What are the Combine?

Absinthe

The Freeman
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I know this probably doesn't deserve it's own topic, but after seeing this pic...

http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/media/gamesradar/HL2oct2004_03.jpg

...I've been thinking, maybe THAT is what the Combine are. No, not necessarily that bloody lump of meat in the chair (that's more of a transitional stage), but it does look like some serious freakin' surgery was going on in that chair.

Now, I've always had the idea in my head that the Combine are, judging from what we've seen so far, a biomechanized force that assimilates City 17 and its inhabitants. Just like the Citadel itself is slowly eating away at the city, the actual Combine forces themselves are actually incorporating the citizens into their ranks through that kind of twisted surgery seen in that pic above.

It would certainly explain the name: the combination of the biological and the mechanic.

Of course, I'm only assuming that some kind of surgery was going on in that picture. Maybe it was just torture. I could be wrong.
 
:dozey: Combine are clones of G man, he hires you to kill Combine because he is too sexy to have clones.
 
I think the bloke in the picture just had an unfortunately badly timed meeting with a grenade.
 
Its torture, the torture chair is in the trainstation bink.
 
That looks just like a citizen electrocuted or something.
 
Nice theory, makes you kind of think. Wouldnt it be cool near the end you get to see whats under the mask, they must look ugly.
 
I don't think torture would last too long with that kind of heavy duty facial reconstruction.

Key word is "reconstruction".

Any way, that was just an idea of mine. I'm probably wrong.
 
I seriously belive that The Combine is used as its term of "a mechanical harvesting machine", because they are harvesting the resources of Earth. I seriously doubt that they are biomechanical.
 
im picturing a darkside vs. rebels type battle where the world gov. is embracing the alien invasion. and all the smart ppl are taking up arms against it. TRUE REBELION!! sweet......
 
I really dont have a clue what the Combine are, i have a few ideas but its hard to think of something that couldnt in some way be linked into the HL2 story to some extent lol.

Mostly i'm thinking they are mechs or some kind of biomech hybrid thing like Absyinthe says. I think its pretty obvious that they arent human though, i dunno if anyone else noticed but in the trainstation bink, watch the combine who leads you down the corridor to the interrogation room, his head bobs up and down in a very weird way, almost like its disconnected from his body. I guess it could just be a quirk in the animation for that articular character so it might be nothing.
 
yea i saw the legs in the drop ship! it looks so cool!

as for the person on the chair. man that looks MAD! i mean that is wat could of happened to gordon when he goes to the chair.

on the other hand it could be a zombie without the headcrab but i dout that
 
The Combine are a 'Combination' of human and alien. This much is obvious.
 
Sprafa said:
We need the Speculation forums back... :|

Hehe. You liked the speculation forums didn't you :D

I'm tired of speculating. Drinking beer is much better.
 
Woah, he's torn up. Someone really went to town on that guy.

He does look a little crispy if you ask me.
 
I used to think the Combine were simply human beings...but none of the mags mentioned what the combine actually are...they enver really speak about it....wich makes me think they're something special
 
He looks very burned to me.

Kind of like what would happen to you if you stood behind an F-15 on take off.
 
I thought that in one of the reviews they mentioned the "Combine Corporation"

I think it was the PCF review that was translated...so it may not be completely accurate. Bah...they removed it from the thread.
 
Hey guys... the combine is just the machine eating the city. The soldiers are called the Overwatch.

I think this was mentioned in a few articles. New information, so I don't expect everyone to know this... neat though :) Doesn't make them any less menacing. I personally think they were once normal people who now have some kinda implants to make them act so inhumanely towards everyone they're pushing around.
 
Spyre said:
Hey guys... the combine is just the machine eating the city. The soldiers are called the Overwatch.

I think this was mentioned in a few articles. New information, so I don't expect everyone to know this... neat though :) Doesn't make them any less menacing. I personally think they were once normal people who now have some kinda implants to make them act so inhumanely towards everyone they're pushing around.

Overwatch I think is the collective name....or corporation name. Combine soldiers are also referred to.
 
The Combine are clones of all the people gordon picked on in highschool, and they're back to get revenge!
 
Gordon picked on people???!?!?!

The irony.
 
The Thing said:
Gordon picked on people???!?!?!

The irony.
Well he swung that crowbar pretty fast back in high school so no one wanted to mess with him.
 
I don't imagine Gordon didn't do very well at "show and tell" as a little tyke in kindergarten :p
 
I'm guessing electrocution for the guy in the chair. Either that or he got too close to something flammable.

Looks a little extreme for torture, more like execution.

Maybe a victim of a Vortiguant attack?
 
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