Funny fact: Mike Shapiro hadn't played The Gman for more than 13 years, when he was called to reprise the role for this game, Erik Wolpaw feared that the guy would have forgot how to make the voice for the mysterious character, but Mike surprised him when he stepped into the booth, read the script, and completed all of the G-Man's dialogue in one 20-minute take(most of what was included in this ending), Shapiro nails this part even after more then a decade, that guy is incredible.
@@mladenbro8435 yeah that too, but given the fact that he was basically abandoned by the gman and who knows what might happen to him I'd say he might be, and therefore look, a littld bit sad
Notice how he says that the combine off earth is too large of a nudge given the interests of his superiors, not that he couldn't do it. Implying he could singlehandedly wipeoff an entire alien invasion off earth if he wanted
Consider that the G-man orchestrated the resonance cascade in HL1 which led the Combine to earth in the first place. It makes sense, considering his apparent ability to alter the timeline, that the G-man could in fact get the combine off earth simply by reverting his own actions.
I'd just like to note the nature of G-Man's confinement. Half a room locked in an odd D-20 looking cage. It's almost as if, instead of restraining the G-Man and carrying him off, the Combine had to carve out a piece of reality and contain that.
That's exactly why they did; that's why the only thing imprisoned isn't the gman but also a bunch of apartments belonging to the same block he happened to be in.
Yeah they like put an entire apartment block into a time lapse just to contain him. Even citizens got stuck thats why you see those memories as if time just stopped.
@@Satan-yt6ks that means something happend to bond their world unchanged or to be destined which they seemd want to change from occuring. Just as he(gman ) prove he can change the outcome of eli's death
Mottflyer if your referring to the HECU commander and science team leader then I guess so, but in terms of main characters, Gordon and Shephard never actually spoke back technically
I like how when asked WHO he is, not only does he dodge the question, he cryptically changes it when saying it back, saying “WHAT I am isn’t important” This man is a walking riddle
Another thing to note is his response to getting the combine off earth. He doesn't say he is incapable but says it would go against his employees interest, meaning he is perfectly capable of getting rid of the combine.
Fun fact: this isn't intentional. I'm sure it is now because it works and makes him even more mysterious (which is the point), but the reason it's worded like that is because Alyx's line was different originally. I think it was in the leaked beta ending
@@firestar1230 oh yeah for sure. I love that line and was a little disappointed when I heard it unintentionally worked. They would have had Shapiro do his lines again if they thought "who" would be better, but I'm sure they realized it's even better this way with GMan referring to himself as a "what" instead of a "who", making the player feel even more uneasy and like he could be a god for all we know. Half-Life has the most interesting story of any video game I've ever played, and Aperture Science is part of that universe. It's only been referred to by name, but they're essentially the reason the gravity gun exists (you can see the aperture science logo on one of the microchips on the gravity gloves) and invented something that an extremely powerful and sophisticated alien race wasn't even able to invent (teleportation a la the Borealis). I am SO excited for what the future will bring us. Alyx proved, if anything, Valve has gotten better since their "golden era" and I'd be genuinely surprised if Valve doesn't completely deliver the impossible task of making a Half-Life 3 that lives up that hype. Sorry, their games (sadly) are the only thing i care about and that make me happy at all these days so i jump at the chance to discuss anything related to Valve and their games.
@@tricursor2481 For what it's worth, this could still be quite intentional. They still made an active choice to include the lines they did, so my guess is they'd intended the Gman to say "who", but then heard the 'what' line together with Alyx's and went "o shit this works better!" and kept it in.
Apparently the Half life development team at valve feel energized for a full scale non VR half life release in future. This comes from Geoff who does the game award show. So pretty credible.
After being imprisoned for god know how long, Gman immediately picked up his briefcase with enthusiasm and is ready to work. You would want that kind of employee in your company. Imagine have an HR specialist in your company who can talk like him.
