Audio logs not only provide minor insight on the events leading up to the start of Aliens: Colonial Marines, finding these recordings also increases your Rank bar. Furthermore, the benefits you unlock through higher ranks applies to your profile for both single player and multiplayer. Compared to the tiny dog tags, these audio logs are easy to spot, since they’re represented by large laptops. You can’t interact with all the laptops in the game, though. This handy guide will lead you to all the ones that actually contain audio logs. Note that not all the missions have audio logs.
The colonial marines in the Aliens universe can’t seem to hold on to their dog tags. At least picking up after them is worthwhile. Like the collectable audio logs, getting a dog tag means added progress toward your Rank bar. And no surprise, there’s an achievement for getting all 35 tags. They’re small as dog tags go, so it can be easy to miss a few. Our thorough guide will ensure you find them all.
Along with the many dog tags scattered throughout the Sulaco and LV-426, the famous colonial marines from Aliens get additional name drops through six bonus weapons. These Legendary Weapons can’t be upgraded but are often useful additions to your already-formidable arsenal.
As Newt wisely put it, her doll “doesn’t have bad dreams because she’s just a piece of plastic.” It might be a piece of plastic, but in Aliens: Colonial Marines, it’s worth 20 achievement points on Xbox 360 and a bronze trophy on PlayStation 3.
Mission 1
AUDIO LOG: 1DOG TAG: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: HICKS' SHOTGUN
AUDIO LOG 1
Pardon the spoiler, but have you come across your first Lurker yet? When you do, you’ll see a laptop nearby. Interact with it to get the first audio log.
DOG TAG 1
Found during the ‘Retrieve The Sulaco Flight Recorder’ objective. When the first pack of xenomorphs attack, head right toward the catwalk. The dog tag for Cpl. Dwayne Hicks is sitting on a crate.
DOG TAG 2
Near one of the doorways leading to the gravity well is a shelf with a small red book. Pfc. M. Moore’s dog tag is to the right of the book.
DOG TAG 3
Your final objective in this mission is to open the cargo bay doors from the control room. This will suck out several xenomorphs into space. Before doing this, explore the few crates at the back of the control room. Pfc. S. Trubetskoy’s dog tag is sitting on one of the crates.
LEGENDARY WEAPON: HICKS' SHOTGUN
Naturally, the Legendary shotgun would belong to Hicks, for close encounters. When you get to the top of the gravity well, explore the side rooms until you see a yellow icon next to an armor pick-up. The yellow icon is the the shotgun.
Mission 2
AUDIO LOGS: 2DOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: NONE
AUDIO LOG 1
The first audio log in this mission appears shortly after using the powerloader to open the warehouse door. The laptop will be on a crate in front of a locked door.
AUDIO LOG 2
The other audio log is just as easy to spot, as long as you look up slightly. As you enter the final engineering room, look to the tall counter on the right.
DOG TAG 1
After accessing the chamber using the powerloader, enter the room and look left. Cpl. Cynthia Dietrich’s dog tag will be on a nearby cryo chamber.
DOG TAG 2
After meeting up with Bella, follow the blood trails until you spot an armor pick-up. You’ll find Sgt. Z. Forcher’s dog tag to the armor’s immediate right, on top of a green crate.
DOG TAG 3
After defeating the Weyland-Yutani soldiers in the multi level storage tank room, search a console on one of the elevated tiers. There you’ll find Pfc. J. Ziglar’s dog tag.
Mission 3
AUDIO LOGS: NONEDOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: NONE
DOG TAG 1
Enter the second escape pod chamber. On top of a crate is the dog tag of Pfc. Ricco Frost.
DOG TAG 2
When you reach the broken stairs, don’t jump immediately jump to the bottom! Instead, slowly move along stairs, dropping down one or two platforms. The dog tag of Pfc. E. Greenlief can be found next to some armor and ammo pick-ups.
DOG TAG 3
Finding the dog tag of Cpl. T. Ashley requires a little exploring. Before you enter the dropship cargo bay, look for a large crate. The dog tag will be to the right of the crate.
TOC
Mission 4
AUDIO LOGS: 1DOG TAGS:LEGENDARY WEAPON: GORMAN'S PISTOL
AUDIO LOG 1
This audio log can be found shortly after entering Hadley’s Hope. The laptop is on a desk in one of the first open rooms.
