Creatures of Half-Life

The following is a list of creatures from the Half-Life universe.

Creatures from Xen

Xen is where the majority of the aliens in Valve's Half-Life series originate.

Gargantua

The Gargantua, nicknamed "Garg", is mostly blue in color, and has one yellow eye that glows red when it perceives a hostile unit. In place of hands, it has two claw-like appendages which can be opened to emit jets of intense heat. These claw weapons are designed to open vertically, not horizontally. Though the flamethrower weapon is short-ranged, it is still effective, known to blow up machinery, as in Half-Life: Uplink. Gargantuas can make loud roars that can damage structures. An example of the loud roars is in Uplink, near the ending sequence before the player gets trapped, the creature's loud roar made a vent collapse and the player is forced to go through and the next roar causes the vent to fall on to the platform the player gets stuck at in the start of the ending sequence. It can also send a shockwave towards its opponents by powerfully stomping the ground. This shockwave, which appears as a red dot that shoots red sparks behind it, increases in speed as it travels and can traverse vertical structures. The Gargantua moves fast and is very strong: it can smash or toss large obstacles from its path with ease. Gargantuas are very determined pursuers, and wait patiently for their target to come out of an area they cannot reach for a considerable amount of time before moving on to do something else.

Gargantuas can be found on Xen, though their true origin is unknown. They share some physical characteristics with Vortigaunts, such as their backwards-jointed legs and hoofed feet. However, each Vortigaunt has three arms (two at the shoulders and one jutting from the chest) while the Gargantua has four arms (two at the shoulder position and two spiked arms at the abdomen).

Gargantuas can be seen in Half-Life in the chapters "Power Up," "Surface Tension," "Interloper," and "Nihilanth." In the Opposing Force expansion, a Gargantua can be seen in the chapter "Foxtrot Uniform" tied up on top of the hydroelectric dam, while marines and Race X Shock Troopers fight around and against it. A Gargantua also appears during the final sequence of the Half-Life demo, Uplink, where it kills several Black Mesa personnel before slowly heading towards the cornered player, at which point the demo ends.

Half-Life 2

In Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, an early script for the beginning of Half-Life 2 mentions that "something that resembles the old Gargantua" was going to be seen from the train ride in the opening scene of the game. However, this introduction scene was heavily cut down throughout development, and the Gargantua is not in the final game.

Nihilanth

The Nihilanth is the primary antagonist and the final boss in Valve's first-person shooter Half-Life. In the game, the Nihilanth is the controlling intelligence behind the invasion of Earth. Hovering silently in an enormous cavern, it has been commanding the forces of Xen and holding open a dimensional rift connecting Xen to Earth, enabling its creatures to attack.

Physical attributes

Physically, the Nihilanth resembles a gigantic, oddly-proportioned fetus with its head alone outsizing the rest of the body, and its brain cavity forming most of the head's bulk. Its legs, minuscule in relation to its body, appear either to be vestigial, or are the remains of amputation. The creature sits on a large mechanical levitating contraption consisting of a large base with spikes underneath. Like the rest of the intelligent Xen races, the Nihilanth has a third appendage protruding from the middle of its pectoral chest region. Its unusually long arms end in disproportionately huge hands and fingers, and it wears metallic wristbands, which look similar to bands worn by the Vortigaunts.

Attack methods

The Nihilanth attacks by launching energy balls, which come in two types: a swarm of purple-colored electrical orbs that causes immense damage, and a slow-moving, green-colored orb (similar in appearance to the teleportation portals constructed in the Black Mesa Research Facility) which homes in on and teleports its target to other sections of its lair populated by Xen aliens. It also uses these green orbs to teleport Vortigaunts and other Xen creatures into its main chamber to help defend it against intruders. A series of gold-colored "energy spheres" called sprites (they appeared a lot in the expansion Opposing Force to show the player the path in several levels) orbit around the Nihilanth's head, rendering it impervious to damage. These are consumed as the Nihilanth suffers damage from the player, but crystals resembling the one at the start of the game within the upper portion of its chamber replenish the spheres as they vanish.

