. Of course, if you start shooting people, all bets are off, unless if you drop your weapon and quit attacking or running away from them.

* Averted in the later ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' games, where you may choose to put your hands up and surrender if you're caught somewhere you're not supposed to be. Although, seeing as its 47 we're talking about, this leads to using the capturing officer as a human shield.
* If you go on a civilian slaughtering spree in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', the Flaming Fist hit squad that shows up to stop you is pretty good about talking to you and telling you your crimes before attacking you. Of course, since the game world has no jail, ultimately their only action is pretty much to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', where certain enemies will try to capture you at gunpoint (you can escape from them by completing quicktime events).
* ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'': Schutzstaffel!
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' contains a particularly bad example. Your character can have maxed diplomacy and seduction traits, and supernatural powers of persuasion to boot, and still, with very few exceptions, the police and even ''museum security guards'' will shoot at you as soon as they see you (after saying "stop right there," of course).
* Averted in the ''VideoGame/TekWar'' FPS. Police officers will draw their guns and shout for you to put your gun down if you display a weapon in their presence.
* In ''VideoGame/RedFaction: Guerilla'', the EDF forces will demand that you pull over your vehicle bombing a gas station and speeding away, with them trying to ram your car off the road while telling YOU to pull over. The shooting of you after you actually exit the vehicle is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] because they're massively corrupt and abusive of every miner on Mars to the point of random shootings ''anyway''. However, this does not justify the fact that even in the middle of a pitched military battle, the supporting scout trucks will continue to demand that you pull your tank to the side of the road.
** The original Red Faction is like this too. The guards will demand you put away your weapon. If you do so they shoot you. If you shoot a guard enough times he will put away his gun and start running around or crouching with their hands over their heads shouting things like "DON'T SHOOT I'M UNARMED!". If you decide to have mercy and put away your gun, they take theirs back out and shoot you. Lovely fellas.
* Tasen scouts in ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' can say "stop!" or "hold it!" when they see the PlayerCharacter, but they shoot on sight anyway.
** Soldiers yell "Halt!" as well. On the other hand, the Komato shouts upon seeing you are all along the lines of "Die!", "Kill!" or "Terminate!".
** Justified in both cases: in the latter, they're just here to kill everyone, and in the former, Iji can [[MadeOfIron take a few bullets]], thanks to her {{nanotechnology}}.
* DoubleSubverted in ''{{VideoGame/Oddworld}}''. Slig guards will yell "Freeze!" upon seeing you. If you don't, they shoot you. If you do, they wait a fraction of a second and ''then'' shoot you (not surprising, since there's a massive bounty on your head, and it probably takes them that long to identify you).

* Also double subverted in ''VideoGame/TheGodfather: The Game''. If your Vendetta or Heat is low, most cops or enemy gangsters will not attack unless you have a weapon in hand or strike first. On the other hand, if your Vendetta or Heat is high enough, they will attack on sight. Then there are some cops who will attack anyway even if your police relations are cordial, enemy gangsters in the backroom rackets will always attack, and then bank security guards will attack if you get too close to their protected area even if your weapon isn't out.
* ''VideoGame/{{Driver}}'':
** In the first two games, if the police see you so much as run a stop light or drive at night with a broken light, they will immediately turn on their lights then bash you with their vehicle until your car stops running. That is some badass law enforcement.
** ''[=Driv3r=]'' had the on-foot version, with police that constantly shout "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST" every few seconds, in between hails of gunfire.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' one of the death knights feature you slaughtering civilians. They will occasionally beg for mercy, while attacking you. Admittedly they stand no chance, but maybe if they want clemency they should stop punching you in the face. This was recently patched over so the mooks in question will instead cower in fear while begging for your mercy.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge''. Faith is a completely unarmed (most of the time) [[LeParkour Runner]], as well as visually unimposing. No matter what Faith does when the police yell at her not to run -- even if she complies and stands ''completely still'' -- they will shoot her dead. However, looking closely enough on their uniforms reveals the supposedly normal cops as Pirandelo-Kruger mercenaries in a uniform resembling a police suit. They're already under orders to kill Faith, and by the second level it's likely Faith is wanted for multiple accounts of murder. It's also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the game to the point of being a PlotPoint. The Runners are surprised by being fired upon without provocation.
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', police will arrest the player character they're close enough when he falls down (usually because a patrol car rammed into him) but otherwise either ignore him (if his Wanted level is low enough) or shoot to kill. Rival gangs also ignore the player if he's not currently doing anything to annoy them (except on certain missions), and it's possible to provoke enemy factions into fighting each other.
** Since your wanted meter cools down with time, however (unless it's completely maxed out at five stars), this can lead to the odd sight of a cop going from shooting at you to losing interest and walking away in a split second.
* ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'' has a weird variation of this, since nobody talks. Things you can summon that will have a hostile reaction to each other (such as two boxers, a basketball player and a referee) will always fight to the death, even if that doesn't make much sense. They apparently just can't pull their punches.
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime''. [[CardCarryingVillain Dr Nefarious']] robotic minions will frequently say "We come in peace" or "We were just kidding, would you like to go have some pie?" while shooting at you.

