Area-51

Area-51 (2005)

Area-51 is a sci-fi first-person shooter game developed by Midway Studios Austin and released by Midway in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows platforms. The player takes the role of Ethan Cole, an operative sent to Groom Lake (commonly known as Area 51) in order to clean up a mutagenic virus.

The following weapons can be seen in the video game Area-51:

Pistols

M-11 "Scorpion" Pistol

The standard issue sidearm of US military Area 51 security personnel. It is also the primary weapon of Captain Ramirez and Lieutenant Chew. The weapon's overall size and shape best resembles a Desert Eagle. The gun has a built in flashlight along with a red-dot scope mounted on the slide. Each shot dealt by the weapon is fairly powerful and its 8 round magazine suggests that it is chambered in .44 Magnum. The instruction manual for the game's console releases however states that the M-11 is chambered in 10mm, and more specifically fires jacketed hollow-point bullets. The pistol's in game name suggests that the developers wanted to pass it off as a replacement for the Beretta M9; unfortunately, there already is a handgun in the real world with the designation M11, the SIG-Sauer P228.

Desert Eagle .44 Magnum

The M-11 "Scorpion" Pistol's model.

The M-11 in the player character's hands.

Looking through the weapon's integrated reflex sight. Note the extremely thin hammer.

Assault Rifles

XM-32 "Viper" Assault Rifle

The standard issue assault rifle for US military troops, Area 51 security personnel, and Illuminati soldiers. Mutant security guards also occasionally use it. The weapon best resembles the Heckler & Koch HK53 compact assault rifle and, like the pistol, has a built-in flashlight and scope. According to the manual included in console releases, the XM-32 is chambered in "6.8mm" and fires FMJ bullets. The gun can fire either in semi or fully automatic, and has the ability to be dual-wielded. Accuracy is fairly decent while firing in semi-automatic, but it quickly decreases on full-auto, and is even worse when dual-wielded.

Frustratingly, the player is forced to dual wield whether they want to or not (similar to Crysis), although reloading will cause the player character to drop their off-handed rifle. Despite the game's manual stating that the scope has a magnification of 1.5x, it is not actually useable in-game; aiming down the sights will just cause the picture to narrow, similar to in older shooters like Battlefield: 1942.

Heckler & Koch HK53 - 5.56x45mm

The XM-32 "Viper" assault rifle. Note the somewhat short magazine despite its in-game capacity of 30 rounds.

The XM-32 in first person.

The "Viper" being dual wielded

The reloading animation. Note the interesting way the weapon has to be held due to swapping magazines with the right hand.

Shotguns

M-170 "Hammer" Combat Shotgun

The standard issue shotgun for Area 51 personnel. It is also used by mutant security guards and Illuminati Dark Ops. The weapon best resembles a SPAS-12 and, like the "Viper", can also be dual-wielded. The biggest change from the real SPAS-12 is that it has two barrels, two magazine tubes, and two ejection ports (one on each side of the receiver). The weapon holds 10 rounds (presumably 5 in each tube), and standard fire consists of one round at a time in semi-automatic, while secondary fires two at once, which is followed by a cycle in pump-action. Therefore, when using secondary fire while dual-wielding, the weapon will fire four rounds at a time, dealing immense damage to targets. The gun also has a built-in flashlight, but no scope.

SPAS-12 - 12 Gauge

M-170 "Hammer" Combat Shotgun.

The M-170 in first person. Its secondary fire ability makes more sense than the SPAS-12 from Half-Life and its sequel.

The shotgun being dual-wielded. When performing a double-shot with both shotguns, the player will then shake both the guns in the air in order to cycle their pump.

Sniper Rifles

SR-125 "Wraith" Special Purpose Rifle

The main sniper rifle of the game, the weapon best resembles the PSG-1 sniper rifle. As per its caliber, the SR-125 is a powerful weapon and ammunition for it is mostly found in the hands of Illuminati Black Ops, who may also use the rifle against the player. In-game, the mockup PSG-1 is fed by 6-round magazines, and according to the game's instruction manual, the rifle fires SLAP rounds. The scope magnifications of the weapon are 2x zoom and 10x zoom.

PSG-1 7.62x51mm NATO

The SR-125 "Wraith" Special Purpose Rifle.

The player character realizes that 6 rounds might not be enough. Note the further-back bolt assembly of the rifle.