Notes

• Gordon Freeman was tasked with killing the Nihilanth because it was the only force holding the dimensional rift open after the satellite delivery rocket was used by the Black Mesa Lambda Labs to reverse the resonance cascade. It is believed that the Nihilanth's death triggered the portal storms, and Marc Laidlaw, one of the writers of Half-Life, has said that they continue to the present day.
• The material that makes up the crystals protecting the Nihilanth is the same as the crystal sample which Gordon Freeman placed into the anti-mass spectrometer, triggering the resonance cascade in Black Mesa and portal storms across Earth. This is clarified in the expansion Half-Life: Decay, although it is never made completely obvious. In Half-Life: Blue Shift, the player is required to align a teleportation signal located on the planet Xen, which uses a crystal similar in size to the ones in Nihilanth's chamber. Multitudes of smaller crystals, found in groupings of two or three, can be found in random places on all Xen levels. A similar crystal can also be seen in Half-Life 2 in Eli's lab, housed in a small analogue of Black Mesa's anti-mass spectrometer that can simulate a small resonance cascade. In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, it is revealed that the crystal Gordon pushed into the anti-mass spectrometer (thus putting the whole Half-Life series storyline into motion) was delivered to the Black Mesa complex by the G-Man.

Gonarch

A Gonarch is a fictional creature in the 1998 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life. Only a single Gonarch is encountered by Gordon Freeman during the game. It is located within a chapter named "Gonarch's Lair" set in the border world Xen, and acts as a boss in a protracted battle that takes place in the closing stages of the game.

Description

Very little is known about a Gonarch's life cycle. What is known is that a Gonarch is the last stage of a female headcrab's life and that like most Earth non-human organisms with a high mortality rate, very few female headcrabs reach this stage. While appearing very similar to a headcrab's anatomy, there are a few differences. Gonarchs are supported by four razor sharp limbs.

Entering a Gonarch's lair results in immediate attack. They attack by charging at their victim, then attempting to puncture them with their massive legs. They also have something of a ranged attack, by forcing yellowish balls of acidic material from the top of their shells, which they hurl through the air like mortars, raining down upon the victim. With all their traits combined, Gonarchs prove to be skilled at defending themselves and their young, and are one of the toughest enemies Gordon faces in Xen. Upon death, a Gonarch explodes violently.

Name

Within Valve Software, the creature is known as "Big Momma" (cf. its model name, big_mom.mdl), a name that was given to it early on by staff developing Half-Life. Regarding the species name, one theory is that it is a portmanteau of the words "gonad" and "monarch". "Gonad" stems from the resemblance of the large sac that hangs beneath the Gonarch to a scrotum, while "monarch" references the Gonarch's role as a "king" enemy. This theory is supported by the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, in which the following appears:

Sometimes we're just sitting around and we're tired and somebody comes up with a goofy idea like, "Why don't we put a giant testicle on a 20-foot-tall armored spider?", and Big Mama is born.

— Gabe Newell

Half-Life 2

While the Gonarch is not encountered in Half-Life 2, an amputated part of it exists as an unused model file in the leak version of Half-Life 2. This amputated part, essentially nothing but the sac that hangs beneath the Gonarch's body, is covered by many metallic supports (see here).

Bullsquid

Bullsquids are bipedal, highly aggressive creatures that appear throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility due to a dimensional rift. Bullsquids appear to be able to survive, if not thrive, in environments that are unfriendly or even toxic to humans, including sewers and pools of radioactive, chemical, or biological waste. In Xen, the border world from where they came (but to which they are not native), Bullsquids are sometimes found near pools of an unknown liquid that has healing properties to humans.

Physical description

The body of a Bullsquid is vaguely similar in appearance to that of a small theropod, with two short, muscular legs and a thick tail that tapers to a point. The thorax abruptly joins the creature's head with no neck or other visible separation. A typical specimen stands roughly one metre tall and about two metres in length. Two slit-pupiled eyes are mounted on either side of its head.

The Bullsquid's most striking feature, however, is the collection of bright red, tentacular protrusions which surround its mouth and allow it to grasp prey. The Bullsquid can also charge an opponent with surprising speed and force; these two attributes (tentacles and a tendency to charge) lend the creature its portmanteau name.

The Bullsquid's overall coloration is roughly comparable to that of a spotted cat: its skin is a sandy brown covered on its upper surfaces with dark spots. The tail features a pair of prominent, outlined spots, one on either side, that are noticeably different than the dark spots on its back. These spots are similar in appearance to the Bullsquid's eyes and may serve as a form of mimicry to confuse potential predators or lure prey much like the eyespots on various terrestrial animals. The creature's skin appears to be slimy, similar to that of a terrestrial amphibian such as a frog.

Bullsquids display a very territorial disposition, as they have often been seen attacking other creatures and even members of their own species. They viciously attacked Headcrabs in Half-Life, usually not stopping until all Headcrabs in the vicinity had been eliminated.

HD Pack/PlayStation 2 remake differences

The Half-Life High Definition Pack version and the PlayStation 2 remake version of the bullsquid features a few key physical differences from the original version.

