The Ending decyphered *BIG SPOILERS*

[Bing_Oh]

Let's look at a few things that might clear up a little bit of backstory and motivation, here. Keep in mind, alot of this is just speculation.

First, let's define "the Combine." Those guys in gas masks shooting at you are NOT the Combine...they are members of the Overwatch. The Overwatch are humans implanted with biomechanoid enhancements against their will by the Combine. They are, almost certainly, the Combine's occupying army on Earth. The actual Combine was seen only once...on the big screen when Breen is negotiating his escape in the end.

Second, the Combine seems to use native Xen species as a form of biological weapon (like the headcrab bombs).

Third, we know from Eli's lab, Mossman, and Breen (in his little speech in the end) that the Combine have interdimentional teleportation tech, but not local teleportation tech. We also know that they invaded interdimensionally in a "portal storm," and took over Earth in 7 hours.

So, let's see if we can connect the dots. The Combine invades a planet/dimension using teleportation. To take over and occupy that planet, they use modified native technology, modified and unmodified native species, etc. Now, remember Nihilanth...he was biological with obvious mechanoid enhancements. Arguably, the vorts and grunts also had biomechanoid enhancements (collars/gauntlets on vorts and the entire armor structure of the grunts). So, I believe that Xen was already Combine-controlled space (though considerably more pacified then Earth from HL2...their occupation of Xen was complete). Nihilanth was the Xen version of Dr. Breen...a native leader who became the face of the Combine. When the Resonance Cascade happened, we attracted the attention of the Combine-modified forces on Xen. BUT, the big event was when Gordon killed Nihilanth and liberated Xen...THAT attracted the attention of the actual Combine leadership. Thus, Gordon's own actions at the end of HL spawned the events of HL2.

There's also the question of the "symbiotes" that Breen mentions when negotiating his escape with the Combine. He says that he cannot survive in the atmosphere that the Combine wants to teleport him to without a symboite. Assuming that the Combine wants to teleport him to their home world/universe/dimension, that may explain why the Combine uses native species for occupation...they cannot survive in the environment of the occupied worlds any more then we can survive in theirs.

There is still the question of who the G-Man is and who he's working for. Is he a rebellious escapee from another Combine-controlled world? Is he a time-traveller? Is he a human or alien talent scout? So many questions still remain...

 

[zer0kewl]

Have you noticed he just picks you up and takes you out of wherever he puts you..
eg, you start on the train.. a citizen says "didnt see you get on".. you've just popped in
the gman also plucks you out of both black mesa in hl1 and c17 in hl2, once you've achieved your objectives. its like he's been keeping you on ice and uses you whenever the need comes..

you giving me hope on hl3

 

[staticprimer]

wow bing, that is some excellent insight! that has to be the best and most plausable theory i have heard so far. excellent!

 

[ultraflip]

i agree. that sounds real ... logic.

 

[yadalogo]

Why cant Valve just release Half-Life:The Book?

 

[taliswolf]

So, I believe that Xen was already Combine-controlled space (though considerably more pacified then Earth from HL2...their occupation of Xen was complete). Nihilanth was the Xen version of Dr. Breen...a native leader who became the face of the Combine. When the Resonance Cascade happened, we attracted the attention of the Combine-modified forces on Xen. BUT, the big event was when Gordon killed Nihilanth and liberated Xen...THAT attracted the attention of the actual Combine leadership. Thus, Gordon's own actions at the end of HL spawned the events of HL2.

...

There is still the question of who the G-Man is and who he's working for. Is he a rebellious escapee from another Combine-controlled world? Is he a time-traveller? Is he a human or alien talent scout? So many questions still remain...

I really like this theory. Unless the G-man is a human from another dimension, I'm reasoning... it's unlikely for him to be any sort of Earth-government man, given that the Earth's governments were apparently squished in the seven hour war. This still leaves open the other possibilities...

 

[Crusmang]

I really like this theory. Unless the G-man is a human from another dimension, I'm reasoning... it's unlikely for him to be any sort of Earth-government man, given that the Earth's governments were apparently squished in the seven hour war. This still leaves open the other possibilities...

That would be a good theory, except it assumes that the governments weren't reconstituted after the defeat of the Combine at City17...

I think that's one of the hardest things about discussing the ending of HL2: on some level you have to speculate about where the G-man comes from!

