The Golden Gun

Overview
The Golden Gun, or The Golden Magnum is a unique, extremely powerful revolver owned by Dr. Breen. It appears similar to the default .357 Magnum, but is coated with a light golden finish.

While it's stats are very similar to the Magnum, it has one key difference; nearly every NPC in the game will instantly die when shot by the Golden Gun. Even the toughest of enemies, such as Antlion Guards or Aces cannot hope to survive a single shot from the Golden Gun. The only NPCs capable of surviving are essential NPCs, such as Alyx or Barney, and bulletproof enemies such as Striders.

Acquisition
The Golden Gun appears in Dr. Breen's office, lying on his desk. If the player is quick, they may be able to get the Golden Gun while in the teleport mishap, but this is extremely difficult. The only other chance to get it is during Dark Energy, where the weapon can be acquired once the player is freed from their pod. As Breen blasts his office with the Dark Energy Gravity Gun, the gun will be scattered and may require some scavenging to find.

Afterwards, it does not appear again unless you use cheats.

Advantages
-Instantly kills nearly any NPC in the game.

-Very accurate.

-Iron sights are precise, albeit slightly crooked.

-Moving does not affect the weapon's accuracy.

Disadvantages
-Slow firing.

-Only appears in one area.

-Has no effect on bulletproof enemies, for obvious reasons.

-Uses the moderately rare magnum ammo.

-Reloading is slow.

-Has heavy recoil.

Tactics

 * Don't worry about aiming for the head. The Golden Gun will kill what it hits, no matter where it hits.
 * Use the Golden Gun on powerful enemies, such as Antlion Guards.
 * Try not to use the Golden Gun too often. While it's damage may seem tempting, ammo for the weapon is rare.
 * It may be unwise to use the Golden Gun against faster moving enemies, such as Aces, due to the weapon's slow fire rate.
 * Try to shoot slowly and carefully with the Golden Gun. The weapon's recoil is quite rough.

Trivia

 * The Golden Magnum is a clear reference to The Golden Gun from GoldenEye 007, but the revolver design could be a reference to Perfect Dark's DY357 Magnum LX, a gold-plated version of the DY357 Magnum, and is owned by Trent Easton.
 * Although Breen owns the Golden Gun, he is never seen using it, nor can any other NPC be seen using it, including the Combine soldiers.