Half-Life 2 Theories and Observations *Spoilers*

Nobody has mentioned the fact that the vorts all had green slave collars in HL1 that are obviously removed in HL2. So who had enslaved the vorts in HL1? The combine? Nihilath? (Personally I believe that Nihilath is part of the combine, based on his resemblence to the combine advisor that Breen is talking to at the end of HL2.)
 
Remember at the end of Half-Life 1, the G-Man takes away your weapons and HEV. So most likely he did give it to the resistance
 
My theory on the G-man

An entity that takes is beyond our comprehension hyperdimensional, godlike w/e. He takes whatever form that is recognizable to whoever sees him. Kind of like the movie K-Pax if any have seen it. Kevin Spacey says he looks human because it is a universal shape an exaple would be that a bubble is always spherical. As to his agenda I haven't a clue although the point about the vertigaunt prophesying his demise was very interesting. Maybe Freeman is destined to replace him.
 
DarkStar said:
Nobody has mentioned the fact that the vorts all had green slave collars in HL1 that are obviously removed in HL2. So who had enslaved the vorts in HL1? The combine? Nihilath? (Personally I believe that Nihilath is part of the combine, based on his resemblence to the combine advisor that Breen is talking to at the end of HL2.)
Click to expand...


The first Vort you see (sweeping the floor in the train station) is STILL wearing the collar. Some of the Vorts are still enslaved, presumably by the Combine.
 
About the "stalkers."

It has been suggested here that stalkers are humans that have been modified probably at Nova Prospekt and then are shipped off to the Citadel as slave labor or for other uses. The shipping appears to be done by a combination of the "pods" that hang from the walls and trains.

Here's my question... What happened to the people that we see in other parts of the game that look mutilated and skinny like the stalkers? We see people like this in the houses along the coast and many other places. They don't look like they were attacked by any of the creatures we encounter and they aren't in locations normally associated with this "conversion" we assume is taking place.

Are they in those places because the conversion process started out on a smaller scale in those locations? Are these corpses supposed to represent some other type of death?

Theories?
 
Dammit i missed somethign where are these skinny mutilated err which houses along the coast
 
there is a vortigaunt in the train station? where? give me a pic
 
he is right at the very beggining.. once you go out of the train and go straight forward, when you reach the wall, turn right, hes on the other side of a fence sweeping the ground
 
Good discussions here. Interesting stuff. It would seem to me there would be some validity to the resistance hiring Gordon. I say that because of earlier posts on this thread but also because when Alyx first rescues you from the combine and she says "Its funny you should show up today". That struck me as interesting when she said that.
 
This are some theories I've been working on with some friends today:

G-man actually works against you in HL1 (e.g. closes a door), but is impressed by the skills you show in Black Mesa. So he gives you the option of fighting hordes of monsters without weapons or taking an assignment for his employers. At the end of Half-Life 1, after you enter the portal which G-man offers you, the screen goes black, and it says something like:
Subject: Gordon Freeman
Assignment: Hired
Then in Half-Life 2, G-man says "Wake up, Gordon, smell the ashes" (hinting to what had happened on Earth while you had been "sleeping") and you wake up on a train, where one of the passengers says "Gordon? Where did you get on?". The teleport which you take with Alyx from Nova Propsect takes you to Kleiner's lab 7 days later, indicating that the teleportation technology isn't nescisarily dependent on time. So I think that G-man teleported you 10 years ahead in time, to the time when you could be useful. Having you fighting in the 7-hour war was evidently useless. Also, when you meet Eli and the others they are surprised to see you come now, and are wondering why you hadn't visited them earlier. I mean, if you go through the mess they did at Black Mesa, you'd think they'd get together for a pint or fifteen.

Who G-man is working for is quite a mystery, but I like to think he is a representative for the race which is the actual goal of the combine advisors (Assuming that Earth is another border-world between the combine homeworld and G-man's homeworld). When Breen is attempting to escape, he mentions that he is going to go far away, to another universe. I think that in order to travel from the combine homeworld to G-man's homeworld, you need to go through Xen and Earth's universe. And to be able to do this effectively, they need safe portals in each universe. That's why they attacked us; we were mearly in the way. We opened the portal in the first place, but I've heard people say that Breen was suspiciously supportive of this experiment, suggesting that he may have been involved in some nasty business.
 
Hi Guys! I also got some ideas!