 

[pyroCow]

Anyway, all that aside, it's going to be interesting to see where you end up next. Obviously it's somewhere else in time; how long this time, who can say. But the fact that from Black Mesa to City 17 was probably ten years, and then the "slow teleport" sequence during the game touched on the fact that teleporters can be used in such a way, it's obvious where this is headed. The G-Man stresses the word, "time," six times in his ending speech, and yet the one time he should be stressing it the most, he doesn't say it. "I'm sure it will all make sense to you in the course of--well, I'm really not at liberty to say." All other times he says it it's in reference to something else, or a stressed part of another word, like "meanTIME." However, when he's talking about the course of time, he's hushed on the matter. Very interesting. Yet again, more questions posed than answered, and I cannot wait to see all the loose ends tied together.

Since he is manipulating everything at will, and does whatever he wants.. maybe time doesnt exist there (wherever it is) or it isnt time that he is manipulating. (Maybe Gordon is in some kind of test where hes in virtual reality.)

 

[Hummerluver58]

:sniper: (I just thought the smilely was cool)

Now onto the real topic

Here are my 2 cents into the whole Half-Life story.

From what I remember from the original Half-Life the G-Man was aruging with scientists before the cataclysmic experiment. This may lead you to beleive that the G-Man may, indeed have caused the Black Mesa incident to help his own means. Possibly the G-Man wanted this all too happen so he can change somthing in the future (as in after Half-Life 2). And he is simply guiding you towards what he wants to fix. Possibly his death or the death of a loved one.

Now on the flip side possibly the G-Man was trying to prevent the Black Mesa incident because he wanted to stop it. Maybe he did indeed come from the future and the future sucked because of the Black Mesa incident. And we all know the future sucks thanx to Half Life 2. This seems unlikely because the G-Man is all powerful and should be able to get his way.

And the information I got above might just be faulty :/

Now consider that the G-Man had nothing to do with the start or prevention of the Black Mesa incident. Why did it happen? From what I remeber from some old forum threads and disscusions but I heard that the government was trying to teleport into Xen so we could drain it of natural resources. Enlight of recent events this seems even more reliable :monkee: . But obviously the experiment went wrong and "misfired". The army was sent in (ala Opposing force) to "contain" the incident. Thanks to Gordon Freeman they failed and pulled out. Leaving the Black Mesa complex swarming with Xen aliens.

And so Gordon Freeman goes into Xen under the beleif that slaying Nithilanth (sp?) would "cut the head" off the serpent and the body would follow. So you do slay Nithilanth and you are confronted by the G-Man. Now the fact that you are confronted by the G-Man after the slaying Nithilanth is interesting. If the G-Man is truely from the future wouldn't he be able to know that you would have slain Nithilanth before you actually did? That way he could help you out even more with you alien slaying quest. But waiting until you slew Nithilanth would imply that the G-Man did not know that you were going to. This would mean that he does not come from the future.

Thus ending the events of the original Half-Life

So you wake up to the eery intro by the G-Man (which was a kickass intro by-the-way). He mentions that "It is your time". This would imply that he is indeed kept in some kind of stasis (because the images of Gordon Freeman during Half-Life 2 makes his not look a day older. This is also mentioned by either Dr. Kleiner or Dr. Eli about how you "haven't aged one day" and he inquires "how do you do it?". This also shows up when you put on your enviro suit. Because it still fits you and throught the 6 years of stasis that you have been in your are bound to have grown or shrunk.). The "It is your time" statement also would seem to imply that the G-Man has complete control over you. The "sleeping on the job" remark would imply that you are a G-Man yourself and that you chose that option at the end of the original Half-Life. As stated before your fellow passenger says "I didn't see you get on" which means that you must have been teleported there.

Ok now some on Dr. Breen. I am under the presumtion that alot of us have played Doom 3. Dr. Breen is referenced to have been the president of Black Mesa. Now I beleive that he was the president when the event happened (now other president would have mattered, not to mention that there wasn't alot of Black Mesa left and I do not think they could rebuild in 6 years, and he makes references to knowing Gordon Freeman when Freeman worked at Black Mesa). Somehow, he got out alive. Now how many have played Co-op Half Life for the PS2. Well Dr. Breen in introduced in the game and when the incident occurs he seems to go off bu himself, without a weapon, and if I remeber correctly he was obese. So he was pretty screwed. Somehow, he lived. Not only did he live but he became the leader of the new world. So I beleive that Black Mesa really did have the teleporter working before the incident or at some point and Dr. Breen confronted the combine(more on them later) before the actual incident. Maybe he guaranteed the "benefactors"(the big slug dude) that he would supply a stable link from Xen to Earth so the Xen could conquer it. I beleive what Breen got out of it was a) survival during the invasion (which would explain why an unarmed and obese middle aged man could outrun the entire alien army) b) the control of the new Earth government and c) support of the combine. THis would explain why he lived and is now the leader of the new world order. This is where Doom 3 comes in. Just as the Doctor did in Doom 3 did Breen do in Half Life. For those of you who have beaten if you will know what I am talking about.

