Overwatch Voice

"Deploy... Sterilize... Secure..."

- Overwatch Voice

The Overwatch Voice, sometimes simply referred to as Overwatch in-game, speaks to the Civil Protection units via their communication radios and to everyone in a particular area via local PA systems (in City 17, Nova Prospekt and the interiors of the Citadel). She will usually issue warnings of resistance infiltration or instructions to nearby units in a distinctive flat, clinical tone of voice with a British accent. Her disjointed speech, similar to that of telephone banking systems, and ability to apparently broadcast to more than one location at once suggests that she is an artificially intelligent computer system.

Her role, while small, offers significant insight into the inner workings of the Combine, as she uses a type of medically-inspired Newspeak to describe resistance activity in the context of a bacterial infection and treatment. Some of her announcements also display the coercive and violent tactics used by the Combine to ensure conformity. Parallels can be drawn between the Overwatch Voice and the telescreen news announcer in the 1984 film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, who serves a similar role and is somewhat similar to the Overwatch Voice in terms of voice. There are also similarities with the MFP dispatcher from the film Mad Max.

Notable encounters

 * She announces the threat of "permanent off-world reassignment" to various people (usually Overwatch personnel but this tactic has also been seen being used on citizens) as punishment for either mission failure or not informing on potential "anticitizens". Doctor Breen attempts (and fails) to use this threat on Alyx and Eli Vance at the end of Half-Life 2.
 * It is announced near the beginning of Route Kanal that "inaction is conspiracy", thus encouraging local residents to turn in Gordon Freeman, who is just beginning his insurrection. As proof of this, food credits are deducted from humans as punishment for what is termed "permissive inactive coercion".
 * Freeman is progressively referred to as "staph infection" and "malignant". Instructions are issued to CPs to "inoculate", "shield", "clamp", "contain" and "pacify". His implicit citizenship (he could not be a legitimate citizen, as he has been presumed missing or dead for some time) is revoked due to his "multiple anti-civil violations." In this case, Freeman is addressed as "individual," and as such declared "malignant." When the Overwatch soldiers are introduced and the resistance movement is in full rebellion, she euphemistically orders the soldiers to "treat" and "amputate" rebels.
 * It is announced around half way through Route Kanal that the "judgment waiver" is in effect, stating that "capital prosecution is discretionary", and that sentencing is at their own discretion effectively allowing Civil Protection officers to deal with humans as they see fit.
 * At Nova Prospekt, turrets are referred to as "sterilizers" in keeping with the medical theme, and Combine attention starts with a focus upon an "exogen breach," presumably the antlions present in the complex, a large portion of whom are under Gordon's control.
 * At the start of Gordon's run-ins with Civil Protection, he is referred to indirectly as a "miscount" when a building he enters is raided and he is not identified as a resident, and, as such, making him a threat ("Attention residents: miscount detected in your block. Cooperation with your local Civil Protection will result in full ration reward." Gordon is awarded "Anticitizen" status during the chapter Route Kanal ("Individual, you are charged with multiple anti-civil violations - Anticitizen status approved") and is referred to as "Anticitizen One" by the Overwatch starting roughly around Water Hazard, and retains this designation throughout the rest of Half-Life 2 and Episodes One and Two. As Gordon advances into Nova Prospekt, the Overwatch Voice begins to refer to him alternatively as "Anticitizen Freeman" as well as "Anticitizen One", However, this change of habit only happens during the course of Nova Prospekt.

Interactions with Combine units
Whether or not the transmission is intended for receipt and processing by the Overwatch Voice, Overwatch Soldiers use a code phrase to signal that some force has broken through their guard. The last soldier in the unit will call "Outbreak! Outbreak! Outbreak!" over the radio the moment the second-to-last soldier is killed. They also have notification phrases such as "Overwatch, request reserve activation!", "Overwatch, be advised, we have heavy resistance!" and "target Freeman sighted".

