MINERVA - read-only archives

"Keep it clean or HE will"

The as-yet-unseen Combine cleaner types - jackbooted, masked and draped in a trenchcoat - carried acid propelling instruments very much like flamethrowers. They were used to clear biomatter (bodies of people, zombies, antlions, gargaunts, bullsquid and the like) that accumulated on the edges of the cities. Or as shock troops against rebel encampments.

Such a weapon could concievably be easily modified to propel napalm, or even used as is. The flames would look better in a snowy enviroment, especially with Source's updated lighting. Naturally, ammunition of any sort would be very scarce - found in irregular caches.

I would imagine these combine cleaner guys were mentioned in Raising the Bar? Man, the more I hang out around here, the more I think I need to read that to get all of the background material found in it...

Yes, you need Raising the Bar. Everyone needs Raising the Bar. EVERYONE.

And there is actually a reference to them in HL2. Remember Black Mesa East, and Eli's workshop? The thing in a jar is a Cremator's head.

Shepard never actually fights Gordon, unless the player deliberately shoots at 'im in Opposing Force. And if they did try to make him into one of the grunts in HL1, well, you (presumably) killed all the soldiers you met.

Of course, given how they turned a possible one-liner from the random Barneys pre-RC into a line from specifically Barney Calhoun, with whom you never interact in the pre-HL2 games, I wouldn't be surprised.

I just hold so storngly for Sheppard as a palyable character because i think of all the details so far that they put in the game, why would they leave that a loose end.

Perhaps, as the idea has struck me just now. Since Gman has apparently lost control of Gordons fate, perhaps he will turn to SHeppard, to "retireve" or even elimnate him (Gordon)

In OpFor, when you're running towards the huge teleport chamber just as Gordon jumps to Xen, I usually find myself letting rip with what ever weapon I have to hand. For some reason, I want to fullfill my original orders. Gordon Freeman, rogue physicist, in my grasp! Grrrr.

Yes, it would make sense for GMan to set Shepard on Gordon once he'd lost control of our good doctor. However it seems that the GMan has seen fit to act through other agents closer to home. So far, that includes Alyx.

You are right there, Kleiner may be more prone to accidently scattering your atoms across time and space, but I don't think he would INTENTIONALY harm Gordon

I'm very much remembering the bit from HL2 about the cat now ... "What cat?" ;)