I see it that overtime,as the rumors faded to obscurity and the devs moved on,everyone forgot or just figured it was never gonna happen. The desire for it though hasn't left our hearts,and it's a desire we don't even know we wanted.
3:29 Either it's a coincidence that the Advisor is looking at past Alyx or it is fully aware of what's happening before it is frozen in time, the latter being more terrifying than the former if true.
Advance but not advance yet as what ever side the g man is on. There’s a war going on and anything that happening on earth is minuscule to the combine empire barring it’s a job to fix a problem. It’s terrifying indeed that even advisor has some resistance and awareness during such a state
I don't think it's aware wtf is going on, but I think it noticed Alyx appear in its peripheral vision. Alyx isn't invisible to it, so basically a random woman just popped into existence right next to it - wouldn't you look over to see what happened to, especially if you're in the middle of something where someone entering and stopping you is a real concern? That's why the Gman paused time - there was no way to avoid it seeing them, but this way it couldn't react.
Man, seeing him like this and hearing him speak actually gave me goosebumps. G-Man is by far one of the most iconic characters in gaming, and it’s so good to have him back.
head cannon is that after eli dies in HL2: E2 gordan stops preforming any actions at all and just refuses to play g-man’s games which causes Gman to seek out a slightly more capable alyx from another timeline
So, the unforeseen consequences, were also to gman himself? Like, maybe he didn't anticipate at all that Gordon would do that. Lol, reminds of that pingu meme "now I don't wanna do it"
I thought the twist was that, after Gordon refused to play any more of his games, G-Man resets certain events, causing Eli to live, but Alyx is taken by either the Combine, or G-Man, and it's now up to Gordon, Eli and Dog to save Alyx from her captors.
That explains why at the end of Episode 3 when they are planning to hit the ship towards the combine, G-Man saves Alyx and leaves Gordon behind, just to be saved by Vortigaunts again.
It was more in Episode 2 when the Vortigaunts pulled Freeman away as GMan was about to put him back in stasis or whatever, and that by doing so the Vortigaunts locked G Man from being able to fully influence Gordon. From that point on in Episode 2 all the actions you take are no longer orchestrated as part of Gman's plan. You freed the Vortigaunts from Nihilanth's control, and now they free you from Gman's.
Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but, when the G-Man rewinds time, the scene freezes at a point where Alyx can shoot the Advisor. During that moment, it's looking right at her. It's as though the Advisor is conscious of her just long enough to think, "You shouldn't be here..." before time stops. Or, seeing how Eli knows that the G-Man abducted Alyx, it was paralyzed but conscious the whole time. Gordon was unable to stop the Advisor from killing Eli Vance and could only watch. Seems fitting that the G-Man gives Alyx the same power over her father's killer.
I took at as gman plopping her into the world and then refreezing time a second or two later, giving the advisor enough time to notice something new in the scene but not enough time to react. I love little details like this, Valve is such a god-tier game dev.
Damn, Shapiro sounds better than ever as G-Man. It's incredible, he's literally gotten progressively better each time he's had an appearance as G-Man. Iconic af.
Something so odd about the G-Man is how he oozes evil but presents himself as, essentially, a polite and well mannered gentleman, if sinister. I can imagine through his wry grin he probably was very interested in what Alyx had to say, if only because it would be exactly what he expected, and in some rare cases, what he never could've expected.
something about right after that exchange of words between Gman and Alyx, is that Gman did "duplicate" himself after that request. maybe he did actually walked off right there and try his hand at "getting the combine off earth", but the end result prove to be too high risk for his "employers". hence going back in time to this exact point, probably trashing the timeline where he did get the combine off earth but having his employers not happy with the end results, thus, returning to the exact moment where he took off from the start, and stating that it was "too much of a large nudge". something tells me that Gman did indeed, in a split second, went into another timeline and actually did try to nudge reality into combine leaving earth alone. It didn't work out as he wanted it to, and just came back to tell Alyx that it wasn't a good result.
