Half-Life (series): Difference between revisions

Line 7:

* ''[[Half-Life 1 (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Half-Life 1]]''

* ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life 1]]''

** ''Half-Life: Opposing Force''

** ''Half-Life: Blue Shift''

** ''Half-Life: Decay''

* ''[[~~Half-Life 2 (Video Game)|~~Half-Life 2]]''

* ''[[Half-Life 2]]''

** ''Half-Life 2: Episode 1''

** ''Half-Life 2: Episode 2''

Line 19:

''[[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]'' is [[Gaiden Game|a side story]] to the series, whose plot has evolved almost completely separately given that it takes place entirely inside the Aperture Science complex, established in-game as a rival to the Black Mesa Research Facility. Because of its enormous popularity, it seems to have overtaken the ''[[Half Life]]'' series as the focus of Valve's attention for now, projects like ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]'' and ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' (obviously not set in the main ''[[Half Life]]'' universe) notwithstanding.

''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'' is [[Gaiden Game|a side story]] to the series, whose plot has evolved almost completely separately given that it takes place entirely inside the Aperture Science complex, established in-game as a rival to the Black Mesa Research Facility. Because of its enormous popularity, it seems to have overtaken the ''[[Half Life]]'' series as the focus of Valve's attention for now, projects like ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' and ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' (obviously not set in the main ''[[Half Life]]'' universe) notwithstanding.

There is a Steam group made by (and populated with) Tropers. [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/tropers Check it out here] and join up!

Line 40:

* [[Another Dimension]]: Xen, and the Combine as an inter-dimensional empire.

* [[Arbitrary Gun Power]]: In both games, the 9mm pistol is the weakest weapon. The revolver, on the other hand, is the strongest firearm, and both are beaten by the crossbow.

* [[Arc Words]]: "Unforeseen Consequences", which does quintuple duty as [[Foreshadowing]], [[Leaning On the Fourth Wall]], [[Call Back]] and [[Wham! Line]] all at once.

* [[Arc Words]]: "Unforeseen Consequences", which does quintuple duty as [[Foreshadowing]], [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]], [[Call Back]] and [[Wham! Line]] all at once.

* [[Armies Are Evil]]: The shadowy Hazardous Environment Combat Unit who serves under the US military and who, thanks to their orders to kill the personnel of Black Mesa, is one of the main threats in Half Life.

** And even HECU gets their own [[Armies Are Evil|Army]] in the even more shadowy Black Ops unit, who apparently go even higher in command. Like the HECU, they're also to stop the alien infestation after the HECU failed, but [[It Got Worse|the results were predictable.]]

Line 49:

** The HECU also had a hilarious habit of mixing up their reactions to grenades. When a Marine shouts to his comrades he's throwing or putting down a grenade, they normally crouch and cover their head, while he runs away from the grenade. Sometimes they get confused, and the Marine will put down the grenade at his feet, then crouch beside it and cover his head, and of course be blown to bits. Easy kill.

* [[Auto Doc]]: Both first aid stations, which heal you, and similar looking HEV stations, which recharge your HEV suit.

* [[Backdoor Pilot]]: ''[[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]'' was developed by a small team with a limited budget who wrote the game into the ''[[Half Life]]'' continuity so they could re-use those games' assets. Now that it's a standalone franchise, the sequel {{spoiler|is set hundreds of years later and develops completely independently}}.

* [[Backdoor Pilot]]: ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'' was developed by a small team with a limited budget who wrote the game into the ''[[Half Life]]'' continuity so they could re-use those games' assets. Now that it's a standalone franchise, the sequel {{spoiler|is set hundreds of years later and develops completely independently}}.

* [[Badass]]

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Gordon, duh. Dr. Breen himself is perplexed, and had this to say on the matter:

Line 103:

* [[Damage Sponge Boss]]: Most bosses in the Half Life series are either a [[Puzzle Boss]] or can be defeated very quickly with a powerful weapon. The Gonarch, however, has no real other strategy to it than "circle strafe while firing all weapons at testicle, avoid white acid, run after it, repeat". It also has invincibility frames.

