Beautiful ending. Here's a thought: What are the odds that the Gordon Freeman-led games are traditional games for flat screens while Alyx titles are VR games that run parallel to the main story?
God that would be so coolBeautiful ending. Here's a thought: What are the odds that the Gordon Freeman-led games are traditional games for flat screens while Alyx titles are VR games that run parallel to the main story?
That would be great!Beautiful ending. Here's a thought: What are the odds that the Gordon Freeman-led games are traditional games for flat screens while Alyx titles are VR games that run parallel to the main story?
We still need to see how the Borealis gets in the picture, if they can somehow reverse the invasion it's not all for nothing. but Eli needs to live for that to happen.
Half Life has been doing it since the 90sCan no fictional universe keep its fingers out of the time manipulation pie anymore? It's getting silly.
Can no fictional universe keep its fingers out of the time manipulation pie anymore? It's getting silly.
G-man talking about a mutable future and splitting into multiple selves is implying alternate dimensions and timelines. This alt-dimension Alyx is going to be an antagonistic force working for G-man in the sequel, which could easily take place in the established HL2 continuity in which Eli is dead.i'm not sure if i like a retcon like that and i also don't know what it accomplishes storywise
I'm pretty sure some of the dialogue in the ending rules out preventing any of the games from happening.i'll say this if the ending to half life 3 is going to be time travel to stop the resonance cascade from happening at black mesa to stop the combine from ever coming to earth that's going to be lame as hell
i'm not sure if i like a retcon like that and i also don't know what it accomplishes storywise
I think that would be the best way of doing it tbh. As said in another thread, they both have different toolsets.Beautiful ending. Here's a thought: What are the odds that the Gordon Freeman-led games are traditional games for flat screens while Alyx titles are VR games that run parallel to the main story?
This, as soon as laidlaw put out that story, I knew whatever the sequel would be, it would not go that path at all. and they would do something to change the story cards dealt to them at the end of EP2
From interviews, Valve seemed to be interest about the reception because they want to know if they could keep going on this VR path when moving forwardBeautiful ending. Here's a thought: What are the odds that the Gordon Freeman-led games are traditional games for flat screens while Alyx titles are VR games that run parallel to the main story?
You don't really control him tbh.From interviews, Valve seemed to be interest about the reception because they want to know if they could keep going on this VR path when moving forward
So I wouldn't hold my breath for any non VR game from Valve. Specially since you control Gordon at the end of HL Alyx.
Well, you do, you have to pick up the crowbar to finish the scene.
Yeah, that seemed like a hint that the mainline games are going to be VR too.Well, you do, you have to pick up the crowbar to finish the scene.
Obviously the G-MAN breaks a lot of these rules, and that's what makes him interesting, but the ambiguity works there as he's a secondary avatar from whom the mystique and law breaking can be observed by the player. The sense of not knowing his limits, and also not being able to posses his power, gives him a presence in the narrative framework that is omnipotent and awe inspiring. And even so, there's no events in my recollection of him travelling to the past and changing timelines. Because, you know, changing the past is a big fucking deal.
I don't remember where, but I saw in YouTube a theory that the G-Man is actually from the same race as the Nihilanth. Don't know how that makes sense, but I thought it was interesting.We might actually know his limits, though, as well as his origin story. You probably aren't aware of this, but Mike Laidlaw (who was a consultant on Half-Life: Alyx) revealed a lot of additional info about the Advisor race (the combine grubs aka Shuulathoi) on a now infamous twitter account named @BreenGrub.
(The account, of course, was named after Dr. Breen, which was implied in Epistle 3 to have been attempting to mutate into a Shuulathoi larval form at the end of Half-Life 2, resulting in a horrid monstrosity after the citadel was blown up mid-transformation)
Anyway, one of the things revealed by breengrub was that adult Shuulathoi can chose whatever form they want. Combine this with another breengrub revelation that the Shuulathoi themselves were victims of the combine, and you can see now why a lot of fans theorize that the G-Man is a fully matured member of that race - which explains why he seemingly is motivated by a desire to take down the Combine.
However, the fact that the Combine were able to enslave the entire Shuulathoi race, implies they are far stronger than an entire population of adult Shuulathoi. Which explains why they were able to capture G-Man and keep him in containment in Half-Life: Alyx.
We might actually know his limits, though, as well as his origin story. You probably aren't aware of this, but Mike Laidlaw (who was a consultant on Half-Life: Alyx) revealed a lot of additional info about the Advisor race (the combine grubs aka Shuulathoi) on a now infamous twitter account named @BreenGrub.
(The account, of course, was named after Dr. Breen, which was implied in Epistle 3 to have been attempting to mutate into a Shuulathoi larval form at the end of Half-Life 2, resulting in a horrid monstrosity after the citadel was blown up mid-transformation)
Anyway, one of the things revealed by breengrub was that adult Shuulathoi can chose whatever form they want. Combine this with another breengrub revelation that the Shuulathoi themselves were victims of the combine, and you can see now why a lot of fans theorize that the G-Man is a fully matured member of that race - which explains why he seemingly is motivated by a desire to take down the Combine.
