The tenements at the start, or the tenements near the end, while you're fighting? I pretty much played the first part of the game "in character" and ran away from all the combine without really exploring. But I assume they can't actually kill you at that point?

Man, this might be the first game I've replayed so soon after playing. I've played Half-Life four or five times, Opposing Force three or four, and Blue Shift once. Maybe it's time for a replay of the whole series?

Would the script be in the HL2 files? I don't think there are subtitles, though, so probably not...

I must say I'm impressed that Valve is one of the few companies that can actually inspire thought and discussion about its storylines.

Well they did get an actual author to do the storyline (in fact his books are in Gorden's Locker in HL1) Marc Ladrow or something like that. Exploring the Tenements in the begining is what i did, found alot of strange things (like the food line at the subway). Also near the end if you take the time to listen to Breen discuss his collaberation with what the smaller minds call "The Combine" he says that its some sort of universal being(its being broadcast on the huge screen that the liberators pull down and on various TV sets). He restates this with Eli talking about the cosmos and space. The best way to describe the differences between the HL1 story and HL2 is this

HL= X-files conspiracy type thingy
HL2= Full blown out Kubrick

Another interesting fact is the headcrab Lamar is actually known called Heady Lamar. Kliener says this when Alyx ask "Couldn't you just get another head crab?" and he responds with "Theres only one Heady". Leave it to a lonely scientist to come up with a pun and a famous name for a alien.

Nova Prospect does give us some clue on the Trans-Human army. Apparently the Overwatch controls them (that chick you always hear is the voice of the Overwatch). Breen doesn't directly control the Overwatch which is stated in his address to them. He warns them of the alternatives to failure which is extinction of the human race. There is also a moment in Nova Prospect where we hear the overwatch state that those who fail to capture freeman will be taken to permenant offworld assignement...... does she mean Xen? Also who are the White CP forces? They seem tougher and stronger then the norm... are they some type of elite guard or something?

Heres the pic of the G-man and the British guy


Then heres a pic in Kliener's office



Alot of people have been complaining that you don't see the G-man till the end, but after playing throught he game twice, I've spotted him alot of times (on moniters, TVS, streets, windows). He's practically everywhere.

I wondered myself whether that's the G-Man on the title screen, I wasn't sure though. I saw him briefly appear on some TV screen in what appeared to actually be a TV soap drama or something and not a CCTV monitor, weird. I also saw the G-Man through the binoculars on that one bit near the coast.

I completed it a little while ago, and whilst I wasn't expecting a complete resolution, I was disappointed at how little of the story was explained.

I noticed that combine ape graffiti when I played through the game, but I thought little of it. I also noticed the picture in Kleiner's lab, nice little continuity tie-up.

[edit: Actually one thing I wondered when I played the game, that scientist on the far right of Kleiner's picture looks an awful lot like the G-Man. Also anyone else think the guy to the right of Breen looks like SoF's John Mullins?]

I'm tempted to play it again soon to see if there's anything else I've missed.

Question: How do we know the game is set 15 years after the first? I haven't read that anywhere, and what makes you think Gordon hasn't aged in that time?

Finally, did anyone else notice the huge insect type aliens walking around whilst you're moving through the citadel? I wonder why Valve didn't use them elsewhere.

Thats not the G-man in the pic, I went back and checked out the generic scientist in HL1 and thats just one of them.

My bad according to sources its actually only been 10 years after black Mesa

http://www.halflife2.net/index.php?page=overview


We know Gorden hasn't aged cause everyone mentions how he hasn't changed a day (especially Eli).

Theres actually alot of info in the Prima strategy guide about the events in the game including a description of the aliens and more backstory.It even describes the weird robot things in the citedal that you never fight (even stating their attacks). Frankly however I'm still not geting the strategy guide just for that amount of info (I had the first HL strategy guide and though it provided me with way more information about the creatures and the story, I've gotten much better as a player since then). If however you are talking about the altered humans (those freeks with no arms or legs) those are just some type of experiment slave thingy. It appears too that some of the Combine ships (especially the helicopter and strider) seem to be fused genetic creatures with mechanical parts drafted to them.