• The tail has a hooked claw at its tip.

• Each tentacle surrounding the Bullsquid's mouth ends in a distinct sharp claw or perhaps more appropriately, "tooth", based on their white coloration.

• The prominent "eyespots" on the either side of the tail are missing.

• The eyes are black and glossy as opposed to white and relatively dull on the original version.

Offensive abilities

The bullsquid has an array of offensive capabilities: At close range, a hostile bullsquid will either maul its victim with its teeth, or suddenly spin around, delivering a powerful strike with its tail, often causing a gibbing. Additionally, the bullsquid is able to "spit" a toxic, bile-colored substance from its mouth. While not overly accurate, or fast, it causes moderate damage, even at very long range.

Half-Life 2

While not in Half-Life 2 itself, the book Raising the Bar explains that the creatures were, at least, going to be visible or mentioned during it. Dr. Eli Vance's lost leg was to be explained as a result of a bullsquid attack, and one of the scenes during a plot-reveal scene would have shown bullsquids frollicking outside a supermarket.

Houndeye

The Houndeye, or Sound Dog, is one of the alien species which appears in Black Mesa following the opening of a portal to Xen, and has an appropriately alien appearance. Possessing three legs and only a thorax, the Houndeye is a faint yellow-green in colour, with electric blue tiger-like stripes adorning the spine of the animal. In place of a head there is a large, black, compound eye that is protected by sideways-blinking eyelids. They apparently communicate through a series of high-pitched sounds somewhat similar to the barking of dogs.

The Houndeye is an excellent example of a social animal in terms of pack hunting. While a shy and timid creature by itself, groups of three or more creatures display resonant behaviour, emitting destructive harmonics capable of injuring those they attack. This behaviour came about through Valve's original plan of Houndeyes being neutral or even friendly towards the player, until they realised that playtesters shot them down regardless and dropped the idea.

Although they are not seen displaying this trait often, Houndeyes appear to be carnivorous creatures, as one is seen eating a dead security guard in Half-Life: Blue Shift. A Houndeye's mouth is located on the underside of its belly, close to the eye, filled with what appears to be fang-like incisors.

The Houndeye is the only remnant of a type of creature that was to be more common in Half-Life. Originally there was to be a "Panthereye" creature, similar to but stronger than the Houndeye. The Panthereye was re-integrated into at least Half-Life mods, one called Point of View, which allows players to take the role of a Vortigaunt, the other called Azure Sheep, where the player takes the role of Barney Calhoun in a very different storyline, both of which are made by the same group of designers.

According to the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, Houndeyes were one of the enemy types in the early Half-Life 2, first seen by the player on an old projector slide in which they and Bullsquids terrorized an American suburb. The texture for the Houndeye's compound eye was to shine and could reflect its surroundings. Houndeyes could also work in herds, led by a dominant Houndeye, and had faster movement speeds.

Chumtoad

A chumtoad is a fictional alien creature found in Valve Software's Half-Life series of science fiction video games. It was originally designed for the first game of the series, Half-Life, but was not included in any official game until one cameo appearance in Half-Life: Opposing Force and two in Half-Life: Blue Shift. It has not appeared in any official game since.

Description

Chumtoads are small, amphibious creatures found on Xen. Similar in morphology to Earth's toads, they are very low on the Xen food chain – serving as the favorite prey of many Xen creatures. Chumtoads have a bright purple colouration, and a single red, catlike eye, spiked backs, and long, blue tongues.

Unlike most Xen creatures, chumtoads are not inherently dangerous to humans. They tend to lounge on rocks until threatened, at which point they have the natural ability to teleport – vanishing in a puff of purple energy.

Chumtoads maneuver around with short, quick hops similar to that of a real toad. They also have the ability to swim and to leap to great heights if ever startled. Chumtoads are known to play dead at times by rolling over onto their backs and twitching violently. Additionally, they are apparently able to croak, but Chumtoads were not given any sounds in Half-Life.

Habitat/"Chumtoad's Lair"

To date, only one environment containing chumtoads has been discovered in a Half-Life game. Its location can be found in the chapter "Focal Point" of Half-Life: Blue Shift. Very soon after arriving on Xen, Barney Calhoun enters a series of cramped, narrow tunnels full of headcrabs. Nearing the exit of this maze, he passes through a large cavern with an extremely deep pool at its centre.

