What will happen to the rebels next? *spoilers, obviously*

[Eejit]

Well Breen is gone, along with Gordon.
City 17 Citadel *may* entirely collapse, or not. If not it has has plenty of Striders, Gunships, soldiers and a couple of wierd types of creature/machine we only see during the last Pod ride.

So if it hasn't collapsed the rebels are definitely in trouble. Even if it did there are still several more cities out there... or the Combine could just do a localised repeat of the 7 day war - the Dark Matter reactor wasn't there during the original conquest. This means that the Combine could probably retake City 17 if they wanted to - failing some nice tricks from Barney in an expansion?

EVEN if we assume that the Combine leave the rebels alone and forget about City 17 the Antlion or Headcrab infestations could still prove a problem without the very numerous Overwatch around to protect the city.


So do you agree? It looks like even with all that happened in HL2 you haven't achieve *that* much - though you could blame the G-man if you want.

It certainly looks like there's a lot of scope for several expansions... Here's hoping for Shepard! :)

[Ozzie]

This is probably when G-man sends the Shepard in, to clean this whole mess.
Seriously, rebels stand no chance against the army inside the citadel....

[G-Uni7]

Yea, that would be a sweet expansion pack. Shepard's sent in to 'clean up'! Great idea Ozzie.

[Solver]

Though I think that the Combine now have no way to bring reinforcements. I believe Citadel in City17 was the only link to the Combine universe. No reinforcements will come, only the remaining forces have to be beaten (and most were already slaughtered). But yeah, I'd love to see an expansion where you play as Barney and, in the last part of the game, clean up the mess.

[Eejit]

How would it stop them bringing in reinforcements?

They didn't have that reactor on Earth for their original invasion during the 7-day war (as far as we know anyway).

[Solver]

Yes, but how did they get to Earth in the 7-hour war? Chances are they used the dimensional rift that was there after the resonance cascade and that is now closed.

[PvtRyan]

How would it stop them bringing in reinforcements?

They didn't have that reactor on Earth for their original invasion during the 7-day war (as far as we know anyway).

They probably used the portal storm started by the resonance cascade to come here, but they now have no way to reach this universe. I think.

[Eejit]

They probably used the portal storm started by the resonance cascade to come here, but they now have no way to reach this universe. I think.

Possible, but I see some potential problems.
i.e. the events from HL, OpFor, Decay etc. pretty much ended the resonance cascade, which led me to think that the 'portal storms' were part of the Combine invasion, or a side effect of their teleporation technology when used en masse?

And if you're right it raises a few interesting questions... like the G-Man probably removed Shepard and Freeman from play shortly before this invasion if it was close to the time of the resonance cascade - Why?

[Eejit]

Yes, but how did they get to Earth in the 7-hour war? Chances are they used the dimensional rift that was there after the resonance cascade and that is now closed.

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the resonance cascade drew their attention to earth (implying that it wasn't the opportunity), and a NPC (Mossman I think?) says that they are able to teleport from their dimension but since their technology is different they can't teleport *from* another dimension until the technology is built there - whereas Black Mesa seems t have worked in a different way since they had been taking sample from Xen for a long time but didn't have a real outpost there. (Blue Shift Xen machinery was a relay or beacon of some kind as far as I remember)

[Solver]

Good points there.... by the way, Decay is not considered official canon to the storyline, typically. I wonder now, does this mean that the Combine still have means to create portal storms, or invade again? They wanted Earth for some reason. Remember this.

Dr. Breen: "I can still deliver Earth, but not without your help". It means that Earth wasn't yet ready to be "delivered". The Combine had effectively enslaved humans, but they hadn't done whatever they wanted on Earth - Breen still couldn't "deliver" it, as he mentioned to the Advisor.

If that's the case, it seems probable that the Combine might want to return once again. Then again, the GMan was satisfied once the Dark Energy based teleporter was destroyed, why would that be if the Combine could still return easily?

[Sir_Shunt]

Doesn't this bring a perfect SP MOD?
You, playing Axyx, Barney, or someone else left behind after gordon *left*, cleaning up the mess...
If Valve doesn't make an expansion pack, someone should...

[we11er]

Valve will make an expansion.

I hope one is with Sheperd, and another Barney - during that week when Gordon and Alyx are teleporting??? Basically the same format as HL1. That would be awesome.

[cleckmoon]

Bringing in Shepard would rock. Or, how about this. Bringing in Shepard during or just prior to Freeman's assault on the Citadel, to act as a distraction. Or Go with the other idea, having Shepard go it as a one man 42nd Rainbow force. ;p

And how do we know that Sheppie isn't already in place, acting as a Resistance fighter? G-man could have placed him YEARS ago to act with the resistance as a combat leader. He wouldn't cause the same stir as Freeman, because Shepard was a complete unknown in Black Mesa, his exploits would have caused no fanfare. And if G ordered him not to speak of the incident, chances are that he wont. Shep would be an invaluble resource to the Resistance, as a leader and a teacher.