However, the fact that the Combine were able to enslave the entire Shuulathoi race, implies they are far stronger than an entire population of adult Shuulathoi. Which explains why they were able to capture G-Man and keep him in containment in Half-Life: Alyx.
This is only left me more confusedSo it is basically season two (three?) of The Flash?
HL2 is the original timeline where JD's Brother went back in time and framed Barry's dad for shanking his mom. Then Barry went back in time to prevent JD's Brother from doing it and started a new timeline. And THEN they went back in time and let him do it to start a third?
Except it is Gordon, Alyx, and then probably Shephard or Barney.
Since the thread is labeled "SPOILER" do we really need to use spoiler tags?
Something feels kind of weird and not right about resurrecting a character whose voice actor has died, after he gave a pretty memorable and iconic performance. They should have just left things as they were. Retconning the end of HL2 is also kinda cheap. I do like the twist that Alyx is now stuck being "employed" by the G-Man's organization.
reddit said:I should just post my thoughts on the ending now before this thread gets out of control. In short, I LOVE IT!
Episode 3, as it is written here, would have perfectly ended the series and Laidlaw absolutely captures the general theme of the games. The central one being that the universe is simply too vast and complex for any one little human to understand. Everything about this final episode is building you towards this eventual revelation. It starts as your bog standard story as all the characters attempt to obtain the magical MacGuffin that will solve all their problems and allow them to finally beat the Combine.
However, once they board the Borealis they realize just how little they understand the science of what the original research team was tapping into. They witness time itself unfolding and refolding. The past, the present, and the future all laid bare before them as they travel across vast distances in space, in an instant and an eternity, until they are stretched to encompass all the space in between. This is but their first glimpse into the reality that awaits them. After Alex decides to shoot Judith Mossman and use the Borealis to blow up the Combine base, the reality of our situation is laid bare before the player.
The G-Man shows up, but this time it isn't to save us, it's to take Alex away. In fact, he doesn't even speak to us. We aren't even worth a thought to him. And, we as the player begin to learn the truth, we were never special. There was nothing unique about us that the G-Man needed or saw within us, we were nothing more than a disposable pawn, to be discarded and forgotten about based on his whims. The G-Man, much like the universe, is cold and uncaring. He takes Alex with him and they move on, without you.
Finally, we pilot the ship to detonate inside the Combine Base only to have the final truth revealed to us. Our efforts have always been futile, the Combine are so powerful and their reach so vast that it is beyond our comprehension. They control worlds beyond worlds we've ever dreamed of, their tentacle reach exists in dimensions we never knew existed, their web is as vast as the arm of a galaxy. And, our last ditch suicidal effort won't even register as a spark in the grand scheme of their plans.
And then, the player is yanked back to their world. Earth. When? Who knows? Did we win the war? Does it matter? The player has the truth of the universe opened to them at the brink of death and then pulled away. The universe and everything that goes on within it is beyond our comprehension. Our efforts, our friends, our losses all seem minuscule and pointless in the grand scheme of things. We were just a child trying to grasp at concepts beyond our reach; smashing our hands at perceived obstacles in our path.
And, that is exactly how the series started. When we pushed that element into the beam back in Black Mesa untold horrors beyond our comprehension were unleashed. We had no explanation about what they were, what they wanted, or why they did what they did. It all seemed chaotic. The only thing we could try to do was survive and attempt to close this portal into the incomprehensible madness. By the end, we fought some alien god only to be pulled through time and space by the mysterious figure who seemed interested in us the whole game. The game started with confusion and ended without any questions resolved, only more chaos.
HL2 attempted to lull us into a fall sense of security about everything and our purpose. Our enemy now had a name, The Combine. They had an objective, the conquering of our world. They even had a sort of order/hierarchy. These are concepts that made sense to our human mind, and an enemy we knew how to fight. It's War of the Worlds, or rather World War II with aliens. Right until the ending of Episode 2...
This Episode 3 ending caps off the theme of Half-Life by bringing us back to the original. There is no structure, no comprehension, you were never meant to understand the Combine or the universe for that matter. The only solace you can gain is that you saw the truth of the futility of your struggle, whereas others would never learn the reality of the situation.
You the player are not special and you can never understand the reality of the universe you exist within. The only real victory is to hopefully stall the eventual take over by the Combine and allow your friends and loved ones to live out the time they have left in blissful ignorance.
"Did the lungfish refuse to breathe air? It did not. It crept forth boldly while its brethren remained in the blackest ocean abyss, with lidless eyes forever staring at the dark, ignorant and doomed despite their eternal vigilance." Dr. Breen summed up the Resistance pretty well, he understood the true might of the Combine and the Universe.