As for playing the game again.... well I've certainlly noticed things i didn't in the first run through (mainly more storyline tidbits and lots of G-man sightings).


Heres some interesting articles about HL's storyline that can at least shed a little light on whats going on.

http://www.hlfallout.net/articles.php/article_9/
http://www.hlfallout.net/articles.php/article_17/
http://www.hlfallout.net/articles.php/article_23/
http://www.hlfallout.net/view.php/features/transcript

The early transcript seems to clear up some info (probably was gonna be in the game but instead was cut out)

Wow, I wish they kept that in. Would've kept me even more hyped for the story. The way Breen talks about City 17 in some of his videos, it does seem like the place is a refuge for mankind (hence the "you have been selected" bit at the train station).

I started playing it again, and I forgot that they briefly showed one of those fish monsters from the first game in the teleport sequence. Surprised they didn't use it as an enemy in the game, as opposed to keeping them in that split-second of a sequence. I really would've liked to seen more monsters from the first game, the gargantuan in particular.

i dunno if anyone mentioned it, but you also see him while driving the propellor boat. he walks across a catwalk pretty much exactly like how he does in the first game when you first see those 2 legged things that jiggle and then blast waves at you. i just got to ravenholm, and so far im loving it. i like the lack of info. makes it seem like a zombie movie or something. no real plot other than the self explanitory OMFG that thing looks evil, shoot it. peices are fitting together in my mind, though... gonna wait to see if im right.

One thing I noticed is that the credits list Barney as "Barney Calhoun". So he's the same Barney as the bloke you control in Blue Shift? That Barney never fought alongside Gordon in the original though, but he makes references to "just like old times". Even his first line "about that beer I owe you" is a neat reference to something the Barneys in Anomylous Materials say when you try to talk to them before the incident.

So is Barney in Half-Life 2 really Barney from Blue Shift? Or do you think Valve just re-used the name and don't count Blue Shift as canon?

The whole deal with the expansions made by Gearbox (Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Decay on PS2) seems to be non-canon by Value as a whole, or at the very least not taken advantage of more in HL2. Which is really too bad, as the expansions were pretty cool, especially Opposing Force.

It would seem that the Barney in HL2 is not the one you play as in Blue Shift for the reasons you pointed out. Half the security force is named Barney... looks like they share the same last name too

Man, I really need a copy of my own at some point >_<

Yeah I think Valve just didn't like Blue shift, since Steam has opposing force in it as well (no blue shift). I also heared there were engine changes in Blue shift that make it not work with steam and its Gearbox's responsibility to port it to steam, not valve's (OP force has no engine changes so it was easily ported to steam).

However Blue Shift is cannon (as well as the rest of the Expansions) since why would they even call Barney in HL2 Calhourn anyways? Barney and Gorden might not have had any real physical interaction in Blue Shift (though as Barney you see him alot and the game ends when Gorden gets hit on the head). They did work in the same facility together and Gorden was there for a while (enough so the scientist knew his name and were very familar) so I'm sure Gorden and this Barney got along together very well (like in the Hazard Course).

The best way to look at the characters from HL1 and HL2 is that the Characters in HL1 are more abstract. They are very simple representations of people, nothing too deep or emotional about them. In my mind Barney willl always be that one Barney that helped me when I was low on health or the Barney that helped take out the floating babies while i went to Xen. Thats the Barney I relate to when I see him again in HL2.




The old gang as well as the scientist in the Picture (proving the G-man is not in the photo in Kliener's lab).

Yes, there are. I played the entire game with subtitles on.

Ok I think I've found the citidel in Half-life 1.... Remember the level that most considered to be the mines of Xen. Well I pose a different theory, I believe this is the Citidel in Xen. Suppose, Xen was conquered the same as Earth, so it would logically have its own citidels that closely resemble Xen culture. Well theres alot of moving parts in those mines and barrels that transport Alien grunts (does this mean the grunts are genetically enhanced?). Also we can assume that somehow the Xen species is genetically enhanced in different stages since the floating babies and the Alien grunts each have the same hand from their chest. It seems alot like the Citiden in HL2 the way its set up.

