Combine (Half-Life)
The Combine | |
---|---|
![]() The Combine "clamp" symbol, seen in propaganda throughout Half-Life: Alyx and Half-Life 2 | |
Series | Half-Life |
First appearance | Half-Life 2 |
Most recent appearance | Half-Life: Alyx |
Created by | Marc Laidlaw |
In-universe information | |
Other name(s) | Our Benefactors (Dr. Breen), Our Malefactors (Dr. Kleiner), CMB (various in-game imagery/symbolism) |
Type | Inter-dimensional alien conglomerate |
Leader | Dr. Wallace Breen (puppet ruler) |
Employees | Transhuman soldiers |
Purpose | Conquest |
Technologies | Inter-dimensional Teleportation |
Enemies | Human Rebels, Vortigaunt Rebels |
The Combine (/ˈkɒmbaɪn/ KOM-byne) are a fictional multidimensional empire which serve as the primary antagonistic force in the 2004 video game Half-Life 2 and its subsequent episodes developed and published by Valve Corporation. The Combine consist of organic, synthetic, and heavily mechanized elements. They are encountered throughout Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, as well as Half-Life: Alyx, as hostile non-player characters as the player progresses through the games in an effort to overthrow the Combine occupation of Earth.
The Combine are depicted as cruel rulers over the citizens of Earth, suppressing dissent with brutality, using excessive violence to police humanity, and forcibly performing surgery on some to transform them into slaves. Throughout the games, the player primarily battles transformed humans as well as synthetic and mechanical enemies that are the product of Combine technology. In addition to their role within the Half-Life series, the Combine have been adapted by fans for machinima productions and other works.
Design
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Civil_Protection_%28Half-Life%29.jpg/200px-Civil_Protection_%28Half-Life%29.jpg)
Certain elements of the Combine's appearance, such as that of the Advisors, are inspired by the works of Frank Herbert.[1] The towering Striders seen throughout Half-Life 2 and its subsequent episodes are based directly on the Martian tripods of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds, where said Martians invade Victorian England, using the tripods as their main "weapon". The name "Combine" itself is a tribute to Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which features a collection of authorities which mechanistically manipulate and process individuals.[1]
During Half-Life 2's development, various concepts for Combine
Ellen McLain provides the voice for the Combine Overwatch announcer and dispatcher in Half-Life 2 and its episodic expansions[3] and their virtual reality prequel Half-Life: Alyx.[4] Combine soldiers in Half-Life: Alyx are voiced by actors including Rich Sommer, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jason Vande Brake, Michael Schwalbe, Rajia Baroudi, and Rick Zieff.[5]
Attributes
Society
Little is revealed of the Combine's activities outside of Earth, but dialogue in
The heart of the Combine's command over Earth in Half-Life 2 is the Citadel, a large tower constructed by them which reaches both tens of thousands of feet into the sky
Depiction
The Combine comprises various species and machines. The most commonly encountered enemies throughout Half-Life 2 and its episodic sequels are the
Advisors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5d/Advisor_%28Half-Life%29.jpg/220px-Advisor_%28Half-Life%29.jpg)
Advisors are large
Civil Protection
The Civil Protection is the Combine's primary
Transhuman forces
The transhuman forces is the primary Combine military ground force on Earth. It consists of biomechanically enhanced humans who wear heavy body armor and gas masks. They are armed variously with submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and pulse rifles. The markings on their uniforms suggest a difference in specialization. Elite soldiers wear bright white armor with one-eyed helmets and can fire a ball of energy from their pulse rifle, while the rank-and-file wear blue, depending on their role as infantry or a shotgunner respectively. Soldiers wielding shotguns wear similar outfits to other transhuman soldiers but are equipped with uniforms coloured brown and helmets with orange (instead of blue) eyes. Overwatch soldiers typically operate in small groups of four to six using infantry tactics and grenades to flush out and flank the player. They occasionally provide support to Combine synths, and often travel to areas by use of dropships and armoured personnel carriers. Transhuman soldiers utilize two-way radios to communicate with each other and with headquarters. The transhuman forces are usually encountered outside City 17, and only appear in the city near the end of the game. They are commanded by the Overwatch, an unencountered artificial female voice which issues orders such as, "Attention ground units. Mission failure will result in permanent off-world assignment. Code reminder: sacrifice, coagulate, clamp."[12]
Combine technology
The Combine use an arsenal of