Now about the combine. As it has been made clear those soilders are not "the combine". The are the Overwatch or Combine Soilders. Now I beleive that the troops are not alien but merely humans. Afterall, how could Barney pass as one of them if he wasn't purely human like the rest of the troops? About the combine as a government. I looked up what combine means and MSN Encarta. I found this particular definintion interesting.

noun (plural com·bines)

1. association: an illegal association of business organizations

Now the mention of organizations and busineses bring up the whole "highest bidder" and "mercenary" things about Gordon Freeman. If I use this definition I will presume that the combine is made of Aliens. Not nessecarily Xen aliens. But definitly not human. Now that the combine has Breen under their finger they can use him however making him another part of the combine. For another computer game reference I am thinking of the Burning Legion in Warcraft 3. They come to different planes of existence and wiping out entire populations. Maybe this is what the "combine" are doing. Maybe the Xen are merely a branch of the combine. We don't know.

On the Xen. So you slay Nithilanth and supposidly stop the Xen. This may seem plausible because the only Xen aliens left on Earth in Half-Life 2 are the head crabs (that perhaps are too stupid and small to be part of a hive-mind system) and the vortis (who seemed to have been controlled via collar to begin with. MAYBE the vortis are their own species which would explain their affiliation with the resitance in HL2. Consider the slaves after the emacipation proclimation. They would join the North to get back at the south. I beleive that is what the vortis are going. This would explain the lack of Xen grunts, bullsquids, controllers, and gargs. Or perhaps Nithilanth was nothing. Maybe the scientist was just wrong. That maybe he wasn't the hive mind of Xen.

(more to be added later, I have been going at this entry for over and hour and need to get some sleep)

 

[Bing_Oh]

I wouldn't put too much stock in meanings of the name "the Combine." That isn't their real name...it seems that "the Combine" is a rather derrogitory name given by those humans who oppose the current government. Their official name was something like the "Galactic Alliance."

 

[Amorphous]

I don't think there's ever been a game where so much theories and speculations came out of it. BRILLIANT.

Not true. Read any Silent Hill Forum. It's NUTS!

 

[Darkside55]

While it may or may not be true that the most theories about a game come out of Half-Life (I can't remark on Silent Hill but look at any Kingdom Hearts speculation site; they have TONS), I personally find no greater joy in speculating about any game more than Half-Life. The game is so rich that even going over the most minute detail is worth spending hours contemplating. Besides, and again I point to Laidlaw's "The 37th Mandala," as I often do, every single insignificant detail in that book that could have been considered filler was part of a larger tapestry.

Now, some things that've sprung into my mind while reading these posts. I mentioned in another thread that I believe Nihilanth is somehow connected to the actual Combine race. The stitches, his skin, and the underdeveloped appendages that require him to use technology for mobility indicate that he is indeed some sort of controller/combine hybrid. My previous theory on the Nihilanth was that he was built by the controllers (to explain the stitching, and the resemblance) to be a God and an interdimensional gate. While that seems less likely now, we can't rule out the possibility that the controllers simply made him in the collective likeness of themselves and their masters, the combine.

That's neither here nor there, though; it's just to set up a relationship between Xen and the combine. As Bing mentioned, Xen was owned by the Combine. It was through the failed experiments in Black Mesa that the combine became aware of Earth's presence.
A big question is why the teleportation experiment failed. The sample was the purest they had ever seen, and the administrator was pushing for them to output the machine at levels it was never meant to be used at. In that respect, the administrator was responsible, but as for the research team stumbling across the purest sample they had ever found...well, as one scientist asked, "Do you suspect some alien subterfuge?" Possibly...the Xenians knew about the humans, but the combine did not. It is possible that the controllers placed a sample where the humans could get to it, trigger the portal storm, and from there the combine would take notice. The Xenians would be appeasing their masters and most likely be rewarded. Although, on the other hand, finding the pure sample could've just been a fluke.