At the very bottom of this pool, between a boulder and three Xen plants, a small crack in the wall of the cave can be seen emitting bubbles of air. After widening this hole, the player can enter a small air pocket in a cave where the title "Chumtoad's Lair" appears on the screen. In the Lair, three chumtoads sit amongst Xen plants and snark nests, illuminated by Xen crystals. The creatures later vanish when approached.

Development

The original role of the chumtoad in Half-Life was as bait that a player could use to lure or distract enemy aliens. The bait idea was never developed, and the chumtoad was eventually cut from the game.

The unused model, however, was included in the game's files and fully coded as an item. Instead of bait, this version served as a weapon. Normally docile until picked up, the chumtoad would begin attacking anything that strayed too close – including the player or allied NPCs if no other targets were available. This AI was implemented in the final game as the behaviour for the snarks.

Before settling on the name "Chumtoad", various other names were considered including "Chubtoad" and "Choad".

The source files for the chumtoad are included in the Half-Life SDK, where it is referred to as a "chubtoad". According to the textures provided, the chumtoad was once planned to have six eyes instead of one, and would have had green, orange, and blue-colored variations.

Mod applications

As the (mostly) unused chumtoad exists in the games' files, it is frequently appropriated by various unofficial Half-Life modifications. In Sven Co-op, a fan-made Half-Life mod, a heroic chumtoad (dubbed "Chubby the Chumtoad") appears in various maps, one sitting with its girlfriend "Chubbina". In Poke646, another mod, the chumtoad is called the "explod-a-toad". It secretes a purple pool, marking its territory. If the player, or anything else, wanders into the purple fluid, the toad will explode. Also of note, in the mod Point of View, the chumtoad is included, and is very much like the Snark, only more powerful. In Azure Sheep, a single player mod that lets the user take control of Barney, the Chumtoad is used as a weapon and is also an enemy that sometimes comes out of grates and attacks the player. When used as a weapon or when found naturally, the Chumtoad explodes after a given amount of contact with the player or enemy.

Also in several other Half-Life modifications, the Chumtoad made an appearance. In the USS Darkstar Mod, after the explosion when the player wanders back to where a scientist and a guard were studying two airborne creatures, the Chumtoad is seen on top of one of the lights. And in Heart of Evil, a Chumtoad navigates the player throughout a maze.

Barnacle

Barnacles are scavengers that hang on the ceiling and drop down a very long, highly adhesive tongue. When they sense that something is caught on their tongue, they retract it, in an attempt to eat it. If the object is edible, they consume it. If it is not, they drop it and await new prey. Barnacles are seen in Half-Life and Half-Life 2.

Race X

Race X is a hostile alien race featured in the computer game series Half-Life by Valve Software. They appear only in the Opposing Force expansion pack, and very little is revealed about them. Race X aliens appear late in the timeline of Half-Life, only a few hours before Gordon Freeman has teleported to Xen (an event that takes place in both Half-Life and Opposing Force). The most common theory is that Race X is from a completely different universe and simply took advantage of the RC to attack. The Race X aliens are almost never seen near normal Xen aliens aside from barnacles and the final boss.

Species

Pit Drone

Pit Drones are the second type of Race X aliens encountered in the game. They are short bipedal creatures with yellowish-tan skin and a small head which sports rows of sharp spines.

A Pit Drone's arms end in long scythe-like claws, which it can use to make vicious attacks. Fast and fairly intelligent, they tend to appear in groups of five or six, and are capable of making flanking movements and quickly surrounding their prey. They have two forms of attack: firing their head-spines like darts through acid jets when at long range, or charging towards the target to deliver a deadly slash with their claws. Some Pit Drones appear not to be capable of the head spine attack and, on closer inspection, have no spines in their head. It is notable that when Pit Drones are first encountered, they create light thumping footsteps while dashing through a long vent grate above a garage area.

Shock Trooper

Shock Troopers are the first encountered and most intelligent of the Race X aliens. Physically, they are humanoid with four arms and have a posture that makes them vaguely resemble Vortigaunts. They also closely resemble the biomechanical constructs from Robotech: The Sentinels. Their bodies are covered in plate-like sections, similar in appearance to insect exoskeletons. Their skin is pale blue, and is not mottled or patchy like the skin of Xen creatures. They have a single large eye, whereas Vortigaunts have six. This eye is apparently part of a common morphology between Race X creatures - every Race X alien with a large eye (including the Pit Worm) has two eyelids which regularly blink horizontally across the eyeball and what appears to be "tentacles" surrounding their mouth (which is under the head).