Militarily, the Combine make use of both synthetics, creatures augmented with machinery, and traditional machines such as
Appearances
According to the backstory presented during Half-Life 2, the Combine appear on Earth after the death of the
The Combine's first appearance is in Half-Life 2. Through the early stages of the game, Combine Civil Protection units pursue Gordon Freeman, the
In Episode One, the destruction of the teleporter has isolated Combine forces on Earth, and its primary reactor has begun to melt down. This forces Gordon and Alyx to journey back into the critically damaged Citadel to stabilize its reactor while the city's inhabitants are evacuated.[22] The Combine forces, however, instead attempt to accelerate the meltdown in order to contact their native dimension for reinforcements. After Alyx acquires an encrypted copy of the message to be sent, Overwatch forces desperately attempt to stop the pair from escaping the city, spurred on by Combine Advisors. As the pair escape on a train at the end of the game, the Citadel detonates and destroys City 17.[23]
The Combine are again the primary antagonist in the prequel
The related Portal series hints at the presence of the Combine, with malevolent AI GLaDOS claiming that she is the only thing standing between Chell and "them".[28]
Promotion and reception
The Combine have inspired the creation of several items of merchandise for the Half-Life series. A
The Combine have received a positive reaction from critics.
In Playing Dystopia, the Combine are directly compared with the Party in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as a totalitarian regime organized according to an ideology. The book notes that Dr. Breen represents an archetypal father figure who lies that the Combine have created a utopia in order to justify the invasion. His reference to the Combine as "our Benefactors" ties back to the novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, in which the term is used to describe the ruler of the One State. The Combine also create the image of a utopia through mind manipulation and propaganda, causing humanity to accept a false sense of safety and "womb-like security". The suppression field deployed by the Combine to prevent new births and destroy the concept of the family was also compared to P. D. James' The Children of Men.[37] Videogames and Education calls it a "terrible irony" that, having eliminated children, they positioned themselves as humanity's protector and nurturer.[38] Aliens in Popular Culture describes the Combine's uniforms and architecture as referencing communism and fascism, comparing its overtones to Starship Troopers. The Brain Bugs from that novel are specifically noted as being referenced by the appearance and abilities of the Combine Advisors.[39]
Fan works
The use of sandbox applications like
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7615-4364-0.
- ^ a b "Half-Life 2 Combine Soldier Lithograph". Valve. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Hatfield, Daemon (31 October 2007). "Glados Speaks". IGN. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ Macgregor, Jody (21 November 2019). "Alyx Vance will be voiced by a new actor in Half-Life: Alyx". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ "Half-Life: Alyx". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Dark Energy.
Wallace Breen: Carbon stars with ancient satellites, colonized by sentient fungi; gas giants, inhabited by vast meteorological intelligences; worlds stretched thin across the membranes where the dimensions intersect...impossible to describe with our limited vocabulary!
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Point Insertion.
Citizen: No matter how many times I get relocated, I...never get used to it.
- ^ "Half-Life 2 Citadel Height". 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ Valve (2006). Half-Life 2: Episode One (PC). Level/area: Urban Flight.
Isaac Kleiner: I feel obliged to point out that a more fortunate side effect of the reactor's destruction is the complete removal of the Combine's reproductive suppression field. Previously, certain protein chains important to the process of embryonic development were selectively prevented from forming; this is no longer the case. For those so inclined, now would be an excellent time for procreation, which is to say, in layman's terms, you should give serious consideration to doing your part for the revival of the species.
- ^ Valve (2006). Half-Life 2: Episode One (PC). Level/area: Lowlife.
Alyx Vance: Antlions here? The Combine's defense field must have collapsed. Makes sense if it was powered by the Citadel.
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Dark Energy.
Alyx Vance: This is the Citadel's dark fusion reactor. It powers their tunneling entanglement device.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Half-Life 2 Enemies". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ a b c d "Half-Life 2: Episode One Enemies". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Dark Energy.
