Poll Question 193 – If a character dies in Episode Three, who should it be?

9th October 2010

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

It’s easy to pick your least favourite character but think about story development. if there ever is another Half-Life game after Episode Three, who would be missed the least?

Personally, I say kill them all except Gordon and start a whole new story arc. Maybe, have the Earth explode as the game is finishing but him landing on a Combine planet and let him free them too. Okay, just joking but something new is definitely needed.

Maybe the question should have been “who would you least like to die?”.

The Poll


48 Comments

  1. Rog

    The way I play Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman dies often. =P

    I’m kinda in agreement about how the story arc should jump to the next stage, but wouldn’t that be Half-Life 3 then instead of Episode 3? Mind you, that’s probably Valve’s plan anyway at this point.

    For individual characters, I find Alyx so annoying, I’m really not a fan. And her damn pet too. Dog should be on the list, I’d like to see him get crushed in a scrap yard.

    It’s a shame that Robert Culp passed away. I liked how he played Breen.

    1. The way I play Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman dies often.

      HAHA, me too!

      1. Pyro

        Even Laidlaw has made that joke. 😛

    2. Hec

      Oh poor Dog you’re so mean to that creature, I would like to see som mod in which yoou could play as him that would be great…..

  2. Berntsen

    Alyx!

    One of the reasons I dislike Half-Life 2 and Episode One (and would probably apply to Episode Two as well, haven’t played it myself), having many and long sections with her escorting you/having to babysit, her flirting with Gordon, etc… baaaahh. Ruined the hostile atmosphere and feeling of solitude from the first game, which is what I hoped for in the sequel, which would be pretty fitting as well, with the combine and all. I hope in the new game, she dies in the opening sequence, is never mentioned again and the game again focuses on an oppressing atmosphere and feeling of solitude, without dramatic characters and the like.
    Then maybe I’d buy it. Also a lot more (and more creative) weapons, like the experimental and alien weapons from the original. But I digress.

    1. aven’t played it myself

      Buy it, buy it now! I think it’s great.

    2. Yes, all that’s true, but she does pretty much have the only occasional dialog which brings some rare moments of levity and ( attempts ) humor to the game. I find that to be a nicely human aspect of the HL2 franchise.

  3. Kennyist

    I would say barney, He doesn’t have a needed role and is rarely seen through the whole of the half life series. We haven’t seen him in Episode 2 and no one really cares about that.

    Gordon on the other hand, I would like to see Half life series to go out on a good note when the games are still good, Like Bungie just did with Halo (unlike Call of duty were companies are just milking the title) But if Gordon dies relatively soon we still wont have meany answers, like who is the “Gman” and what is his job or even were is he actuly from. So Gordon would be too early.

    Isac and Alyx I wouldn’t want to see go really. Isac because hes been there from the start and has alot he can add to Half life universe , especially since Eli is now dead. Alyx I wouldn’t mind as much.

    You could have Added Judith mosmon or Magnison But there new characters so their deaths wont impact as much.

    1. You could have Added Judith mosmon or Magnison

      I consider adding them and Babbage but felt they weren’t important enough.

      1. 2muchvideogames

        babbage, inventor of calculator? I thought it was cubbage

  4. Barney. Does not do anything. No use to man nor beast.
    Happy day, last seen dead as a Dodo in Strider Mountain.

    1. last seen dead as a Dodo in Strider Mountain.

      Wait! What! They killed him in SM? That and Gordon talking is too much for me. Definitely feel a poll question coming out of this.

  5. 🙁 Oh No!, what have I done 🙁

  6. My man G-man. I can feel it, he’s dead already in the minds of Valve.

  7. Vic

    I don’t think anyone should die.

    It would be simply put, silly, to kill off another character after Eli’s death.

    In HL3’s story arc? Who knows if these characters will even be in HL3?

  8. benw2492

    My bets are on Judith Mosman.

  9. 99% More Fail

    It hink they should kill off Barney, but only in a totally awesome last stand situation covering you or something. Strider wang vaporiazation awaay!

    1. Actually, that would be kinda cool – Barney saving Gordon’s life. He’d die after uttering “That beer will have to wait a little while longer Gor…”

      1. Hec

        LOL that would be cool and dark hillarious…

  10. more choices. if we are to vote thumbs down. I do like the condenses on alex. but I suppose they never loaded the naked alex mod skin in to half life two mods. hehe. dog must go, now if he helped me in ravenhome maybe he could live. barney is with the underground so humm. plus his graphic is the head guy of valve. and as I am thinking, valves new update killed many mods, drove baltic away from the half life universe. I have my decision. off to vote. oh yea! and barney has had ample time to get me that “beer he owes me”. he welched on our bet. time to die Mr. Calhoune!

    1. Define “many”. Many more mods are not broken than are. Maybe you should look at this thread in the Steam forums: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1289845

      Or, if you prefer, look at this PP topic: http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/get-mods-working/ (he links to the same Steam thread).

