Sad to see them go...

[Omnomnick]

Ok, we are pretty sure that Episode 3 will mark the end of the combine on earth and possibly all together, but will you be sad to see this amazing enemy go, or are you getting sick of seeing combine dropships fly overhead.

I personally will be sorry to see the combine leave the HL series, hopefully we will see more of them in Hl3, or maybe some chatter regarding them.

DISCUSS!!!

 

[Asknoone]

It's Episode 2 and we still haven't even seen the true backbone of the Combine. All we've really seen is the Overwatch and the Advisors; there's nowhere Gordon can possibly go without them remaining the main antagonists.

Combine ain't going anywhere.

 

[UseAbuse]

I think he's talking about the overwatch

 

[Omnomnick]

I mean that the combine clearly are not going to last, around 1/3 of city 17 force was wiped out in the citadel explosion and another 1/3 since, and it is now impossible for the universal union (the real offworld combine) to regain control of earth, thats why everyone is so happy at the end of episode 2, i dont feel the combine will last until Hl3, unfortunatley...

 

[Azner]

Overwatch should be kept for sure.

But then less overwatch and more of the unshown/unrevealed/seen but haven't fought enemy.

 

[MrStukings]

Awwww,
I always loved defending with rebels against them

 

[Zarzak]

"I gotta give combine a lot of credit though, threy are tough competitors. A real class act"

 

[Asknoone]

"Shut up!"

 

[Absinthe]

Overwatch should be kept for sure.

But then less overwatch and more of the unshown/unrevealed/seen but haven't fought enemy.

Yeap. The Combine will have as big a presence in HL3 as the Xenians did in HL2. You'll see some remnants, but the focus will be diverted to another foe.

 

[Zombine]

Lol I love combine, I'm sad Breen is dead, or is he?

 

[Shift]

There are other cities with other overwatch units most likely, and no, I dont think the severed link between their homeworld will last.

 

[LandStander]

Despite their inaudible robotic chatter the transhuman branch of the combine overwatch were immensely fun to fight (Anti-Citizen 1 is still one of my favorite chapters for this reason alone). I assume however that their presence expands the globe and Gordon's job won't be through until they're all dead.

 

[Omnomnick]

No, I think earth will turn slightly 'Star Warsy' after the combine are finished, what I mean is, the humans will have to hunt down all the remaining combine which will be trying to make a stand, who ever has played the star wars games set after episode 6 will know what i mean.

 

[Iron_cube]

Combine isnt going anywhere

 

[Omnomnick]

Unfortunately I feel they are...

(At the end of Episode 3 obviously, be a bit stupid gettin rid of the threat before the game is finished)

 

[kupocake]

Whilst we may be seeing diminishing numbers of earth-based combine, I'm all but certain the Episode Three will end with the Earth springing another dimensional leak. Whilst any new race encountered may not necessarily be an arm of the Combine, they will at least be somehow related to them and 'the wider picture' if Half-Life is to be in some way coherent.

My thought is this: what if they're some Rival Combine Union opposed to the one we know about (perhaps affiliated with the G-Man). The two Combines have warred forever, and Earth, another remote contact point between their empires, becomes another battleground. At the very least, I think the combine needs some kind of super-galactic rival that forces a bit of three-dimensionality to their 'boo-hiss galactic holocaust' antics.

 

[Narvi]

Oh, another horrible Lovecraftian menace. Scary.

Does no one remember Race X? That was a potential rival.

Yeah, I went there.

Honestly, though, another rival race has to be interesting on a personal level. The Nihilanth was terrifying because of his teleportation and mental abilities (he might have sucked in direct combat, but remember he was holding the link between the worlds open.) The Advisors are alien and enigmatic because of their slug-like exterior and great psychic powers. Another race must have some defining personal trait to avoid the stigma of just being LOL RIVAL COMBINE.

I think introducing another player like the Gman (such as Minerva from the Metastasis series) would make the game interesting. This way the player seems to just be a pawn of powers beyond mortal ken again.

Which is really what Half-Life is all about.

 

[Escape the Nest]

I don't think they'll go out of the story in Episode 3 and I certainly hope they don't. They're an extremely interesting enemy which still has great potential for story development in the game in my opinion. I like the idea that we might see another part to the combine an opposing faction of them as such turning up in Episode 3 or later even.

 

[Azner]

I want metro cop friends *weeps*

 

[Gordon_X]

/salutes the combine

 

[LandStander]

It wouldn't feel like a Half-Life game if we were not fighting a human enemy.

 

[Omnomnick]

There will be new human enemies and allies, just different ones apart from combine.

 

[Iron_cube]

No._____

 

[The Monkey]

Do you have source that the combine will be leaving in ep3, Nicky?

 

[Omnomnick]

No, I am just speculating that the army will probably have been wiped out in episode 3 or as close as good enough, yeh the combine wont ever be forgoten on earth but they will most likely be wiped out, maybe not the universal union but the trans-human combine.

 

[Iron_cube]

 

[Omnomnick]

What, it makes sense to have new villains per game in a series...with the exeption of the episodes, yeh, I dont wana see the combine leave HL either but I fear its gona happen...

 

[Asknoone]

My thought is this: what if they're some Rival Combine Union opposed to the one we know about (perhaps affiliated with the G-Man). The two Combines have warred forever, and Earth, another remote contact point between their empires, becomes another battleground. At the very least, I think the combine needs some kind of super-galactic rival that forces a bit of three-dimensionality to their 'boo-hiss galactic holocaust' antics.

I think the problems on Earth - a mere Combine outpost in the grand scheme of things - probably acted as a catalyst for further instability across the Combine empire. Not a galaxy-spanning rebellion, but certainly pockets of resistance and intervention of third-party groups in the chaos. The Gman said he'd received some interesting offers for Freeman's services, and we can almost certainly be sure that these are off-world contracts. I think that's supposed to be a mark of change outside of the events of Earth.

We've also seen very little of the Combine itself. Sure, we know it's a multi-tiered empire of countless, annexed and force-evolved races governed by malevolent space-slugs but we have yet to see the true backbone of their 7-hour conquering army. That's certainly going to be a high point of leaving Earth and witnessing for the first time the immense power of the Advisors' empire.

 

[Omnomnick]

The portal storm was the combines last definate hope of regaining communications with earth, with that shut off and all citadels on red alert and on low power, the combine cant send message nor travel between universes, cutting all advisors, synths and trans-human combine on earth, until another portal storm happens...