Alien: Isolation

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Alien: Isolation (2013).

The following weapons appear in the video game Alien: Isolation:

.357 Revolver

The .357 Revolver, manufactured by the fictional Spearhead Armoury, is the only sidearm featured in the game and is frequently used by the many human survivors and security personnel aboard Sevastopol Station, notably Axel (although his revolver's grips appear black possibly due to low lighting conditions). Right after Amanda Ripley (the player character) enters an office in the Lorenz Systech Spir, she can acquire the .357 Revolver, which can be found on a table in said office. However, the player cannot pick up any revolvers dropped by dead humans, although he/she can loot corpses for ammunition.

Gameplay-wise, the .357 Revolver is a six-shot semi-automatic revolver chambered in what can be presumed to be .357 Magnum and appears to be based on the Chiappa Rhino 50DS. Like the Chiappa, it fires from the bottom chamber of the cylinder, which facilitates recoil control and creates a very low barrel axis. Depending on the shot placement, the revolver has some decent stopping power against human beings, but may struggle considerably with taking down Seegson synthetics (the "Working Joes"), especially the heavily armored ones wearing Hazmat suits. As with all weapons in the game, its iron sights cannot be used and the revolver cannot fatally harm the Xenomorph Drones encountered in the game, regardless of the shot placement, the amount of rounds fired at it, and/or the type of rounds fired at it. Unlike most video game portrayals of revolvers, the player actually uses the ejector rod to push out the bullets rather than simply shaking the revolver's cylinder downward. In addition, the revolver is reloaded one round at the time and the player must press the reload button for each round they wish to insert into the cylinder. However, there are several unrealistic aspects of the revolver's reload animation. First of all, the player simply ejects all the rounds from the cylinder (regardless of whether or not all of them were fired) and the unfired rounds somehow magically hop back into the player's ammo pool. Second, the rounds ejected are all spent casings, even if there were unfired rounds still left in the chamber. Finally, the player swings the cylinder shut with the flick of the wrist rather than pushing it closed with the other hand, which can cause the cylinder to be misaligned and/or the revolver to malfunction.

Chiappa Rhino 50DS (5" barrel version), current production model with hard chrome plating - .357 Magnum

During his first encounter with Amanda at the beginning of the game, Axel confronts her while armed with the .357 Revolver.

Note the grips on Axel's revolver, which appear to be black. However, the poor lighting may be causing the wood grips to appear that way.

A side view of Axel's revolver, showing the somewhat vague inscriptions on the barrel. What appears to be the words, "Spearhead Armoury" (presumably the revolver's manufacturer) and ".357 Revolver" (the name of the revolver), can be made out.

Reloading the revolver.

Amanda encounters a Working Joe while proceeding to Seegson Communications.

Amanda picks up the revolver found in the Lorenz Systech Spir.

In a panic, Amanda helplessly continues to insert rounds into the revolver as the dreaded Xenomorph slowly rises to its feet. During the revolver's reload animation, the rounds have to be put in manually with one press of the reload button per round. Note that the Xenomorph more closely resembles the one featured in Alien rather than the other Xenomorphs featured in Aliens and its sequels, which is part of an attempt to recreate the eerie, nostalgic, tensional atmosphere and look of Alien. Like the Xenomorph in Alien, it is highly intelligent, observant, and seemingly unstoppable. It adapts to the player's play style and tactics, detects the player by sound and sight, cannot be killed, and can freely roam around the environment (especially via the use of vents linking the majority of the explorable areas together). This helps recreate the intense, frightening mood of the 1979 film and generates unpredictable, terrifying encounters.

Model 37-12 Shotgun

The Model 37-12 Shotgun, manufactured by the fictional Henjin-Garcia, is carried by Marshal Waits' (VO William Hope) deputy, Richardo, and several of the human survivors on the Sevastopol Station. It is a 12 gauge, 4 round pump-action shotgun that can instantly kill a human with one shot (depending on the shot placement), severely damage Working Joes, and briefly incapacitate the Xenomorph long enough for the player to retreat. It strangely features dual underbarrel internal tube magazines as Amanda Ripley was never seen pressing a button to switch between magazine tubes. However, she could be possibly using only one magazine tube. The shotgun is based on the SWATriplex-18, a prototype shotgun designed in the 1970s by John W. Winter that never got a chance to be mass-produced.

Richardo with his Model 37-12 during Waits' first encounter with Amanda Ripley.

Custom Flamethrower

The custom flamethrower from Alien appears in the Crew Expendable and Sole Survivor DLC, which are set on the USCSS Nostromo during the Xenomorph infestation in 2122 (the year the 1979 film took place in). The flamethrower also makes is presence in the game, although slightly modified aesthetically to differentiate it from the ones featured in the DLCs. Ellen Ripley (voiced by Sigourney Weaver), Captain Dallas (voiced by Tom Skerritt), and Parker (voiced by Yaphet Kotto) all carry the custom flamethrowers in the DLCs.. Unlike many of the weapons in the game, the flamethrower has an effect on the Xenomorph as a small burst of flame can force it to temporarily retreat, giving the player enough time to escape and/or move about an area for a limited amount of time without interference from the alien itself. As with all weapons, it cannot fatally harm the Xenomorph. Interestingly, when using the flamethrower on synthetics, they may occasionally say, "Most animals retreat from fire. I am not an animal." This is a minor reference to Ash (one of the characters from Alien), who said the quote's first sentence.

Screen used flamethrower from Alien. Image from Prop Store of London.

Ellen Ripley picks up the flamethrower resting on the table at the bridge area of the Nostromo. The player can play as Ellen Ripley, Captain Dallas, or Parker in the Crew Expendable DLC, which slightly alters the gameplay and does not affect the DLC's storyline.