Poll Question 058 – What is your favourite type of Half-Life 2 enemy?

23rd November 2007

Single Player First Person Shooter Half Life 1 and 2 Maps and Mods
Favourite Enemies

I’m a manhack lover. WAIT! That didn’t come out right. Allow me to rephrase that. I love fighting Manhacks. Of course not everybody does and I certainly prefer to have a projectile weapon to do it or the Gravity Gun. Here’s this week’s question:

What is your favourite type of Half-Life 2 enemy?

Each To Their Own

Everybody has a different preference and there is little doubt that if a game or mod only had one type of enemy it would be considered quite boring. I’m not disputing that but I am sure we all have a favourite type of enemy.

As I mentioned above I like Manhacks. For me the team at Valve produced something very special when they created Manhacks. There is a great feeling of anticipation when you here their whine as the scrape against a wall. They have the unrelenting quailty of all machines and they can come from almost any direction which keeps me alert and are not too difficult to destroy.

In fact I even wrote a story for them called Manhack Revolution. Maybe one day I’ll make it into a mod, who knows.

Anyway, I’d like to hear why you prefer a particular enemy.

The Poll Questions

25 Comments

  1. I don’t know about new enemies with Episode 2 or if there are any but I vote Combine Humanoid. They always seem more of a challenge and I’d rather fight something more like me than a machine or monster. They sneak up on you, charge you AND take cover.

  2. Cygnus100

    I have to say that I enjoy fighting and killing the Combine elite. It might have something to do with the fact that they remind me of Storm Troopers from Star Wars and the fact that I am kind of old school (or just getting old maybe).
    I like the way they will use cover if available and spread out so as not to get too bunched up while moving foward. I also really like the Pulse rifle they drop as well as the atomizer launcher thingy too. The only thing better that I know is a nice cool pint of Guiness.
    Oh, and Phillip…I loath Manhacks… Although it is satisfying to shotgun them or Grav-toss em into some unsuspecting Combines.

  3. Mel

    I wished this question had been least favorite that would have been easy, I hate those football things.

    I love taking on the Gunships.

  4. el_espaniol

    Humanoid type …like the HL2’s Combines or the HL1 grunts…seems the IA is best than other enemies…

  5. Hmm tough question.
    I hate man hacks and especially those black poisionous spider things.

    I’d have to say those over grown zombies that are twice your size.(Is that mods only or are they in HL?)Hard to kill but easy to avoid.

  6. Ash

    After episode one ,I love Strider.

  7. MrHappy

    I voted manhacks for one simple reason. After reading “raising the bar” I learned you can grab them with the gravity gun and chainsaw combine soldiers with them, which is AWESOME.

    After that I’d have to say hunters, they are probably the most fun and challenging to fight. Of course, with combine soldiers, you can go an a crazy rampage and take out twenty in ten seconds, spinning around, shotgunning, launch some smg nades, and have loads of fun, but with the hunters you actually have to FIGHT them.

    But I think the best type of monster/npc/enemy really isn’t an enemy at all: stalkers. They are so sad and pathetic, pitiable, creepy, scary…I think they add alot of depth to the HL universe and our understanding of the combine.

  8. Matt Glanville (CrowbarSka)

    I agree with MrHappy. Soldiers make for some good gun fights but there’s nothing like a Hunter or two to get your heart pumping. I genuinely felt like I was being hunted down and relentlessly assaulted. It was quite frightening. Their roars and chirps are creepy too.

  9. Headcrabs, alongside Antlions, are probably the most annoying creatures in the entire series.

    Combine soldiers gets my vote though, they are smart and very fun to fight against.

  10. Anonymous

    Manhacks are okay if you have the gravity gun. Otherwise I hate the things. I like metrocops best as their big white head gives me something to aim at, likewise the combine elite. I also have a penchant for Striders (see, I even capitalise it). SPOILER REMOVED

  11. zeroth404

    I miss killing vortigonts.

  12. shungokusatsu

    My favourite enemies to fight are zombies by far! Does that count as headcrab if I’m to make a vote? I especially love the fast zombies, blasting them away with a shotgun is total stress relief!

  13. I loath Manhacks…

    Although it is satisfying to shotgun them or Grav-toss em into some unsuspecting Combines.