Good call! It even has those pillars moving up and down.

I find the "Who is Barney?" question a bit troubling, too. For some reason I don't feel the same way about Eli; he's only one of the black scientists, even though there are a lot of people that look like him. Barney is different, I think, because like Ant said, Barney the character never saw Gordon during the incident, and never offered to buy him a beer later; that was all other security guards.

Although, does Barney ever refer to spending time together during the incident at Black Mesa? All I recall is "Hey, Gordon, it's me! Barney! From Black Mesa!", which would be a good way to remind someone of how you worked with them 15 years ago. The line in the E3 trailer about "Remember when we thought Black Mesa was as bad as it could get?" was cut.

That would leave only the beer offer being troublesome... Hmm. I guess that's the problem when you uprade generic characters that appear a lot of times into one actual character. Which of the generics is the actual character when they all sound and look the same? This is another problem Barney had. Eli's actor didn't voice all the black scientists, but Barney's actor voiced all the security guards...

Maybe more than one Barney offered Gordon a beer... >_>

I'm thinking that Kleiner and Barney in HL2 were the two from the Lambda complex from the first game, right before you go to Xen. simply because you meet both pairs in a teleport lab, and in HL2, Kleiner picks up a shotgun at one point, similar to the way the scientist in the Lambda complex grabbed a shotgun when you first get there. . I pretty much just imagine Kleiner and Barney to be a combination of most of the scientists/barneys you run into in the first game, though (as mentioned before, HL1 didn't really have any specific characters other than Gordon and the G-Man)

OK, here's another thing...

Kleiner says during the teleport thing "Conditions could hardly be ideal." Barney then says "You said that last time."

During the experiment thing that started the whole disaster at the beginning of the first game, one of the scientists over-seeing the experiment does actually say "Conditions could hardly be more ideal." He also has the same voice as Dr. Kleiner.

So apparently, Barney was there to see and hear that. So he can't be the Barney from Blue Shift.

But on the other hand, the scientists who were over-seeing the experiment died when a stray beam went through to the little room they were in and killed them. So in another way, that can't be Dr. Kleiner who said that, because whoever did say it is actually dead.

So, maybe it is the Barney from Blue Shift, and when he says "You said that last time" he's either joking or he's just a complete imbecile.

Good lord, this is beyond obsessive.

You had better be terribly wrong, otherwise you'll have ruined, what could be, one of the greatest storylines of a game for a considerable while.

From http://www.planethalflife.com/features/interviews/laidlaw/



Looks like Ant was right... are you sure he died? Which character said the "conditions could hardly be more ideal" line?

But then, Barney wasn't present at the time...

Damn, we obsess too much. And this is the folly of creating actual characters out of random characters...

I think they took all the Barneys and all the different scientists in the game and rolled them into ONE character that contained all experiences from previous games. Ignoring deaths of course. From what's been said here, that seems to make sense to me.

Actually, I thought that he was talking about the last time when they tested the teleporter, where something happened with a cat("what cat?"). Perhaps "Conditions could hardly be more ideal" is just a phrase that many Black Mesa scientists use? Or it's just a plain darn coincidence?

Speaking of coincidences, is it just me, or is Gordon Freeman one of the luckiest characters around? Whenever there is some sort of obstacle, there's something that's helping him. If there's a place that he can't reach, no problem, there's a board for him to climb on. A ramp isn't cooperating? Well, lucky you, let's drop a few containers in there that just might help push her down. And naturally, there's the final bit in the citadel where all his weapons are taken from him and destroyed one by one... but 'oi, look at that... his Gravity Gun is suddenly more charged than ever and can pick up people and throw them around.

Mind you, I'm not complaining, I actually found it humorous at times. Especially the Gravity Gun. That was such a bleedin' awesome surprise when a group of Combine Soldiers were coming, and I tried to pick up something next to them, only to have a guard fly straight at me.

maybe he said thatline "last time" as in when they failed to teleport the cat

Absolutely. Had Eli Vance never built that gravity gun and then had the sense to give it to him, there would be no chance he could make it across that beach without being eviscerated by the Antlions.

