Something that confuses me...

[The-Virus]

Why are the citizens and rebels HAPPY when Gordon Freeman arrives? He's the guy that caused the black mesa incident and brought the combine into the world. Shouldn't they all be pissed with him for making their lives a living hell?

 

[Adabiviak]

Perhaps they know that the incident was 'staged' by the G-Man? Maybe they realize it was just an accident? Maybe they know that he's their best bet against all this anyway? Heck, maybe they don't even know.

 

[The-Virus]

It's just...I'd expect some of them to be angry with him for causing it, even if it was just slightly. Everyone's just all like "OMG GURDEN FREMMUN IS HER HE SO AWSHUM", come on now... No one's even the slightest bit mad at him? Or black mesa?

 

[Mech Man]

It is because they either don't know he caused it , or maybe they don't even realist what "it" was or that Black Mesa and the experiment ever even happened or they know that Freeman is the only one with "skillz" leet enough to kill all "teh bad doodz".

 

[kacation_man]

well its not like he(you) really knew what you where doing that day in the test chamber anyway.. and of all people at black mesa he(you) did pretty much all the ass kicking. if not him some one else.. only difference is would that if some one else had pushed the cart.. he'd still be kicking ass in some other part of black mesa.

 

[McGooTheWise]

Yes, but then the question is brought up, "Would he ever have picked up the crowbar?" Maybe instead we'd be swinging a shovel or something. (That would be a lot more satisfying for ragdolls, for any of you who have played Smod, you know this. :naughty: )

 

[amaranth]

It wasn't Gordon's fault. He was just a "research associate" pushing carts around, not one of the ppl who designed the experiment.

He probably didn't know how risky it was.

 

[half-ben]

Well he did nearly save the world after he killed Nihillanth(sp?) and it might have been doctor mossman who set about the catastrophic events, who knows maybe she would have picked up a crowbar and been the alternate "dr freeman"

 

[MacBowes]

Wasn't Black Mesa a top secret research facility? I highly doubt that anyone was told what actually happened. Not to mention that they wouldn't have had very much time, to do so during the resonance cascade and the seven hours war.

 

[Jintor]

Wasn't Black Mesa a top secret research facility? I highly doubt that anyone was told what actually happened. Not to mention that they wouldn't have had very much time, to do so during the resonance cascade and the seven hours war.

Word spreads.

 

[Laivasse]

I'm pretty sure Breen uses the term 'the Black Mesa Incident' over the C17 announcement system, as if it was common knowledge what happened there. Breen also tries to suggest Freeman was in some way culpable for it, but considering everyone's warm reaction to Freeman I think it's safe to assume that most people know, somehow, that he stopped a bad situation from getting worse.

However, since Freeman was manipulated into killing Nihilanth by the Gman (the true culprit of the resonance cascade), and since we still are in the dark about Gman's ultimate aims, it's not clear whether the assassination of Nihilanth really prevented or improved anything.

 

[Iron Kat]

I didn't actually think that they looked happy, tbh.

 

[McGooTheWise]

It's a Totoro!

 

[Iron Kat]

It is indeed Totoro!!!

 

[Mech Man]

However, since Freeman was manipulated into killing Nihilanth by the Gman (the true culprit of the resonance cascade), and since we still are in the dark about Gman's ultimate aims, it's not clear whether the assassination of Nihilanth really prevented or improved anything.

Well the deadination of Nihilanth started the portal storms so in effect he made it much worse. But the spreading of xen wildlife would have almost certainly happened anyway , Gordon just caused it to happen far earlier and at the same time freed the vorts from captivity and probrobly messed up Nihilanth's army a fair bit (which explains why no alien grunts are seen in HL2). So yeah I guess it had major down sides but will also (and has) had some good side effects too.

 

[ríomhaire]

If you listen to Breen's speech to Civil Protection in Water Hazard he talks about how myths have sprung up around Gordon and about how he lives outside of Combine control. He is called "The One Free Man" and the "Opener of the Way." I'm sure the Vortigaunts had something to do with this.

 

[|\|1g|-|T|\/|@R3]

Because it wasn't Gordon's fault. It was G-man's. If you have played Half-Life Decay.... You would know what actually "happened". And I guess it's already been 20 years.

 

[2Fast4U]

I think vortigaunts told everyone that they were liberated from Nihilanth by Freeman, so now people expect him to liberate humanity from Combine as well.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

I think so too.

 

[|\|1g|-|T|\/|@R3]

Maybe, just maybe tho....

 

[amaranth]

It did seem kind of random killing Nihilanth at the end...

 

[danitiwa]

Because he is the messiah. =P

I think vortigaunts told everyone that they were liberated from Nihilanth by Freeman, so now people expect him to liberate humanity from Combine as well.

That may very well be the reason.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Because he is the messiah. =P.

He is not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

 

[Nomad]

It did seem kind of random killing Nihilanth at the end...

Well, killing a giant alien foetus with no legs or eyes is random by my book.

 

[cquinn]

When you first show up in Half Life 2, nobody knows who you are.

