Breen Returns?

Not exactly proof of anything, Culp was in Episode 1 as well. Then, as now, Breen's status was: missing, presumed dead.

Interestingly though, if Robert Culp does appear as Breen as something other than a recording in Ep. 2, he probably will not be in host body-sulg-form, but rather in human form.

As it happens, another poster and I were bandying around a theory about just this issue on MSN the other day. If Breen did survive in human form, it's not unlikely that the Vorts got him out and took him into custody as an intelligence asset. He was after all, deep in the enemy's counsel.
 
Geogaddi said:
Not that this is a surprise to anyone who knows that Samon is always right.
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See sig.

Just because Breen is in EP2 doesn't mean he's alive. He was on EP1 aswell, remember? Twice.
 
We are out of City 17 and there are no tv's, thus no Breen casts. Watch the latest Episode 2 trailer again. I have a feeling that after Breen fell he was very badly hurt. To survive he needed to go into another body to survive (think Stargate). When you see a part in which this machine makes a noise likes it's done with something then flashs, I'm fairly confident an advisor plops out in white steam and mist. Only that this advisor speaks to you inside your head mentally. The voice knows you though and speaks to you (Breen). In fact they showed Breen attacking you in the trailer. It also gives some backstory to the advisors as to how they are created. Valve after all did say we will learn more about them.
 
would they include him in the credits if his voice work was reused (ala a flashback?)
 
It could be that the adviser would use Breens voice whilst talking to Gordon, because the voice is familiar to Gordon and the adviser...
 
I'm pretty sure Breen isn't an Advisor. That'd suck the big one.
 
nutcrackr said:
would they include him in the credits if his voice work was reused (ala a flashback?)
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Why not? He appears in the Ep. 1 credits for one speech and one dialogue, both of which are taken from HL2.

*edited to correct content
 
Dude, it's IMDB. I recall that's the Wikipedia of movies.
 
Well there was that hint of Breen returning in one interview with Valve where they mentioned how Breen was going to talk when asked about Breen's return the Valve employee dropped the subject but maybe it could refer to a old recording of Breen in the end it's left to speculation.
 
It would be foolish to entirely rule out the return of Breen. Not necessarily as an Advisor or as himself of course: these are obvious ideas, and somewhat unsatisfying. But there is still plenty of ways to work him back in there. He was the face of humanity for a decade or more, so we could quite easily see old 'breencasts' or communications. Or perhaps the combine will recognise his importance and create a fake Breen to try and split the human population?
 
Or, perhaps, he was also saved by the Vortigaunts.

"You need me!"

Maybe we do?
 
It'd be interesting if he came back as an ally, and it's made unlikely more by his apparent death than the facts of his character...
 
I doubt Valve would bring him back Dr. Breen as an advisor, it's just too cliche and would suck.

Breen as an advisor would take away his excellent character that Valve originally made. Many Half-Life fans are predicting it, reason being... because we have all seen it done to death in so many movies. It's always the bad guy that looks like he's dead, but later comes back as a huge monster or a oversized robot.
 
Samon said:
I'm pretty sure Breen isn't an Advisor. That'd suck the big one.
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To me it'd make perfect sense. All that talk of the host body and then in the mind-rape chamber in EP1, that seemed to me to be a hint all but announcing that the body about to be launched was Breen's much less handsome host body.
Plus, I don't see why it'd suck. His fall from grace from revered intellectual to hated conspirator would be emphasised all the more if he shed one of the main elements of his being human.
Nevertheless, I do concede that this isn't entirely satisfactory, but I can't see them doing away with such a good character.
 
el Chi said:
To me it'd make perfect sense. All that talk of the host body and then in the mind-rape chamber in EP1, that seemed to me to be a hint all but announcing that the body about to be launched was Breen's much less handsome host body.
Plus, I don't see why it'd suck. His fall from grace from revered intellectual to hated conspirator would be emphasised all the more if he shed one of the main elements of his being human.
Nevertheless, I do concede that this isn't entirely satisfactory, but I can't see them doing away with such a good character.
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If there was any possibility of him having a host body, I think Valve would cut it. Its just too cliched, Valve has said many times that they want to do a different approach not the things you consistantly see in movies.

If you read Raising the Bar, there was a picture of Breen with the Combine immortality machine on him, thus taking away his old body.
 
My main issue with that idea is that it'd take serious emphasis from the Advisors themselves. The Advisors have been show at various points in the past two games and we've never really encountered one properly; we've never gleaned too much from that in the sense we've never come face to face. The Episodes are short and therefore prone to focusing on specific elements, and as such Breen encased within an Advisor sack would work against the idea of the Advisors themselves. Plus it's a waste of a good character and completely implausible. He was in that bubble, the teleport had been destroyed and we clearly saw him in human form and the ONLY way for him to escape that chamber was to have been rescued by a Vortigaunt or Gman.