@@TheLemming1337 The G-man is such a lovecraftian being. We barely know anything concrete about it other than observing that he can: -teleport freely -freeze time -change timelines -only vulnerable to vortigaunt energy
@@TheLizardWizard_the2nd no, gman squad was a bunch of old "shit-post" videos done in deathmatch I believe. It's been the better part of a decade since Ive seen or thought about the vids
I couldn't ever have dreamed of such a perfect ending for this game. It's a masterpiece of writing. Manly tears started building up when I heard the HEV-suit and Eli calling to Gordon, and the next second I started whimping in a way I never had before, when I grabbed the crowbar. It was the moment I realized Half-Life 3 will be made, the first message from Valve that says "Yes, we're doing it." Unbelievable what kind of emotional locks can be created with a cliffhanger ending like HL2:E2... And the feeling when it unlocks: indescribable. Never had that kind of feeling of joy. It was something new and wonderful.
i just hope that HL3 won't be a VR exclusive, no matter how incredible and well designed this technology was implemented in this game, it still in his infant stages and are very expensive, VR should be a option, not a necessity. Thousands of people are waiting more than a decade to play this future game, and Valve would be a asshole saying them to buy a pair of special headsets and motion controls to being able to play this so long awaited game. if they insist of introducing new technology, they could try with something that makes the game more acessible.
@@jayemel By the time it comes out, VR will be extremely accessible. We already have offerings like the quest 2 which is $300, and with Valve coming out with the Steam Deck soon, they will hopefully prove that they can pack power into a small form factor and deliver it at a reasonable price. Those things combined point to one thing for me; A standalone Valve created budget VR headset which is as affordable as a regular console. Half life games have always been about pushing the limits of what games can be. Limiting what is possible for half life 3 by making it playable without VR (which is absolutely not possible to do properly whilst still making it VR compatible, anyone who has played alyx will tell you this) is in my opinion a terrible idea. The real solution is not to dumb down the game for pancake screens, but instead to make VR as accessible as possible. We likely won't see half life 3 for a number of years yet, so by the time it releases you'll probably have VR anyway. It's here to stay. Additionally, if you want to play certain console exclusive titles, YOU HAVE TO buy the console those games are exclusive to. At least with VR titles there's a genuine reason for it to be exclusive. If you want to see why what you're asking for is impossible (VR being optional not a necessity to play either alyx or hl3), just go and watch some of the developer commentary for half life alyx. It reveals so much about the unique challenges and benefits of working in VR, and it is simply impossible to create a game that works well in VR and on a regular screen. You would need to have 2 completely different editions of the game each with completely unique mechanics and story beats, which would completely mess up the continuity of the story, and require players to play both games to get the full experience.
@@jayemel I don't think valve would be more of an asshole for making people buy the latest tech to play the latest games more than any other videogame that basically do the same thing
They didn't imprison THE G-man. They've imprisoned one of his many iterations, this one linked to this chain of events. The blurry silhouettes aren't just a visual nod, but other... hims.
I think this also explains the many G-Man sightings. It's literally just multiple copies of him. I think he's a 4th dimensional being, and that he's in control of time in the same way as we're able to lift objects, but a 2nd dimensional being wouldn't be able to lift objects, nor understand what that means. The Employers are some kind of consortium of 4th dimensional beings controlling the affairs of beings beneath them for some goal. Perhaps to prevent a Type 2 civilization like the Combine from getting widespread free teleportation technology (which seems to be G-Man's goal) to stop them from becoming Type 3 and controlling potentially the whole universe. Maybe the outright detonation of the Citadel without any intervention would have collapsed the superportal anyway, but Gordon and Alyx intervening at the hands of the Vortigaunts just led the Combine to pursue the Borealis even harder.
The thing I adore about the advances in technology is that HL2's G-Man had so little animation that his face was expressionless while now... now he smiles a predatory smile as he plays with Alyx's head.