You almost get sent to Nova Prospekt before Barney notices you. And then you set off alarms in Breens office because Lamarr is a secret agent specializing in teleporter malfuncitons.
Nobody else on the underground railroad realizes who you are, they just know the combine are after someone who set off all the alarms. Your name doesn't even register to the resistance until you make it to Black Mesa East in record time, and then manage to survive Ravenholm and find your way to Nova Prospekt.

What sets everyone treating you like a hero is after you manage to destroy Nova Prospekt and make it back to City 17, by then the reputation of what you managed to do has spread, and people finally start to identify you with the mythology the Vortigaunts have been spreading about you ever since your dissapperance from Blank Mesa.

 

[danitiwa]

He is not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

Monty Python refrences ftw. :rolling:

 

[Laivasse]

When you first show up in Half Life 2, nobody knows who you are.

You almost get sent to Nova Prospekt before Barney notices you. And then you set off alarms in Breens office because Lamarr is a secret agent specializing in teleporter malfuncitons.
Nobody else on the underground railroad realizes who you are, they just know the combine are after someone who set off all the alarms. Your name doesn't even register to the resistance until you make it to Black Mesa East in record time, and then manage to survive Ravenholm and find your way to Nova Prospekt.

What sets everyone treating you like a hero is after you manage to destroy Nova Prospekt and make it back to City 17, by then the reputation of what you managed to do has spread, and people finally start to identify you with the mythology the Vortigaunts have been spreading about you ever since your dissapperance from Blank Mesa.

It's not just NP. Keep an ear out in Water Hazard, where Breen gives the speech warning the population against 'magical thinking' in regards to Freeman, whom some are apparently already calling 'The One Free Man' and 'Opener of the Way'. With that in mind, a large part of Freeman's reputation has to be attributed to what people know about him from BM.

 

[Mech Man]

Well it is more than likely that the members of BM already in C17 told the population what happened.

 

[MartinX]

Hey!

I hate when people say it's Gordon's fault. The freaking scientists were the ones who wanted to examine that alien mineral and couldn't shut down the machine. Gordon's a real hero!

 

[MattyDienhoff]

What Martin said.

Whichever way one looks at it, Gordon didn't exactly cause the resonance cascade. True, he pushed the sample into the anti-mass spectrometer, but he was doing his job. He didn't know what the sample was or what the risks were, he didn't make the decision to analyze it. If he hadn't been in the test chamber that day, someone else would've. That in mind, I guess one could say that he did cause it, but he's not responsible for it. There is a difference.

Anyway, the chances that the citizens of HL2 know any of this are slim. All that they're likely to know about Freeman is that he's one of the few who survived the Black Mesa Incident (well actually, since he disappears at the end of it, he's probably presumed dead until he shows up much later), battled a shitton of soldiers and aliens and freed the Vortigaunts from slavery. Word of his exploits spread, and anyone who'd crossed paths with a Vortigaunt probably would have heard of him that way too, since they're all aware of him and view him as something of a saviour.

 

[kupocake]

I suspect that people just don't widely know that Freeman was the one pushing carts that day. The stories about him carried away from Black Mesa were from the soldiers and scientists that saw him shoot up the place and disappear. Similar to how the Lambda sign became a symbol of resistance and safe-haven in City 17.

Consider that part of the same mystery is how Breen would get away with becoming Earth's representative after having been the man calling the shots at Black Mesa. That's probably an indication that the whole incident was successfully accepted as an accident, or lumped on the US government once everything went to shit.

It did seem kind of random killing Nihilanth at the end...

It's a random design, but you are told there is going to be a boss: The Lambda scientists tell you there's a big alien baddie sustaining the cascade, and that you'll know what it is when you see it. You trot off and blow it up like a good little Freeman.

 

[FireStarter]

I suspect Gordon didn't even know he was going to be pushing the cart. (Not from the 'We're Gordon' thing but the 'Gordon's a free thinker' thing)

We only know what we are told by Barney Clone 3086-9, which is "You're in the barrel today, Doctor Freeman".

In any case, the citizens/rebels see Freeman as a symbol of hope, the "One Free man" if you will. Sure, nobody knows who he is in the beginning, but they all know the name in the end.

And that name is Gordon Frohman!

No, wait...

 

[Hurricane]

Although Breen refers to it as the Black Mesa Incident, the public probably wouldn't know about the specifics of how the Xen portal was opened, so wether Gordan was really responsible or not is irrelevant. Also, since the Vorts have unintentionally been spreading pro-Gordon propaganda ever since their release from the Combine, Gordon has become something of a legend. When the rebels find out that he has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it would be similar to us meeting Jesus or something like that.

 

[Otto-Grainer]

I agree that blaming Freeman even if you did know would be kind of silly. If he hadn't of done it, someone else would have. It wasn't his idea and it's not like he knew what was going to happen and did it on his own will anyway.

 

[Edeslash]

Gordon had the strenght to destroy Nihilanth (and make it that far). If the rebels know about that, they maybe believe that Gordon also has the power to destroy the Combine.

I don't know.

 

[-Alyx-]

I suppose they should be angry but what i wonder is how word got round that Gordon was actually back. Back on topic i think they are happy because Gordon is trying to fix it?