Aliens vs. Predator 2

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Aliens versus Predator 2 (2001)

Overview

Developed by Monolith Productions, this title is the sequel to the original Aliens versus Predator released in 1999, and itself a prequel to the most recent Aliens versus Predator title released in 2010. 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.

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 Mk 23 Mod 0 pistol, the only differences from the normal Mk 23 is 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 MK 23) and is capable of firing both prefragmented anti-personnel ammo and tungsten-core armour-piercing ammunition, 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 ingame. In singleplayer 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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The H&K Mk 23 Mod 0, the handgun the M-4A4 is based on.

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Yes, you really do have to face down one of these poster children of ugliness with nothing but this gun. Hope you've been practicing your headshots.

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The slide's engraving reads ".45 Cal Auto," which may or may not be an oblique reference to .45 ACP ammunition.

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A Weyland-Yutani containment team member with an M-4A4 pistol. While the uniform and weapon might seem more suitable for putting down unruly prisoners than fending off Xenomorphs, the Weyland-Yutani complex on LV-1201 does in fact use convict labour, which becomes a plot point later in the game.

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Bonus: This one's for Vasquez, you damn dirty alien!

Unknown Shotgun

This pump-action shotgun (possibly based on the Mossberg 590) can use both buckshot or armour-piercing slugs, and has a tube magazine capacity of 6 rounds. It has an attachment point near the muzzle (a bayonet lug?) that cannot be used, a large heat-shield on the barrel, and olive-drab furniture. It is effective for close-range fighting, but as with the movie, Aliens that suffer almost any kind of injury will spray acid blood in all directions in a short radius (in reality, barring high pressure, the blood would follow a bullet or blade's path out back), giving them another advantage at point-blank range, so caution is advised when using this gun against Aliens.

Several character classes from both human factions in multiplayer carry this as a secondary weapon.

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Mossberg 590, could be what the shotgun in-game is based on.

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A fine "boomstick" for most close encounters of the wrong kind, except this particular aggressor has an equally deadly Combistick coupled with obscene amounts of health.

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Despite being alone in one of the more Xenomorph-infested parts of the Primary Operations Complex on LV-1201 that is slowly being turned into another Alien hive, the player character still finds time to admire the muzzle attachment on his shotgun.

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A pump-action shotgun near its fallen and decaying former owner. This is one of the few corpses you encounter in this section of the first level, and your squadmates elsewhere remark that they "don't see any bodies" despite seeing signs of "definite heat." Based on what your character encounters later, this poor sod had it lucky.

M-41A Pulse Rifle

The iconic M-41A Pulse Rifle makes an appearance in this game. Chambered for M309 10x24mm Caseless ammunition, with an implausibly large 99-round magazine 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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M41A Pulse Rifle

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Firing at Alien Drones with the M-41A Pulse Rifle. Surprisingly enough, shooting at their legs in singleplayer is more effective at stopping them than shooting at their heads, since you deal no extra damage by doing the latter and doing the former is likely to blow off their legs and leave them crawling slowly, whereupon you can finish them at your leisure.

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Private Duke and Sergeant Hall of the Colonial Marines with their Pulse Rifles.

M-56 Smartgun

The M-56 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 Harrison character of the Marine faction in multiplayer. Considered a "heavy weapon," players can only walk while this gun is equipped in multiplayer.

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"Let's rock!"
Blazing away with the Smartgun at a horde of Aliens. The trigger is a red button near the player character's left thumb, and for some reason the developers saw fit to include a quarter-second delay as your character reaches for and presses the trigger to start firing.

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An Iron Bears mercenary with an M-56 Smartgun firing away with an enormous muzzle flash.

M-240 Flamethrower

The M-240 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 ingame models.

In singleplayer it is a favourite 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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M240 Flamethrower

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Torching an unsuspecting Weyland-Yutani prison guard with the M-240 flamethrower. While a devastating short-ranged weapon, your character needs to spend a few seconds igniting the pilot light when drawing the flamethrower before being able to fire.

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Weyland-Yutani Hazmat troopers with M-240 flamethrowers desperately trying to contain an outbreak of facehuggers the Marine player character, Corporal Andrew Harrison, started.

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Bonus: Kill me . . . kill me . . .
A cocooned victim about to give a most horrific birth. As with the movie, the M-240 flamethrower is an excellent weapon against chestbursters when checking cocooned victims for loot.

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.

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The APC and its mounted miniguns shooting at offscreen Xenomorphs. Corporal Harrison, the Marine player character, can be seen in the left side of the picture.

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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A tripod-mounted Sentry Gun on the ground. These are often placed around the singleplayer levels to ambush the Alien or Predator player characters. This is also the version that can be picked up in the Primal Hunt expansion pack.

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A ceiling-mounted Sentry Gun. This particular specimen was hacked to target a nearby Weyland-Yutani security guard.