@@roxtor8473 i genuinely think it will after the release of this game. With the breakthroughs in graphics and physics with source 2 and the overwhelmingly positive feedback for this game its the perfect time to make a hl3. Sure, we could be waiting a few more years but it just seems silly to me that they would further the plot like this and not finish it off. To me, this is a teaser for whats to come...
@@Splatinum69 well, if it's actually going to come, then I'll be very pleased to know that Valve wants to make games again and that'll be very exciting. But I think that in terms of the release date, it's nothing but soon. HL2 Episode 3 or HL3 had twice the time it took for Valve to make the Source Engine AND HL2. If they really wanted to, HL3 would have dropped by now. It's indeed possible that they continue the series, but it's kind of unlikely to me, since most of the HL2 developping team have quit Valve since, Including the story's writer. It's a possibility when you know they'll soon release CS2, work a little more on TF2 and released HL : Alyx, just a low one. And with the typical Valve communication, we won't hear about the release date nor a trailer soon I believe.
Isn't G-man a hatched Shu'ulathoi? They are much like Vortigaunts. Shu'ulathois are non-slaved advisors, and g-mans "employers" are other advisors, that escaped the combine invasion
this has always been the only interpretation that makes complete sense. G-Man was created by and is a tool of Valve to manufacture plot for their games. He's their excuse to get things to where they need to be to make an interesting and fun game
It feels so good to actually feel something for once. The goosebumps, chills, and tears are very real. Been a while since I've been this excited, and Valve knows it, too.
"I can... nudge... things in a particular direction from time to time. What... would YOU want nudged..?" "A VR-Heasdet. I want a VR-Headset to play this game myself." "Ahhh... that... would be a considerably.. large nudge. Too large, given the interest of valve's wallet." "Well.. you asked" :(
"I-Is that Half Life 3? Wha-what is this? What's happening?" "We are in the future. This is the moment Gabe Newell cancelled Half Life 3 over Alyx. Unless.... "What....UNLESS WHAT?" "Unless you were to take matters into your own hands."
Just wait a little, probably in a few months source's nerds will do a polished mod. Probably you will lose a lot from the original VR mode, but that's fine. Here in my country even the cheapest oculus rift has the same price as a fucking car...
The way his eyes glow in the shadows like an animal's eyes is so awesome and creepy at the same time because it only further proves that while the G-Man may appear human to those on earth with whom he chooses to interact, he is far from it. I'm very curious to know exactly what he is
@@amartya9034 then why bother with humanity for my headcannon Ive thought it more of gman being a sorta worker for gods that have a huge stake in humanity's survival like humanity is a threat to something worse then the combine what ever that is
You'll likely never know, and we probably shouldn't. Mystique is ruined by explaining everything, and I feel like Half-Life's lore is kept interesting by its underlying mysteries. If everything was explained, it would get boring
The moment at 3:02 where he says: "This is the moment where you watch your Father die" this breaks my heart so much, knowing my best friend dad past away and he loves half life too, he has Alyx and I can't see what he will feel when hearing this POWERFUL line.
At 3:45, if you choose not to act, I wonder if there's a different ending. In Half Life 1 there was an option to not side with the G-Man, so I wonder if that would be the same here.
@@nooneinparticular3370 I can answer this question for you; no. The G-Man isn't even in the shot when he tells you to blast the Advisor. Even if he were, I doubt they'd let you hit him.
@@Resi1ience Thank you! I was thinking maybe Gman would laugh at your pathetic attempts, or as the other commenter said maybe give an alternate ending where you don't end up employed.
I would find it funny if we in the future get a to see G-man in his normal work to work day. I imagine him in some kind of intergalactical 4th dimensional office drinking coffe infront of his computer and some higher up tossing a bunch of paper on his desk. "Our boss wants Xen's space terminal at monday, and i need you to work at saturday mkay?" And all the magical, intense, worldchanging events that we see is for G-man like writing some rapports at a boring job. The Combine being like if his computer freezes and he didn't press save on his document. To us he is a walking god like entity but to his coworkers and bosses he is just a run of the mill underling.
