Look, I think you're really missing a lot of the subtext in the story. And for everyone who hasn't played the games, SPOILERS FOLLOW:
Taken on its own, Half-Life was a game about survival - the survival of you, Gordon Freeman, the protagonist. But there was a lot going on behind the scenes.
There was the mysterious G-man, who had no name, but who always seemed to be watching you, just out of reach.
There were the nervous scientists, some of whom were simply scared to death, but others who certainly seemed to be hiding many secrets.
And there was the military and the shadow ops, trying to stop you, an innocent scientist, at every turn, seemingly simply because you wanted to fix whatever was dumping this laundry list of strange, never-before-seen alien creatures into the world.
But there was always a sense that there was more going on here that meets the eye. And in subsequent games, all under the direction of Mark Laidlaw and Valve, it was revealed that there was.
In Opposing Force, you're confronted with evidence that while these creatures are strange, they certainly HAD been seen before - indeed, they were being experimented on for some time. There appeared to be a calculated effort to study and catalog these creatures, which made the whole incident look much less like an accident and a lot more like a setup.
In Blue Shift, you're confronted with the totality of the situation - the strange alien world isn't so much a planet as it is an alternate dimension, discovered in the course of building an instantaneous transportation system. The scientists found that they had to use the "border world", which they called "Xen", as a conduit between the opening and closing of their portals.
It's never directly spelled out in dialog trees like in role playing games, but it's certainly implied that the creatures of Xen were lashing out through whatever methods they could when the experiment "failed" in the original Half-Life. The additional aliens in Opposing Force were similarly attracted to the devestation and opening up portals of their own, assaulting the planet. It was assumed that the military and the nefarious forces of the G-man could handle the aliens from Xen, but when the new aliens arrived and started to enter the Earth realm, the choice as made to scuttle the facility. Opposing Force ends with Black Mesa in the distance, followed by a bright flash.
Ok, so it's not Shakespeare. Still, those who don't look at the overall story arc aren't getting the most out of what was presented to you. Half-Life, the game, is the story of Gordon Freeman. Half-Life, with all its expansions, is the story of Black Mesa. And I think it would make a pretty good sci-fi novel.
You're dense. It's a humor site.
Put two and two together, Charlie. Or maybe that's too complicated for one used to a "SubtleNuance", such as the subtle smell of something burning.
Send out Napster user IDs and Passwords. Wait for aliens to log in and grab copyrighted music, then watch as the RIAA builds interstellar warships for the express purpose of protecting their "revenue streams."
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Look, I think you're really missing a lot of the subtext in the story. And for everyone who hasn't played the games, SPOILERS FOLLOW:
Taken on its own, Half-Life was a game about survival - the survival of you, Gordon Freeman, the protagonist. But there was a lot going on behind the scenes.
There was the mysterious G-man, who had no name, but who always seemed to be watching you, just out of reach.
There were the nervous scientists, some of whom were simply scared to death, but others who certainly seemed to be hiding many secrets.
And there was the military and the shadow ops, trying to stop you, an innocent scientist, at every turn, seemingly simply because you wanted to fix whatever was dumping this laundry list of strange, never-before-seen alien creatures into the world.
But there was always a sense that there was more going on here that meets the eye. And in subsequent games, all under the direction of Mark Laidlaw and Valve, it was revealed that there was.
In Opposing Force, you're confronted with evidence that while these creatures are strange, they certainly HAD been seen before - indeed, they were being experimented on for some time. There appeared to be a calculated effort to study and catalog these creatures, which made the whole incident look much less like an accident and a lot more like a setup.
In Blue Shift, you're confronted with the totality of the situation - the strange alien world isn't so much a planet as it is an alternate dimension, discovered in the course of building an instantaneous transportation system. The scientists found that they had to use the "border world", which they called "Xen", as a conduit between the opening and closing of their portals.
It's never directly spelled out in dialog trees like in role playing games, but it's certainly implied that the creatures of Xen were lashing out through whatever methods they could when the experiment "failed" in the original Half-Life. The additional aliens in Opposing Force were similarly attracted to the devestation and opening up portals of their own, assaulting the planet. It was assumed that the military and the nefarious forces of the G-man could handle the aliens from Xen, but when the new aliens arrived and started to enter the Earth realm, the choice as made to scuttle the facility. Opposing Force ends with Black Mesa in the distance, followed by a bright flash.
Ok, so it's not Shakespeare. Still, those who don't look at the overall story arc aren't getting the most out of what was presented to you. Half-Life, the game, is the story of Gordon Freeman. Half-Life, with all its expansions, is the story of Black Mesa. And I think it would make a pretty good sci-fi novel.
That is, unless a user decides to look down their pants...
"What are we waiting for?"
"We're waiting for Star Wars Episode II!"
"Let's just kill ourselves..."
How are those Iraqis going to have the time to build bombs while they're distracted by all the PS2's great games? Oh, wait...
You're dense. It's a humor site. Put two and two together, Charlie. Or maybe that's too complicated for one used to a "SubtleNuance", such as the subtle smell of something burning.
Send out Napster user IDs and Passwords. Wait for aliens to log in and grab copyrighted music, then watch as the RIAA builds interstellar warships for the express purpose of protecting their "revenue streams."