half-life 2 questions

Hey guys. I've just been playing half-life 2 for a while on the 360 and I'm not familiar with some of the things going on in it since I never actually played the first half life. If you can answer any of these questions that would help.

1. A brief summary of what all happened in the first game?

2. Who are the combine?

3. The soldiers I am fighting throughout half life 2, are they human or alien or what?

4. If the soldiers are human, why are they fighting against other humans instead of against the aliens?

any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

basially the first was about an experiment that went wrong. the combine are people that control the planet. the soldiers you are fighting are aliens. i dont think i should say much elseDevouring_One

Okay that actually helps. But what about that creatures like the headcrabs and the barnacles and the ant lions? Are they also aliens? Are they from the same place as the combine?

Check out this site for all of the details regarding the Half-Life storyline.

Extremely short summary: In the first Half-Life an experiment in the Black Mesa research facility enables a portal to an alien world called Xen from which various alien life forms (Vortigaunts, headcrabs, antlions...) inhabit the Earth. The Combine is an interdimensional expansionist army that conquers worlds by creating portal storms through which they channel their soldiers and equipment. The soldiers you are fighting against are Combine troops - they are genetic hybrids of humans and aliens.

edit: thanks flames, that really helps

If you feel unsure about the whole story even after reading the websites and etc. that is normal. Much of the story and events in the game are a pretty big mystery.duxup

Yeah, and that's exactly why I love it so much. There are better storylines in games out there, but none are nearly as intriguing or interesting to talk about.

Also, don't take everything on that site as fact. A lot of it is fan conjecture based mostly on the clues provided from the games themselves. As duxup said, a lot of it is still shrouded in mystery.

[QUOTE="duxup"]If you feel unsure about the whole story even after reading the websites and etc. that is normal. Much of the story and events in the game are a pretty big mystery.UpInFlames

Yeah, and that's exactly why I love it so much. There are better storylines in games out there, but none are nearly as intriguing or interesting to talk about.

Also, don't take everything on that site as fact. A lot of it is fan conjecture based mostly on the clues provided from the games themselves. As duxup said, a lot of it is still shrouded in mystery.

What I like is that when they do fill you in, there is substance (if not also a good portion of more mystery) there.

Too many games have something like a mystery and it's all answered by some ultimate evil spirit or something at the end. OH ... yay :P

Rather the world of Half Life feels like it really is a human world and really is dark. I was a bit pessimistic after EP1 but EP2 really got the story and game going again for me.

What I like is that when they do fill you in, there is substance (if not also a good portion of more mystery) there.

Too many games have something like a mystery and it's all answered by some ultimate evil spirit or something at the end. OH ... yay :P

Rather the world of Half Life feels like it really is a human world and really is dark. I was a bit pessimistic after EP1 but EP2 really got the story and game going again for me.duxup

I agree wholeheartedly. I used to know this great quote about the importance of mystery, but it escapes me right now. I also like how Valve never forgets that this is a game. Not a book, not a film, a game.

Episode One overall felt more like simply a straighforward Half-Life 2 expansion whereas Episode Two really feels like a completely new installment in the series with some meaningful progression.

[QUOTE="duxup"]What I like is that when they do fill you in, there is substance (if not also a good portion of more mystery) there.

Too many games have something like a mystery and it's all answered by some ultimate evil spirit or something at the end. OH ... yay :P

Rather the world of Half Life feels like it really is a human world and really is dark. I was a bit pessimistic after EP1 but EP2 really got the story and game going again for me.UpInFlames

I agree wholeheartedly. I used to know this great quote about the importance of mystery, but it escapes me right now. I also like how Valve never forgets that this is a game. Not a book, not a film, a game.

Episode One overall felt more like simply a straighforward Half-Life 2 expansion whereas Episode Two really feels like a completely new installment in the series with some meaningful progression.

Check out this site for all of the details regarding the Half-Life storyline.

UpInFlames

I still haven't played EP2 yet but it looks like they're leading towards an epic finale. A la Star Wars Ep 6 :Pselbie

There's a lot to Episode Two story-wise and it basically ends with the most action-packed Half-Life level ever. I can't wait to see some info on Episode Three. Hey by the way, what's going on with Black Mesa: Source? Any news?

Be careful with that site...much of what's presented there is speculation on the part of the site author. Teufelhuhn

Yeah, I warned the OP about it in my second post. :wink:

I still haven't played EP2 yet but it looks like they're leading towards an epic finale. A la Star Wars Ep 6 :Pselbie

EP2 really pays off. EP1 and 2 are like night and day. I loathed EP1, big snorefest IMO. EP2 manages to both pay off in terms of action important events in the overall story, and it gets you excited about what may be next.

there's no excuse for not playing the original Half Life, it's as playable today as it's ever been

Please play the original, I played it back in 2003, 5 years after it came out, and it changed my outlook on games in general forever

not playing it would be like never seeing starwars, you just don't do it.

Hey guys. I've just been playing half-life 2 for a while on the 360 and I'm not familiar with some of the things going on in it since I never actually played the first half life. If you can answer any of these questions that would help.

