Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle

The Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (OSIPR), also known as Pulse Rifle or AR2, is a Dark Energy / pulse-powered assault rifle manufactured by the Combine.

Overview


The OSIPR is essentially a Combine variant of current assault rifles, commonly issued by Overwatch Soldiers and Overwatch Elites. It has a 30-round magazine, which is reloaded with an automatic mechanism built into the weapon. A Dark Energy Energy Ball shooter is built into it; the orb is capable of disintegrating almost anything it touches. On the body can be seen the alphanumerics "V952", also featured on other Combine devices.

The player first acquires the weapon at the end of Half-Life 2's sixth chapter, "We Don't Go To Ravenholm...", scavenged off of a dead soldier previously fighting stray Zombies coming out of Ravenholm. In Episode One, it can be found in a Combine supply room in the chapter Urban Flight. In Episode Two, it is found in a doorway in the chapter Freeman Pontifex, near a small overrun Combine outpost. (NOTE: It's supposedly a REBEL base overrun by the Combine, then overrun by zombie infestation.) While the OSIPR is common amongst the Overwatch forces, only Overwatch Elite are allowed to fire the Energy Balls.

Rebels often capture OSIPRs for their needs. Notably, a Rebel at White Forest informs his comrades that the weapon's secondary attack can be useful against Hunters, leading to the AR3 dispute. (The AR3 dispute can be found/heard after you enter the base entrance from racing dog to the base.) While similar, the mounted variant, the Emplacement Gun, is a different pulse gun.

Tactics



 * The OSIPR's recoil is extremely strong. The weapon's spread is much worse when firing the weapon in automatic mode, so firing it in short bursts is highly recommended (this also conserves ammo). Furthermore, the player can only hold three full magazines (that is, one in the gun, two spare), which are easy to go through if firing in automatic mode.


 * Since the amount of ammo the player can carry for the OSIPR is relatively low and it burns down ammo very quickly if not carefully managed, it is best used in situations where nearby ammo is plentiful - that is, when fighting Combine Soldiers.


 * The cores powering the weapon's alternate fire are rather hard to come by and should be preserved for special cases. They are efficient on lined up enemies, since it goes through them all before it hits a wall. Using it in small rooms is also efficient, since it bounces on the walls, floor and ceiling.


 * The cores are also known to be a one-hit-kill against even a Hunter (note that the Energy Ball is destroyed when it hits the Hunter).


 * OSIPR-fired Energy Balls can be deflected by a blast made with the Gravity Gun, by capturing it. This happens whether or not the Gravity Gun is infused with the Citadel's Dark Energy.


 * Energy Balls can be used to kill Striders but they only do around a third of the damage of the RPG rockets.

Behind the scenes



 * At one point in Half-Life 2's development, there were three assault rifles: added to the OSIPR, there was the AK-47 (or AR1) and the Incendiary Rifle that used a slightly different OSIPR model and functioned as a Flare Gun with a five-round magazine. The OSIPR was originally slated to be an OICW and would be the Combine's weapon of choice. All three weapons were finally scrapped. Instead, the Incendiary Rifle's model was turned into the OSIPR's, which became the only assault rifle in the final game. The OSIPR's model still uses the name of the original model ("v_irifle").

Trivia

 * Gordon holds the OSIPR with only one hand. This is merely a design oversight.


 * Originally, the Energy Ball could disintegrate Barnacles only in Episode Two. In the other episodes, it would merely pass through the creature without harming it. It has now been updated so that it disintegrates Barnacles in every game.


 * The reload animation used by NPCs for this weapon was recycled from that of the OICW. Therefore, though in the viewmodel it is reloaded internally using an automatic system, when used by NPCs it appears to reload manually and externally. The reload for the NPCs is a manual reload, where the NPC pulls a magazine out and pushes it into the gun, like a MP7.


 * When fired by enemies, the OSIPR uses sounds recycled from that of the OICW.


 * Similarly, the APC's pulse gun sounds just like the player's OSIPR.


 * While the reload animation is featured in the NPCs, it is not in the viewmodel.


 * It appears to be based on PPSh-41 submachine gun, M-240 light machine gun, & G3 assault rifle.

List of appearances

 * ''Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
 * Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
 * Half-Life 2: Episode One
 * Source Particle Benchmark
 * Half-Life 2: Episode Two