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Aliens vs. Predator 2
Developed by Monolith Productions, Aliens vs. Predator 2 (AVP2) is the sequel to the original Aliens vs. Predator released in 1999. Set in the years 2330-2331, the game chronicles the insidious and explosive interactions between the species of Xenomorphs, Predators, and Humans on the planet LV-1201 after a smuggling accident sets off an alien outbreak on the human Weyland-Yutani facilities there.
This article will mostly cover the human weaponry depicted in the game, along with those introduced in the Primal Hunt expansion pack. All weapon names and calibers come from the original game manual.
The following weapons appear in the video game Aliens vs. Predator 2:
Human-usable Weaponry
M-4A4 Pistol
Unlike their movie counterparts, human characters in this game use this olive-drab-finished weapon as a sidearm.
It is apparently based off the Heckler & Koch Mark 23 pistol, the only differences from a normal Mark 23 are the lack of a threaded barrel and the olive-drab finished frame and slide. It sports a magazine that holds 12 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition (like the Mark 23) and is capable of firing both prefragmented anti-personnel ammo and APCR bullets, the latter of which sport a tungsten core that detaches from the main projectile body on impact and goes on to penetrate armor. It is a good sidearm but a lousy primary weapon barring headshots against certain opponents. The gun sports a laser aiming module that is unfortunately unusable in-game. In single-player it is most commonly seen among the orange-suited Weyland-Yutani containment team personnel.
All human character classes can use this weapon in multiplayer, and the Dunya character of the Corporates faction in the Primal Hunt expansion pack can use two at the same time in both singleplayer and multiplayer. Along with the shotgun, it is one of the few weapons available to human characters that ejects spent casings.
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Shotgun
This pump-action shotgun simply called "Shotgun", resembling a shortened Mossberg 590, can use both buckshot or armour-piercing slugs, and has a tube magazine capacity of 6 rounds. It has a bayonet-lug-type attachment point near the muzzle that cannot be used, a large heatshield on the barrel, and olive-drab furniture. It is effective against close to mid-range opponents with the buckshot and slugs respectively, but as with the movie, aliens that suffer almost any kind of injury will spray their acidic blood in all directions within a short radius in this game, so caution is advised when using this gun against aliens at close range.
Several character classes from both human factions in multiplayer carry this as a secondary weapon. It is also the personal weapon of Dr. Eisenberg, one of the main antagonists of the game. Strangely enough, the weapon's inventory icon depicts a version with a pistol grip and no buttstock, unlike the ingame model, and the weapon itself will always take the same time to reload or change the ammunition type carried, regardless of how much ammunition needs to be loaded or unloaded from the tube magazine.
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M41A Pulse Rifle
The iconic M41A Pulse Rifle makes an appearance in this game. Chambered for M309 10x24mm caseless ammunition, with an implausibly large 99-round magazine (often downloaded to 95 to prevent stoppages) and an underslung grenade launcher firing M40 30mm grenades, this firearm can be found among all human factions (Colonial Marines, Weyland-Yutani security, and the Iron Bears mercenaries) throughout the game, both in singleplayer and multiplayer. The pump-action grenade launcher is never seen reloading, and the LED round counter is non-functional in this game. Unlike the movie, its rounds are less useful against armoured opponents such as Praetorian Aliens or other armoured humans in this game.
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M56 Smartgun
The M56 Smartgun appears in this game. It is chambered for M250 10x28mm caseless rounds, and draws from a single ammo pool with a maximum capacity of 750 rounds. Thanks to its motion sensing guidance system it automatically locks onto moving targets, and can see through a Predator's cloaking device. It is however limited to unguided fire when using night vision, and takes a moment to start firing. It is also a terrible ammunition-hog and is fairly inaccurate even with the lock-on enabled.
The Smartgun is used by all human factions in singleplayer (and is commonly issued to Combat Synthetics), but is available only to the Corporal Harrison character of the Marine faction in multiplayer. Considered a "heavy weapon," player characters can only walk while this gun is equipped in multiplayer.