    Have you ever seen a Combine launch one then grabbed the Combine with the super gravity gun and blown the ManHack out of the air with his corpse? That was possibly my coolest gaming moment of all time!

    As for my favourite enemy, I has to be the Striders. I love the way they move; the noises they make and that kick arse gun.

  14. Gypsy_Jim

    Striders, every time.

    What I’d like to know though is are enemies from other Source-based games transferable into HL2 Mods?

    I’m thinking Dark Messiah, or Sin Episodes or whatever….I especially like the machine-gunning nasties in SE & would love to have a crack at them as Gordon Freeman.

    Back on topic, those little leech-piranhas must just about be my least favourites…..

  15. AI

    I like using the shotgun on the manhacks and the scanners, kinda like a duck shoot at the fair! The hunters in E2 are a real pain sometimes, as my hands don’t work to good on my keyboard! The gravity gun does work nice for picking off a combine or two, with a scanner, manhack or anything else that’s handy.

  16. Ezequielhl

    I don’t know about new enemies with Episode 2 or if there are any but I vote Combine Humanoid. They always seem more of a challenge and I’d rather fight something more like me than a machine or monster. They sneak up on you, charge you AND take cover.

    About Ep 2, you’ll found a real challenge in the “SPOILER REMOVED”

    BTW, I knew most people will vote the soldiers: almost all people who played HL told me they prefer the humanoid w/gun-smart-tactical enemy than a monster. Even those CS gamers talk bad about HL because you don’t have some human to shoot in the first 2 minutes of the game -_-

    I’ll be lying if I say I don’t enjoy fighting combine humanoids, but I prefer the Antlions because those bugs really pump the adrenaline on me when they come close in packs that fast without flinching to my shoots (anyone noticed the small Antlions don’t flinch to SMG and OSIPR fire?).

  17. Vehk

    It gotta be Gunship or Hunter

    Gunships are monstrous and genuinely dangerous, they require combination of agility, smart aiming and a bit of architecture navigation. Moreso, in official HL2 games you get to fight them in very interesting places (highway bridge, that wooden hospital roof/loft place in EP1), what makes for some of the most memorable action sequences in the game.

    Hunters are just brilliantly designed creeps. [SPOILERS REMOVED]

  18. THERE ARE PLENTY OF READERS WHO HAVE NOT YET PLAYED EPISODE 2, SO PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY INFORMATION REGARDING HUNTERS. THIS INCLUDES THEIR MOVEMENTS, SOUNDS AND WEAPONS. THANK YOU.

  19. My favourite enemies to fight are zombies by far! Does that count as headcrab if I’m to make a vote?

    DAMN! I forgot to add Zombies. I’ve just done it. Sorry to any voters who already voted.

  20. Berrie

    I have to go with the more alien synths (striders, gunships and hunters). There are so many things about them that I like.

    First there is the machine/creature hybridism (is that a word?) look that they have. Machine parts and organic design, just make them look realy cool. And I loves me a good alien cyborg killing machine.
    Secondly they are though enemies making fighting them a challenge.
    And lastly there is the animal behavior they display. The way the strider moves, the gunship’s prioritise missles and the way the dropship engines/limbs move about.

  21. Oopla

    I like fighting the rebels in “The Citizen” the best. 😉

  22. zeroth404

    I miss shooting the marines the most.

  23. paneon

    Oddly enough, I love the CPs – the little “unit down at…” radio messages never fail to make me grin.

  24. HL Masta

    I choose the most destructive of all, and two enemies that need a comeback.
    1) no. 1: Nihilanth
    2) no. 2: Gonarch
    3) no. 3: Strider
    4) no. 4: LVL 100/50 gunship

  25. I have a love/hate relationship with Fast Zombies. Every other enemy in all of HL2 I can deal with easily and efficiently, but Fast Zombies always manage to shake that up. Either I’m using up tons of ammo just on a single group of maybe 2 or 3 fast zombies, or I’m reloading time and time again to try to kill them without wasting gratuitous amounts of ammo. I can even (usually) deal with the assassins from HL1 easier than the fast zombies.

    Otherwise I rather enjoy the Striders. There’s just something elegant and powerful about them all at the same time, even though they are fairly predictable and easy to kill once you know how and provided you have the means to do so.

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