He was also very fortunate in the fact that there just so happened to be no gravity gun puzzles before he reached Black Mesa East.

i just want answers...

did breen die?
did this stop the combine?
what do those vehicles i saw on the way to breen's office do?
what about barney? do we ever get that beer?
what about dog? i want a big robot
what about eli? does he survive?
that one lady? who's side is she on?
what about dr. kleiner? lamar?
does alyx live? does gordon get to hit it?
what about the vortigaunts? are they alright?
father grigori? is he still blasting zombies?
what about the people in the tenements? does she ever stop crying? so he can stop having to sit there comforting her?
why didn't they give us the OICW?

I think he did. If I recall correctly, the reactor almost seems to fall on top of him.

What I find intriguing is that he says "You need me", just as the whole thing explodes, I wonder what he meant with that. Is he talking that he is important with the Combine or for humanity? Or something else entirely?



I think it's more an incredible blow against the Combine. At least for the human sympathisers. For the aliens who took over earth, I think that it's more of a "Death Star" blow. Definately costly, shows that they shouldn't underestimate the humans, but far from defeated.


No idea. Rather interested in what all those other alien things were there as well. It really seemed as if they were massing for an invasion there.


I'd hope so.


Who doesn't? When you start the attack on the citadel, the little scene with him just rocked. First time, I couldn't exactly pay attention to what he was doing as I was battling the Combine soldiers. First I saw him attacking some folks, then he was run over. I fired at the soldiers, until the tank drives by with him in tow. I continue firing, and when I spare a glance to see what happened with Dog, he was about to throw the damn vehicle straight at the soldiers. That was just bloody ace.

His return as well. When I saw a few cars fly by, I thought that there'd be another Strider battle, and was prepping myself... until suddenly Dog came running around.


I hope so. Still, the way I see it, only way that he could have come out of the citadel that is just collapsing is either by sheer luck(that heroes always have), divine intervention, or a certain blue-suited bloke who helps him out.

Doctor Mossman? Definately for the good guys. She's pretty much Lando, I think. Works for the bad guys, until they go too far, and then she helps out to aid the heroes again. I read a theory somewhere where they thought that it was all preplanned by Eli and Mossman, which is an interesting thought. Does any of the dialogue between Eli or Mossman point to this?

Save and sound where Alyx left them, I think... even though Lamar managed to flee again, and was last seen after the credit sequence. (which was ratherquote)

Only way that she could've survived is the same as with Eli and Mossman. Sheer heroic luck, divinite intervention, G-Man.

They're still all over the place, I suppose.

I'd like to think so. His exit was just excellent. Laughing like a madman, running into the fire while unloading his shotgun at the zombies. His laughter haunted me as I exited the level. Still, I hope that we don't get to see him again in HL3, just keep him as an enigma.

With the Combine possibly out of City 17, things might've quieted down.

I really have no idea what you're talking about here.

in one of the videos curing the prison level gordon has an OICW... it's a gun i would dig up a screen but i'm too lazy

I wonder about Half-Life 3. If Gordon was indeed in stasis between HL1 and HL2, the third game could be set decades in the future, with Barney, Kleiner and Vance all dead with old age or living in retirement homes. The only returning character (apart from Gordon, who is still 27) being Alyx, who is well into her sixties by this point.

Here's an interesting one: did the G-Man age between HL1 and HL2?



I like to think of him as going out in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fashion.

Well if you go to half-life3.com, you will find stuff about half life 2. However, someone did a whois on it, and it turns out it seems to be owned by Valve.
I just did one and I was told its owned by Network Solutions, and that was it.

Frankly, with an ending like Half Life 2(and the overall way that the game is received), there is very little doubt wether or not there will be another Half Life. There are many answers left unanswered.