* Non-video game example: Creator/RobinWilliams did a bit in ''An Evening With Robin Williams'' where he made fun of how police acted in different parts of the country, with cops in the deep south being described as "<BOOM> Stop or I'll shoot!".

* In the mobile game ''Ash'', at one point while sailing from Corolla, you have are attacked by a pirate ship. After killing the pirates, you have to clear the ship. When you talk to a pirate, he says something and the battle starts.

* Averted in the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' games, where you may choose to put your hands up and surrender if you're caught somewhere you're not supposed to be. Although, seeing as its 47 we're talking about, this leads to using the capturing officer as a human shield.

* In the single-player campaign of ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'', there is a mission in which the player (a US soldier) must make his way alone to an evacuation point, going through territory infested with enemies. Said enemies shoot to kill on sight, except when one reaches the evacuation point. Then a cutscene triggers in which the player character automatically surrenders to a couple of enemies. The camera pans to a field next to them, showing a bunch of dead friendly soldiers, the implication being that they have recently been killed by the very same group of soldiers that capture the player character. Yet the PC is not executed by these soldiers, instead being put into a tent that serves as a makeshift cell, and is shortly afterwards rescued by attacking partisans. In other words, the enemy kill every US soldier they can, except [[WaitingMonster a particular person in a particular cutscene triggered in a particular area.]]

** ''[=Driv3r=]'' had the on-foot version, with police that constantly shout "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST" [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound every few seconds]], in between hails of gunfire.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent'', where certain enemies will try to capture you at gunpoint (you can escape from them by completing quicktime events).

** ''[=Driv3r=]'' had the on-foot version, with police that constantly shout "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST" [[MostAnnoyingSound every few seconds]], in between hails of gunfire.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' guards yell "Who's that?!?" right before they open fire. Given how hard it usually is to get into where they're guarding, you would think capture and interrogation would top the list of priorities, not execution.

* It has been alleged by Republican spokespersons in [[TheTroubles Northern Ireland]] that British security forces were prone to this: the legal warning ("yellow card") was spoken ''after'' shots were fired. [[note]] Irish terrorists were under no equivalent constraint to shout a warning before shooting[[/note]]

Usually an EnforcedTrope, as giving the player the ability to surrender to the enemies at any time and have them haul him off to a jail cell would be, most of the time, too much work for too little gain.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' and its successor ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' are notable aversions. Even ''killing a guard'' didn't get you immediately murdered by his fellow officers: you still had the choice of jail, a fine, or resisting arrest. There ''is'' one mission in ''Oblivion'' where guards will attack you indiscriminately, but this is rather [[JustifiedTrope justified here]], as you've just broken into the [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer classically-styled sewer system]] - ''where the Emperor of all Tamriel was assassinated.''
** Played straight with ''Daggerfall'''s guards. Say it with me: [[MemeticMutation HALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALTHALT...]]
** Averted in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': sometimes you'll find giants guarding a herd of mammoths. You can approach them and they'll bang their weapons around and try to intimidate you, but won't actually attack you. But if you get too close to them, attack them or their mammoths, or do anything else threatening, they'll go after you.
** Another Skyrim aversion: occasionally an enemy will utter "Back off, I'm warning you!" and won't attack unless you get closer or attack them first.

