What would a shooter be without weapons? Not much! You can expect to see a lot of the weapons from the original Half-Life, but you can also expect to see a lot of new stuff. New means of destruction await your twitchy trigger finger, and we've got all the details below.

Crowbar

This is all you start out with. You're going to have to kill somebody with the crowbar and pick up his gun if you want something that shoots. You can also use the crowbar for more practical things breaking windows, prying things open or just plain smashing them apart.

Glock 9mm Pistol

Just your plain old 9mm pistol, don't waste rounds because you will have to reload. One shot, one kill. Additionally, you can hold down the alternative fire button to pop off a rapid succession of rounds at the sacrifice of accuracy.

.357 Magnum

This handheld cannon can easily rip a nice-sized hole through the enemy, and coupled with its "zoom" feature (alternate fire), can also be used as a great sniper gun. The only drawback to using this baby is the seriously skewed view you get from the recoil, but its fair fire-rate more than makes up for it.

Assault Shotgun

The shotgun is a Franchi-Spas 12 semi-automatic assault shotgun that loads from the bottom. Spread open some head with a barrage of led. You know the drill, but now you can see the walls turn to swiss cheese.

MP-5

The MP5's rapid-fire already makes it a formidable weapon, but its alternate fire, the "on-contact explosive" grenade launcher, makes it one of the most devastating weapons in the game. Aside from the mass genocide you create by using this weapon, it also comes with some really cool graphics that raise "immersion" to a whole new level. The MP5 also spits out tracers as it fires, so you can see where your firing in low lit areas.

Fragmentation Grenade

Hand-grenades are pretty standard in Half-Life. There is a three-second delay, so don't hold it too long or it'll blow your boxers off. It doesn't have a built in ticker, so you can be all sneaky with them and stuff.

Satchel Charges

The satchel charge can be easily slid across floors, or thrown into foxholes, windows and/or doors. Each charge is detonated with a radio device and their splash damage is larger and causes more damage than the grenades. Use extreme caution.

Trip Mines

Once set they emit a laser beam 90 degrees outwards. Once that beam is broken by anything, the mine explodes. They can be placed anywhere, including floors and ceilings.

RPG (Laser-Guided Rocket Launcher)

The rocket launcher is Laser-Guided which means wherever you point the guide the rocket follows. Kind of like a homing effect. Wherever the laser is set, that is where the target falls. You can opt to enable the laser targeting system, thereby giving away your position, or turn it off to conceal your location. The RPG's velocity is slowed down tremendously in water and acts like a torpedo.

Gun Turrets

There are big gun turrets and little gun turrets, but both can kill you. They're motion sensitive and will follow your movements around an area, spraying bullets at you with alarming accuracy.

Crossbow

Though it is not the most rapid firing weapon it is the most accurate. Used as primary fire, the crossbow has explosive tipped bolts (arrows) that explode on contact. It does a fair amount of damage, but the actual blast radius is far smaller than it appears. The crown jewel of the crossbow is in fact in its alternate fire - When switched into alternate fire mode, the crossbow becomes a sniper's dream.

Gauss Gun

An experimental, highly unstable weapon. One of the most important abilities is that it can shoot through walls, making it so that you can't take cover against it. The gauss's primary fire shoots out tiny spurts that are only effective in close to medium range due to its erratic spread. You can charge up the gauss by holding down alternate fire; the longer you charge it up, the stronger it gets. The longer you charge it up is directly proportional to the thickness of the wall you can shoot through. Lookout campers, retribution has come.

Gluon Gun

The Gluon gun (AKA "The Egon") is a prototype weapon developed by the Black Mesa Weapons Research Facility. It emits a constant stream of energy that disingrates anything in it's path. The Gluon Gun and the Guass Gun share the same ammo.

The Hive-hand

The hivehand has eight hornets to begin with, and automatically regenerates them slowly after you shoot them out. It's a great weapon for medium to long range, but once an enemy gets close enough, the hivehand is rendered almost useless due to its slow fire rate (after the initial burst).

Snark

Toss a few at these at an enemy and watch them tear flesh from bone. Make sure they have targets to attack though, because if none are found, they'll turn right back around and head for you. The Snarks explode after 10-15 seconds.

