Ok, this is strange... you might wana check this out...

[McGooTheWise]

it might b new black mesa, that gman has made or the same place, that he just froze in time or something

New black mesa? Wtf? Why would they build it the same way? And secondly, they had black mesa east, but that was destroyed by the combine. How would the repressed citizens find sufficient recourses to BUILD a new black mesa under the Combine's nose? The combine would smell a structure/landmark that size from a mile away. They'd find it before it got built. Don't forget, they control the entire world at this point. There'd be no time, money, recourses, or enough freedom to finish a new black mesa.

DAMN I'M GOOD!!! CAN YA FEEL THAT?! HUH?! CAN YA FEEL THAT CAPTAIN COMPOST?! >: D

 

[Geogaddi]

This section of the forum feels like the forbidden zone, but...

I see no way for that to be Black Mesa. That's just silly.

 

[Omnomnick]

i didnt say citizens had build it, Gman might have workers or used his 'abilities' to create it

 

[Azner]

IT IS!!! Look a breakable vent :\

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

It's funny that in the "old" shot, the monitor is a flat panel, but in this one it's a big ass CRT. Some kind of hint, perhaps?

There is an obvious structural difference in the overhang over the door at Black Mesa, but maybe Aperture Science (or wherever this is) is actually set before. BMRF had fairly advanced teleportation, different, but similar.

Or it's the G-Man's whacky presentation of his lair/office, where each of the breakable vents leads to another dimension.

He had to call him in to give him a talking to after he went MIA with the Vortigaunts.

 

[Operational]

It's funny that in the "old" shot, the monitor is a flat panel, but in this one it's a big ass CRT. Some kind of hint, perhaps?

Well aperture laboratories does use computers from the '80s so a CRT would fit just fine.

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

Well aperture laboratories does use computers from the '80s so a CRT would fit just fine.

I must have missed that bit, when was that said?

 

[Polaris]

I must have missed that bit, when was that said?

It's information from www.aperturescience.com.

 

[Aspe]

The similarity is probably intentional, for whatever reason, but it's obviously not supposed to be the same place. I'd wager it's just meant to be the G-man's "office", as it seems to Gordon, as suggested above.

 

[Omnomnick]

i suppose it could be the aperture science place but we have no pics of it yet (dont post ingame footage i know) so we cant b sure, for now i say its black mesa

 

[nutcrackr]

first thing that came to mind to me was black mesa, but I don't think it will be it. Maybe however it's meant to look a bit like it for unexplained reasons?

 

[Omnomnick]

well we know gman to b a bit (alot) of a nut, so maybe hes gone completely mad and build a new black mesa, or is making gordon see black mesa to damage his mind and bring back bad memories

 

[Acepilotf14]

Gman does precisely what he wants WHEN he intends to do it.

 

[Omnomnick]

that doesnt mean he cant go mad with power, infact it makes him sound more likely to go insane

 

[Sloth]

Maybe - to really make you think...

Its the end of Portal, beaten the tests and just about to run out the entrance with you're confronted with G-Man:

"vvveery good...We ssshall sssee how you do outssside of the conssstruct."

 

[Omnomnick]

lol, that actually sounds like they might do it... he runs the apeture science facility

 

[JackBauer24]

I think it is clearly supposed to resemble the foyer of the Black Mesa Research Facility - there are too many similarities for it to be an accident. Whether it is actually the BMRF, or just a place that looks like it, or even some kind of trippy dream sequence that the G-Man takes you on is another matter. But it is obviously meant to evoke memories of the first Half-Life.

 

[Eejit]

I'd say just a homage-y easter egg.

I can't imagine the G-Man putting all or part of BMRF in stasis to save it from the explosion since he caused it in the first place.

 

[Planetary]

Well, the G-man does take you on a guided tour of Xen at the end of Half-life, mightn't he try the same thing now?

(And the start of HL2, the Citadel and the test chamber)

 

[McCoy]

Good speculation every1 !!

McCoy

I fondly remember everything that has to do G-man and I believe that yes, this is in fact a hallucination caused by the G-man to possibly remind Gordon of something....the Gman will come back and try and do anything to TEST gordon frohman and is VERY capable of doing that, and whatever the hell he wants to do otherwise!!

other than that, gj,

McCoy

(WTF IS HE DOING WITH HIS HANDS!?)

 

[dal1978]

Black Mesa was nuked. We saw the flash at the end of Opposing force. But how do you actually nuke a bunker. Large chunks, especially the reaction chamber, are buried deep underground. To see the flash from the bomb the nuke must have been near the surface, so its possible that some deeper parts of the facility survived.

However I don't think this is meant to be black mesa, it just has a few similarities. I suspect this won't actually appear in the game and is just a joke by valve to get us theorising and keep us occupied until episode 2 is finished.

 

[Que-Ever]

My burrito was nuked, and now it exsists only in my mind.