Skipping ahead, Hummerluver hit the nail on the head when he said that the G-Man didn't know that you would be able to kill the Nihilanth. Yes, the G-Man was watching you, the G-Man was interested in you even before your tenure at Black Mesa began, but had he known what you were really capable of, he would not have been so impressed with you. Keep in mind those were his exact words, "Quite a nasty piece of work you managed over there; I am impressed." It was then that he, in seeing your potential, recommended you to his employers. While this does not necessarily mean that he cannot be from the future, it does state that he is not all-knowing...he can stop time, perhaps he can play around with time, but that ability does not give him absolute knowledge of what will happen over the course of time.

So we come back to the subject of time, and G-Man's ending speech in HL2. Time is one of only two things that I can think of that fit with, "I trust you'll come to understand in the course of...," the other thing being "your employment." The wording fits, but since you are already employed then it doesn't make sense, contextually. He is already at liberty to say, "the course of your employment." So the answer must be time. Basically he's telling you, "Give it time, Gordon; it will all make sense." He doesn't plan to leave you in the dark forever.
I did notice, while repeating the HL1 ending aloud to myself (trying to jog my thoughts, hehe), that the G-Man says time once during that speech. "The borderworld, Xen, is in our control, for the time being, thanks to you." A couple interesting things:

• If Xen was combine controlled space, did the G-Man know about the combine? Was he saying that Gordon Freeman had taken it from them and handed it over to the G-Man, or did the G-Man believe that Nihilanth was the head of Xen?
• Who did he mean by "our control"? Was he referring to Earth, his employers, Dr. Breen, or someone else entirely?
• Whoever he meant, they only controlled Xen for a mere seven hours. When he said, "the time being," was he aware of an iminent shift of power? If so then he must have known about the combine, for if he believed Nihilanth was the last then there could be no one to wrest away control of Xen.

More things for us to think about. For now, I shall spare the questions of whether the G-Man had any direct influence on the Black Mesa incident for another time.

Edit: I forgot to add that after the seven hours, Dr. Breen was in the best place to negotiate with the combine after their invasion. The man who oversaw the teleportation experiments at Black Mesa, the one who could offer the combine the best deal (local teleportation technology) in exchange for sparing the human race. It is possible that he never had contact with the combine before, but now, due to the incident, he was faced with a choice and did what he thought was the only way to save the species. One has to wonder if Breen was such a bad guy after all...

 

[werewolves?]

One little theory I quite like at the moment is related to the Dune series by Frank Herbert. In this series people with the Atriedes DNA are invisible to seers (so people cannot predict their future, what is going to happen with regards to them). I was thinking the resonance cascade gave Gordon this kind of effect, that he sits outside of the predictable future. This is why he was successful against the nihalith and the Combine as their leaders could be all powerful psychic/telekinetic creaturse who can rule their inter-dimensional empire from seeing into the future/diferent timelines. This could be why he is refered to as the "One Free Man" he sits out of sight of the rulers so in a way he is free from their effect.

The reason why the Gordon is useful to the G-Man is this effect, the G-Man can place Gordon (who is already resourceful) into any of the se situations and the results cannot be predicted so they cannot be countered. Perhaps HL2 story was a test or demonstration by the G-Man to see if the effect would work, and that he stumbled upon Gordons usefulness in HL1 by accident and then observed him throughout (perhaps the cascade was staged as an experiment of this effect?). This is why he keeps track of Gordon along the way because he may have similar time control/seer powers but needs to keep visual checks on Gordon so he doesnt lose him.

I like to think that Earth would be of no real concern to the G-Man when you think of the Empire that the Combine might control so its use as a demonstration would be plausible, this also builds with the theory that Gordon is a weapon of sorts.

Anyway any story that makes you think that much has got to be good in the long run. Good work VALVe.

[edit]This theory about how Gordon is "free" could explain why the G-man did not know who were going to succeed and could work in with a few of the other theories that you guys have posted[/edit]

P.S keep it up this kind of stuff makes the Game even better value for money and I have really enjoyed what you guys have written.

 

[Darkside55]

Now that is an intriguing theory...Gordon's limitless potential is not simply his resourcefulness, not only his ability to adapt and defy all odds, but the fact that what he does cannot be predicted. I doubt that it has anything to do with his DNA (as in Dune), or with anything tied to more new age concepts such as fate, but maybe something more...scientific, more mathematical. Maybe Gordon is like the chaos theory. In fact, scientists from the first Half-Life will even remark to their colleagues after the incident, "Still say there is nothing to the chaos theory?"