What really surprised me is that Half Life 2 doesn't answer any of the questions that were left after Half Life 1 like who the bloody hell is the G-Man and what was the Black Mesa incident all about? Half Life 2 only adds more questions to the storyline, like "WHAT is the G-Man?" He can control freakin' time.

Plus, what's really starting to interest me is Gordon Freeman himself, which is something that I find very funny, considering that he has no personality or background at all. I thought that in HL1, he was just a very resourceful scientist who managed to survive the Black Mesa incident due to being the main character and we were playing as him. But HL2 really seems to suggest that there's more to the man than meets the eye. Throughout the game, everyone seems praise Gordon Freeman. When the rebels see Freeman, they're immediately all "Wow, it's Gordon Freeman, I don't want to miss this", "We're with you, Freeman", and much more of that. One review said that this was merely some insider humour, but I really didn't get that feeling. I could understand that some of the Xen Aliens seem to practically worship Gordon, and I take it that they are doing that because he saved them from the Ninalith(or whatever you call that big baby-alien).

The final "Dark Energy" chapter seems to hint various things. Dr Breen's "Your services seem to open to the highest bidder", coupled with the G-Man's "I've been receiving some very interesting offers which I would normally not even consider, but these are extraordinaire times", as well as a Xen's Alien statement that "We both serve the same mystery" seems to suggest that Gordon Freeman is nothing more than a mercenary for hire and is a client for the G-Man who sells him for higher forces. I sincerely hope that it won't turn out to be something like that, and be something more profound. I do find that earlier mention that the G-Man is potentially Gordon Freeman from the future to be very interesting. Having Half Life 3 ending with the player donning the blue suit and briefcase could prove to be interesting, if done with flair.

In the end tho', I think that, whatever the answer will be about Gordon Freeman, the G-Man is involved somehow.

Naturally, there's still the Combine. I think that they are just your average alien force who take over worlds, and assimilate them into their culture until all sorts of culture has been replaced with their alien nature. That's the basic gist that I got from Dr. Breen's speech in the prison levels. The final ride in the Citadel seems to suggest that the Earth has basically been turned into a staging point for them. As I passed by all the vehicles and the aliens marching by, as well as the jets flying out, I had a feeling as if they were preparing for a large-scale invasion. I rather liked that we only got a quick glimpse of their leader in the end, rather than see it first-hand. Still, I have to admit that I was kinda hoping that Dr. Breen was talking with the G-Man at the console, and that they would finally reveal a bit more about him.

With so many questions still left behind, I'm really looking forward to see what Half Life 3 will offer. And to be honest, I hope that they'll keep it as a trilogy, with HL3 unravelling most of the mysteries, while leaving some open to interpretation. HL2 seems to set things up for a finale where everything will be answered, and I hope HL3 can deliver. If HL3 will end on the same note(only hints, no simple answers, and many more questions), then I might grow a bit tired of it. They can do it twice to keep things surprising, but it gets out of hand if they do it a third time.

Well Gorden Being the G-man is from an early script (in that one Alyx betrays Gorden and Dies in his arms or something like that). Theres so many theories to what Gorden and the G-man are


Father and Son: Possible Star Wars flare, but who is the father and who is the son? They both share similar features (especially how strange their eye colors are).

Android- Suppose the G-man we see isn't the same one from HL1... suppose there are lots of G-men and that the G stangs for a make or model number. Maybe all the spottings we have of the G-man are all just different robot. To add to the Robot scenario maybe Gorden is an android built by the G-man

Host Body - The G-man isn't even human as is using a human host body to present itself to people in Earth (remember Docter Breen stating he couldn't survive in the Enviroment he was going to, so the Combine set up a host body for him).

The same person: - Either split personalities, different era version, or alternate dimension versions of eachother.



The mystery of the G-man is touchy and its hard to tell which side he's on. One thing's for sure, Gorden isn't actually lucky, Im thinking all the good situations or being saved from near death are all done by the G-man. He pops up in Nova Prospect as cool as a cucumber while Turrets are shooting Antlions and straightens his tie. In Black Mesa it made sense that you bumped into him alot, being that you were both near the same place when Gorden pushed the crystal into the beam. However in a big city, He's everywhere you are. Clearly he wasn't lost in Black Mesa, he was either doing a job or observing you. In HL2 you now know that you are directly involved with the G-man and that his spottings concern you. Lets look at where the G-man pops up.


