| HI - CALIBRE |
| By D.S. O'Reilly and Eric 'The Sarge' Matherson |
| Another month, another trip down to the range. Its coming into winter, and the leaves had gone orange and shades of brown on the trees surrounding the Mohessy reservoir. The Sarge was unpacking the crates and commenting on the lack o armour plating on the company truck. Incase you didnt know, the FreeCal highways can be a little rough and tumble sometimes. We'd brought out a number of heavier class weapons this time around, and we were both pretty eager to get started. I'd brought my favourite pair of earmuffs and shooter's glasses, the Sarge just relied on his Universal Omnitech Dampners. We'd managed to get H&K's awesome new Oikawa , and the anticipation was killing us. |
| Oikawa Integrated Multi-Weapon Platform You might be forgiven for thinking that something called the 'Oikawa Integrated Multi-Weapon Platform' belongs in the realms of Japanamations latest trid thriller, andyou'd be pretty close to the mark if you did. The OIMWP, or just the Oikawa, is Heckler and Koch's latest upgrade of the weapon. Its still in the design and testing phase, so you can imagine how excited we were when we were picked to rate the 'platform'. The Oikawa isnt technically a new concept, but it is unique in the breadth of functionality you recieve in the one package. H&K have been trying to secure this as the UCAS and Japanese Marine's standard weapon for decades, but when you consider what the rifle carries with it, I can understand why the UCAS at least isnt going to give all of their soldiers this. The Oikawa is a 5.56mm calibre weapon, quite tidy in its own right. The magazine is adequate, although by no means extensive, however purchasing the caseless model helps increase this capacity at the cost of environmental ruggedness. The rate of fire is comparable to that of the Colt and Kalashnikov rifles, and the acuracy at range is good enough for marines to pass it, even if the lack of barrel length makes the round a bit unstable at around 500 metres. The thing that sets the Oikawa apart, though, is the integrated 20mm cannon underslung, with computer support. The Oikawa comes with a special top mounted scope with a laser range finger, low light, and all the standard options. The scope acts as a grenade link of sorts for the snub nosed 20mm cannon underneath, allowing the explosive rounds to be airtimed, increasing accuracy tenfold. But enough of the technical aspects. Lets get down to the grit of it. |
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| The Oikawa was fun to play with. Its large and bulky and makes you feel like a Lunar Marine when you carry it, due to its shape and configuration. But, damn, is it heavy! At 7.2 kilos fully loaded, the Oikawa is easily the heaviest Assault Rifle package on the market, and this has to be a factor in your mind when you're purchasing such a weapon for practical and extended use. Of course, all thought of the practical and logistic side of things ended the moment Sarge pulled the trigger on the underslung 20mm. Now, dont let yourself be confused. Underneath is not a grenade launcher, its an assault cannon. The rounds it fires are the same rounds the Panther and Vigorous take. The snub nosed configuration limits the range on the cannon somewhat, but a better bunker-buster weapon you can give your footsoldiers is hard to come by. Pretty soon, the Sarge and myself were taking potshots at abandoned brick buildings and ducking the flying cinder pieces. |
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| Of course, all of this fun in one package comes at a price. The weapon, as mention above, is very heavy. Its also very loud. And sadly, despite being touted as a 22nd century assault weapon, it lacks any form of smartlink, and the recoil on it is rather uncompensated, making the weapon hard to use in full auto. The computer system helps make up for the cannon's recoil, but it still hurts to fire. End-of-Barrel mods can be added, but the weight will become more and more of an issue. Finally, the real kicker is that the weapon runs into the range of 25,000 yen, and no, thats not a typo. Three zeroes. Its in limited release, so god knows what you'd pay to get one on the streets. Mind you, you'll be the coolest person in your coffin-complex if you DO get one. |