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M240 Flamethrower
The M240 Flamethrower appears in this game, and is among the most effective weapons against Xenomorphs (the game itself takes a moment to remind the player of this when playing as an Alien). Using napalm from a single ammo pool it strangely never needs to change canisters. Originally it could carry up to 600 units of napalm, but fan outcry caused it to be patched, with the result being that directly hitting opponents with the flame stream was now more damaging than the damage over time from burning, and the maximum ammo capacity was lowered to 150. Additionally, while the inventory icon for the weapon shows the original M-16 carry handle on the top, no such carry handle is visible on the in-game models.
In singleplayer it is a favorite among Weyland-Yutani Hazmat containment troopers. In multiplayer only the Johnson character of the Marine faction, along with the Dunya and Ivan characters of the Corporates faction, can use it if character classes are enabled.
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A cocooned victim about to give a most horrific birth. As with the movie, the M240 flamethrower is an excellent weapon against chestbursters when checking cocooned victims for loot.
M92 Grenade Launcher
This revolving grenade launcher has a 6-shot capacity and may be reloaded by removing and replacing its entire ammunition drum. It can load 4 types of munitions: timed fuse grenades, proximity mines that stick to most surfaces and detonate when something comes near, EMP grenades that stun any living creature caught in its radius, and spider mines that use miniature robotic legs to scuttle towards anything moving nearby, of which the first of these is the only non-fictional type. It seems it could be based on the RG-6 grenade launcher.
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M-6B Rocket Launcher
An anti-vehicular weapon, this rocket launcher has a tube capacity of three rockets, and can fire unguided or tracking rockets, the latter of which require a short period of time to acquire a target. While seemingly out of place in game with almost no vehicular threats, the rockets have an excellent splash damage radius and can clear small groups of advancing Aliens with one shot. Contrary to what the game manual claims, tracking rockets can also track stationary targets (unlike the M56 Smartgun).
This weapon is used in one location by Combat Synthetics in the Predator campaign. In multiplayer only the Jones character of the Marines faction can use this weapon. Considered a heavy weapon by the game, player characters using this weapon in multiplayer can only walk when it is equipped.
M-90 Minigun
A fictional tri-barrelled rotary machine gun with a joystick-syle grip and M60-style handguard, it fires armour-piercing ammunition from a single ammo pool of up to 900 rounds (which it can deplete in about twenty seconds, translating to a firing rate of around 2700 rounds per minute). It offers an unparalleled damage-per-second ratio for a ranged weapon ingame, but its enormous muzzle flash obscures a player's crosshairs in first person view when fired. Despite the M60-style handguard, ingame characters will not actually hold the weapon by the handguard, but by a nonexistent "chainsaw grip." This is due to the animations for the Smartgun being reused for the Minigun.
It is another commonly deployed weapon among Combat Synthetics in the game, and is exclusively available to the Dmitri character of the Corporates faction in multiplayer. Considered a heavy weapon by the game, player characters can only walk in multiplayer when this weapon is equipped.
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WY-102 Sniper Rifle
A fictional weapon based loosely (but obviously) on the Walther WA 2000 with a huge barrel extension. It is the only human weapon with a zoom feature ingame, this sniper rifle can have up to 30 rounds in reserve and does not need to change magazines, though it is also limited to semi-automatic fire only. Because of its extreme power (capable of killing all multiplayer characters in 2 shots or less) and generous ammunition capacity, fan outcry eventually caused the developers to reduce the rifle's maximum ammunition capacity to only 10 rounds, as well as to remove the ingame crosshair when a player is not using the scope. These changes were only of limited effectiveness, however, as the rifle's long barrel acted as a "pseudo-crosshair" allowing players to use it unscoped with reasonable accuracy at short to medium range.
Only the Ichiro and Dunya characters in multiplayer, of the Marines and Corporates factions respectively, can use this weapon in multiplayer if character classes are enabled.
