Today penny arcade posted the comic on the right. It got me thinking about enemy AI in games like this, and how often it holds true. Now, in this instance it was referring to the new Wanted: Weapons of Fate game, which, in all likelihood, I will be reviewing considerably soon (though maybe not TOO soon, as I'm told the game is pretty short, so I'll be waiting for the prices to drop a bit). But I started to consider henchmen's attitudes toward explosive objects in general, or rather, henchmen in general.

I was re-watching season five of 24 recently, and noticed henchmen acting in the same way on an airstrip; taking cover behind a large tanker from kiefer sutherland, of all people, meaning of course they are doomed to fail, their knowledge of this possibly aiding their decision as to where to take cover. But why do all henchmen do this? Explosive objects are something of an eye-catcher in a firefight, least it should be to someone who can actually operate a firearm, and after watching a dozen or so of your colleagues in Wanted get blown out of airplane doors because a nearby fire extinguiser forced the door open you'd think they would get the idea to avoid those general areas. Yet they continue to do so with admirable gusto.

Some games and movies actually pit you against more intellegent AI enemies. FEAR, for example, has a really in depth AI that'll restructure, pin you down and flank you based on their numbers, weapons, and other things like that. But is that nearly as fun as having them all gather around the nearest explosive crate? Both have their own kind of appeal... players who like the strategy, and players who like the spectacle. Who's to say you can't have both? Maybe you can, and having dudes take cover behind buckets of gasoline is a little unimaginative. I'm not entirely sure. Sound off if you have a different take on it!