Which reminds me. Watch the Resistance members fighting vs. the Combine. The Combine has a more run-and-gun aproach, but the resistance adopts the more methodical shoot-and-scoot. I swear, there's a difference. The Combine strafe while shooting large clips, the Resistance scoot to one covered spot, and poke out in a crouch to fire off three-round bursts. Just like the grunts of old! Also, note the Combine's use of grenades. Very slopy. The old Grunt AI was a lot better with 'nades, often supporting with cover fire and flanking movements. The combine guys just like to run to a hotspot and strafe for cover. Also, they dont use 'nades from cover so much as the grunts did.

Shepard seems to be Freeman's metaphorical foil anyway. Shep is a highly trained grunt, Freeman went to MIT and Innsbruck. Arts of War vs. Math. Freeman is the unexpected variable in an operation, the unlikely hero that rises from the ashes of tradgety. Shep was placed in the Black Mesa situation on purpouse, with a mission to do. The fact that he FAILED his mission, not that he survived, is the part that is undesirable.

[Samon]

Well the combine are now cut off from earth...although i dont know what the resistance wil do...they may have liberatee city 17 but what about the rest of the combine cities...

[Foxtrot]

I think the explosion at the end killed off the entire army in the citidel..

[marshmallow]

Nothing to add, just a small nitpick: 7 hours war

[Kangy]

I have a feeling the citadel does crumble, but the huge mess it makes is contained within the big toothy walls.

Oh, I have a personal theory about Shephard, but I'll post that in a new topic :P

[ShadowFox]

I am kinda confused. A few points in the game make it clear that the Combine are from a different dimension. But when you are in Nova Prospekt, Breen talks to the guards saying how he wants to prove to his superiors that they are the best humanity has to offer. Was he refering to something else?

[MrWynd]

i want an expansion pack where you play as Father Gregorie(sp?)

[MrWynd]

I am kinda confused. A few points in the game make it clear that the Combine are from a different dimension. But when you are in Nova Prospekt, Breen talks to the guards saying how he wants to prove to his superiors that they are the best humanity has to offer. Was he refering to something else?

breem was the one who negotiated human's surrender. He's doing something to the humans to make them seem useful to his superiors so they aren't exterminated.

[ShadowFox]

breem was the one who negotiated human's surrender. He's doing something to the humans to make them seem useful to his superiors so they aren't exterminated.
So the guards at Nova Prospekt are human and not combine?

[Wangotang]

what you are all missing here is what G-man acomplished with Gordon. Maybe he doesn't care about the Combine's other cities or the fact that City 17 may be taken back by the Combine. The difference with City 17 and the other cities is that City 17 was Breen's headquarters. G-man arrived after Breen was killed by Gordon so that's obviously what he wanted. Blowing up the citadel may or may not even matter. Also, now the Combine has no human ally because Breen was the only one who was helping them.

[Samon]

I think all that gman wanted is the combines connection with earth cut, hence the destruction of the dakr fusion reactor.

I really dont think, wangotang, that gman cared about breen...and plsu breen didnt die

[Wangotang]

what happened at the explosion at the end then? wasn't he in there but not teleported yet?

[Samon]

no his bubble drifts back down to the bottom of the reactor.

[El Professor]

The fact that he FAILED his mission, not that he survived, is the part that is undesirable.


Not quite. Remember that Cpl. Shepherd didn't recieve the orders because his Helicopter crashed just as the Captain was beginning to give him the orders.

[Wangotang]

well i hope he dies next. cause he sure deserves to :) I just hope that we don't have to wait 3 more years to figure out what's all going on, cause it's so confusing

[Samon]

yes, yes i hope a angry mob of resistance fighters take him to ravenholm...or worse the coast

[Wangotang]

nothing can possibly hurt worse than having a headcrab lodged onto your head and being turned into one of those zombie things. man, those zombies give me the creeps. Ravenholm was crazy scary

[PvtRyan]

So the guards at Nova Prospekt are human and not combine?

All guards/soldiers are human, only enhanced with Combine technology. They are part of the Overwatch.

[mojo]

Valve will make an expansion.

I hope one is with Sheperd, and another Barney - during that week when Gordon and Alyx are teleporting??? Basically the same format as HL1. That would be awesome.

They should also bring in that insane priest/monk as well

[Lanthanide]

It would be neat if OpFor2 was again told in the way OpFor1 was: Sheppard gets converted into a combine soldier and is supposed to attack the resistance, but things go wrong and so he ends up going on an odyssey where he fights with other rebel combine against some bad combine forces (black ops, in other words).