HL2 Setup/Story questions (spoilers!)

[Repentant]

Greetings;

For context purposes, I'm at the beginning of Ravenholm.

It's really been bugging me just how much information is being kept from the player in the beginning levels of the game. Does one ever really get a picture of what's happened or is happening?

Here's a perfect example:

Near the end of HL1 you take a one-way trip to Xen. As far as I'm aware, this is the last time you have any communication with anyone from Black Mesa other than the G-Man, and it's mostly alluded that you're on ice almost the entire period between HL1 and HL2. The G-Man (or his superiors) is in control of Xen.

Relatively early on, it's pretty obvious Xen aliens are on the planet in large numbers. One may wonder if any positive changes happened after your run-in with Nihilanth. Wasn't this supposed to be the master alien of Xen?

One point of view is that those left back on Earth may be that you failed. I mean, you disappear for years, Xen aliens are still around, and the G-Man doesn't look like the type to give away information.

Yet Barney (any seemingly the rest of the resistance) is so blase' about your return. Hell, the most info I got was from a vortigon when you just get the airboat, and I didn't have subtitles on so it was hard to understand what was said. At least from Freeman's perspective he'd want to know WTF has happened and is happening.

Then again, Freeman is the silent, manly macho type.

There are so few real nuggets of information... Even when you get to Vance's lab, the "Earth surrenders to Aliens" newspaper story doesn't provide much information.

Do you ever truly understand any context between HL1 and HL2, how the combine is different from what was on Xen, and other info?

[Smoove_B]

Greetings;

Do you ever truly understand any context between HL1 and HL2, how the combine is different from what was on Xen, and other info?

Well...I'm pretty far into it, and if you're looking for someone to tell you the story...I don't think you'll get it (at least I haven't).

From what I can tell...SPOILERS*********************
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The G-Man is an agent of change. I don't think he's necessarily evil. He seems more like someone that tries to keep balance. It would seem (to me) that he's somehow awakened Gordon to come back to Earth and help fight with the human resistance against the aliens.

How exactly this ties into the first story, I don't know, but that's part of the fun.

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END SPOILERS**************************

You know what I haven't had in a while? Big League Chew.

[bluefugue]

Yeah the G-man isn't really evil, maybe amoral... I mean he apparently supports the anti-Combine resistance since he sent you here to lead it. Who his eh-eh-eh-employers are I have no idea.

I wanted more connection between the Black Mesa incident and the invasion by the Combine. How did one lead to another? Was the Combine able to reach Earth through Xen (called "the border world" at the end of HL1)? Is there any connection between the Combine and the Xen denizens/Nihilanth? Is there any connection between the Combine and the Gman's employers? Did your "saving the earth" from an infestation of Xen aliens really do anything worthwhile?

And have you aged in the intervening years -- were you in stasis the whole time or have you been doing other jobs for the Gman along the way? If you haven't aged, how come nobody remarks upon that fact? How much time elapsed anyway? I'm guessing about 10 years (Barney still seems pretty young).

edit: I know I know, the game doesn't have to hit you over the head with everything, but I think it erred on the side of providing too little backstory/exposition.

[Repentant]

And have you aged in the intervening years -- were you in stasis the whole time or have you been doing other jobs for the Gman along the way? If you haven't aged, how come nobody remarks upon that fact? How much time elapsed anyway? I'm guessing about 10 years (Barney still seems pretty young).

Part of your in-person conversation with Eli was him saying something the likes of "you haven't aged at all... how do you do it?" I took this to mean you haven't been out of the freezer much, if at all.

[Orpheo]

From conversations later in the game, I get the feeling G-Man is not a nice person. He definitely did have you on ice...At one point, Breen makes a reference to Gordon "having been in a state which precluded any further development of his skills". Anyway, if you want to know the story, you're SOL. Maybe Valve knows the story, maybe they didn't bother planning it out and just decided on "mysterious", but in any case, you won't know much more by the end of the game than you did at the beginning.

[bluefugue]

And have you aged in the intervening years -- were you in stasis the whole time or have you been doing other jobs for the Gman along the way? If you haven't aged, how come nobody remarks upon that fact? How much time elapsed anyway? I'm guessing about 10 years (Barney still seems pretty young).

Part of your in-person conversation with Eli was him saying something the likes of "you haven't aged at all... how do you do it?" I took this to mean you haven't been out of the freezer much, if at all.

WTF is up with me not remembering the dialogue? I guess I really was staring at Alyx's ass too much...

[Blackhawk]

Spoilerful:

This is entirely speculation I developed while playing, but it makes sense based on what I've seen so far (just finsished Ravenholm).

On the wall above the 'Earth Surrenders' newspaper is one that says

"Portal" Storms Continue

That kind of gave me the idea that when whatever happened in Black Mesa happened, similar things happened throughout the world.

Next down is:

7 Hour War Ends in Combine Victory

Later on:

Wallace Breen Declared Interim Administrator

It was mentioned that Wallace Breen was Gordon's old boss at Black Mesa.

So, likely something happens in Black Mesa. It looks like an accident (but Breen's appointment makes it seem likely it was intentional). From our (Gordon's) perspective, a portal or portals open in Black Mesa to Xen from which a number of aliens emerge. Gordon goes on a rampage, fights his way through, and kills the boss in Xen.

Meanwhile, similar portals have opened over the rest of Earth, Combine troops pour through and take over the world - in seven hours. The new alien bosses put Breen - the boss at Black Mesa - in charge of the world, probably a reward for his help in opening the world for invasion in the first place.

I don't know exactly what effect killing the end-boss in HL1 had. Perhaps he was just replaced. Perhaps the infrastructure was able to continue witout him. At the very least (gleened from in-game conversations), his death appears to have released the Vortigons from their slavery (they were a main enemy in HL1). They are now on Earth's side, and make comments about their long struggle for freedom.

G-Man? The term was coined in 1933, short for 'Governement Man'. He is certainly given the black-helicopter, men-in-black kind of feel. Perhaps the Earth government caught wind of what Breen was up to, and sent him to do his thing. Perhaps he failed. Perhaps he gave the orders to bring the military in. Who knows? It looks like he is still working on his mission, though.

[Orpheo]

There's some great speculation (some of it is very well thought-out and is likely correct, if indeed there is a correct answer), in this thread at Quarter to Three.