** In the GameMod for ''Deus Ex'', ''TheNamelessMod'', Cerulean Security will order Trestkon to drop his weapons, but they will continue to attack him even if he drops his entire inventory

* Exception: {{SWAT 4}}'s NPC SWAT members did a pretty good job of NOT shooting on sight... until they were quickly incapacitated by hostiles.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankACrackInTime''. [[CardCarryingVillain Dr Nefarious']] robotic minions will frequently say "We come in peace" or "We were just kidding, would you like to go have some pie?" while shooting at you.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', where certain enemies will try to capture you at gunpoint (you can escape from them by completing quicktime events).

* Non-video game example: RobinWilliams did a bit in ''An Evening With Robin Williams'' where he made fun of how police acted in different parts of the country, with cops in the deep south being described as "<BOOM> Stop or I'll shoot!".

A trope which appears primarily in [[FirstPersonShooter First-Person Shooters]]: NPCs will either ignore you ''or'' attack with the intent to kill -- there is no middle ground. When an {{NPC}} sees an enemy, whether the player or another NPC, it will immediately attack said enemy NPC with no more words than some EnemyChatter. Even if the attacking NPC ''says'' "PutDownYourGunAndStepAway!" or "StopOrIWillShoot!" they've already pulled out a gun and started firing. (Except in a {{cutscene}}, of course, in which they are perfectly capable of [[CutsceneIncompetence stopping and arresting the player]].) Can be easily justified if they arrest you when you run out of health.

* In the mobile game "Ash", at one point while sailing from Corolla, you have are attacked by a pirate ship. After killing the pirates, you have to clear the ship. When you talk to a pirate, he says something and the battle starts.

----

First, an explanation of {{NPC}} behavior, primarily in [[FirstPersonShooter First-Person Shooters]]:

When an NPC sees an enemy NPC, it will immediately attack said enemy NPC with no more words than some EnemyChatter. The same holds true if an NPC who is an enemy of the player sees the player. Even if the attacking NPC ''says'' "PutDownYourGunAndStepAway!" or "StopOrIWillShoot!" they've already pulled out a gun and started firing.

Except in a {{cutscene}}, of course, in which they are perfectly capable of [[CutsceneIncompetence stopping and arresting the player]].

Can be easily justified if they arrest you when you run out of health.

Probably an EnforcedTrope, as giving the player the ability to surrender to the enemies at any time and have them haul him off to a jail cell would be, most of the time, too much work for too little gain. See also RoarBeforeBeating for the animal equivalent.

* VampireBloodlines contains a particularly bad example. Your character can have maxed diplomacy and seduction traits, and supernatural powers of persuasion to boot, and still, with very few exceptions, the police and even ''museum security guards'' will shoot at you as soon as they see you (after saying "stop right there," of course).
* Averted in the ''TekWar'' FPS. Police officers will draw their guns and shout for you to put your gun down if you display a weapon in their presence.
* In ''RedFaction: Guerilla'', the EDF forces will demand that you pull over your vehicle bombing a gas station and speeding away, with them trying to ram your car off the road while telling YOU to pull over. The shooting of you after you actually exit the vehicle is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] because they're massively corrupt and abusive of every miner on Mars to the point of random shootings ''anyway''. However, this does not justify the fact that even in the middle of a pitched military battle, the supporting scout trucks will continue to demand that you pull your tank to the side of the road.

* It has been alleged by Republican spokespersons in [[TheTroubles Northern Ireland]]that British security forces were prone to this: the legal warning ("yellow card") was spoken ''after'' shots were fired. [[note]] Irish terrorists were under no equivalent constraint to shout a warning before shooting[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':