  11. Dumbledore.

    Didn’t you know? Snape kills Dumbledore.

  12. Shadowmancer471

    Alyx. In all honesty, I think having alyx along for the fights really ruins everything. I came to realise that levels like lowlife weren’t atmospheric or scary simply because I had this nagging old cow with a gun following me everywhere cracking jokes along the way
    ‘thats like a uhh. a Zombine right, get it? a Zombine’

    Don’t get me wrong, I loved the character of Alyx Vance in the original HL2, mainly because she wasn’t in the game *too* much, but increasingly in the episodes, I just feel like she’s a mobile sentry gun, shooting the crap out of everything, ruining the enemies for me to kill, whilst being another thing I have to protect. And I hate protecting AI people.

    The character of Alyx is fantastic, just keep it away from the fighting
    A random firefight with the rebels is great, I love the inclusion of friendly AI

    But seriously? Every single firefight with an ally? Nope, sorry, atmosphere and challenge ruined.
    And dont get me started on her vs shotgun combine on hard mode

  13. Kyouryuu

    Dr. Breen, of course.

    What, you mean Dr. Breen is already dead?

    I doubt it. I think the Combine’s promise of immortality was living on inside the body of a massive immobile slug. To that end, I believe the Advisor inside the barn in Episode 2, and the one that kills Eli, is Breen’s immortal form. There’s something different about that Advisor from the others – there’s something personal driving it to go above and beyond what the others do.

  14. Hec

    Woooow, that poll scares me a little bit guys!! barney is in the 1st place and a little after is Gordon!!!!, well anything could happen. When Eli died I felt sad for the poor Alyx and is was hard to get that, I mean the death of Eli, but at the same time that death, makes the game at least so much personal, it drives you to want to take the sweet revenge from the heated Combine spetially the cmb advisors and in retaliation kill some CMB big fish like that traitor of Breen, or its cmb advisor equivalent.
    Still we don’t know if Breen is a live or is a nasty cmb advisor, the same with Barney, who knows if maybe he died with the other rebels in the train which was escaping from city 17, I consider Barney still a important piece in the story maybe i’d take the risk to say that is more important than the one and only Alyx herself!
    On the other hand, lets think if valve kill gordon in ep3 and turn himself into a legend, and then another HL game could start from zero, and then the option to go with other hero could be then Alyx, Gordon’s and Alyx’s son or daughter (yep sound wierd but maybe some time in the story backgrounds they felt little bit naughty and do their part for the future of the mankind lol 😉 ), Barney, or even the still hidden Adrian Sheppard!!!!!!.
    I mean anything could happen as I said, but I voted Barney!, because just kill Alyx doesn’t seems fair to me, even any from the scientists is high valuable for the Lambda resistance, well maybe I wish it will that Bitter guy Magnusson or the so cheating girl of Alice Mossman…..

    1. Hec

      Sorry is not alice Mossman is Judith!!, I forget her easy maybe she’s not that important!! lol

  15. I think if Gordon dies that would finalise the story arc for Half-Life 2/Episodes much like the G-man stasis at the end of Half-life. If Valve decides to continue the Half-life series they can provide a creative way of bringing Gordon back from the dead but if they want to leave the series where it is then there is a definite end.

  16. It simply would have to be Barney. He’s HL2’s equivalent of the original Star Trek’s ” guy in the red shirt “.

  17. I voted for Barney. I just don’t feel he had a very important role overall. Sure, he’s been useful in a few instances, but other than being head of the resistance, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about him.

    And speaking of future Half-Life games, how is that petition that got started going?

  18. toops

    Barney is leading?
    What?
    That is easily the character I would save first, last one would be Alyx.
    Barney forever!

  19. Anon_230325

    The gman, as I make it a point he goes to hell since the vorts could stop him of controlling Gordon .

  20. Too many votes for Barney, IMO. He wasn’t “barely there” in HL2, and had an important role in Ep1. Yes, he wasn’t seen in Ep2, but we’ll probably find out what he was doing when we play Ep3. Plus, regardless of whether it’s canon or not, I feel we played as him in Blue Shift.

    I, too, am not as enamored of Alyx as many people. Her endless ammo clip was handy, but she was often gone “helping me” when the Combine hit the fan and I was being attacked in HL2!!!! (And the flirting was annoying, but I’m a girl–so, no, I won’t be trying any of the naked Alyx skins.)

    Gordon can’t die. (Well, aside from the humorous comments made before–yes, my Gordon dies a lot, too! But that’s what saves are for. 🙂 ) I feel like the Half-Life series revolves around him. At least the current part, in which I’m including both Ep3 and HL3.

    And G-Man? Still too many mysteries surrounding him to kill him off. Or else they’ll replace him with another guy from his species or something.

