What the hell is Race X?

[Brian Damage]

IG-88 is a referance to the assasin droid from Star Wars. I, too, knew that without reading the link :E.

The Race_X were similar in some ways to the Xenians (Yellow blood), but dissimilar in others (Different body plan). They also seemed a more militant race. All their member species seemed to be orientated towards warfare, whereas the only Xenians geared specifically to fighting were the Grunts.

 

[Eejit]

That's funny, they seemed less militant to me than the Xenians did. Xenians were shown to mass-produce lifeforms specifically for fighting - the Grunts, whereas for all we know Race-X just evolved in an even more dangerous environment - none of their weaponry was artificial.

 

[chimpmunk]

But they seemed to have tamed indegenous animals to fight alongside them, the pit lords and the vortigores, and their ant gun... dont know the name...

 

[Eejit]

Early humans tamed wolves to hunt with and protect them, maybe it's the same kind of thing with Race-X. I think they are oriented more towards survival in a very harsh environment rather than warfare per se, but that's just my opinion.

Also, a popular theory is that they only appeared to regain their young (the spore guns - shock troopers ate and fired out spores in a similar way), which seems rather reasonable.

 

[Brian Damage]

chimpmunk: It's called the Shockroach.

Eejit: They were probably creating so many to be able to make a counterinvasion against the humans.

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

You people need to know your Half Life facts.



bla bla bla bla.

thanks for pulling those "facts" out of your ass....or?

 

[Brian Damage]

No, he just ripped them from a non-canonical website write-up.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Most of their assumptions are logical, as far as I can tell.

Since Race X has almost entirely green/brown skin, it would indicate that their home has similar colours. They do appear to be from Xen also, since they teleport the same way and the little lights that gather at the end come from a Xen-like area with some houndeyes in it.

I can't find anything there that doesn't fit evidence given so far, even if it is unofficial.

 

[Dr0ndeh]

plus the final boss has got a 'horn' just like the xen tenticles, somehow related?

 

[Mechagodzilla]

plus the final boss has got a 'horn' just like the xen tenticles, somehow related?

Yeah, that guy looked an awful lot like a tentacle.
Green, sucker for a mouth, horn, smashy power.

He still had a great deal of differences though.

 

[Rhymeandreason41]

Just Cannon Fodder

I think that this "Race-X" was just some new enemies placed in Opposing Force to make the experience new and exciting. Valve didn't want people getting bored, so they added new enemies. Just more cannon fodder you know? That's why they are not in Half Life 2. Anyone agree?

 

[Brian Damage]

Err... we don't actually know that they aren't in Half Life 2...

 

[UndeadScottsman]

I could have sworn I heard that someone at Valve said that Race X weren't going to be in Half-Life 2.

Anywho, the story behind Race-X (At least from what Gearbox said in various interviews prior to Op4's release) is that they're a alien race that notices all the mass teleporting going on at BM and starts investigating. They were originally supposed to be abducting both Xen alien and Humans (For study) and fight any Xen aliens they encountered. Obviously, Gearbox didn't get to play these things up as much as they wanted to. (Since they released Op4 on time, I would wager that's the reason why. Originally you were supposed to run into Freeman more too...)

But what they boil down to is an excuse for new monsters in the expansion pack and an explanation as to why Gordon never saw them in the original.

 

[Brian Damage]

Thank you, Jeremy Dunn. 74 posts and you still sign your name?

Anyway, we know that Laidlaw and VALVe did work with Gearbox on the expansions, so they are canon. They're official, anyway, which is more or less the same thing.

I'd miss Race-X if they didn't return, or if there wasn't at least some reference to them...