I am thinking about is...at start of HL2 Barney knows you will arrive at this day, hour (?)! but how can he know if you got beamed (?) on the train 1 minute before arriving at the trainstation? and when gordon arrived i dont think barney was waiting for over 10 years until you arrive??? or the Rebells work with the G-Man before the built the City 17 and 14 and and and....maybe the G-Man gets you because he knows that the rebells won't make it without Gordon...(yea i know i think everybody knows it now *g*, sry maybe i post some old things but it is really hard for me to translate the facts from german into english so dont be angry at me ok? thank you)


but if they really knew Gordon will come, than i think that Gordon is maybe a mercenary (?) so "he" got hired from the rebells to help them out...maybe? maybe not!

this were only some ideas i head...maybe i am totally false but maybe there could be something true, or to think about it??

Greets Fips
 
Well, Barney just works at the train station, but do you remember him actually saying that he knew you'd be coming on that very day? He seems to work closely with Dr. Kleiner and Alyx, and they didn't know Gordon was coming, so I don't see why he would keep information like that from Dr. Kleiner and Alyx.
 
Well, Barney just works at the train station, but do you remember him actually saying that he knew you'd be coming on that very day? He seems to work closely with Dr. Kleiner and Alyx, and they didn't know Gordon was coming, so I don't see why he would keep information like that from Dr. Kleiner and Alyx.
Click to expand...

Kliener knew "i expected more warning" "you and me both"

I really think that the resistance have hired gordon as a mercenery from gman to rid earth of the combine...it makes sense.."didnt you relise your contract was open to the highest bidder?" NO!" "Dont listen to him gordon."

hmm....
 
yea that was what i am talking about...i also think that gordon is/was or will be a mercenary..

but how can barney know that gordon arrives...if he really worked with our nice friend "gman" what did he "offered" for help from gman? i dont think he wants money..i also dont think he wants the world...but what does he want?!?!...really confusing...i hope that there will be an expansion soon or half life 3 will tell us who gman is and we will get all answers to our questions!!


also another question is...why did Alyx and Eli don't wanted that Gordon listens to Breen...maybe breen knew something about gman? maybe he and the combines wanted to kill him? maybe they found a "weapon" or a way to kill him...maybe we will find out later..in an expansion or in half life 3


please valve bring out an expansion or half life 3 soon...i want to know who or better..what(?) is the Gman???
 
I like when Alyx said "It's funny you show up on this day inparticular."

More clues that support the G-man offering Gordon's services to struggling worlds.
 
FipS4FuN said:
why did Alyx and Eli don't wanted that Gordon listens to Breen...maybe breen knew something about gman? maybe he and the combines wanted to kill him? maybe they found a "weapon" or a way to kill him...maybe we will find out later..in an expansion or in half life 3
Click to expand...

First post. :)

Anyway, when I saw that particular scene, I just kind of assumed that Alyx and Eli don't want Gordon working for Breen because that would mean the end of the resistance. I mean, it would be a huge blow to morale if your saivor, if your 'one free man' went over to the enemy side. And since morale is pretty much the glue that holds most resistance groups together...

(Although, given the other 1984 references in the game, I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon does in fact do a few odd jobs for the Combine in HL3.)
 
any theories about gordon's family? I haven't seen anyone mentioning before, but at HL1 when you open the Gorden's locker (closet), you see a picture of a baby.. does that mean he was married or did he have a child back then (or now?)
 
burner69 said:
My view:
G-man: God figure, making sure things run as they should - running fate's course or whatever.
Gordon: Used by g-man to make things run as they should.

All other characters; unimportant.

Simple religious metaphor, just our Jesus (gordon) apparently duznt know wat he's really up to.

Loads more to it of course, but that's the underlying principle.
Click to expand...
I really don't think its a religious metaphor. God never tells Jesus "Work for me or DIE"
 
I just want to mention something about the Vort's. This is an easter egg/hidden treasure in HL2.

Go to this part in Waterhazard
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step1.jpg
Turn this direction
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step2.jpg
Use a barrel from the island to get up in the open sewage drain and run
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step3.jpg
Take a left...
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step4.jpg
Then you'll end up here...http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step5.jpg

This Vortigant has about 5 mintutes worth of dialogue. Most of it is just rubbish but he mentions they were enslaved by the Nihilanth and the Free man has saved them so they are working with the resistance in retribute.

So my 2 cents...

After you rid Black Mesa from the alien onslaught opened by yours truely, G-man, I presume freezes you in time, this is reasonable since it has been 10 years since you "reappeared" onto earth. G-man held you there until a massive incident has occured a.k.a the 7 hour war where the Combine took control of the earth and enslaving humanity. Then G-man, knew it was your job to rid the world from the Combine, and the incoming alien forces, just as you did with Black Mesa. Obviously G-man is against the alien's from Xen, who Breen teleports into the world using the Citadel. After the destruction of the main portal in the Citadel, G-man once again freezes you...

