MP7

The SMG is a sub-machine gun manufactured on Earth for the needs of Combine Overwatch and Civil Protection. SMG itself resembles the H&K MP7 PDW in appearance, but is larger in size, among other differences. The SMG is the most common automatic weapon in Half-Life 2 and its episodes. It packs little stopping power, and has fairly poor accuracy beyond short range, but this is made up for by its high rate of fire and the large 45-round magazine it houses.

The SMG, along with the Pulse Rifle, forms the bulk of the Combine's small arms and is often carried by Overwatch Soldiers and Civil Protection officers. In addition, the SMG is the most common automatic weapon used by the resistance, who have captured large numbers of them.

In Half-Life 2, the player acquires their first SMG in the chapter Route Kanal from a Civil Protection officer who rappels down into the sewer to intercept the player.

Usage


The SMG has two fire modes. Primary fire is fully automatic, with a high rate of fire, but poor accuracy. Secondary fire launches a grenade, which explodes on impact and follows a distinct arc towards it's target. The player can carry up to three of these grenades at a time.

Tactics
Although not very powerful at range, the SMG is ideal for close quarters combat with multiple foes due to it's high rate of fire and large magazine capacity. Be sure to watch your ammo count, however, because fully automatic fire depletes ammunition quickly. Ammunition is plentiful in most places, and large stocks of ammo (in infinite supply crates) are often found in Resistance and Combine strongholds alike, but in other, more isolated spots, it may be harder to come by, in Ravenholm for example.

The secondary fire grenades are excellent for hitting targets that are behind cover or large groups of targets, but they aren't very effective against heavily armored or fast moving targets, such as Striders or Gunships. Also, use the grenades sparingly, as they are fairly rare.

Trivia

 * The SMG is closely based on the H&K MP-7 Personal Defense Weapon, its real life counterpart. However, the MP-7 has only one barrel, while the SMG has two, one of which launches grenades. It is only larger than real-life MP-7 (it is impossible to integrate a working grenade-launcher into real MP-7 because it has no interior space for such)


 * The grenades fired from the secondary barrel of the SMG are of wider diameter than than the barrel itself. This is most likely a minor design oversight.


 * When the player reloads the weapon, the magazine never leaves the grip housing. The player's hand just slaps the bottom of the gun. This is best viewed when looking up. This is most likely also a minor design oversight.