    So I have to go with Kleiner, given the names on the list. (I don’t think my vote registered, Phillip–or whether I got to vote for him 5 times. And where’d my avatar go? :()

  21. foxholeboy

    Alyx will die because Valve will not be programming a 1st person kiss or sex scene which is the next logical Freeman and Vance relationship step

    1. Hec

      Alyx will die because Valve will not be programming a 1st person kiss or sex scene which is the next logical Freeman and Vance relationship step

      Unlikely, that relationship could be shown as the back ground story there are implicit things too intoo HL universe arc, like the death of millions of kids during the CMB invassion or even the 7Hour war itself, so gordon and alyx in romance could be implicit hiden underground too…

  22. bumtown

    I agree there’s too many votes for barney, he’s the one that saved your arse in the first place after all.

    Though personally I think it should be Gman. Why? He had it coming. All that bullshit he pulls with you, I think it’s time for Gordon to get a little revenge. 🙂

  23. GoodGuyA

    We usually like to refer to the next game as “The Next Iteration of Half-Life”. If this will truly be as epic as we hope, the story will be rounded off. Alyx lives a long and happy life after Gordon finds himself stumbled into another inescapable trap but this time not even the powers that be (I hesitate to use G-man because I don’t think he’s actually real) will save him.

    If Laidlaw thinks that there is more to do with the story, then all hail his word and no one should die. And for the love of Laidlaw… DON’t KILL BARNEY. PLEASEEEE

  24. Zilly

    Well if You Think About it at the end of Ep2 Gordon and Alex Take The Heli So your only team mate will be Alex so she would probs be the first to die, Or They might just kill of the whole game and kill Gordon Freeman But I hight Dout it seeing as Gabe is make a LOAD of Money Of Half-life Fans He would Most likely make the game as long as it can be, they might even make a ep4 or Half-life 4 after the Episodes and kill of some one like Barney Seeing As he does not play a huge roll in the game, WOULD be funny if they made it so that you have a chosse at one part in the game maybe near the end to kill Gman Or Kill Alex or somthing??? Would Be Pritty Sweet to see what happends Dont Ya Think ?

  25. Tweevle

    I voted for Barney, not because I dislike him (he’s awesome), but because his death seems to make the most sense to me. Kliener’s the comic relief, and would presumably be staying safe back at White Forest. Alyx is the companion that Valve had been building up and you’d been trying to keep alive in Episode 2, so it’d be a bit lame if they killed her off, and kind of predictable in a way. Gordon wouldn’t die for obvious reasons. We don’t even know if the G-Man *can* die.

    I could see Barney dying in an “epic last stand” fashion, holding the Combine off so Gordon and Alyx can destroy/utilize whatever’s on the Borealis.

    1. I agree, but also see Alyx as a strong possibility. From the way the trailers go, I could easily see her obsessing over her father’s death, make some really stupid decisions while trying to get revenge, and end up dead, which would resolve the whole problem of “Does Gordon get with Alyx?” James Bond style.

  26. Hec

    Come on people!! Barney is an important guy, he even had his “Blue Shift” official mod back in those HL1 times!, I think he’s a very lucky guy, that obviously could be used for that Gman too. There was a mod called, “Fake Ep3” (hope phillip could link it) where the way Gordon appears at the end looks great and helpfull to me, so that made me think that Barney got potential, so c’mon we could have good hopes on him at least.

    I have to be honest, and say I regret it about my 1st vote, I think I could change it to the Gman, just because he is dark, hope that strange force of their employers could substitute him with other guy or gal…..

  27. andyb

    Cant be Barney as he is the “go to guy” when in trouble.kleiner is the one who runs/fixes the transporter,cant see alyx dieing as they just killed off her dad so its between gordon and g-man.Both of them are the HL story so if either goes the story ends unless valve changes the whole game.So I gotta say none of the above

    Personally I hate magnisum or what ever his name is.Hope he dies.

  28. denizen50

    Alys is a disguised babysitter, she completely destroys the suspense and only assists the newbies. If she can’t be made optional then her place is down a cliff. Nuff said.

    1. Shadowmancer471

      Agreed as my earlier point. Somehow all my favourite parts of the game (RavenHolm, Bride Point, Getting the Jalopy etc) have all been without some form of comapnion (except grigori but he’s awesome)

      I think it seriously ruins the atmosphere having an ally who’s like “oh look a zombie” *ratatatatatatatat* “(insert snide comment here)’

      Alyx is an amazing character, just too damn overused

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  30. Anon_230518

    I don’t know why you guys like gman killed. Valve wanted a mysterious character who is neither your friend nor your enemy and that’s where Gman steps in.
    But it would be cool if gordon would be going against Gman and his species in HL3

  31. I can not possibly pick! All those characters are key to the Half-Life atmosphere and I can’t feel comfortable with any of them dieing. Thus, I have decided not to vote.

  32. Mega Sean 45

    Breen was first, Eli was second. I say Dr. Mossman. I got the feeling probably Barney as well, but I like Barney, and maybe Dog. Dr. Kleiner should most likely survive, along with Alyx and Dr. Magnusson. I just have that feeling. I think Overwatch Voice could die too, I hope to meet her face to face in the game. Maybe Odessa if he’s gonna be in it.

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