* [[Deadly Rotary Fan]]: Several times in the first game and at least once in ''[[~~Half-Life 2 (Video Game)|~~Half-Life 2]]'', you have to pass through, or by, an active fan. Touching the blades means [[One-Hit Kill|instant death]].

* [[Deadly Rotary Fan]]: Several times in the first game and at least once in ''[[Half-Life 2]]'', you have to pass through, or by, an active fan. Touching the blades means [[One-Hit Kill|instant death]].

* [[Die, Chair, Die!]]: Crowbar, meet crate. Somewhat silly, since a crowbar is supposedly designed for ''opening'' crates, but the only way to get at the ammo inside is to smash 'em.

* [[Diegetic Interface]]: Would normally be [[Justified]] by Gordon's [[Powered Armor]], either through his glasses<ref>since he never wears the suit's helmet</ref> or some other way.

* [[Discard and Draw]]

* [[Do Not Run ~~With~~ a Gun]]: Gordon, Adrian, and Barney all run quite fast. Averted in HL2, where the only way to go faster is to sprint, which uses your energy.

* [[Do Not Run with a Gun]]: Gordon, Adrian, and Barney all run quite fast. Averted in HL2, where the only way to go faster is to sprint, which uses your energy.

* [[Door to Before]]

* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: "Keep your PCV fully charged and I guarantee it will save your life! Step onto that square!" <player is blasted with a shotgun> "As you may have noticed, YOU ARE NOT DEAD."

Line 152:

** The [[Final Battle]] with an army of Striders at the end of Episode II has you taking out 2 dozen striders, each of which is backed up by 1-3 Hunters. Though at this point, they're more like [[Mini Boss]] creatures that [[Wolfpack Boss|all attack at once.]]

* [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]]: Damn near none, since you're in control of your character ''the whole time''.

* [[Gaiden Game]]: ''[[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]''.

* [[Gaiden Game]]: ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''.

* [[Game Mod]]: ''Lots''. The original GoldSrc engine and its successor Source are popular for modding in part because the SDK, which comes free with every game, is capable of effectively producing full standalone games.

* [[Gas Mask Mooks]]

Line 184:

* [[Ivy League for Everyone]]: Justified in the first game being set in a top secret research facility. [[Lampshaded]] by an NPC in HL2: Episode 1 who can be overheard saying "Sometimes it seems like everyone is a Doctor but me."

* [[Justified Tutorial]]: There's a mandatory course when a scientist is assigned an HEV suit [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|that the player can choose to play]].

* [[Kill It ~~With~~ Fire]]: In the first game, you have to kill some Tentacles by igniting the rocket engine above it. Shortly thereafter, a Gargantua tries to kill '''you''' with fire.

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: In the first game, you have to kill some Tentacles by igniting the rocket engine above it. Shortly thereafter, a Gargantua tries to kill '''you''' with fire.

** A quick and relatively easy way of dispatching enemies in Half-Life 2 and episodes, given proper equipment (namely, the Gravity Gun and exploding things like gas cans); Father Grigori makes extensive use of fire traps to thin the zombie horde in Ravenholm. Just... try not to listen too closely when you light up a zombie.

* [[Late to ~~The~~ Party]]: ''Half-Life'' was actually the first game to subvert this, as the first level is actually a leisurely stroll through the player's workplace, before all Hell breaks loose. (Ironically, with all of the NPCs telling Gordon, "You're late!") Played straight in ''Half-Life 2'', though, as Gordon is abruptly dropped into City 17 more than a decade after Earth's subjugation by the Combine. Played straight in ''Opposing Force'': Adrian regains consciousness just as the military begins its pullout.