Their primary weapon is the Shock Roach; a living creature, similar to the Alien Grunts' hive-hand. The Shock Roach fires bolts of electricity, which it constantly recharges on its own. The Shock Roach cannot survive without a living host for very long; if its Shock Trooper dies, it will detach itself and pursue a new host. If it nears a player that already has a Shock Roach, it will attack in a similar way to a headcrab before dying.

Shock Troopers also have the ability to regurgitate and throw spore grenades, which they tend to use against distant or concealed enemies. Infant Shock Troopers will forcibly launch the same type of spore when squeezed, and can thus be used as a Spore Launcher weapon. In one of the Spore Launcher's idle animations in Opposing Force, it emits an amphibious purr, at which point Adrian Shephard strokes the top of it back and forth as if it was his "pet". They also have a very lethal melee attack that is capable of tearing Shephard to pieces.

Baby Shock Troopers are effectively tadpoles, an earlier stage that is only a head and torso, with tentacles trailing behind. Beyond the small size and lack of limbs, Baby Shock Troopers are also notable for having gills and two small eyes instead of the adults' single large one. They are amphibious, although immobile outside of water. Baby Shocktroopers are first found kept in a tank in the Sector E Biodome Complex of Black Mesa.

Shock Troopers are usually encountered in small groups, and often fight together with other Race X aliens, whom they seem to be allied with. Shock Troopers also possess a verbal form of communication, uttering strange electronic-sounding noises to each other. A skilled player can learn to recognize certain "phrases" muttered by a Shock Trooper prior to an attack and react accordingly.

Shock Troopers have mastered teleportation technology and use it to travel in and out of combat. They also control the teleportation of Pit Drones and Voltigore. In another scene in the game where a Garagantua is imprisoned on the dam, Shock Troopers will teleport behind the soldiers shooting at the Gargantua.

Voltigore

The Voltigore are gigantic and lumbering creatures serving as the alien race's heavy support infantry. Voltigore have four legs and two arms that end in scythe-like claws, and are distinguished by vivid purple stripes on their bloated carapace similar to those on a houndeye, though in a different color. These aggressive creatures use their innate ability to harness electrical charges to create a devastating ranged energy ball attack, bearing vague similarity to the Vortigaunt's green energy stream, although the Voltigore's energy attack is purple, an avoidable projectile and is more powerful. At close range, they attack viciously with their claws. A player can recognize a Voltigore from afar by the unusual, electric-sounding bellows of the creature. When a Voltigore dies, its carapace explodes, causing massive damage to nearby creatures.

Baby Voltigores can be found later in the game. They are much smaller and weaker, lighter in color, and use the energy attack in a lighter way, sometimes even to themselves. Baby Voltigore are only found in concealed underground nests where eggs have hatched and are closely guarded by the adults.

Pit Worm

Encountered in a sewage processing area in the lower levels of Black Mesa, this creature resembles an enormous caterpillar. It makes bird-like vocalizations. Its segmented body supports a head dominated by a single large eye. This eye is the pit worm's primary weapon, capable of firing a searing energy beam at nearby enemies. If enemies get too close, the worm also has large claws to strike out with. If the worm is shot in the eye, it will recoil, shielding it with its claws for a few seconds before striking aggressively at the player.

The pit worm obstacle is similar-but slightly shorter-to the tentacle sequence from Half-Life, in that the player cannot simply use his weapons to defeat the creature, but must use the surrounding environment. The process of destroying the pit worm requires the player to dissolve it by turning a valve and activating a gearbox, dumping toxic waste onto it - obvious references to Valve Software and Gearbox Software, the developers of Half-Life: Opposing Force.

Gene Worm

The Gene Worm is the final boss of Half-Life: Opposing Force. It is listed in this category only due to its appearance in Opposing Force; it is a Xen alien and not a member of Race X. This life form is the equivalent of a "biological resource management factory." It is capable of taking any of Earth's natural resources and assimilating them to make them useful to the aliens' needs. If one fully entered Earth and became productive, it would effectively alter the planet enough to become useful as a new homeworld for Xen.

Physically, the creature resembles a green, worm-like creature with many tentacles, with a beak-like protrusion similar in both shape and position to that of the Xen tentacle. The Gene Worm attacks with its tentacles and also ejects a deadly chemical stream from its mouth. Its outer hide is impervious to damage; in order to kill it, the player must blind the creature by shooting both its eyes with the mounted laser guns on either side of the worm. This causes it to summon reinforcements by opening its abdominal cavity, revealing a portal orb that a Shock Trooper will teleport through.