A few side thoughts...

The combine are using the headcrabs as weapons to either kill, or draw people away from towns and force people to live in the numbered city's, where it is "safer there".

The combine are either alien's or mutated humans, (most likely aliens from Xen), as you ride through the citadel you see many aliens, including human looking ones which I believe are the Combine.

A few questions I'd like answered...

What exactly was Gordan researching in HL1? That strange mineral which again appeared in the labs in HL2. Where is that from? I'd like to know more about the research and the portal between the 2 dimensions/worlds.

Obviously the G-man. He is some higher being, preferably alien who has large amount's of power and is helping rid the aliens from earth.
 
Question. Where do we get the 'ten years' fact?

How old was Gordon in the begining of HL1? 28 I think? And Kliener mentions that Freeman hasn't changed 'One iota'.

If it has indeed had been a decade, then dont you think that someone else would notice that Gordon looks EXACTLY THE SAME AGE as he was before?

Oh well, plus for Gordon. And if not, well, maybe Alyx goes for older guys. x.-
 
When he comes back to the lab. Dr.Kliener (I think) says he has been gone 10 years.
 
When he comes back to the lab. Dr.Kliener (I think) says he has been gone 10 years.
Click to expand...

No thats after Nova prospekt in which he was missing for a week.

And Kliener mentions that Freeman hasn't changed 'One iota'.
Click to expand...

Thats eli :)
 
nagual678 said:
and where do the modified headcrabs (poison and "fast") come from ? are they just in for the "cool" factor (as in "valve just didnt have the idea/the time for doing them in HL1 so they just kinda slipped them in HL2 hoping they would get along with the "classic" ones without too many questions being asked).. or have they been developed ?
Click to expand...
I don't think that the poison and fast headcrabs are in just for the cool factor or have been developed by a group as a better version of the first headcrabs. It is logically conceivable that the "better" headcrabs are a product of evolution that took place in the 10 year span between HL1 and HL2. Animals when transplanted from their native environment improve in their adepations for survival as a process of natural selection. With headcrabs less poisoness and slow headcrabs were killed more easiily until mostly fast and posioness ones survived.
 
Hey, Where in the world do people see these "stalkers?" I went through the game and didnt see one of those:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ev=/images?q=stalker+half+life&hl=en&lr=&sa=N

Sorry, thats one big link -- but there is a picture of what im TOLD is a stalker, but still, i just finished hte game and did not see ONE. WHere the flip are they?? Gosh!!

Also, you guys ever notice that the Gman looks the least human out of all the people in the game -- maybe its because they modelled it after the figrue of the one in half life, which by all means was not a real person. But still, they made changes to barney to make him look real--they used the face of the Valve president on barney. They also have "facial credits" in the end -- but i would doubt that one of those people is acutally the gman. Everyone else looks real or realistic-- except for that creepy-ass gman. Maybe he is some other form of life.
 
HEaP said:
At the end when Breen is running away from you , did anyone manage to hear his conversation with the combine adviser? About saving is arse, and building a relay somewhere else??? I think the combine’s primary objective is to invade a bigger enemy who is not humanity! Humanity is just in the way!

Like xzen was the border world for earth to teleport to places, earth is the border world for the combine to get to their primary target.

The combine were going to exterminate the human race, getting them out of the way so they can build their relay that will enable their teleportation device to reach their primary target.

Breen sees this so decides to surrender the earth to the combine to save the human race from extinction. The combine try to suppress the humans with the collars things they use on vorts but they don’t work. So they perform surgery removing parts of the human brain and replacing it with alien components creating a easily controllable, loyal trans-humans, spreading propaganda saying this is the next step in human evolution. The humans becoming a valuable resource to the combine. In breens eyes, saving man kind from eradication!

Alien slaves were used to invade Earth, so a Human slave army will be used to I as a first wave to invade the primary target! Who??? Maybe they are the g-mans employers????
Click to expand...

I think HEaP nailed it. The GMan is part of the race being targeted by the Combine for invasion and recruits Gordon to assist in various steps to stop it (i.e. Get control of Xen (from HL1 - "The border world of Xen is now in OUR control") ; put a hurt on the combine in HL2 so that the human resistance will continue to fight).

After the events at BM (which the GMans race WANTED to happen), the GMan discovered how valuable Gordon would be to thier fight of the Combine and "kept him" for future use. The start of HL2 is one of the "future uses" of Gordons "skills".

My $0.02 on top of HEaps (pun intended!).
 
I doubt Gordon has been hired as such by the resistence-- they'd hardly call him "the one free man" if he was a mercenery. Thy were expecting him to an extentm though, which is interesting.

