 This article is non-canon. Its subject matter does not take place in the "real" Half-Life universe.
|
- "I only had one thing to give up for this job...
My humanity...
Some would say...
I never had it anyway." - ―Bad Cop
Entropy: Zero 2 is a modification for Half Life 2, acting as its own standalone game running on the Source Engine. It is a direct sequel to the original Entropy: Zero and continues the story from where it left off. Bad Cop returns as a Overwatch Elite still privileged with his cognition and is tasked with the capture of Dr. Judith Mossman during a northern campaign. The game released on August 20, 2022.
Story[]
Civil Protection Unit 3650, otherwise known as Aiden Walker, was assigned to an offsite team following an incident involving multiple other CP units. It is from here that the story of the original Entropy: Zero begins.
After the events of Entropy: Zero, Aiden Walker is brought back to life as an Overwatch Elite. His will and faculties were restored, as he was supposedly the last of his copies. His directive is to capture Judith Mossman and discover what she is looking for.
While City 17 and the surrounding coastal area serves as the visual setting for Half Life 2, Entropy: Zero 2 takes place primarily in the vast frozen tundras and mountain ranges where the Borealis was teased to be located. In fact, the video for Episode 5 shows the letter “B” for about a second and matches with the name “BOREALIS” found on the hull of a cargo ship supposedly carrying it.
The mod features three endings and one secret ending, each resulting from the player's decisions throughout the final chapter of the game.
Characters[]
Original[]
Aiden Walker[]
Aiden Walker, designated 3650, was a mentally ill prison guard incarcerated for the supposed murder of his daughter. When the Combine arrived, he joined Civil Protection with open arms. Following the events of Entropy : Zero, Aiden was selected as a candidate for cloning (where in his consciousness and memories would be forcefully imprinted onto another person's body). Following the Assault on Nova Prospekt, all but two of his clones were left alive. In one of the endings, the host body harboring his consciousness is killed by the last of his clones.
Bad Cop[]
The main protagonist, the supposed last of 3650's clones. He is following the Combine's orders in an effort to discover what happened to his daughter, and ends up getting caught up in a major plot involving both the Combine and the Rebels looking for something very big.
Clone Cop[]
The central antagonist and Bad Cop's predecessor. He, like Bad Cop, was looking for information surrounding Aiden Walker's daughter, but betrayed the Combine after discovering something and was designated an anticitizen by the Combine. Bad Cop is tasked with apprehending him due to the danger he poses to the Combine as well as Judith Mossman.
Wilson[]
The deuteragonist, an obsolete Aperture Science turret that Bad Cop discovers. He helps Bad Cop escape the infested Aperture facility underneath Arbeit Communications and can be taken with the player for the rest of the game to open certain doors. In one of the endings' post-credits scene, he rescues Bad Cop from torture, leading to the events of Axon Pariah.
Radio Guy[]
A Resistance officer that can be heard throughout the game broadcasting various messages on the radio. He makes a physical appearance in the second and penultimate chapters of the game, and is eventually killed by Clone Cop.
Derivative[]
Dr. Mossman[]
A leading member of the Resistance searching for the Borealis. The character is voiced by Michelle Forbes through archive dialogue taken from Half-Life 2 and the episodes, rather than original voice acting. She is eventually located and captured by Bad Cop.
G-Man[]
The mysterious individual that appears in one of the mod's endings, that is if Bad Cop opts to fight the Advisor. His employers seize the Borealis, foiling the Combine's plans with it and forcing them to look further. He allows Bad Cop to destroy the Combine's capability of creating more clones of him, but is forced to flee his domain due to the Combine presumably discovering his location.
Dog[]
Dog makes a small appearance in a post-credits scene during the bad ending.
Combine Advisor[]
A particular Combine Advisor that directly communicates and gives orders to Bad Cop throughout the game, and issues threats if he fails to fulfil the task to capture Judith Mossman. At the end, the Advisor is revealed to be the true main antagonist of the game; they betray Bad Cop by revealing that they did not hold their part of the bargain (information on Aiden Walker's daughter) as well as their intention to wipe his memory. If Bad Cop attacks them in retaliation, they become an optional final boss in the game.
Enemies[]
- Rebels
- Armored Rebels
- Long Jump Rebels
- Vortigaunts
- Antlion Soldiers
- Antlion Workers
- Antlion Guards
- Zombigaunts
- Temporal Crabs
- Gonomes
- Pit Drones
- Bullsquids
- Clone Cop
- Stukabats
- Manhacks
Weapons[]
- Gauss Pistol
- SIG P220 (Cold Signal)
- Colt Python
- MP7
- Pulse Rifle
- Prototype Pulse Rifle
- MP5k
- SPAS-12
- Benelli Nova (Cold Signal)
- Crossbow
- SLAM
- Xen Grenade
Features[]
- Several new weapons in the arsenal.
- Ability to kick in doors for rapid entry.
- Player gets to drive a Combine APC.
- Custom voices for new and returning characters.
- Returning enemies such as Bullsquids, which have adapted to life on Earth, as well as Pit Drones from Race X.
Trivia[]
- The Black Mesa lobby as seen during a flashback in Half-Life 2: Episode Two is retconned to being a separate facility known as Arbeit Communications, which acts as a front to an Aperture facility located in the Arctic.
- The story runs parallel just prior and during Half-Life 2: Episode One. By the conclusion of the game, it's mentioned that City 17 has been destroyed.
- Prior to the Combine invasion, Aiden lived in Arizona, the location of the Santego Military Base where Adrian Shephard received training prior to Half-Life: Opposing Force.
- A dating sim parody is currently being developed and is in very early stages, some sprites from the project were uploaded on the official Entropy: Zero discord server. Not much is known about it yet since it is not a official project but is being developed by a handful of fans.
- On August 20, 2024, a sequel titled Axon Pariah alongside a prequel titled Progenitors was announced.
Reception[]
Entropy: Zero 2 has received acclaim, indicated by "overwhelmingly positive" reviews on Steam with a current score of 98%. Praise went to the storyline, atmosphere, gameplay, decreased difficulty compared to its predecessor, connections to the Portal and Half-Life series, as well as the chemistry between Bad Cop and Wilson. Some fans have argued it to be one of the greatest mods for the Half-Life series.
Criticism has gone towards what some players perceived to be Bad Cop talking too much, and issues regarding lore, most notably being the usage of a Combine Elite to represent Bad Cop, the Xen Grenades, and the presence of Pit Drones.