These are the guys who will assist you throughout the game, but you better treat them right! They can help you get through security checks, provide you with useful information (so listen carefully), will fight along side you (well, not the scientists who cower in the face of danger), and can sometimes provide a mending hand.

Security Guards (a.k.a. "Barneys")

Security guards are your friends. Tap them on the shoulder and they'll cover you, fighting monsters that attack you on the way. They can also help you open security doors, among other things. Sometimes called "Barneys" due to their resemblance to Barney Fife of Andy Griffith fame, Security Guards may not be very bright but they can come in handy. Security Guards won't hesistate to defend themselves and their co-workers, so pushing them around is ill-advised.

Scientists

Your fellow co-workers and friends. Scientists may be cowardly bunch, but they can be extremely helpful to you. You won't be able to survive without their assistance, so it's best to keep them alive. Scientists can provide you with useful information and help you get into places that you can't. Plus, they'll occasionally heal you when severely wounded.

Headcrab

The lowly headcrab is the first enemy you'll encounter, and it's by far the most common. These guys love to dwell in dark corners and other out-of-sight areas, trying to surprise victims. The sharp limbs of the headcrab can easily tear through your hazard suit, if you're not careful. Never take headcrabs for granted. They're the most hated, most annoying, and least understood of all xenofauna. Headcrabs move clumsily but quickly. Its leap - if not dodged - is not precisely fatal to its prey, for once the headcrab has attached itself to the skull of a human host, there commences a swift and horrible process of "zombification" which gives the host a continued existence of the most objectionable sort. If you or a companion are ever unavoidably headcrabbed, you would be well advised to put a bullet through the affected brain as soon as possible, for only massive and irreversible damage to cerebral tissue has any apparent effect on the headcrab's ability to "drive" its victim.

Zombie

Want to know what happens after you've been headcrabbed? Take a look. It sure isn't pretty, but don't gawk too long: these guys would just love rip you open and play jumprope with your intestines. Although slow and dimwitted (as zombies tend to be), their long, sharp, claws are deadly. Put zombies out of their misery by attacking them between swipes.

Alien Slave

While many of the alien species collected and studied by the Department of Xenotheric Husbandry exhibit a lifestyle that might be characterized as "undesirable" in human terms, the honors for most wretched existence must certainly be granted to the slave-class of alien, xenotherium subservilia. These pathetic creatures, bred for submissive behavior and unswerving loyalty, will attack and kill without mercy when so ordered by their superiors. In such instances they will wage war with an insect-like vigor, heedless of personal risk, fearing the wrath of their masters more than any possible harm an enemy may inflict. On the other hand, in the rare situations where the alien slaves are out of the direct protection and supervision of an overlord, they will flee without shame and may be considered harmless. The slave species is hardy, impervious to discomfort, and due to the requirements of its breeders, undoubtedly possessed of extremely low intelligence. It is all the more remarkable, therefore, given a breed incapable of conceiving the idea of revolt, that the alien overlords find it necessary to burden their slaves with a metallic torque or slave-collar, which torments and eventually executes any slave that unwisely attempts to remove its yoke. Beware of the slaves' slow-charging energy attack, which is powerful enough to fry you extra crispy with a single blast.

Barnacle

Named for Dr. Louis Donaldson, its discoverer and first victim, the air-barnacle (through a freak of convergent evolution) resembles an unnaturally large member of the terrestrial subclass of Cirripedia, which includes the common goose-neck barnacle. But while the mundane barnacle passively filters nutrients from shifting ocean waters, the xenomorphic dry-land variety takes an extremely active role in the capture of any lifeforms unfortunate enough to enter its habitat. They have been occasionally mistaken for stalactites and light fixtures, and the investigator who values his life should always perform a thorough advance survey of ceilings and before entering caverns and corridors. If you are unfortunate enough to get caught by a barnacle, shoot at its mouth to free yourself. React quickly, or you're food.

Houndeye

The common "houndeye" or "sound dog" is a pack-animal par excellence. A houndeye apart from its pack is an unhappy and vulnerable creature, but in groups of three or more they will exhibit resonant behavior, emitting destructive harmonics capable of rupturing the internal organs of their prey. Deafness and migraine headaches are only two of the symptoms reported by survivors of houndeye attacks. However, if well-fed, they will not engage in harmonic behavior except when threatened and during their seasonal mating spree.