* [[Late to the Party]]: ''Half-Life'' was actually the first game to subvert this, as the first level is actually a leisurely stroll through the player's workplace, before all Hell breaks loose. (Ironically, with all of the NPCs telling Gordon, "You're late!") Played straight in ''Half-Life 2'', though, as Gordon is abruptly dropped into City 17 more than a decade after Earth's subjugation by the Combine. Played straight in ''Opposing Force'': Adrian regains consciousness just as the military begins its pullout.

* [[Let's Split Up, Gang!]]: Gina and Colette need to do this now and then to solve some of their puzzles. Gordon gets this line constantly from the NPCs he's paired with throughout Half-Life 2, often as a result of a bridge conveniently [[Broken Bridge|breaking itself]] to split the party. Functionally, it's a gameplay tool to force the player to go it alone.

* [[Living Legend]]: The Free Man, who starts a revolution just by showing up. The Combine are well aware of the threat he represents and unleash their everything when they find out about him.

Line 222:

* [[Nobody Poops]]: Gordon certainly doesn't, nor does he eat or sleep. The stasis between games might have rejuvenated him, but unless his suit has a diaper Gordon has been holding it in for at least four days. Although since the game is not really 72 hours long, there are several times in the story that he ''could'' have taken time out for those things, but which the actual game skips over because it's a game.

** In the first game, Gordon actually could drink. There were several vending machines, each one can dispense five cans of soda, and each soda adds one health.

* [[No Bikes in ~~The~~ Apocalypse]]: Inverted. There are bikes in HL2, but nobody can use them.

* [[No Bikes in the Apocalypse]]: Inverted. There are bikes in HL2, but nobody can use them.

** The inversion is subverted in ''[[Concerned]]''; Gordon Frohman rides the bikes.

* [[No Fair Cheating]]:

Line 256:

** Half Life 2 brings Fast Zombies, Antlions and Rollermines, which love to cuddle up real close to you while they attack.

* [[Photoprotoneutron Torpedo]]: Tau cannons and gluon guns.

* [[Plot Powered Stamina]]: Gordon never has to stop to eat, sleep, or take a piss (though one might forgive that as a function of the suit). While he did get a break in between the original game and ''Half-Life 2'', in which the G-Man probably started him at optimal health, he's on the go from then on with only brief moments of unconsciousness at the start of each installment. It isn't as if time isn't passing either; the sun starts setting as Gordon arrives at Black Mesa East, Ravenholm takes place at night, and the sun is just rising as Gordon emerges from the mines. When he arrives at the Vortigaunt Camp at the end of "Sandtraps", the sun is setting again, and at the end of "Nova Prospekt", despite a week passing in relative terms, Gordon still hasn't had any rest. The finale appears to take place shortly before sunset, so even if all you count is the original ''Half-Life 2'', Gordon is up and moving constantly for over forty-eight hours without a break.

* [[Plot-Powered Stamina]]: Gordon never has to stop to eat, sleep, or take a piss (though one might forgive that as a function of the suit). While he did get a break in between the original game and ''Half-Life 2'', in which the G-Man probably started him at optimal health, he's on the go from then on with only brief moments of unconsciousness at the start of each installment. It isn't as if time isn't passing either; the sun starts setting as Gordon arrives at Black Mesa East, Ravenholm takes place at night, and the sun is just rising as Gordon emerges from the mines. When he arrives at the Vortigaunt Camp at the end of "Sandtraps", the sun is setting again, and at the end of "Nova Prospekt", despite a week passing in relative terms, Gordon still hasn't had any rest. The finale appears to take place shortly before sunset, so even if all you count is the original ''Half-Life 2'', Gordon is up and moving constantly for over forty-eight hours without a break.

* [[Pointy-Haired Boss]]: Dr. Wallace Breen was the administrator of Black Mesa at the start of the first game. Given, oh, ''everything that's happened since'', I think it's safe to assume he wasn't the most competent administrator ever. Of course, in the sequel, [[It Got Worse|he]] [[The Quisling|gets]] [[Misanthrope Supreme|worse]].