In the underground Railroad on a TV screen that a Voghtnaught is watching, and he's suppling the power with his mental abilities. So he was comunicating with the G-man. How about the Colonel that gives you the Rocket Launcher, he's seen before that talking to the G-man. The G-man is always ahead of you and helping you succeed. One thing that really freaked me out was after Dog jumps on the dropship and fights it, you walk into this hallway with creepy music coming from a TV. Now you round the corner and you see the TV with the G-man in it, then the TV turns off...... but it was never plugged in?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/G-mansighting.jpg
G-man on TV in Underground Railroad

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/NovaG-man.jpg
G-man in Nova Prospect

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/CreepyTV.jpg
Creepy TV thats not plugged in

Then theres some goofy graphiti art out there like this one

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/spray.jpg
Caste? Its a Combine soldier with a baby but there hasn't been babies in 10 years (since there are repressors on Earth that make it impossible for us to have children)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/strangespray.jpg
This one is strange and I think its only there too




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/lord_nova/eatingheadcrabs.jpg
Funny easter Egg... this guy was tough to find.

Not to discourage speculation, but I think there's a bit of over-analyzation here, specifically concerning Gordon and the G-man. It's not that neither play an important role, but that it's usually the simple answer.

Yep.

From the ending:



I think this strongly implies that Eli and Mossman worked it out so they'd all be at the top of the tower; but Mossman there free and unrestrained so she could free the others and stop Breen.

I just played through that area again, I dont think he was refering to a host body for the gman. I think Breen needed a host body for wherever he was going in the teleporter.

Another thing I noticed- The logo for black mesa (which is partially seen on alyxs grey shirt) is the same logo thats on the gmans briefcase.

her shirt also says black mesa... maybe her dad bought it at the gift shop...

It's on Barney too. I figure that's just an excuse for being at Black Mesa. :p

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I saw the Combine leader slug thingy during the teleport sequence at the beginning...looked like Breen was talking to it on the screen then too.

I know its on them, Im pointing out the fact that it's on the gman. I dont know, figured it might be something important.

If i correct the Lambda sign (the Half Life logo) isn't on the G-man in HL2 (in HL1 it was on his briefcase). I think the resistance simply use the Lambda complex logo as a sign that people can make a difference (remember Gorden being just one man, helped stop the Nihilinth and freed Xen for a short time).

well.
I'm not sure he can actually control time.
but perhaps, be so fast as to make it seem to Gordon that time is frozen.

Sort of like, a week in a blink of an eye. or something.

I'm not sure, but I think the Gman just makes himself /look/ like hes in control.
In reality, he may not really be over everything.
If he was as powerfull as he seemed, why would he need anything from anyone?

Heres my small theory about the gman, sent to A_Big_Fat_CoW via aim.




Just a thought I had.

The Gman just doesn't seem like the kind of person who is doing this for money. Theres something far greater involved.

I read an interesting theory about the G-Man being God. A rather creepy God, though... but assume he can't directly intervene, and instead chooses people to do stuff for him.

God just has a very poor idea of how to appear comforting to his people. "A man from the government is comforting, right?", he thinks.

Another great theory is that maybe he's part of some Dawinism type thing where he needs to find the strongest species in the universe. So he purposely pits them against eachother till only the strong can survive.

The thing is we are looking for answers that aren't backed by facts. We need to refrence whats happened in the games to help form anything about him.

Has anyone ever listened to the NPC team members? They say the craziest stuff like
"Sometimes I dream of cheese"
"when this is all over, Ill mate"
Im assuming the first one has to do with the fact that there are no cows left in the world and the 2nd one is well.... we all know what thats about.

http://www.whois.sc/half-life3.com

The Administrative contact is Valve, and it uses Valve's nameservers.