I think you've come up with something really great here, werewolves. I'm grinning just thinking of ways this really could fit into the HL universe. During Nova Prospekt, even Breen is livid and perplexed over how one man, one single theoretical physicist could escape the trans-human arm of the combine forces; the so-called "best of the species" being thwarted by a man who is "not some agent provocateur or highly trained assassin."

It simply must be that Gordon's abilities are such that he can do anything, if the situation calls for it. Who could have ever guessed, for instance, that the containment field holding him in the citadel would not only break down because of the zero point gun, but also embue the gun and his suit with nearly god-like powers? Or that he would board the EXACT prison pod that would take him to Dr. Breen? Even Breen was surprised at that one. Limitless potential...one day Gordon might even be more powerful than the G-Man.

But let's not forget that the G-Man has seen something of himself in Gordon...

 

[ultraflip]

So you wake up to the eery intro by the G-Man (which was a kickass intro by-the-way). He mentions that "It is your time". This would imply that he is indeed kept in some kind of stasis (because the images of Gordon Freeman during Half-Life 2 makes his not look a day older. This is also mentioned by either Dr. Kleiner or Dr. Eli about how you "haven't aged one day" and he inquires "how do you do it?". This also shows up when you put on your enviro suit. Because it still fits you and throught the 6 years of stasis that you have been in your are bound to have grown or shrunk.). The "It is your time" statement also would seem to imply that the G-Man has complete control over you. The "sleeping on the job" remark would imply that you are a G-Man yourself and that you chose that option at the end of the original Half-Life. As stated before your fellow passenger says "I didn't see you get on" which means that you must have been teleported there.

I think this really makes sense, and it also explains why you ( gordon freeman ) don't have a clue what's going on when you arrive at City 17. Im absolutely sure that Gordon Freeman walked into the portal at the end of HL1 and one second later, he was in the train to city 17. Of course, he did in fact "sleep" for many years, but for him, it's like nothing happened. And like i already said, that explains why you don't know anything about city 17 or what happened while you slept, but of course the other people don't know that.

I also agree with the theory that Gordon Freeman has something REAL special about him. Especially what happened to the gravity gun is very interesting. Of course it may also be that he just has more luck than anything else, and that everything was just coincidence but thats too simple, i think. Maybe the Gman knew about this "special" thing long ago, and "controlled" Gordon in some way, to make him become a black mesa scientist and to make everything start.
Im also sure the Gman DID want the black mesa accident to happen. Remember the scene in HL1, before you get your hazard suit, where the Gman is talking to some scientist ? And the Scientist says something like "I already told you that we do not want to push the equipment over the limits".
But that doesn't have to mean that he's coming from the future, it just means that he knows what will happen, and that he's trying to make sure it happens.

 

[Bing_Oh]

I'm just not comfortable with the whole idea about Gordon being, to make a horrible reference, "The One." It just seems too damn undramatic to make Gordon into a quasi-messianic figure.

 

[ultraflip]

but even in the game he is called "the one" by some people ( aliens ).

 

[Bing_Oh]

I believe that the term used is "the one free man." I always took is as a kind of joke.

I just can't stand comparisons between HL and The Matrix...been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Just personal opinion.

 

[evil_ape]

In Oppposing Force, why did Gman start the nuclear bomb that you turned off? What profit did he get of that?
How come he isn't touched by the Xen species? The only reason I can come to think of is that the aliens know of him, even the tiny headcrabs.
And if he is so great, divine and everything, how come he chose a blue suit of all things? And why do he need his briefcase?

Think of all that would be sorted out if Gordon just would say the magic words: "Who is the man in the blue suit?"

 

[Sideswiped]

Or that he would board the EXACT prison pod that would take him to Dr. Breen? Even Breen was surprised at that one.

Breen doesn't have random prison pods that come to his office . You were identified in the pod and thus brought to his office.


As for Alyx, I think its safe to say she lives as Vavle have hinted at making her playable in HL3.

 

[TimG]

wow. some brilliant theories here. makes me want to play the game thru again and examine it in more detail.

...slow teleport" sequence during the game touched on the fact that teleporters can be used in such a way

yeah interesting that. Aswell of all the mentions of gordon looking hardly any different/fitting in his HEV etc..

anyone else had the thought that maybe g-man is working for gordon in the future? and has sent him back in time to make the world turn out differently?

oh. and didnt alyx say something like 'you don't remember me do you?' at the beginning? was she in hl1 as a kid?