He's defiantly higher than a run-of-the-mill employee. People like Gordon and Alyx would be contractors, so he'd be somewhere in middle management at least. Which, honestly, makes what you say even funnier. The start of HL2e1, to us, is some triumphant moment where the day is saved and even something as incrementable as the Gman has been "overcome". To him, we're outside help trying to wiggle out of a contract, and all that's changed is he's going to have to file a bit more paperwork before he tells us to get back to work.
For some reason I rly like the echo it makes when Gordon grabs the crowbar. Like the game knows that you feel like such a badass finally grabbing that crowbar in VR.
Valve is a sleeping giant in the gaming world. One of the best developers and storytellers in the industry imo. Apart from the fact that they have been playing safe on csgo, dota 2 and on handling steam, once they release their product, it's a product of a lifetime.
As someone who personally inhabited the Gordon Freeman avatar and who completed G-Man’s insanely dangerous tasks well beyond expectation, it made me very unhappy to see the G-Man moving on. In fact I’ve never been more angry to lose my job, than I am today.
Love the little details in the dialog, like when Alyx asks him "who are you" and he responds "perhaps what I am is not as important...". he basically acknowledge that he is a WHAT and not a WHO... Holy shit!
Well remember back in half life 1, Nihilanth was telling Gordon that if he wins something will be waiting for him but he then informs him that what he meets is not human. Therefore Gman is essentially not a human.
I'm just now seeing this, as someone without a VR setup I've never played Alyx, but fuck me, the way they managed to tie up the whole "prepare for unforeseen consequences" thing was absolutely perfect. I never thought that my hopes for HL3 could've been re-awakened, somehow.
The ending is so surreal in VR. The entire game is but the ending especially gave me feelings I've never got from a video game. Everything is so detailed. It makes me sad VR isn't more popular and this gem is underappreciated as a result. This should have been game of the year, I don't know anyone who played it that didn't have it land in "one of the best games I've ever played" territory.
So... this means we're witnessing things from the G-man's personal timeline? The way he says Gordon has been "unwilling to perform the tasks laid before him" implies that this G-man has witnessed Episodes 1 and 2. Yeah he could be omniscient, but he could also just exist outside of linear time. In order for us to have both seen Eli die, and seen it prevented suggests that the G-man saw this future before changing it... Theory: the G-man only became aware of Alyx from Episodes 1 and 2, and then went back to this point in time observe her for consideration as Gordon's replacement; hence the paradox. His personal timeline is the same as the release order of the games.
I know I'm a year late, but I don't think Gordon is actually 'unwilling/unable' in the long run. Even when he's "broken free" of the Gman in the Episodes, it's very clear the Gman only really lost control for that one, brief moment, and can still easily put everything back on track by nudging Gordon in the right direction as needed. The only reason he even needs the Vortigants to be "distracted" with Alyx is because he's under orders not to directly reveal himself - he's forced to limit how visible he is. My read on it: Gman has the "keys" to Gordon at this point, he's the one who imprisoned him, and the one who can release him back into the world. The original plan by the Gman's employers had involved releasing Gordon back into the world far sooner (possibly right after Black Mesa), but with the Gman captured, they weren't able to. Now that the perfect chance they were waiting for has passed, they're forced to release Gordon under less-than-ideal circumstances, and need Alyx to involve herself to make sure it all works out regardless. At the beginning of HL2, Alyx has to save Gordon from the metropolice, bring him to the lab, and make sure he meets Eli. The Gman can't reveal himself, so he can't do this himself, and I think that's specifically what he's hired Alyx to do: set things up to make sure Gordon gets to Kleiner's lab alive, and then towards Eli.
One of the subtleties of writing here - When asked who he is by Alyx, G-Man responds: *What* I am is not important. I feel like that says alot about him.
