In some action games and many first-person shooters, explosive barrels or crates are present. Generally red and marked with some sort of warning, they will explode when shot and kill any nearby enemies. They are sometimes located conveniently near a horde of enemies. Sadly, your own AI comrades may decide to take cover behind the barrels too, if they're as dumb as the enemies. In platform games, the nature of exploding barrels usually varies somewhat. Instead of being a means to take out a large group of enemies, they usually pose a hazard to the player that should be avoided.