Half-Life 2: Episode One
In Episode One, the tone of the Overwatch Voice changes drastically. Inside the Citadel, her voice is slowed down, looping and is generally confused and detached; she issues long strings of nonsensical directives that are clearly being ignored by the soldiers still present which adds to the feeling that the Citadel's functions are failing. All of her statements, such as "Warning bypass detected" and "Deploy, diagnose, deploy, diagnose, present singularity, present singularity" are reused from City 17 broadcasts, some Citadel broadcasts, and some are possibly from Nova Prospekt. However, when Freeman goes through a confiscation field beyond a red evacuation room, which supercharges his gravity gun, she does manage to declare an alert, the same as when Gordon falls from a pod into a similar field during Half-Life 2 ("Security alert, unregistered weapons detected; confiscation field engaged. Security alert, counter-resonance singularity device detected. Confiscation field failure, Deploy, diagnose, dissect."). The nonsensical directions continue during and after this event though. Later on in the course of events when the Citadel destabilizes again, the dispatch for Civil Protection units remains the same as in Half-Life 2 which could mean that Civil Protection have a separate dispatch system. The Overwatch Voice's citywide broadcasts are only encountered during the Urban Flight chapter while the player is in the area outside the hospital. The Overwatch Voice is still repeating its unintelligible messages which seem to be coming from the Citadel itself as they are very faint 'in the distance' from the Citadel's general direction.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two
In Episode Two the Overwatch Voice is first heard during the chapter To The White Forest, specifically right after Alyx's video conference with her father and Arne Magnusson is disrupted and the signal drops out.

The Overwatch Voice seems much colder and more imposing in Episode Two, speaking in short, fragmented sentences during the few times it is heard, e.g. "Anticitizen One engaged. Vance subprime engaged. Expunge. Mandate removal of active signature imprint. Cauterize and expunge." In Episode 2, its lines are also shown in the subtitles, while it is not in previous episodes. This behavior could be attributed to the destruction of the local Citadel or alternatively, with the Combine Advisors taking direct control of the Combine forces after Dr. Breen's (possible) death, that the Advisors are simply much less subtle in their intentions and the Overwatch reflects this.

Trivia

 * The Overwatch Voice is an informal successor to Half-Life’s Black Mesa Announcement System.
 * The speaker's voice and tone are reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 where a PA announcement uses almost the same voice and tone.
 * The Overwatch Voice is done by Ellen McLain. She is also the voice for GLaDOS, the evil A.I. in Portal and the Announcer in Team Fortress 2.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Episode One
 * Half-Life 2: Episode Two

City 17

 * Freeman's anomalous presence detected, apartment raided.
 * "Attention residents, miscount detected in your block. Co-operation with your Civil Protection Team permits full ration reward."
 * "Citizen notice: priority identification check in progress. Please, assemble in your designated inspection positions."
 * "Attention, please. All citizens in local residential block, assume your inspection positions."
 * "Attention, residents. This block contains potential civil infection. Inform, co-operate, assemble."
 * "Citizen notice. Failure to co-operate will result in permanent off-world relocation."


 * Level one alert - invokes unrest procedures, requests Freeman's ID.
 * "Citizen reminder: inaction is conspiracy, report counter behavior to a Civil Protection Team immediately."
 * "Attention, community. Unrest procedure code is now in effect. Inoculate, shield, pacify. Code: pressure, sword, sterilize."
 * "Attention, please. Unidentified person of interest, confirm your civil status with local Protection Team immediately."
 * "Attention, Protection Team. Status: evasion in progress in this community. Respond, isolate, inquire."


 * Level two alert - Freeman evading, Civil Protection summoned.
 * "Attention please. Evasion behavior consistent with malcompliant defendant. Ground Protection Team alert. Code: isolate, expose, administer."
 * "Protection team alert, evidence of anticivil activity in this community. Code: assemble, clamp, contain."


 * Level three alert - Freeman convicted of civil disruption, Underground Railroad discovered.
 * "Individual, you are charged with socio-endangerment level one. Protection units, prosecution code: duty, sword, midnight."
 * "Alert, community, ground Protection units. Local unrest structure detected. Assemble, administer, pacify."


 * Level four alert - Freeman convicted of anticivil activity, city block punished.
 * "Individual, you are now charged with socio-endangerment level five. Cease evasion immediately. Receive your verdict."
 * "You are charged with anti-civil activity level one. Protection unit prosecution code: duty, sword, operate."
 * "Attention, occupants. Your block is now charged with permissive inactive coercion. Five ration units deducted."
 * "Attention, all ground Protection Teams. Autonomous judgement is now in effect. Sentencing is now discretionary. Code: amputate, zero, confirm."


 * Level five alert - Freeman allocated anticitizen status.
 * "Individual, you are convicted of multi anticivil violations. Implicit citizenship revoked. Status: malignant."
 * "Individual, you are charged with capital malcompliance. Anticitizen status approved."
 * "Attention, ground units. Anticitizen reported in this community. Code: lock, cauterize, stabilize."
 * "Attention, all ground Protection Teams. Judgement waiver now in effect. Capital prosecution is discretionary."

