Carbine

"M4A1 carbine. Hmph. Barrel tends to overheat. Other than that, a fine weapon."

- Jennifer Mui

The Carbine is an assault rifle featured in both Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
The player gets this weapon when they start the game, but the help file associated with it will not appear until you finish off the Two of Clubs mission, then enter and exit the AN HQ (presumably to start your next assignment). Once the ability to save the game is installed, the weapon help files will start to accumulate.

The Carbine's main strength is its moderate accuracy over long range. Compared to the Assault Rifle, the Carbine is more accurate. For sniping targets at great distances however, stick with a Sniper Rifle. This weapon is available in South Korean and Allied Supply Drops. AN soldiers, officers, and South Korean (ROK) forces have this weapon. If you happen to come across a chopper crash or a nuked APC, you can pick up free Carbines.

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Sender: ExOps Reference Desk

Subject: Carbine

"Modern short-barrel 5.56mm US military rifle.
 * Moderate stopping power
 * Very accurate"

The Carbine can be acquired from the following:
 * Allied Supply Drop
 * South Korean Supply Drop
 * Carried by AN soldiers
 * Carried by SKU soldiers
 * Carried by the Queen of Clubs

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
The double-stacked magazines and carrying handle are gone, being replaced with an open Picatinny rail (commonly called a flat-top). The AN have stopped using this, with the exception of medics, and it is only used by the mercenaries of TSI.

However a glitch is that if you beat the game for the P.L.A. there is one allied soldier that has one, although it is not any different from the Universal Petroleum version.

The carbine can be acquired from the following:
 * UP Supply Drop
 * Carried by UP mercenaries

Mercenaries 2 Mobile
The Carbine also appears in Mercenaries 2 Mobile, but it is used less frequently than the Assault Rifle by the enemies. One Carbine can be found at the beginning of the 'Inside Man' mission, otherwise it is a rare enemy drop. Unlike the model in the other releases of the game, the Carbine has a carrying handle here, just like in the first Mercenaries. In this game it is considered a primary weapon, meaning that if picked up it goes in the first weapon slot, it has unlimited bullets in the reserve, and it will shoot automatically when there are enemies nearby, unless the player is crouched behind sandbag piles. In this game the weapon has only 7 bullets in the magazine, but it recharges automatically as soon as it empties. This weapon is basically a more powerful and reliable Assault Rifle.

Real life
Although referred to as an M4A1 carbine in Playground of Destruction, the in-game model is that of the similar Colt Model 727 as noted by its fixed carry handle. The Carbine in World in Flames, however, is correctly based on the M4A1 carbine.

Trivia

 * On the cover of Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, the M4A1 carbine that Jennifer Mui carries is shown with a scope, no such scope exists on any Carbine that appears in the game. This is not exclusive to the cover, on the back side, Mattias Nilsson also appears to wield one while hijacking a tank, as well as a group of South Korean soldiers attacking an unknown target. These images could suggest that the Carbine was originally meant to be scoped.
 * If the player look closely at the carbine in game you can see another magazine tied to the current magazine in the gun. This is used in real life sometimes for quicker reloading.
 * It is one of the most commonly used weapons in the game, along with the Assault Rifle. However, the users of the M4A1 are often the player's allies, making it harder to obtain in the field without upsetting either the South Korean Union or the Allied Nations, and Universal Petroleum from World in Flames in the case of the A.N. from the first game, paying a rather hefty fee.
 * Although it is mentioned that the Carbine has a tendency to overheat, this has no effect in gameplay, and the only real downside to automatic fire is the lack of accuracy.