All the otehr theories are very interesting, and I'm VERY glad Valve had the sense to be subtle with the story and not spell it all out (as any writer or film-maker worth their salt will tell you: "show, don't tell!").

Can someone post a screenshot of the "advisor" that Breen talks to-- I didn't spot it when I was playing.

Edit: Pipvault-- you can see some of the stalkers working in the citadel as you're carried though it along the conveyer.
 
I remember a quote from Gabe on the HL2 plot where he said "one group is wrong and the other is spectacularly wrong" or words to that effect. Don't see any tie-in to this myself after playing HL2 though.
 
something more to note: in half life 1, we can see g-man alredy on the train ride, along a scientist, and also near the reception, talking to one. But it's hard for me to see the bigger picture this creates...
 
i don't have any theories, but this screenshot might be able to conjure some more from you guys

 
parecon said:
I just want to mention something about the Vort's. This is an easter egg/hidden treasure in HL2.

Go to this part in Waterhazard
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step1.jpg
Turn this direction
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step2.jpg
Use a barrel from the island to get up in the open sewage drain and run
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step3.jpg
Take a left...
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step4.jpg
Then you'll end up here...http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg818f/step5.jpg

This Vortigant has about 5 mintutes worth of dialogue. Most of it is just rubbish but he mentions they were enslaved by the Nihilanth and the Free man has saved them so they are working with the resistance in retribute.

So my 2 cents...
Click to expand...

too lazy... post a save? :D
 
i think gman works for/was hired by the combine. he probbaly had breen/freeman make the resonance cascade, which would allow the combine to come through and take over. Then the combine use freeman to capture the leaders of the resistance. Besides, multiple times during the game, breen warns freeman that hes not helping humanity at all, and hes actualyl pushing it towards extinction by enraging the combine.

So maybe the gman just wants humans gone. The resistance really doenst know what they are up against, and could very well be the negative factor leading to humaity's destruction.
 
Ok, just to clear this up, because I think it is a pretty important point:

Picture of Odessa talking with the G-Man:

Normal

Detail
 
[Matt] said:
you DO have to look for it yourself... if you press use on the notice board in eli's lab with the newspaper cut outs pinned on it Eli comes over and explains how the combine won the 7 hour war and how breen was placed in charge...
Click to expand...

You have to walk by it, even without the 'E'... Reload the game at "Black Mesa East" if you have missed it the first time.
 
fizzyted said:
Ok, just to clear this up, because I think it is a pretty important point:

Picture of Odessa talking with the G-Man:
Click to expand...

Hm.. That might give new meaning to the line "Tell Dr. Vance I regret not being able to rescue him in person". Did Gman gave him a mission of some sort?

Or perhaps gMan told him the secret of how to shoot down alien gunships with the launcher, and asked him to relayit to Gordon so Gordon doesn't mess up too much for the rest of the game. :LOL:
 
The thing I am afraid of...

The thing I am afraid of is "The Architect" situation... In Matrix Reloaded, the whole Architect scene was oh-so-enigmatic and swarmed many people to discuss this dialogue/monologue in every detail in many threads in many forums, but in the end, it did not seem that significant.

Same might happen with expansion/HL3 story. They might resolve it without considering all the aspects we are discussing here, leaving stuff that seems important to us right now insignificant.

Or they could just leave some things untold, which would be bad too, I think... Leaving things untold actually creates more freedom for fan-fiction, or fiction books, so maybe some time in the future we will see Half-Life Universe books, just like it happened to Diablo or Warcraft.

Personally, I hope for a good resolution in HL3 that will "end" the story. I know they can do it, even though no matter what they choose there will be some whiners that won't like it.
On the other hand, you can never end the story. Paraphrasing JM Straczynski's view of it "even if Gordon and Alyx walk hand in hand towards sunset in the end of Half-Life 3, they will still have to live together, raise their kids and face everyday life challenges". :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Here, the challenges are great, so far there is no sign that Earth could be liberated anytime soon... :borg: :|

But then again, time will tell... Maybe Gman rescued Alyx too?.. :thumbs: She also seems to have "limitlesssssss potential", as she's been quite through something before and during Half-Life2, and mind you, WITHOUT HAZARD SUIT!!!
 
I think people would do a much better job of piecing together the story if they kept in mind that it's a game where the developers have to put in certain contrivances to advance the plot of pace the players location and stuff.

Some people are just such idiots. :|
 
One question I haven't seen answered is what were those 4? legged creatures walking along a platform below you when you were being carried by the pods in the Citadel? Were they Combine or Xen slaves?
 
Most likely another kind of Combine war machine. We'll see...
 
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