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Other
APC-mounted Miniguns
The APC seen in Aliens makes an appearance in this game, and its twin-linked turreted miniguns appear as well. In this iteration they actually fire (unlike the movie) and provide valuable fire support in one mission. If the player makes the mistake of antagonizing an APC in one of the missions in the Predator campaign, they will find that the APC's miniguns are just as effective against Predators as they are against Xenomorphs.
Several detached APC turrets are also seen as heavy-duty sentry guns around the perimeter of the Forward Observations Pods ingame as well. Unlike the movie, the APC's upper turret will not drop down to the rear of the APC when entering low-clearance areas.
Minigun Emplacement
A four-barrelled minigun mounted on a stationary platform, this weapon is mounted in certain levels of the Primal Hunt expansion pack and comes with a 900 round capacity. Its capabilities are similar to the M-90 Minigun though its muzzle flash is not as extreme, which is plausible since the emplaced minigun has longer barrels than the man-portable M-90 Minigun, and guns with longer barrels generally give off less muzzle flash when fired than guns of the same caliber with shorter barrels do in reality.
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UA571-C Remote Automated Sentry System
The UA571-C Remote Automated Sentry System makes an appearance as the Sentry Gun ingame. In addition to the standard tripod-mounted version, several ceiling-mounted variants are seen. While fragile and unable to defend themselves against attacks from behind, they are capable of seeing through a Predator's cloak and do rapid damage. In the Primal Hunt expansion pack, players using human characters can take up to two tripod-mounted Sentry Guns with them. In this version they carry limited ammunition and are capable of overheating, requiring a cool-down period every so often.
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Enfield L85A1
Scattered through the levels are a variety of magazines, one of which features an Enfield L85A1 with a Susat scope on the cover. Coincidentally, L85A1s were used as set dressing aboard the Sulaco in Aliens.
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Trivia: Dark Angel Cameo
For reasons unknown, the 10th episode of the 2nd Season of Dark Angel, titled "Brainiac," featured a brief gameplay cameo of AVP2 (both the Aliens vs. Predator franchise and the Dark Angel TV series are owned by 20th Century Fox). It originally aired on Jan. 11, 2002, not long after the game's original release in reality. A few short clips of ingame footage (from the Marine player character's perspective only) are seen in the episode, with the game itself serving as a minor plot element.
A few unrealistic aspects can be seen here. First, AVP2 was never released as an arcade title, and as such never had an arcade cabinet, as it would be exceedingly difficult to play a fast-paced FPS game with only a joystick and the three side buttons depicted in the episode. Next, the cameo gameplay switches between AVP2's levels and multiplayer/singleplayer modes in the space of a few seconds, something that isn't possible in the actual game. Finally, the series is set in 2019, and AVP2 was released in 2001, which would make it a decidedly "retro" title by that time (and the unnamed arcade it's depicted in isn't specifically labelled a "retro" arcade either).
On a side note, the director of Dark Angel, James Cameron, also directed Aliens (which would form half of the basis for the AVP franchise). What role he had in the decision to include AVP2's cameo on his show, or what he thought of such a decision, is unknown.
Brainiac (Michael Bower): "Um, never. You might want to move."
As before, AVP2 was never released as an arcade title in reality, so the arcade cabinet seen here was almost certainly custom-built for this one episode. The depicted control configuration of a joystick and a few side buttons was clearly not designed for an FPS game originally intended to be played with a mouse and keyboard, plus the need to have specific keys mapped for the various ingame functions unique to whether the player character was an Alien, Marine, or Predator. The presence of a child around a game rated for players 17+ years of age in reality was likely a jab at how real-life content ratings do little to keep minors from accessing mature content.
Alec (Jensen Ackles): "Max?"
Max: "What?"
Alec: "Or maybe it is about you."
In this shot, Max and Alec are about to discover Brain's "calling card" on the AVP2 arcade machine. The two "sub-screens" underneath the large main screen are very unconventional for an arcade cabinet. Furthermore, the background of the "score screen" is actually just the view of the Marine player character looking up at the sky of the multiplayer level seen in the first clip, while holding a combat knife. The text on the sides of the cabinet reads "SHOW DOWN" but in a vertical orientation, with the AVP2 logo beneath it.
