#hl2e2

watching my darling liker play half life can be so beautiful . they are best friends bound by the vortessence

Ambush at the White Forest Inn

working on some floating creatures

Combine Advisor — Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2’s Combine are a vicious alien race that appears to go about conquering planets in the most economical way they possibly can. They killed most of humanity in only a few hours, then recalled most of their forces when the humans appeared to stop fighting back. They don’t need to waste time and effort destroying humanity, they just need it to stay out of the way while they strip the planet of its resources. Most Combine outposts are haphazardly augmented human buildings, their forces are roughly augmented aliens from other conquered worlds, and they appear to have virtually no concern for aesthetics or ornamentation whatsoever. This stripped-down, pragmatic appearance is central to the design of the grub-like Advisors.

According to concept artist Ted Backman, the Advisors were inspired by the Guild Navigators from Frank Herbert’s Dune. They appear to be big, plump, mostly-featureless grubs, dressed in some kind of brown bag and with a few mechanical parts grafted on. These parts include a pair of thin arms, a camera-like eye, and what looks like some kind of breathing apparatus. They also have long, flexible tongues which they use to kill people, but also to prod curiously at objects they don’t seem to understand. The Advisors communicate telepathically and have telekinetic powers which grant them a formidable advantage in any engagement where they aren’t caught by surprise. Presumably, this telekinesis is also the source of their ability to fly.

Combine Advisors are presumably the highest class of the Combine forces on Earth, and the reclusive masterminds of the alien occupation. They rarely make an effort to engage in combat directly, and will usually squeal and fly away if they feel threatened. They are a rare example of a fictional creature that feels extremely dangerous and yet quite vulnerable. Gordon Freeman never gets a chance to properly fight one, and their most direct intervention in the story is during Episode 2′s infamously heartbreaking cliffhanger ending.