Bullsquid

The natural range and habitat of this supreme predator remain uncertain. While bearing signs of aquatic specialization, the bullsquid's powerful limbs and characteristic neurotoxic (and reportedly psychoactive) "venom-squirt" suggest it has adapted to a terrestrial environment. It is possessed not only of a ferocious appetite (necessary to support its immense bulk) but also of an overwhelming libido. In short, the bullsquid will attempt to eat or mate with almost anything that crosses its path, without regard for species or any apparent reproductive necessity, since dissection clearly indicate that every gastropolypus is hermaphroditic. Additionally, it has been speculated that to fauna of its native environment, the bullsquid's phlegm might have aphrodisiac qualities; but in terrestrial mammalian creatures, it is uniformly lethal.

Alien Grunt

Footsoldier of the invading army, this alien myrmidon relies on telepathy for coordination with its troops, but is no less dangerous when encountered in isolation. Like many inhabitants of the Portal Dimension, it appears to be a colonial creature, harboring several varieties of organic parasites which complement its destructive nature. Most dangerous are swarms of "thornets," heat-seeking autonomous "insects" which breed in their host's paracoelomic cavity and are only too happy to attack and consume the first thing they see upon release. The gleaming partial body armor at first appeared to be the product of an advanced weapons technology; but closer examination of the occasional moribund specimen has shown it to be a biologically extruded exoskeleton, synthesized from a diet rich in certain xenotic minerals. This suggests that long separation from the Portal Dimension, and a diet deficient in alien ores, might lead to the eventual weakening and demise of the alien troops. It is not, however, recommended that Earth rely on poor nutrition to repel the invaders.

Tentacle

Exhibiting characteristics of both the plant and animal kingdoms, it is speculated that the immense specimens reported for this highly sensitive xenosuctorian are a function of the Terran atmosphere. Lacking eyes, ears or other animalian sensory organs, h. sensitiva is nevertheless capable of detecting and targeting emitters of motion and sound in its immediate vicinity, by some process which is incompletely understood. The Tentacle, like some orchids and bromeliads, is most likely an epiphyte, deriving nutrients from the air and detritus; which theory is supported by the observation that h. sensitiva does not appear to eat what it kills, but conceals its prey beneath its root mass and absorbs the byproducts of decay. Stay quite in the presence of tentacles, and/or distract them if you want to stay alive.

Ichthyosaur

With this thing roaming around in the water, nothing is safe. A ferocious predator, the Ichthyosaur can ravage even the most hardy prey in seconds. Don't let its large size fool you; the Ichthyosaur can easily move through the water at great speeds.

Snark

Snarks are very simple creatures with limited capabilites. But if a snark is allowed to get close, they can cause quite a bit of damage, especially in groups. Snarks can be somewhat tamed and used as weapons, but due to their limited mental capacity they'll attack whatever they can find. Including their "master."

Garg

This blue badass can take insane amounts of punishment. Don't bother trying to take this guy out using conventional methods, you'll only waste your ammo. Oh, and don't get too close. Garg doesn't like people invading his space. Don't make Garg angry.

Alien Controller

This flying freak doesn't show up until later in the game, which is a good thing. They attack with energy blasts and are very hard to kill due to their constant movement.

Big Momma (AKA Gonarch)

Ever wonder where baby headcrabs come from? Now you know. Don't mess with Big Momma; if she doesn't crush you to death she'll send out her babies to lend a hand. This is one bad mother.

Baby Headcrabs

Isn't that cute? Baby headcrabs are much like regular headcrabs, except that their smaller size makes them much harder to kill. In other words, they're even more annoying.

Grunts

These guys are here to clean up that little mess you made, and they aren't exactly happy to see you. Grunts are usually armed with a 9mm Assault Rifle and a healthy supply of grenades, but you'll encounter some packing shotguns, rocket launchers, or operating turrents. These guys aren't kamikaze morons; they're experienced troops. They'll work together to take you down. Listen to their radio chatter carefully, as their communications may contain clues.

Assassins

Like women in skintight leather? Well guess what: they don't like you. You don't want to mess with these government trained killers. Assassins possess great speed, agility, marksmanship, and stealth. One of the toughest enemies you'll encounter, and by far the most intelligent. These ladies know that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his sternum.

The Man in the Suit

There is no intelligence available for this individual. His motive, role, and identity are unclear at present.