@@slightlyamusedblackkidfrom9153 he might be a hatched advisor. Those seen in the game are only larvae, according to breengrub twitter (which may not be canon, but is very interesting nonetheless)
Well, actually this leans more of a different route. Theoretically since time travel was involved, this starts a NEW time line all together. From one perspective we can assume she did not recall any of the past events due to a memory wipe OR she replaces her new self with the old. By that i mean she literally disappears from EP2 and gets replaced with Alyx from HL:A. All the events in Ep2 still happen, its just that she erases her future self by saving her father & simply takes her own place from a different time line or universe all together. Again this is valve, i doubt we will ever know the full extent of Gmans abilities, but since he is capable of time travel, who is to say he cant mess with other parallel universes.
@@MalcolmNessGranger that's why I hate that they resorted to time travel. It's too complex and very easy to make mistakes! It's just too bad of a storytelling crutch!
@@512TheWolf512 Half-Life has kind of always had alternate timelines and time travel to a degree. People who make the argument that Valve have "resorted" to this seem to forget they've always played fast and loose with the storyline. When Half-Life 1 came out, the G-Man was the administrator of Black Mesa. That got retconned to Breen with the release of Half-Life 2. In the same way two vague scientists became Eli and Kleiner, and every security guard in Half-Life was initially supposed to be Barney, but with the release of Blue Shift they retconned him to be just the one you see at the start. You time travel 2 weeks into the future in Half-Life 2, and G-man can clearly manipulate time if he's able to extract Gordon and Adrian, and now Alyx, from a timeline and put them in stasis only to release Gordon 20 years later. There's also experiments with time travel done at Aperture as the original plan for the Borealis was that it wasn't just teleporting between places, but also realities and time. I think the best thing to think with the Half-Life franchise is just to accept the new information as it comes, considering as every new Half-Life game has modified some prior detail somewhat.
such a masterpiece! The gman immediately takes control of all the space around him, there's nothing that can be done and you just know it. He moves everywhere and everywhen, amazing. Just with this one scene it shows his complete control of the storyline.
I'm reminded how Marc Laidlaw's fan fiction over what could be the plot of Half Life 3 ended with more or less the idea that there would be inevitable conflict between Freeman and Alyx with G-Man hiring her over Freeman.
Is it really a fan fiction if he is the author behind the original story? I mean, I like what I just watched, but the name corrected Laidlaw text felt more... proper to me.
I feel like the various echos of him splitting away in different directions and fading away implies he is going off in alternate lines where he does different things. Meaning he has freedom to choose. And one instance that occurs is when Alyx asks for the Combine off Earth, as if he does oblidge only to decide it's not going to work and then he comes back to deny her request.
Experiencing this scene in VR really highlights just how strange Gman interactions are. I was taken aback when the initial white card doorway opened, expecting him to walk through, but the way it expanded to fill the space made me look around in genuine wonder. Then those eyes out of the darkness... just wow. The way they play with light and shadow, positioning and audio, is phenomenal.
So, let's see if I've got this right? After the death of Eli, Gordon refused to play any of G-Man's games. So, he changes his plans. He basically resets part of the timeline. Eli lives, but Alyx is taken by either the Combine, or the G-Man, and now it's up to Gordon, Eli and Dog to save her from whatever has taken her. Gordon is no longer under G-Man's employ, and is now off to finally end all of their enemies.
Yes, pretty much exactly that. I think though G-Man had already found Gordon to be disobedient from the time that the Vortigaunts rescue him in Episode 1. Clearly G-Man didn't foresee Gordon interfering any further in those events. The story continues as normal, but he warns Eli through Alyx that he's about to take her, although he doesn't know what G-Man means yet. At this point, G-Man returns back in time, knowing that the Alyx by the time of Episode 2 is too close to Gordon to ever work for him (she's grown pretty attached given that she seems to openly show romantic attraction in Episode 2), so he travels to City 17 before Gordon ever arrived. He then either intentionally, or unintentionally gets captured by the Combine at the point of his arrival (but it seems to be intentional given that he's not surprised Alyx came for him) and removes her from the timeline to put her in stasis after she saves Eli. At that point, I think Alyx literally just disappears from Episode 2. The events continue as normal, but at the point of Eli's death, suddenly he reappears alive again, and Alyx vanishes, because if G-Man's just taken her from the past in that moment, she'll immediately vanish in the future. It's not a separate timeline persay, more a modification of a somewhat non-linear timeline, at least to G-Man. I think he's a 4th dimensional being in that sense. But yeah, given that by Episode 2 the Combine are now stranded on Earth with no reinforcements, the G-Man will likely be the main antagonist of Half-Life 3. I can't wait.