Nova Prospekt

 * Restrictors deactivated.
 * "Priority warning. Outland Stabilization Force Six, Nova Prospekt. Perimeter Restrictors disengaged. Priority warning: perimeter Restrictors disengaged."
 * "Priority warning: perimeter Restrictors disengaged. All stabilization delegates move to incursion hard point immediately."


 * Antlions attack.
 * "Alert. Non-standard exogen activity detected. Execute containment procedure and report."


 * Bunker squads killed, Freeman's involvement suspected.
 * "Alert. Contact status: zero with land-sea intercept teams. Possible Anticitizen One re-infection. All Nova Prospekt stabilization delegates, move to hard point."


 * Final bunker assault.
 * "Nova Prospekt Stabilization Force directive two. Engage reserve. Contain exogen incursion."


 * Antlions enter prison grounds, Gunships summoned.
 * "Overwatch acknowledges critical exogen breach. Airwatch augmentation for dispatched and inbound. Hold for reinforcement."


 * Antlions inside prison, Sentry Guns deployed.
 * "Priority alert. Nova Prospekt exogen breach. Perimeter communication status zero. Internal Stabilization Team, deploy sterilizers in suspected infection blocks; A5, A7, B2."


 * Freeman located.
 * "Incursion warning. Airwatch reports probable Anticitizen Freeman reacquired, zone Nova Prospekt. Ground units, de-prioritize exogen containment. Hold for override codes."


 * Prison guards ordered to kill captured Vortigaunts.
 * "Attention, Nova Prospekt Internal Containment Team. De-service all political conscripts in block A7. Prohibit external contact."


 * Squads killed, guards fall back
 * "Contact lost in block B2. Deploy, reinforce, intercept in central block B4."
 * "Attention, ground units. Mission failure will result in permanent off-world assignment. Code reminder: sacrifice, coagulate, clamp."


 * Alyx reprograms sentry guns and deactivates shield systems.
 * "Warning, malignant viral interface bypass detected. Polyphasic core reprogramming detected. Sterilizers and containment fields may be compromised."


 * Second turret stand-off, reinforcement teams called.
 * "Contact has moved to block B8. Warning, sterilizers and containment fields may be compromised. Airwatch Augmentation Force Six Eight, drop and converge immediately."


 * Freeman kills reinforcement teams.
 * "Warning, surveillance and detection systems inactive. Remaining Stabilization Team members, report containment status please."

Citadel

 * Freeman enters confiscation field, weapons are destroyed.
 * "Security alert. Unregistered weapons detected. Confiscation field engaged."


 * Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator causes confiscation field to malfunction, soldiers summoned.
 * "Warning. Counter-resonant singularity device detected. Confiscation field failure."
 * "Security alert. Illegal counter-resonant singularity device detected. Deploy, diagnose, dissect."


 * Breen begins teleport sequence.
 * "Attention. Transport singularity interlock sequence engaged."
 * "Warning. Three minutes to singularity."
 * "Warning. Two minutes to singularity."
 * "Warning. One minute to singularity."
 * "Priority warning. Forty five seconds to singularity."
 * "Priority warning. Thirty seconds to singularity."
 * "Priority warning. Fifteen seconds to singularity."
 * "Priority warning. Ten seconds to singularity."

Half-Life 2: Episode One

 * Freeman enters damaged Citadel.
 * "Warning. Bypass detected."
 * "Sterilizers and containment fields compromised."
 * "Deploy, diagnose. Deploy, diagnose. Resonant singularity. Resonant singularity."
 * "Priority alert. Internal stabilization team, deploy sterilizers. Deploy."
 * "Alert."


 * Freeman enters Citadel core.
 * "Priority warning: Restrictors disengaged."
 * "Stabilization force disengaged."
 * "Warning. Core reprogramming detected."
 * "Alert. Alert. Alert."

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

 * Searching for data packet.
 * "Ongoing sector sweep: biotics confirmed. Continue surface sector sweep: remote compliance, exterminate. Seek passive signature imprint. Mandate sub-level restrictions."


 * Travelling to White Forest, units join main force, Advisors taking command.
 * "All autonomous units, accept mandatory sector assimilation. Co-ordinated constriction under-way. Debride and cauterize. Entering Phase nine: enhanced compliance. Deploy advisory control and oversight. Submit and be subsumed."


 * Advisor in danger, soldiers summoned.
 * "Vital alert. Autonomous units subsumed. Mandatory compliance with all tenets of advisory assistance act. Threat level adjustment. Probe. Expunge."


 * Freeman and Alyx trapped in White Forest inn, attempting to kill both and recover data packet.
 * "Alert. Anticitizen One engaged. Vance Subprime engaged. Expunge. Mandate removal of active signature imprint. Cauterize and expunge."