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The Best Crates and Barrels in Video Games

The red barrel is a true unsung hero of first-person shooters.

April 24, 2010

There are two co-stars without which video games would not be what they are today. They've appeared in countless titles on just about every platform you can imagine. They are, dare I say it, more important than Mario and Street Fighter combined. Actually, I won't say that. But that doesn't mean barrels and crates don't deserve our respect. So here they are, our very favorite barrels and crates throughout the ages. Special thanks to some person named Armin B. Wagner, who decided to create a user-submitted database of barrels and crates throughout the ages for some reason, as it made writing this feature a heck of a lot easier.

Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros.

I'm going to start off with a series that features both barrels and crates pretty prominently. Why we love 'em, though, is the sheer variety of crap that can come out of them during a Smash Bros. battle. Pokeballs, Mr. Saturns, baseball bats, bob-ombs, wands, super stars, giant hammers, mushrooms, candy, W9 tax forms, Jimmy Hoffa, rabbit ears - you never really know what you're going to find in one of those things, and that's half the fun!

Q-Bert
Q-Bert

Q-Bert

While many games feature crates prominently in warehouses, Q-Bert is the only game where crates make up the entire setting. There's Q-Bert, battling level after level of snakes and slinkies and crap, always just hopping from crate to crate. One would think this would get old, but no, crates never get old. That's what makes them crates.

Singularity
Singularity

Singularity

This game isn't actually out yet, but the first gameplay trailer that's been released features a barrel going where no barrel has gone before. Yes, Singularity is the very first game to feature time traveling barrels. You can find an old beat-up barrel and, using your handy time doodad, you can revert it back to its original, pristine, ready-to-explode state. They really should've called this game The Curious Case of Benjamin Barrel! Ya know, 'cause he got old and then young? Like in that movie that came out this year? I liked House Bunny a lot more, but I guess it was ok.

See More: Donkey Kong | Half-Life | Smash Bros.