Bullsquid


 * "Look at those peculiar markings..." - Black Mesa Scientists

The Bullsquid is a bipedal, highly aggressive creature that appeared throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility due to the dimensional rift. Bullsquids are 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 its native dimension Xen, bullsquids are found drinking from pools of an unknown liquid that has healing properties to humans and Vortigaunts.

Physical description


The body of a bullsquid was vaguely similar in appearance to that of a small Theropod, with two short, muscular legs and a thick tail that tapered to a point. The thorax abruptly joined the creature's head with no neck or other visible separation. A typical specimen stood roughly one meter tall and about two meters in length. Two slit-pupiled, black and glossy eyes were mounted on either side of its head. The tail had a hooked claw at its tip, which explains the large amount of damage caused by the bullsquid's spin attack.

The bullsquid's most striking feature, however, was the collection of bright red, tentacular protrusions ending in teeth which surrounded its mouth and allowed it to grasp prey. The bullsquid could also charge an opponent with surprising speed and force; these two attributes were the cause of its portmanteau name.

The bullsquid's overall coloration was roughly comparable to that of a spotted cat: its skin was sandy brown and its upper surfaces had dark spots. The creature's skin appeared to be slimy, similar to that of a terrestrial amphibian such as a frog.

Bullsquids displayed a very territorial disposition, as they have often been seen attacking other creatures and even members of their own species. They viciously attacked headcrabs, not stopping until all headcrabs in their sight had been eliminated. An example of this can be found near the beginning of the game. However, when encountered on xen in Opposing Force, they do not attack, even when attacked themselves. This is similiar to their behaviour when encountered in the brief teleportation to Xen just after the Resonance Cascade.

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

Trivia

 * The bullsquid is referred to as the bullchicken in the console, i.e. "monster_bullchicken"; this is probably because in the beta version and artwork they were named as such and remained like that, while their official name is now "bullsquid".
 * The Antlion Worker was originally going to be the Bullsquid but was scrapped because it never appeared in the previous games but the Antlion Worker was given the ability to spit and in the Half-Life 2: Episode Two commentary the developers gave the player a few hints.

Behind the scenes
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 frolicking outside a supermarket. In the leaked beta of the game, it seems that bullsquids were mainly intended to be fought in the canals. Their skin color was changed to a deep maroon, while another alternate texture made them pale green.

Appearances

 * Half-Life
 * Half-Life: Opposing Force
 * Half-Life: Blue Shift