Forum:HL2 Questions

I just had a couple of questions regarding the setting and overall atmosphere of Half-Life 2. I'm no stranger to the game, I've played it countless times over the past few years, but I can't help but wonder about a few things like,

How did Isaac Kleiner, Eli Vance, Alyx Vance, Judith Mossman, and Arne Magnusson get to Eastern Europe from New Mexico? Half-Life 2 takes place somewhere in Eastern Europe, right? The Black Mesa Research Facility was in New Mexico, USA. How did they all end up in City 17? I'm sure that it's never really explained in the game and its episodes.

How many cities are there and do they each have their own 8000 ft tall citadel? I assume after the Seven Hour War, a very large portion of the human population was exterminated by The Combine and, after Wallace Breen negotiated the surrender, sparing the survivors, The Combine gained control over the remaining population. According to the signs in the Trainstation, there are at least 27 cities, but that's probably just in the area around City 17. So, are there Combine-controlled cities on the other continents of Earth or was the the remaining population so low that the Combine moved them all into 27 cities in Europe? Do the other cities have their own citadels and, if so, who governs them? Wallace Breen stated that he thought so much of City 17 that he elected to establish his Administration there. Now, does that mean he's just the Administrator of City 17 or does that mean he's governing Earth FROM the Citadel in City 17? One of the Citizens in the Trainstation says, "Doctor Breen again? I thought I'd saw the last of him in City 14." Does this mean that the other cities don't hear from Dr. Breen?

I don't quite understand the point of the Uprising. From what I understand, Earth is pretty much totally infested with Xen wildlife. The Combine's cities protected the humans from all the dangerous alien species that migrated to Earth: The headcrabs, the headcrab zombies, the antlions, the barnacles, the bullsquids, the houndeyes, etc. The Combine defeated all of Earth's military in SEVEN HOURS, how can The Resistance hope to stand a chance against them? It seems to me that all The Resistance has managed to accomplish, besides destroying the Citadel and the Combine Super-Portal which, I know, is quite significant, is make the Combine their enemy. Even if the resistance somehow manage to totally wipe out the remaining Combine forces on Earth, they don't have much of an Earth left. Most of Earth's wildlife seem to be extinct except for birds, probably due to the Xen alien invasion, Earth's oceans have receded and are infested with Xen leeches and Ichthyosaurs. Earth will definitely never be the same again. Seems kinda hopeless, Earth is beyond recovery...kinda sad actually.

Why do the Combine use headcrabs as weapons? They don't hold allegiance to the Empire. When they shell locations with them it doesn't really get rid of their enemies, it just turn them into dumber, slower, (or faster if you count fast zombies), still hostile zombies. If they're able to launch these high-velocity headcrab canisters with some degree of accuracy, why don't they just launch bombs? That way, they would neutralize a target instead of just making it more dangerous.

Does a citizen who joins the Metropolice eventually "rise through the ranks" to become Combine Soldiers/Prison Guards/Other parts of the Transhuman Arm of the Combine Overwatch? Or are certain citizens, like resistance empathizers, simply taken to Nova Prospekt and gentically and mentally transformed into Combine Soldiers and/or Stalkers?

Do Metropolice/Combine Soldiers have callsigns/designations? I don't think Metropolice ever refer to other officers as, like, 'Officer ' or Combine Soldiers refer to other soldiers as like, 'Sergeant ' Although their uniforms are nearly identical and it may be hard to distinguish them apart from, maybe a nametag?

Well...that's about it. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please let me know what you think.

--Madanonymous (talk) 23:34, October 16, 2012 (UTC)