The Gene Worm is found deep underground in a seemingly abandoned industrial area of Black Mesa, and appears through a portal opening in a room there. The room itself has been fitted with mounted weapons which are powered by Xen energy crystals. The player character, Adrian Shephard, is sent down to the portal by a Black Mesa security guard, who remarks "Some of your buddies went down earlier, and I haven't seen 'em since." These soldiers were only able to manage to set up the mounted weapons before their unseen demise, although nothing is seen of their remains. Whether this alien is involved with the Nihilanth or Combine in any way is unknown.

Sprite

Taking on the appearance of what looks like a flying ball of light, Sprites are creatures that can be seen floating through the facility several times during the game, becoming more and more frequent in later stages of the incident. However, they cannot be harmed and do not hurt the player in any way. On occasions they even seem to be guiding Adrian. In the scenario where the Gargantua is trapped on the Sector G hydroelectric dam, sprites fly into a portal nearby which the G-man then steps through. They eventually all lead to a massive violet portal that brings the Gene Worm in. At the time Gordon Freeman pushes the Xen crystal into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, many Sprites fly towards and away from the resonance cascade, the former of which also happens when the portal to Xen in the Lambda reactor core is fully opened.

Combine

The Combine first appear in Half-Life 2. Although they mostly deploy transhuman soldiers, they also have many creatures at their disposal, collected during their conquest of some worlds and biomechanically modified to suit their needs.

Civil Protection

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One

Also known as Metro Cops, Metro Police, or CPs. Civil Protection is the Combine police force on earth. They are known for their brutality. They have little or no enhancements and are very weak.

Overwatch Soldier

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Also referred to as the Transhuman Arm of Sector 17 Overwatch, Soldiers are genetically modified, brainwashed and biomechanically enhanced to make effective, loyal infantry. They are deployed via dropships and work in squads to outsmart and overwhelm their opponents. Overwatch soldiers use squad tactics extensively, and will utilize a number of modern infantry tactics, such as flanking, fire and movement tactics, and even bounding overwatch against the player. They mainly use MP7s, shotguns and the Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle, though they also throw grenades to flush enemies out of cover. They are responsible for patrolling the highways, raiding Resistance bases and staffing Nova Prospekt and the Citadels.

Overwatch Prison Guard

• Appears in: Half-Life 2

Prison Guards are similar to Overwatch Soldiers but wear yellow goggles and a dark blue outfit. Only seen in Nova Prospekt.

Overwatch Elite

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

These soldiers are more radically modified than their regular counterparts to the extent that they can be considered a sort of human synth. The result is that they are smarter and tougher. Their outfit is also different: they are clothed in white body armor and a white helmet with a single, red eye in the middle as well as two ear domes at the sides. This form of armor vaguely mimics the types worn by Imperial Stormtroopers. They only appear at higher-security locales, and aren't equipped with grenades. However they can utilize the Pulse Rifle's devastating secondary attack, the energy ball.

Overwatch Sniper

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Overwatch Snipers are Overwatch Soldiers armed with an Sniper rifle. Overwatch Snipers are only seen shooting from windows. You can't really see the rifle, just the laser beam. If you throw a Grenade or an RPG rocket where the Sniper is, then it blows up and an Overwatch Soldier flys out of the window. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, Alyx becomes the Sniper and helps you through the Combine Barracade, and an area full of Headcrab Zombies. In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Alyx becomes a Sniper again, where an inactive rifle can be seen, turning out to be the sniper rifle, and helps you get through the pit of Zombies. However, during this scene if the player launches a rocket or throws a grenade at Alyx then the body of an Overwatch Soldier can be seen flying out.

Combine APC

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Combine "Armored Personal Carriers" or APCs are vehicles for the Combine. Due to their armament, they are often deployed as "tanks", especially in "Water Hazard", a level in Half-Life 2.

Hunter-Chopper

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Hunter-Choppers are Combine Helicopters, nearly identical to the Apaches seen within Half-Life. They have a Pulse cannon and mines. Choppers have enormous amounts of health and are only destroyed by your Airboat Cannon or RPG. Choppers have 2 Combine Soldiers inside, one is a driver and one is a gunner. In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, you can destroy a Hunter-Chopper with its mines. In the Black Mesa East chapter, the Hunter-Chopper can be seen using its missiles.

Strider

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Striders are massive tripods. Their weaponry consists of a belly-mounted anti-personnel pulse cannon and a Singularity Cannon, capable of demolishing entire buildings. If the opponent runs under it, the Strider attempts to impale it with its legs. Striders can also fold their legs to see and fire into ground-level doors and windows.

