I think its the same suit.
<theory>
During your time in stasis, the G-Man took the HEV suit away (in the
same way he took your weapons at the end of HL1); and left it somewhere
that your allies (Dr Kleiner, Dr Vance, Barney or even the Vortigaunts)
could find it.
The suit probably has some sort of identifying RFID tags built into it
(in fact, you were told as much a couple of times during HL1). And
someone familiar enough with the technology could read it to figure out
who the suit was assigned to at Black Mesa.
Why would G-Man do that? Well its already implied that he "stage manages"
parts of the adventure to either force Gordon down a certain path, or to
help him out in crucial situations.
By leaving your suit behind, he helps to provide a key element in building
the resistance to the combine (the belief that the survivor/hero of
Black Mesa somehow survived)(Not to mention the almost hero worship
of the freed Vortigaunts). By leaving it where it could eventually get
back to Dr Kliener, who would recognize its significance and have the
ability to improve on the design, as well as providing hope for your friends
that someday Dr Freeman might show up again to kick ass and take samples.
</theory>
Plus, the whole scene in "A Red Letter Day" was (to me) set up to
make the player feel like they were stepping back into the same old suit.
The same way that heroes in classic literature had to put on their
favorite old uniforms and battle armor in preparation for one more
great fight.
<theory>
During your time in stasis, the G-Man took the HEV suit away (in the
same way he took your weapons at the end of HL1); and left it somewhere
that your allies (Dr Kleiner, Dr Vance, Barney or even the Vortigaunts)
could find it.
The suit probably has some sort of identifying RFID tags built into it
(in fact, you were told as much a couple of times during HL1). And
someone familiar enough with the technology could read it to figure out
who the suit was assigned to at Black Mesa.
Why would G-Man do that? Well its already implied that he "stage manages"
parts of the adventure to either force Gordon down a certain path, or to
help him out in crucial situations.
By leaving your suit behind, he helps to provide a key element in building
the resistance to the combine (the belief that the survivor/hero of
Black Mesa somehow survived)(Not to mention the almost hero worship
of the freed Vortigaunts). By leaving it where it could eventually get
back to Dr Kliener, who would recognize its significance and have the
ability to improve on the design, as well as providing hope for your friends
that someday Dr Freeman might show up again to kick ass and take samples.
</theory>
Plus, the whole scene in "A Red Letter Day" was (to me) set up to
make the player feel like they were stepping back into the same old suit.
The same way that heroes in classic literature had to put on their
favorite old uniforms and battle armor in preparation for one more
great fight.
Another reason is that Valve (Marc Laidlaw) wanted to recreate that
feeling that players got when they first donned the HEV suit in HL1.
But they had to write it in such a way that it would feel both familiar
to HL1 players, and still come across as a new thrill for people who
never played the original game.
feeling that players got when they first donned the HEV suit in HL1.
But they had to write it in such a way that it would feel both familiar
to HL1 players, and still come across as a new thrill for people who
never played the original game.