DOG TAG 1
Lt. B. Norton’s dog tag is in the operations room, a room that you needed to access using the cutting tool. The dog tag on a white desk on the elevated tier.
DOG TAG 2
After placing the first sensor, enter the small room on the right. Pfc. Trevor Wiersbowski’s dog tag is on the gurney.
DOG TAG 3
Once in the tunnels (armed with a smartgun), look out for an open room on the left side. Pfc. Jenette Vasquez’s dog tag can be found at the back of the room on a crate.
DOG TAG 4
Continue along the left hallway until you spot a small drop. After dropping, you’ll find yourself standing in debris and puddles. Walk forward a couple steps then turn around to find Pfc. M. Macaulay’s dog tag. If you came across Gorman’s pistol first, you passed the dog tag.
LEGENDARY WEAPON: GORMAN'S PISTOL
This sidearm may not have much firepower, but its accuracy and fire rate makes it handy for gamers with fast trigger fingers. You can find this on a table near the end of the tunnels. O’Neal will be standing to your right, waiting for you to open the door. Pick up the weapon before opening the door.
Mission 5
AUDIO LOGS: NONEDOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: HUDSON'S PULSE RIFLENEWT'S DOLL
DOG TAG 1
After finally getting some fresh air by entering the yard, look for the large shipping container on the left. Lt. William Gorman’s dog tag is on top of the container so use the antenna nearby as a ramp.
DOG TAG 2
Progress along the yard until you come across a large garage door. The dog tag of Cpt C. Bradley is right at the foot of the door.
DOG TAG 3
Enter the garage to find Pfc. M. Jelley’s dog tag. It will be behind a box under the first stairwell.
LEGENDARY WEAPON: HUDSON'S PULSE RIFLE
Remember where Hudson met his glorious demise in the movie? His pulse rifle isn’t too far off in the Colonial Marines. You can find it in corner office shortly after reuniting with O’Neal.
NEWT'S DOLL
The graveyard of xenomorph husks in Mission 5: The Raven is one of the creepier locales in the game. It’s even more so since you have to traverse the area as silently as possible. This is also where you can find Newt’s doll, well, at least it’s head. After pulling the third switch in the sewer, continue along the unexplored portion of the sewer. You’ll soon come across a dead-end nook to the right. There you’ll see three barrels and the doll head on top of one of them. Simply approach the head to earn the trophy/achievement as there’s no pick-up prompt.
Mission 6
AUDIO LOGS: 3DOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: VASQUEZ'S SMARTGUN
AUDIO LOG 1
You’ll know you’re close to this audio log when you find the open panel and Bella says she’s afraid of heights. Drop down the hole and turn around. You should be able to see the laptop on one of the messed up catwalks.
AUDIO LOG 2
This one can be found after encountering and disabling the first turret. The audio log sits on a stack of yellow containers in the armory.
AUDIO LOG 3
One of the two other turrets in this map was aiming down a hallway. Go down this hallway to find a sealed door. Open the door to find the audio log.
DOG TAG 1
You know you’re near Cpl. M. Bailey’s dog tag when you see a dropship try to dodge falling Sephora debris. The dog tag is on a metal plate with a cracked helmet.
DOG TAG 2
Pfc. J. Washenfelder’s dog tag is also among the Sephora wreckage. While staying along the left edge of the map, you’ll eventually come across a yellow crate. The dog tag is on top of it.
DOG TAG 3
Finding Pfc. Daniel Spunkmeyer’s dog tag is easy. It’s on the same console that O’Neal hacks to access the manifest.
LEGENDARY WEAPON: VASQUEZ'S SMARTGUN
Vasquez’s Smartgun - “Let’s Rock!” You rocked it once earlier in Mission 4, now you can do it again in Mission 6. Proceed until you reach the garage door where Weyland-Yutani soldiers and xenomorphs are battling outside. Don’t go outside just yet; instead do a 180 and head for the stack of pallets on the corner of the room. There you’ll find the smartgun sitting on the pallets.
Mission 7
AUDIO LOGS: 3DOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: NONE
AUDIO LOG 1
This audio log appears during the ‘Locate and rescue the marine being held captive’ objective. It can be found on a white table in the same room of a Weyland-Yutani gunbattle.