 

[pinheadion]

I doubt very much that she will be playable, as the reason we never hear Freemans voice is so we can visualise ourselvs as the character. Now this wouldnt really work if we swapped between charaters.

But you never know.

 

[Smigit]

As for Alyx, I think its safe to say she lives as Vavle have hinted at making her playable in HL3.

I hope not, one of the best aspects is that you never leave your perspective, its makes the game so great. Its more likely they would do an expansion pack from her point of view.

One thing I noticed is that for all the visual effects in the game and all the houses you go into, including bathrooms ect, I never saw a single mirror. Maybe thats just cos im on a low graphics card, but I never saw a reflection of myself in the game.

 

[roffle]

VAVLe said that they where'nt including mirrors in the game because if you saw yourself in a mirror it would take away tho whole perspective thingy, if you know what i mean

 

[Hummerluver58]

As for the mentioning of the gravity gun before, the reason it was not "confiscated" I have come to beleive is that the "confiscator" was only programed for recognized weapons. Stuff that normal people use. Now the gravity gun is a rare item and there is only one. So I presume that the "confiscator" could not recognize it. Therefore could not pick it up. The "confiscators" attempts to pick it up with its electricity is what I beleive made it the SUPER GRAVITY GUN

*I will begin work on my second half of my theories*

 

[Hummerluver58]

Seond Half of my theories

About the G-Man showing up in various places along the game. I do beleive that he is really just "checking up" on you and that he does not have any psychic powers. I think that just dosen't fit the G-Man very well.
As for his suit and breifcase. In the original Half-Life if you clipped into his breifcase you would find I think it was a pen, some paper, and a photo of himself (the g-man). I think the suit and his breifcase are just for adding to the character. I think they are just there to add some kind of shroud around him. Like if you saw him weilding a minigun and huge packs of ammo it is pretty easy to determine who he is and what he does. Now if you just keep him in his suit and you give him a breifcase it increases the mystery. It may also have somthing to do with out culture. Like I am sure most of us have seen atleast one MIB movie. How the people in suits are really like super humans. Well I beleive Valve was going for somthing like that but changed the suit color and did not give him classes so you would not automatically associate him with the MIB.
The theory about Gordon being some king of psychic-power immune being is an interesting one. One that does make sense (to an extent). I beleive that it is obvious that Niithilanth (sp) was indeed some kind of psychic being and the giant bug at the end looked much like Niithilanth therefore it can be assumed that he is psychic aswell. THis would explain well how the only time that you came close to capture was when Alyx was around. Almost as if the psychic beings could see Alyx and would presume that you were with her. It is an interesting theory that I will think about. But I will only take lightly due to the "The One" factor. This could also be explained in other ways. Maybe when the reactor blew up or maybe when you killed Niithilanth you gain this psychic-immunity power. If this is so I am sure this is why the G-Man has chosen you as his "champion" if you will. I have come to beleive that the G-Man has this power. Otherwise the combine would be aware of his presence and would stop him (if they could) due to whenever he is around somthing bad happens for them.
As for City 17. I have come to beleive that it is placed in Europe. Definitly in a slavic region. I know that this was mentioned just about everywhere but I remeber early in the game seeing some of the figures from the Russian alphabet. About the Citadel. This is an interesting piece of architecture. I am thinking that the Citadel is made from alien technology. Not only because I seriously doubt that somthing that size could be built in 6 years, but later in the game you see that it seems to expand by itself. It would take big steps forward. This type of technology was present at Nova Prospect as well. It also seems to be bulid from some kind of weird black material. I am guessing it is from Xen. Maybe the US government wanted to get its hands on some of this material in the original Half Life (and thus started the teleporting whotnot) so they could make the invulnerable bulidings. Not to mention that somthing that big could be build in six years without the help of aliens is complete BS.
Despite all the talk I haven't seen anything about Ravenholm involved in here. What the hell happened in Ravenholm? Why did only the father survive? Well I beleive that it is obvious that the town was infected with headcrabs (some of those head-crab rockets were seen earlier into the mission). The population was quarantined (sp) was was slowly head-crab-ififed.

Well thats all i can do now. 3rd part of the series will come later

 

[Foxtrot]

What if Gordon gets to become someone like Gman? And he walks around freezing time and pissing people off by not telling them what is happening and why. That would pretty sweet, a god in orange armor.