Dr. Wallace Breen: (to an Advisor) It's me you should be worried about! I can still deliver Earth, but not without your help! [..] The portal destination is untenable, surely you can set the relay elsewhere. There's no way I can survive in that environment! A host body?! You must be joking, I can't possibly—oh, all right, dammit, if that's what it takes. Just hurry, he's right behind me!
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- ISBN 978-1-4408-3833-0.
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Black Mesa East.
Judith Mossman: We're closing in on a reliable local teleport technology, something the Combine still hasn't mastered. Eli thinks their models are string-based, similar to our Calabi-Yau model, but they fail to factor in the dark energy equations. They can tunnel through from their universe, but once they're here, they're dependent on local transportation.
- ^ Valve (2006). Half-Life 2: Episode One. Level/area: Direct Intervention.
Alyx Vance: Goddamn the Combine! This is what happens to you if you resist... or if you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. [..] God, I hope you don't remember who you are...
- ^ a b "Half-Life 2 Walkthrough—Chapter 5: Black Mesa East". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Valve (2004). Half-Life 2 (PC). Level/area: Water Hazard.
Wallace Breen: We now have direct confirmation of a disruptor in our midst, one who has acquired an almost messianic reputation in the minds of certain citizens. His figure is synonymous with the darkest urges of instinct, ignorance and decay; some of the worst excesses of the Black Mesa incident have been laid directly at his feet. And yet unsophisticated minds continue to embue him with romantic power, giving him such dangerous poetic labels as the "One Free Man", the "Opener of the Way".
- ^ "Half-Life 2 Walkthrough—Chapter 10: Entanglement". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Half-Life 2: Episode One Walkthrough—Chapter 1: Undue Alarm". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Half-Life 2: Episode One Walkthrough—Chapter 5: Exit 17". Planet Half-Life. IGN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Valve (2007). Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC). Level/area: To The White Forest.
Isaac Kleiner: What you're seeing is the infancy of a superportal. If it retains full strength— / Eli Vance: It will be the Seven Hour War, all over again! Except this time we won't last seven minutes!
- ^ Valve (2007). Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC). Level/area: Freeman Pontifex.
Vortigaunt: They carry Shu'ulathoi: Advisors still in incubation pods. They gather and unite the scattered Combine forces.
- ^ Valve (2007). Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC). Level/area: Our Mutual Fiend.
Resistance fighter: We've counted a dozen Striders just north of us. Our job is to keep them from reaching the base to the south. If they get close enough for one good shot at the silo, the whole launch is a bust. And in case Striders aren't bad enough, recon indicates that they're being escorted by packs of Hunters.
- ^ Ingraham, Nathan (November 21, 2019). "'Half-Life: Alyx' is a VR prequel set before the events of 'Half-Life 2'". engadget. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ Valve (October 9, 2007). Portal. Valve. Level/area: "Test Chamber 19", final boss.
GLaDOS: What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well, I was.
- ^ "Hunter Plush Toy". Valve. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (2008-02-18). "Hunter Plushies Now Available". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "Half-Life 2 "Evolution" Shirt". Valve. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- 1UP.com. Archived from the originalon 2012-06-24. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ "PC Review: Half-Life 2". PC Zone. Computer and Video Games. 2004-11-16. Archived from the original on December 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Ocampo, Jason (2008-06-02). "Half-Life 2: Episode One for PC Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Robinson, Andy (2007-10-10). "Review: Half-Life 2: Episode Two". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Adams, Dan (2007-10-09). "Half-Life 2: Episode Two Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ISBN 978-3-8394-4597-6.
- ISBN 9781317452669.
- ISBN 9781440838330.
- ^ Livingston, Christopher (2005-10-07). "Issue #62". Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Freeman. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "Combine Nation: Episode One". Lit Fuse Films. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "The Combine Episode 2: Workfilter". Currentpie Productions. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ McElroy, Justin (2008-09-03). "The Combine Interview puts Tom Cruise in new light". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (2008-09-02). "Creepy Tom Cruise Interview Redone As Creepy Half-Life 2 Interview". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ "The Combine Tom Cruise". PC Gamer. No. 194. United Kingdom: Future plc. December 2008. p. 113.
Notes
- ^ As depicted in the events of Half-Life 2: Episode 2.
External links
- The Combine on Combine OverWiki, an external wiki