1. A brief summary of what all happened in the first game?

2. Who are the combine?

3. The soldiers I am fighting throughout half life 2, are they human or alien or what?

4. If the soldiers are human, why are they fighting against other humans instead of against the aliens?

any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

UT_Wrestler

I know someone already linked the summary site, but in case you don't feel like reading through all that:

1. An experiment goes wrong that Gordon was working on, greating a massive portal through which creatures from Xen invade Earth. The military is sent in and begin cleaning up the installation by killing everything and everyone in sight. Eventually Gordon makes it to Xen and kills the being that enslaved the vortigaunts (hence the reason they're on your side in HL2). After killing the boss of the game Gordon is "hired" by G-man (the weird guy you see at the beginning of HL2 who looks like he's from Men in Black) and that's where the game ends. All in all you're not missing much from not having played HL1. You just don't recognize familar faces. Oh, and Barney in HL2 wasn't really ever a character per se in HL1. Barney was the name of the guards who occassionally helped you and filled in story bits in HL1.

2. The combine are an amalgamation of different alien races and technologies. The true combine look like giant larva (you'll see them very briefly in HL2 when Breen is talking to them on a video screen, and you'll get a much better look at one close the beginning of HL2:E1 when its ejecting out of the citidal).

3. They're genetically engineered humans. What the combine do each time they invade a planet is to create a soldier best designed to fight on that planet. That usually means taking one of the planet's host races and modifying it. The striders are one example, as are the helicopter-bug things (the name eludes me right now) in HL2. Also, if you want to see what the combine look like underneath their helmets you can find a diagram that shows the anatomy of their heads somewhere in the first half of HL2 (I forget where. One of the labs I think).

4. They're combine, not human. Also, the combine can reprogram people so to speak which is why they have those disembowled humans working in the citidal (can't remember the name for them).

Anyway, the story in HL2 is easy to miss since its never given to you explicitly. In most games the backstory and character details and all that good stuff are fed to you by some cutscene or knoweldgeable character. In Half-life that information is delievered via the conversations that NPCs have with each other, posters and flyers you'll find on walls, speeches, etc. It makes sense since everyone in the game assumes that Gordon has been on Earth the whole time and would thus know everything that's gone on. Just play through the game again, go at a slow pace, and keep an eye out for small details. You'll get a much better grasp on the story doing that. Its like watching a movie over again, you find things that you didn't see before.

The true combine look like giant larva (you'll see them very briefly in HL2 when Breen is talking to them on a video screen, and you'll get a much better look at one close the beginning of HL2:E1 when its ejecting out of the citidal).gameguy6700

Hmm, I'm not so sure those are the "true Combine". They're referred to as "advisors" in the game. My theory is that they're merely a link between Earth and the Combine Overlord and also act as officers of sorts that have the ability to control Combine troops on Earth.

See, this is why Half-Life is so awesome! :P

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

Check out this site for all of the details regarding the Half-Life storyline.

Teufelhuhn

Yeah there is a ton of speculation in that.

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]The true combine look like giant larva (you'll see them very briefly in HL2 when Breen is talking to them on a video screen, and you'll get a much better look at one close the beginning of HL2:E1 when its ejecting out of the citidal).UpInFlames

Hmm, I'm not so sure those are the "true Combine". They're referred to as "advisors" in the game. My theory is that they're merely a link between Earth and the Combine Overlord and also act as officers of sorts that have the ability to control Combine troops on Earth.

See, this is why Half-Life is so awesome! :P

True, forgot about that. Still, I remember hearing somewhere that because the combine became so dependant on their technology that they became fat and unable to live without it. I forget where I heard that though. It was either in the little art book that came with the HL2 collector's edition or on some fan site. But one would think that the advisors would at least be of the same species as the overlords if they're put in such a powerful position (Breen was taking orders directly from them, and the only reason he was put in control of one planet was to make it easier for the combine to discourage humans from resisiting).

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]The true combine look like giant larva (you'll see them very briefly in HL2 when Breen is talking to them on a video screen, and you'll get a much better look at one close the beginning of HL2:E1 when its ejecting out of the citidal).UpInFlames

Hmm, I'm not so sure those are the "true Combine". They're referred to as "advisors" in the game. My theory is that they're merely a link between Earth and the Combine Overlord and also act as officers of sorts that have the ability to control Combine troops on Earth.

See, this is why Half-Life is so awesome! :P

[spoiler]

I remember some people kicking around the idea that Breen's mind was transferred to the body of an Advisor after the original HL2, perhaps even to the Advisor you encounter in Ep. 2. That would be need, eh? :D


[/spoiler]

[QUOTE="selbie"]I still haven't played EP2 yet but it looks like they're leading towards an epic finale. A la Star Wars Ep 6 :PUpInFlames

[QUOTE="selbie"]I still haven't played EP2 yet but it looks like they're leading towards an epic finale. A la Star Wars Ep 6 :Pduxup

SpoilerTeufelhuhn

[spoiler] I don't know what use would the Combine have out of preserving Breen's mind, they could've just harvested it and be done with it. Breen acted as a puppet to try and trick humanity into thinking that the Combine presence is actually beneficial for them, but that effort pretty much failed and now that the resistance is in full swing with the Combine scattered and in disarray, I don't see Breenbeing ofany kind of use for the Combine - especially in the body of an advisor. [/spoiler]

[QUOTE="Teufelhuhn"]SpoilerUpInFlames

spoiler

[spoiler] The only evidence to suggest that Breen may have had his mind swapped into a different body is that when you get to the citidal Breen is talking to a combine advisor about getting a "host body" so that he can survive the trip from earth to the combine home world. But it would seem that plan never came to fruition seeing as how you kill him at the end of HL2. Or do you? I can't remember HL2:E1 very well since I rushed through it, but I'm pretty sure we don't see Breen again after the teleporter blows up. From what I remember he was in it when it blows so it would be surprising if he lived [/spoiler]