Hunter

• Appears in: Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Hunters are a smaller version of the Strider. They are tripods with two blue eyes, one on top of the other. They are also swift enough to outrun most humans with their gorilla-like gait. Their main weapon is a special cannon that shoots out explosive flechettes. A Hunter can also head-butt their enemies or knock down and impale them. They seem to have two types of guns like the Striders do, but have a fast flechette and a slow one with a bigger explosion.

Dropship

• Appears in: Half-Life 2 (first appearance), Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Dropships carry the Combine to different places. Dropships drop off Overwatch Soldiers and CPs inside a container. Dropships sometimes carry Striders or Combine APCs. Dropships were the main source of carrying Combine out of the city before the Citadel explodes in Half-Life 2: Episode One. Dropships are not killable, but you can destroy the cargo they are carrying with rockets or the airboat, which usually occurs with the APC in Water Hazard and the troop carriers at Lighthouse Point. Dropships have a Pulse Cannon on their container, to protect the soldiers.

Gunship

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

The second flying synth observed so far, next to dropships, Gunships are relentless pursuers. They detect their enemies with two cluster eyes on the sides of their bodies. They continually move and swerve around, demonstrating extremely wide spreads with their main guns as a result. This is achieved by their construction: they have a tail-mounted propellor as their main engine, granting them VTOL capability and extreme maneuverability while they are fast enough to outrun an RPG. They are smart enough to avoid damage by outmaneuvering and destroying incoming rockets. They are vastly superior to crude Hunter-Choppers in every aspect (Hunter-Choppers need to charge up longer before firing; they are also less maneuverable). When defending high-priority targets, Gunships are deployed in pairs; aside from doubled firepower, they also defend each other from rockets. Not only rockets can destroy a Gunship; at the top of the Citadel, Gordon fights off two using gravity gun-thrown fusion orbs.

Floor turret

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal

Floor Turrets are Auto-Guns that fire at you starting in Nova Prospekt. They are not like the turrets in Half-Life, and are more vulnerable, and do not contain a motion sensor which rotates the top of the turret in a circle. These turrets fire an AR2 Cannon and can not be destroyed when shot at. If turrets get flipped over, they fire everywhere-unlike Half-life-then shut down. After the Turret gets flipped over, it can be reactivated by an Overwatch Soldier, putting it back in place. Floor Turrets can be reprogrammed by allies. Similar turrets with lasers were used by Griggs and Sheckly to keep away antlions, but explode after firing a few times. In Portal, a new type of turret has emerged for unknown reasons. These have a more robotic design with stronger lasers, a second gun, shields for the two barrels, and a vocabulator meant to let down the guard of living targets, displaying their presence in an oddly childish fashion, such as when the turret stops looking something to shoot, it says, "Nap time.", or if tipped over, it cries while firing everywhere, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" then when turning off, "I don't blame you."

Ground turret

• Appears in: Half-Life 2

Ground turrets are built-in gun turrets that pop out of the floor when you activate the trigger. They have the same attack as regular turrets and the only way to kill one is to hit it with grenades or rockets. They deactivate after a certain amount of time.

Ceiling turret

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One

Ceiling Turrets are another type of turret that uses an AR2 Cannon. These turrets cannot be destroyed and are only turned on with the museum red lasers. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, they are found in the underground and are turned on, but are out of ammo.

Manhack

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Manhacks are Combine deployed-machines, which attack by ramming up to the player, and using their blades to cut the player. During the time that they are deployed and destroyed, a Manhack will always have its blades spinning.

Rollermine

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One

Rollermines are small zapping Combine balls. Rollermines usually zap their enemies and shock them until they are dead. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, Rollermines can be reprogrammed by Alyx to destroy a group of Overwatch Soldiers or Stalkers. When the Rollermines is yellow it is an ally; if it is blue, it is hostile. If it is red then the Rollermine is about to explode on its own. Alyx keeps one with a damaged shocker as a toy for Dog.

City Scanner

• Appears in:, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

City Scanners or also called the Scanner Type 1, are cameras that fly around City 17 and the Citidel. The scanner also has the ability to call in reinforcements. Scanners only appear once in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, far out of the player's reach.

Shield Scanner

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One

Shield Scanners also known as Claw Scanners or Scanner Type 2. They are like City Scanners, except they are synth-like and less machine. Shield Scanners flash at you like City Scanners with a longer blinding time, but these Scanners do not dive at you. They are found in the levels Anticitizen One and "Follow Freeman", where the Combine prefer them for their ability to hold mines. These Scanners carry a Hopper Mine, and drop it off somewhere for combat. These Scanners are less common then City Scanners. These Scanners appear with City Scanners in Half-Life 2: Episode One.

