Half-Life 2's weapons are a mixture of old and new concepts from the series. One notable difference between Half-Life 1 and 2 is the fact that although you can carry as many guns as you wish, your ammunition capacity is far, far lower in Half-Life 2 than it was in the first game. On average, you can only carry two full reloads for many of the better weapons, so be sure to conserve your ammo!

Crowbar Melee Weapon The same old weapon we know and love from the first game. Use it to play whack-a-mole with headcrabs, scanners and manhacks.

USP Match Hand Gun Simply a standard side arm, the pistol is great for taking out headcrabs and setting explosive barrels on fire. It is also a godsend after you have run around with nothing but a crowbar and foul language.

.357 Magnum Hand Gun Similar to the original .357 from half-life, this one does not have a zoom function. It also doesn’t carry as much ammunition. However, it packs a massive punch, and you will forget about any shortcomings the first time you see a Combine flip from a headshot.

SPAS-12 Shotgun Essentially the same beast as HL1, with both single and double fire. It is a powerful, effective weapon at close range, great for taking out zombies and antlions. The one main difference between it and its predecessor is that it only holds 6 shells, so conserve your ammo!

MP-7 Sub-Machine Gun The MP7 is a respectable little submachine gun with a high rate of fire but fairly low level of damage. To make up for that it also has a grenade launcher alternate fire that can be very useful in tight situations.

Zero Point Enery Field Manipulator (Grav. Gun) Experimental Weapon The greatest weapon ever made. The gravity gun can be used to interact with almost every non-organic object in the game. It turns barrels and propane tanks into bludgeons of death, and makes retrieving weapons, health and ammunition child's play.

Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle Combine Assault Rifle Using the omnipresent Combine pulse technology, the Combine Assault Rifle does devastating amounts of damage quickly, at the expense of ammunition at a high rate. The alternate fire shoots a plasma ball that bounces around like a giant rubber ball, killing anything it touches outright (with the exception of some of the larger foes).

Crossbow Ranged Weapon The new crossbow is a sniper's dream. It fires a piece of heated rebar over a long distance, and can be used to pin people to wall. It is a one shot one kill weapon against all but the toughest enemies.

HE Grenade Explosive Weapon Similar to the grenade in the first game, but better. You no longer have to worry about accidental suicide because you pulled the pin and didn’t throw it right away. Grenades leave a trail of red light in their wake when thrown, making them easy to see. The Combine have the same grenades, but you can snatch them out of the air with the gravity gun and launch them back at the thrower before it explodes.

Pheropod Antlion Guard Organ A lovely little organ from the inside of an antlion guard, pheropods can be used to make the local colony of antlions your bitch! The regular antlions will not attack you once you get them and you can both call and direct up to four at a time. They aren't completely useless if there are no antlions around since you can effectively "mace" Combine with a direct hit from one.

RPG Launcher Explosive Weapon Still the best tool around for taking out flying targets. The HL2 version lacks the alternate fire that turns off the targeting laser, but who used that mode anyway?

Mounted Pulse Gun Mounted Weapon These guns provide infinite ammo and are often placed in strategic locations. Of course, this can be a pro or con depending on if you or your enemy are the one behind the trigger!

Reprogrammed Sentry Turret Automated Weapon As much of a pain as these normally are to you, in some areas you can use them yourself to set up basic defensive systems. Pay attention to where you place them, as poor positioning can greatly reduce their effectiveness.

Tau Cannon Mounted Weapon The tau Cannon from HL1 has made a comeback, as a built in defense on the dune buggy. You can use it in normal move to fire rapid-but-weaker shots (good for clearing you path of soldiers and antlions) or use alternate fire to charge the gun up and get more dramatic, effective kills.

Pulse Cannon Mounted Weapon This is mounted to the front of your swamp boat and is useful for clearing your path of pesky Combine soldiers and the occasional helicopter.

Organic Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (Grav. Gun) Experimental Weapon Same as the Grav. Gun, only this beast picks up even bigger objects and can grab and throw living things too.