* [[Portal Pool]]

Line 263:

* [[Power Limiter]]: The collars and bracers the enslaved Vortigaunts wear in the first game diminish their powers and render them the [[Mook|mooks]] of the Xen invasion. In the second game, when they can use their full powers... well, see [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].

** Note that the Combine employ similar shackles for the Vortigaunts they capture.

* [[Put On a Bus]]: Corporal Adrian Shephard.

* [[Put on a Bus]]: Corporal Adrian Shephard.

** Barney Calhoun appears to have been put on a train at the end of ''Episode One'', not to be seen since. He is missed.

** Colette Green and Gina Cross haven't been seen since the end of ''Decay'', along with Dr. Keller.

Line 274:

** Possibly justified. See those shiny green things they wear in the first game? Those are slave collars similar to the ones the Combine put on them. They can't use their full power until the collars are removed.

* [[Reflecting Laser]]: The Tau Cannon / "Gauss". Technically a "hypervelocity projectile" weapon, but works like an insta-hit laser that reflects off any solid map surface at 45 degrees angle or less to the horizontal.

* [[Remember the New Guy]]: Barney Calhoun, who was technically around and named before ''Half-Life 2'', but never interacted with Gordon (although many characters who looked and sounded exactly like him did). A more blatant example of this is Dr. Magnusson in ''Episode Two'', who ''definitely'' wasn't around before then, at all.

* [[Remember the New Guy?]]: Barney Calhoun, who was technically around and named before ''Half-Life 2'', but never interacted with Gordon (although many characters who looked and sounded exactly like him did). A more blatant example of this is Dr. Magnusson in ''Episode Two'', who ''definitely'' wasn't around before then, at all.

** Amusingly, the [[Brick Joke]] about {{spoiler|the microwave casserole}} only works because he didn't actually appear in the original ''Half-Life'' (at least, not with the same voice or model -- see [[You All Look Familiar]] below).

* [[Retcon]]: Too many to list here. A complete list can be found on the [http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/OverWiki:Retcons Half-Life wiki] though.

Line 347:

* [[We Have Been Researching Phlebotinum for Years]]: It's revealed in Opposing Force that {{spoiler|the scientists have been experimenting with Xen life for long enough to have a terrarium and have modified a Barnacle to use as a weapon.}}

* [[Weapon of Choice]]: Gordon is always depicted carrying the red crowbar.

* [[What Happened to ~~The~~ Mouse?]]:

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]:

** Remember Adrian Shephard? The protagonist in Half Life: Opposing Force? What happened to that guy? If we believe Gabe Newell, Valve is actually itching to get him into the main storyline.

** In [[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]], there's an [[Easter Egg]] in which all keyboards have the letters A,S,H,P, and D lit up, referencing the [[Fun ~~With~~ Acronyms|Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device]]. When someone inside Valve realized that it looked like 'Adrian Shephard', they decided [[Throw It In|it'd be funny to have every letter that makes up 'Adrian Shephard' light up.]]

** In [[Portal (series)|Portal]], there's an [[Easter Egg]] in which all keyboards have the letters A,S,H,P, and D lit up, referencing the [[Fun with Acronyms|Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device]]. When someone inside Valve realized that it looked like 'Adrian Shephard', they decided [[Throw It In|it'd be funny to have every letter that makes up 'Adrian Shephard' light up.]]

** Race X (the alien race from the Opposing Force expansion) is occasionally wondered about, but according to [[Word of God|Marc Laidlaw]], they don't matter to the HL Universe. Gearbox invented them, and the minute Gearbox stopped making HL games, [[Dropped a Bridge On Him|they vanished]].

** Race X (the alien race from the Opposing Force expansion) is occasionally wondered about, but according to [[Word of God|Marc Laidlaw]], they don't matter to the HL Universe. Gearbox invented them, and the minute Gearbox stopped making HL games, [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|they vanished]].

** And none of the characters from ''Decay'' (in paticular the two main characters, Gina and Colette) have been seen since that game's ending.

*** Mostly, or entirely due to the fact that they died.