 

[Bardas]

Now that
Or that he would board the EXACT prison pod that would take him to Dr. Breen?

hm... no, that wasn't luck. after boarding the second pod, you crossed a red laser-line, which detected a lifeform. this was followed by the activation of a camera. that way you were identified and brought to breen's office

the little link to the dune-books intrigues me though. and don't the words "freeman" and "fremen" sound alike? pure coincidence or reference?

something different:
when i started the game first i played it with the german synch. i was put off because the g-man sounded really... shitty so to say. so i restarted the game in english. and still the g-man's talking sounded very... off. either these reverbes were generated by gordon waking up from his "statis" or it gives a hint that the g-man isn't quite as human as he seems to be at the first glance.

another thing i wonder about: if the g-man is able to pop up in your head, why does he still have to keep a physical eye on you? is he for real when you see him watching over you or is he just in your head?

as far as the combine-soldiers go: i think if you'd be able to shoot off their masks you'd find these cyber-zombie like things you saw when gliding through the citadel in the pod.

lastly: i think of gordon freeman as some sort of free radical. something that is completeyl unpredictable to all the powers involved.

ps.: i liked your assumptions so far. a lot of them sound very plausible, others are a little bit off, but very creative non the less. it really adds to the story of the game.

 

[we11er]

Man this thread is good. At first I felt a bit disappointed at the quick ending, but now I'm loving it!

 

[Seth064]

am not sure if this has been said before or not, but i couldnt be bothered to read thru every post atm.

Did no one notice that the thing that Breen was talkin to looked alot like the thing that shepard killed/defeated at the end of opposing forces, the thing that was tryin to come thru the teleporter!
(am not sure if this is correct but am tryin to think back all those years as I havent played opposing forces in ages), But thats what it first reminded me of when I first saw it talkin to Breen.

 

[InnerDemon]

You're not a mercerny. You don't loan yourself out. You're an employee of the G-Man who himself is under employment of something much greater.

It is hinted in the game, that between getting his M.I.T. and joining Black Mesa, that Gordan had undergone a life changing experience. This might suggest something in the fact Gordan is quite adapt to taking care of himself in the battle field.

By the end of Half Life 2, various people have been contacting G-Man for your services. Breen tells you this at the end in his office. That your contract is open to the highest bidder.

Therefore, Gordan was hired to pertain in the events of Half Life 2. But you yourself are never told what your mission/job is. As the G-Man says: "the right man in the wrong place can make all the difference." If you build off that, you might as well say Gordan wasn't meant to help the resistance. They all seemed pretty surprised to see you. Everyone.

Breen planned on handing Gordan over to the Combine to bargain a better fortune for himself. So obviously the Combine have an interest. Most likely, they want you taken down. Or perhaps, they themselves are interested in your services?

Anyhow, G-Man teleports you into a paradox. A place where the laws of space and time are nullified. Gordan won't age in this universe that G-Man sends you in to.

Regarding that Half Life is a trilogy series. I would expect to see the G-Man's employers. Or even G-Man's true face?
I wouldn't expect to have Half Life 3 come out too soon. There's a lot of story work to be had.

 

[we11er]

Hmm, I don't think it looks anything like that!

It looks like the big worm from Starship Troopers to me, maybe they did base it on that.

 

[Judgement]

yeh that alien green bug thing does look like the one from OF now that i think bout it but i dunno, and all this reading just gonna blow my brains out, but some very interesting ideas..

 

[Hjartarson]

Going a little bit off topic here.. but i believe that City 17 is the equal to one of the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) and that the Combined are the equivalent of the Soviet Union.. Russian is a very common language in the Baltics and is taught in schools if i remember correctly.

 

[Venmoch]

Despite all the talk I haven't seen anything about Ravenholm involved in here. What the hell happened in Ravenholm? Why did only the father survive? Well I beleive that it is obvious that the town was infected with headcrabs (some of those head-crab rockets were seen earlier into the mission). The population was quarantined (sp) was was slowly head-crab-ififed.

Well thats all i can do now. 3rd part of the series will come later

Ravenholm was one of the most sinister areas of HL2.
Ravenholm was somehow annoying the Combine either by smuggleing people out (Why else would it have a path to it from Black Mesa East? One possibility is that the combine went to invade Ravenholm but were pushed back by the Rebels. The combine not wishing to waste too much time on attacking bombarded the whole town with those "Headcrab Pods" that in turn infected the whole town, although this probably would be unlikely as the citizens would have been well armed if they could fight off the combine and would probably have withstood headcrabs too.