Hopper Mine

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Hopper Mines are little Combine machines that hop and blow up if it detects an enemy. Hoppers are first seen in the level Anticitizen One, in Half-Life 2. Usually Hoppers are planted by Combine as enemies. If you pick it up and drop it somewhere with the gravity gun, then it turns into an ally. A few have already been reprogrammed and piled in bins in the rebel base in Episode 2.

Stalker

• Appears in: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One

Stalkers used to be humans but now transformed into Combine Slaves. Stalkers are workers that are only found in the Citadel or the Nova Propsekt Depot. Stalkers are not enemies in Half-Life 2, they are just seen riding the pod through the citadel. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, Stalkers have laser beams that can hurt you and destroy your energy balls, and during the latter, Stalkers can be approached by quick players, and those players will not be harmed if the stalkers are untouched. If one is destroyed in the Dark energy core, another will roar-their vocal cords were removed-at the player, then zap it with a laser. After the Citadel explodes, stalkers are not seen again, so it looks there are none left. in Half-Life 2: Beta, Stalkers were actual enemies. Their appearance in Half-Life 2: Episode Three is currently unknown.

Combine Pod

• Appears in: Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Combine Pods, are the homes and escape pods for the Combine Advisors. The Pods are found in Episode One, but they did not want to look at what is inside. The Pod is what escapes the Citadel in Half-Life 2: Episode One, and later crashed around the woods in Half-Life 2: Episode Two (some on bridge).

Zombine

• Appears in: Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two

These are Combine Zombies. Their name comes from Alyx's combination of "combine" and "zombie". They are somewhat more dangerous than its regular companion, the Zombie. They can sprint, somehow take substantially more of a beating than a regular soldier and can arm grenades. They occasionally say things like "Sector's not secure" and "Necrotics (combine term for zombie) incoming" over their radios. (The radio is where the vocal cords should be)

Crab Synth and Mortar Synth

• Appears in: Half-Life 2

Crab Synths and Mortar Synths appear to be Combine tanks, though not seen in combat in Half-Life 2, They are only seen patrolling the Citadel.

Antlion

Antlions are bugs that are from Xen, but were not seen in Half-Life, but devices called restrictors are seen in Half-Life and its sequel, suggesting that these insects were troubling other aliens on Xen as well as humans. Antlions are similar to ants in their "hive" behavior. All types of Antlions are found in the Nest in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Here are the types of Antlions that appear in the games:

Antlion

Antlions are yellow striped creatures that were discovered in beaches along the coast near City 17. Regular Antlions are not much of a threat alone, but when there are several of them, they are a huge threat. In the chapter Sandtraps, it is discovered that, if you step on the sand, it "drives the Antlions crazy" and makes them surface and attack you. After you kill the first Antlion Guard you fight, a Vortigaunt comes and removes the Antlion's Pherepod, or Bugbait. You can use the Bugbait to call on the Antlions to help you, as they are attracted to the pheromones, and no longer see you as a threat. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, Antlions come into City 17 because the Combine Defense field was destroyed. Antlions come through burrows just like in Nova Prospekt. They can be blocked with large objects like cars and dumpsters.

Antlion Guard

Antlion guards are among one of the most feared creatures and the most powerful in the Half-Life universe. Their aggression surpasses that of the regular Antlion. They are larger and more armored, and faster then the regular Antlion itself. Antlion guards prefer to charge at the player, and will attempt to headbutt the player. They are also able to throw physics objects like zombies can.

A large part of Episode 2 is spent running from a version of the Guard. See "Antlion Guardian" for details.

Antlion Grub

Antlion Grubs are small, worm-like creatures that usually reside in Antlion nests in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Grubs are very weak, and they cannot attack. They drop small yellow "grub nuggets" that restore small amounts of the player's health if crushed or shot at.

Antlion Worker

Antlion Workers or Acidlions are like regular Antlions except they are stronger and can spit acid. Antlion Workers are usually found in the Antlion Nest in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Like all Antlions, Workers also hate thumpers. Usually the Antlion Workers are the ones guarding the Grubs.

Antlion Guardian

Antlion Guardians are similar to the Antlion Guard, but are green and have a poison attack when underground. The Guardian guards the path to the Extract, which is used by the vortigaunts to heal Alyx Vance after she is wounded by a Hunter.

References

• Hodgson, David (2004). Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar. Prima Games. ISBN 0-7615-4364-3.

External links

• Chumtoad in Half-Life: Blue Shift on YouTube