Now, some have said that this ending is "too edgy" appealing only to teenage nihilists. I disagree, I think it's classic Sci-Fi and works quite well with the overall story, themes, and tone of Half-Life. The game has always attempted to show you just how little you as a human can comprehend about what is going on. As I said, the first game ends with the G-Man teleporting your around dimensions before offering you a "choice" to come with him on a magic tram car. And, then the next game you wake up some decade or so later on a tram car without even the courtesy to explain how or why you were brought to this point. If you wanted "solid" answers to questions within the HL universe, such as what is the G-Man? Then you've been playing the wrong series. You were never meant to understand things like that and explaining them would ruin the themes of the series.
It's beautifully presented and that's from watching a VR games on youtube, losing pretty much 90% of the intended atmosphere, that said I don't really like the retcon. Maybe i'm just tired of retcons recently but it feels cheap to me.
Whoever G-Man was supposed to be or whoever his employers were supposed to be, I don't think that mystery really matters anymore. They're just making shit up as they go along.I'm kinda hoping they dont answer who the G-Man is or who his "employers" have been this whole time. Like whatever it is, its gon be way less interesting when they have to put a tangible reason why he can travel through time and space and multiple dimensions.
Great Mike Shapiro performance, tho. Its so crazy to get new, weird G-Man content in 2020.
am I missing something or did they make a dramatic moment out of handing the main character a crowbar like it's a lightsaber or some shit?
I haven't played or seen it i'm just curious if it feels corny or is just matter of fact within the actual moment in the game.
I recognize that half life's crowbar is iconic in a lot of ways, but it feels like kind of a meme approach of recognizing that to have it represent one character passing a torch or whatever. cuz it's still just a crowbar.
Anyways I'm sorry again, I don't know that much about half life at all.
I freaking loved it
Episode 2 ending was weak, imho.
Alyx dad died, but there was nothing to make you excited about what comes next.
People think fondly of it because well, it was the last thing we had in 13 years.
Alyx dad died, but there was nothing to make you excited about what comes next.
People think fondly of it because well, it was the last thing we had in 13 years.
You're entitled to your own taste but are you drunk? Nothing to make you excited? Episode 2 specifically built up Aperture Science as having developed a powerful technology of some sort, of which was lost on the Borealis, now found. An invention so important that both the resistance and the Combine were searching for it. Mossman reveals they know the location, the Combine have arrived, and Gordon and Alyx are about to leave right before Eli is killed. People were literally going mental theorising what could be on the Borealis and if Portal gameplay would wind up in Half-Life.
So now instead of the resistance in pursuit of a dangerous, mysterious technology that had long since been lost, and in neck-to-neck pursuit for the invention with the enemy, it's about saving Alyx? And that's more interesting?
Different strokes, I guess.
I totally get what you're getting at. Half Life 2 actually does a sort of similar thing, where a character tosses you a crowbar so you can break through the environment while he practically winks and nods at you about how you totally used a crowbar and you're good with it. HL2 Episode 1 also has that same character give you another crowbar while saying he doesn't have many more left and to not lose this one. So while it's kind of cheesy it's at least a sort of tradition for it to be cheesy. Though I'll grant, it's never been the climax of a title.am I missing something or did they make a dramatic moment out of handing the main character a crowbar like it's a lightsaber or some shit?
I haven't played or seen it i'm just curious if it feels corny or is just matter of fact within the actual moment in the game.
I recognize that half life's crowbar is iconic in a lot of ways, but it feels like kind of a meme approach of recognizing that to have it represent one character passing a torch or whatever. cuz it's still just a crowbar.
Anyways I'm sorry again, I don't know that much about half life at all.
ok fair enough, if it's just like a quick moment that's a wink and a nod then it makes sense, I was envisioning like a solemn ceremony where he's handing off the crowbar reverently as though it's the strongest weapon you have. (i mean this is the game with the gravity gun and ACTUAL guns, right?)Man, that's weird. I don't know how I feel. I'm excited because it seems to indicate more is coming. Undoing Eli's death makes me feel a bit empty, but I don't have the full game's context and I want to give them the benefit of the doubt by waiting to see how they follow things up in a possible continuation. I think my hope for HL:A was that midway through the game or so you'd pick up from HL2E2, so seeing that things haven't furthered much is also a bit of a downer. I'm going to need to chew on this plus whatever other possible implications / story beats transpire in HL:A for a while, I'm sure.
I totally get what you're getting at. Half Life 2 actually does a sort of similar thing, where a character tosses you a crowbar so you can break through the environment while he practically winks and nods at you about how you totally used a crowbar and you're good with it. HL2 Episode 1 also has that same character give you another crowbar while saying he doesn't have many more left and to not lose this one. So while it's kind of cheesy it's at least a sort of tradition for it to be cheesy. Though I'll grant, it's never been the climax of a title.