Whats much more likely is that Ravenholm was just bombed by the "Headcrab Pods" Which would explain some of the "Genocide"Eli has seen as well as the Remorse that Alyx shows when you walk past. Plus it makes it even more sinister. Which is always good.

And as far as Gregori, could it be possible he was meeting with Eli to arrange ways of getting Refugees out?

 

[Asundai]

As for City 17. I have come to beleive that it is placed in Europe. Definitly in a slavic region. I know that this was mentioned just about everywhere but I remeber early in
the game seeing some of the figures from the Russian alphabet. About the Citadel. This is an interesting piece of architecture. I am thinking that the Citadel is made from alien technology. Not only because I seriously doubt that somthing that size could be built in 6 years, but later in the game you see that it seems to expand by itself. It would take big steps forward. This type of technology was present at Nova Prospect as well. It also seems to be bulid from some kind of weird black material. I am guessing it is from Xen. Maybe the US government wanted to get its hands on some of this material in the original Half Life (and thus started the teleporting whotnot) so they could make the invulnerable bulidings. Not to mention that somthing that big could be build in six years without the help of aliens is complete BS.
Despite all the talk I haven't seen anything about Ravenholm involved in here. What the hell happened in Ravenholm? Why did only the father survive? Well I beleive that it is obvious that the town was infected with headcrabs (some of those head-crab rockets were seen earlier into the mission). The population was quarantined (sp) was was slowly head-crab-ififed.

Well thats all i can do now. 3rd part of the series will come later

The Citadel is most certainly "alien".. it was not created by humans. From what i have read so far... what happened is that when the Black Mesa incident occured the world was subject to a "portal storm", opening portals all over the world to Xen (and presumably other worlds too, otherwise where did the AntLions come from?). The aliens poured through the portals, killing / "infecting" people and generally spreading chaos, and so humans retreated to major cities and barricaded themselves in from the outside world. At this point, areas in the centre of the cities suddenly vanished, leaving huge pits in the earth.. and then the Citadel(s? - i think there is one in each city) appeared - the Combine have access to teleportation technology, which they used to transport the Citadels (however, they lack the technology to teleport locally, ie teleport things across the planet like the Scientists in the resistance do). Striders, gunships etc were sent out from the Citadels, and were met by the current governments army.. tanks, planes, etc.. However, since the humans had allready contained themselves in the cities, and were taken by suprise from within by a force that would seem to have much better technology than ours, they lost the "war" and surrendered after 7hours. Well actually, Breen surrended, as he was elected president of earth shortly before the combine invasion.

I think there was also something about them harvesting the worlds resources, but their methods poisoned the atmosphere and were causing humans to die.. at some point they decided humans themselves were a valuable resource, so they stopped and the air apparently became breathable again. After this, it seems that the combine have been abducting people for whatever reasons (ref the woman in the train station - "our train was stopped in the forest, they took my husband, said he would be on the next train" or something similar), whilst using some kind of supression field to prevent humans from breeding. Why, im not sure, especially if they really can be used for something.

As for ravenholm, well that was either infected by the Xen that came through one of the portals, or the Combine bombed the area with those rockets containing headcrabs.. presumably they want to keep the humans contained, and use these Xen aliens as a method of discouraging people from leaving the cities, and for supressing the resistance. I guess Gregori survived because he's good with a gun and set a load of traps.. others probably survived too, but they had enough sense in them to get the hell out of there.. he however seems a little crazy, and stays.

 

[superjuanchango]

I think the third game should be advertised as "Gordon's last two missions were only tests, not its time to see what he can do." Or somthing along those lines.

 

[Spugmaster]

Or that he would board the EXACT prison pod that would take him to Dr. Breen?

He doesn't. It is scanned by a laser, an alarm sounds and it takes a different track on the system than the others. Meaning that if the scan was clear, it would have continued along as normal.

 

[Shad0hawK]

I think the third game should be advertised as "Gordon's last two missions were only tests, not its time to see what he can do." Or somthing along those lines.

why is everyone so hung up on this "test" idea? the words "you have proved yourself" and "proved yourself again" are an idiomatic expression for "you have done a really good/great job" especially int eh context the gman used that expression in.

 

[Hummerluver58]

Why don't they just make a fortune from selling books. The gamers would buy and it would draw in new people