I always thought the real idea behind the Pod chamber was less the emphasis on Breen's host body speech but to remind the player of the Advisor. Oh yeah, there's Breen...wait, what was it he was talking to again? What was that thing? Bam - the Advisor appears in the flesh.
 
Maybe the Gman did save him, I mean he did stop time before he was caught in the boom.
 
Samon said:
the ONLY way for him to escape that chamber was to have been rescued by a Vortigaunt or Gman.
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I always wondered, how did Judith and Eli escape the explosion as well? They weren't very much farther away then Breen. Did they take a really fast elevator down? It was only a few minutes after we see them last that the whole place goes bang. Also raises the question of how Judith got to the arctic so fast.
 
Planetary said:
I always wondered, how did Judith and Eli escape the explosion as well? They weren't very much farther away then Breen. Did they take a really fast elevator down? It was only a few minutes after we see them last that the whole place goes bang. Also raises the question of how Judith got to the arctic so fast.
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Apparently they used escape pods, I think this was noted in some very old dialogue for the first scene of Episode One. Who knows, they may come up with a better explanation, plot twist, etc.

When you think about it, there's about half a day maximum for Mossman to get out of the citadel, then to the base with rebels, record the video, have the video stolen and then transmitted back to the citadel. I guess the resistance must have had this planned a long time.
 
Avoidist said:
When you think about it, there's about half a day maximum for Mossman to get out of the citadel, then to the base with rebels, record the video, have the video stolen and then transmitted back to the citadel. I guess the resistance must have had this planned a long time.
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That is strange.I wonder if it occurred to the writers how implausible it was to have Mossman showing up in the Arctic so soon after the explosion. I suppose she could have used a teleporter, but how many of those things could there be?
 
I wonder if the one in Kleiner's lab was still operational.
 
Planetary said:
I always wondered, how did Judith and Eli escape the explosion as well? They weren't very much farther away then Breen. Did they take a really fast elevator down? It was only a few minutes after we see them last that the whole place goes bang. Also raises the question of how Judith got to the arctic so fast.
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They used Dr. Breen's escape pods. I suppose they felt this bit of information wasn't that important, and did the usual Valve thing of leaving it obscure.
 
Samon said:
They used Dr. Breen's escape pods. I suppose they felt this bit of information wasn't that important, and did the usual Valve thing of leaving it obscure.
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Or alternatively they used the teleporter in Breens office. After all the teleporter was warmed up to send Eli and Alyx to the Combine homeworld. Touche! :D
 
hool10 said:
Or alternatively they used the teleporter in Breens office. After all the teleporter was warmed up to send Eli and Alyx to the Combine homeworld. Touche! :D
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There was no teleporter in Breen's office. :p
 
There was one of those weird white door things though. What were those things, anyway?
 
White doors? I haven't played in a long-ass time, so I might be missing something.
 
i talked abt teleporting them into the combine homeworld in his office, but i dont think that meant that there was actually one in his office..
 
You know we'll see Breen return due to the logic that Valve wouldn't develop such a magnificent character just to kill him.

"You need me!" Indeed, perhaps we do.

As for the G-Mans hand in this, is there any confirmation that denies his dealings with Breen? Breen is seemingly aware of Gordons terms of employment, why not be familiar or even personally linked to his employer?
 
Forgive me if this retreads old ground; I'm trying to get my bearings, as such. There must have been a considerable length of time between the explosion at the Citadel and the intervention by the Vortigaunts in the G-Man's activities for circumstances to have turned out as they did. Perhaps some hours at the least, although Mossman broadcasts in daylight. Has a full day passed? I suppose it would allow for Eli and Mossman to get out, get to their various destinations - White Forest and Arctic base (in the Borealis?), respectively - and also for a length of time during which it occurred to the Vortigaunts that Alyx and Gordon, having been missing for some time, must be in the care of their friendly neighbourhood G-Man. Although I'm not sure what the time of day is supposed to be at the beginning of Episode One, due to the "smog" around the Citadel.



As for Breen, I'm not sure. But I look forward to finding out. :)
 
Episode 1 picks up roughly 8 hours after Half-life 2 at the time of Dog finding Gordon. Alyx was whisked away moments after Gman's extraction, and also deep under rubble before Dog finds her. She then spends several hours at the base of the Citadel. Eli and Mossman leave the Citadel during the reactor ascent.

Mossman broadcasts that transmission early morning, roughly around daylight.
 
Oh yes, I'd forgotten that Alyx had spent some time looking for Gordon with Dog at the start (stupid thing to forget, I know). Cheers for clearing that up.
 
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