AUDIO LOG 2
The one is located in the operating room before the second alarm room. It’ll be on an operating table.
AUDIO LOG 3
You know you’re close when the ‘Get to the power module and shut it down’ objective appears. You can find the audio log on the lower floor in a small control room of the power building.
DOG TAG 1
After Winter says, "They've sealed the cavern up. They're not stupid.", make a right. Sgt. Al Apone’s dog tag is on a crate sitting on a short set of stairs.
DOG TAG 2
Pfc. K. Barrington’s dog tag can be found at the end of the walkway with the alarm. Be sure to turn off the alarm first!
DOG TAG 3
When you go down the stairs from the main control room, look for some cardboard boxes nearby. Knock the boxes around to find Cpl. C. Nelson’s well-hidden dog tag.
Mission 8
AUDIO LOGS: 2DOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: NONE
AUDIO LOG 1
When the mission begins, go down the first hallway and enter the first room on the left. The audio log is on a desk in the small office.
AUDIO LOG 2
SPOILER! You get to explore the infamous Derelict spacecraft. When you get to the interior catwalks, the audio log is in the first building.
DOG TAG 1
Expect to find Pfc. Time Crowe’s dog tag during the drawn out outdoor gun battle. There are a few similarly designed single-room buildings along the path. The dog tag is in the third building, sitting on a crate.
DOG TAG 2
Cpl. S. Baroski’s dog tag can be found on one of the catwalks near the “alien weapon platform”.
DOG TAG 3
During the objective titled, “Rescue the captive marine”, find large green truck and a non-working elevator. In between the two is a crate and Pfc. D. Capes’ dog tag.
Mission 9
AUDIO LOGS: NONEDOG TAGS: 4LEGENDARY WEAPON: VASQUEZ'S PISTOL
DOG TAG 1
To get Pfc. Mark Drake’s dog tag, we strongly advise you to first rescue the marine named Duplis, who is in one of the labs. Outside of that room is a larger lab with long desks. The dog tag is on one of these desks, next to a microscope.
DOG TAG 2
After making a stand in the vehicle bay, take the downward stairs at the ground floor to access a tunnel. With the flashlight on, look at the ground for Lt. P. Watkins’ dog tag.
DOG TAG 3
Look for Pfc. D. Rechner’s dog tag after defeating the bull-like crusher xenomorph. Enter the next structure to find the dog tag on a shelf.
DOG TAG 4
As you approach the dropship pad, continue forward past the dropship. The dog tag of Sgt. R. Siwiak is on a crate next to a backhoe.
LEGENDARY WEAPON VASQUEZ'S PISTOL
This pistol is just as well-hidden as Vasquez’s smartgun from Mission 6. When you enter Hadley’s Hope, go down the left hallway. In the small room at the end of the hallway, you’ll find the pistol behind some crates.
Mission 10
AUDIO LOGS: NONEDOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: FROST'S FLAMETHROWER
DOG TAG 1
SPOILER! Pfc. J. Ma’s dog tag is in the same room as the space jockey. The dog tag can be found on a crate at near end of the catwalk.
DOG TAG 2
To get Pfc. P. Morales’ dog tag, make your way to the area with the second AA gun. There you’ll find a group of marines standing their ground. The dog tag will be near a forklift by the marines.
DOG TAG 3
Proceed to the downed dropship to find Cpt. Colette Ferro’s dog tag. It will be near a number of injured marines.
LEGENDARY WEAPON: FROST'S FLAMETHROWER
There are three AA guns to take out in this mission and Frost’s Flamethrower can be found in the area with the third AA gun. It’s conveniently located in the same shipping container as the RPG needed to take out the AA gun. This container will be on your right when you enter the area.
Mission 11
AUDIO LOGS: NONEDOG TAGS: 3LEGENDARY WEAPON: NONE
DOG TAG 1
Head for the wall opposite the airlock door. Then turn left, walk about five paces, and turn right. There you’ll find Pfc. A. Montgomery’s dog tag.
DOG TAG 2
The best way to find Cpl. L. Papp’s dog tag is to look for the large net-wrapped shipping container. Next to it is a small cart, which is where you can find the dog tag.
DOG TAG 3
Saving Pfc. William Hudson dog tag for last! To find this, you have go around to the other side of the crashed dropship. Look closely on the floor as it’s mixed amongst the crash debris.