I still can’t get my head around this, back in 2004 we were looking at gman on a flat screen and now we can stand in front of him ourselves. My 9 year old self would have flipped if you told me this back then!
Every time I re-watch this scene I get chills when he says "until now" ahh just the corse voice and everything just makes me shiver. This is such a good fucking story
One thing that makes half life super interesting is the way it gives you the sense that all the time around you, there are forces at work that you are physically incapable of understanding.
I just thought of a theory... What if Gman was in that pentagon prison thing for a reason... Like what if the combine knew about him cause he's powerful kind of.... And they captured him and that chamber was suppose to keep him from teleporting or escaping.
It has been already established in the game that the thing was supposed to be a prison for an powerful entity. So your theory is actually not a theory, it's a fact.
Best footage I've seen so far. May I ask what kind of VR system you are using? (also pc specs) I'm considering upgrading my pc, only if it's absolutely necessary
There's this weird vibe of Gman being sort of the channel of the creators of the game commenting on their own work. Especially the lines "You are aware that you've proven yourself to be of extraordinary value. A previous hire has been unable or unwilling to perform the tasks laid before him. We have struggled to find a suitable replacement, until now." It kinda sounds like Valve themselves talking about the format of the game - the previously "hired" Episode format didn't work out somehow, now Gman is going down the VR route with his games.
![[SFM] Cooking With G-Man: Headcrab Jambalaya](/img/n.gif)
Can't believe they were able to bring in the original voice actor for Gordon Freeman.
That is hands down the funniest comment on CZcams.
It's the same voice actor of Claude Speed!
@@TC_Connection I knew it sounded familiar.
@@RomanBaker23 Plank from ed edd n eddy too!
I'll leave now~
@@TitusPrime1995 don't forget doom guy.
Funny fact: Mike Shapiro hadn't played The Gman for more than 13 years, when he was called to reprise the role for this game, Erik Wolpaw feared that the guy would have forgot how to make the voice for the mysterious character, but Mike surprised him when he stepped into the booth, read the script, and completed all of the G-Man's dialogue in one 20-minute take(most of what was included in this ending), Shapiro nails this part even after more then a decade, that guy is incredible.
I also love how with age Mike began to add little changes that make G-Man even more ethereal and predatory.
@@ngominh259 it sounds the same to me, only difference is that the microphone tech just gives it more depth
He sure nails sounding like a reptilian/deeply negative and mysterious entity for sure.
@@abhaybhatt4286 He's definitely not as monotone as before, and yet somehow still basically the same voice. It's impressive AF
Friggin love him
That animation of Gordon picking up his glasses is badass af.
True
He looks so sad
@@mateop607 really? to me he just seems like his usual badass self
@@mladenbro8435 yeah that too, but given the fact that he was basically abandoned by the gman and who knows what might happen to him I'd say he might be, and therefore look, a littld bit sad
@@mateop607 true, the way he looks around like he's not sure where he is too
Notice how he says that the combine off earth is too large of a nudge given the interests of his superiors, not that he couldn't do it. Implying he could singlehandedly wipeoff an entire alien invasion off earth if he wanted
maybe his superiors are the combine
@@Sugarian what about gordon freeman?
Consider that the G-man orchestrated the resonance cascade in HL1 which led the Combine to earth in the first place.
It makes sense, considering his apparent ability to alter the timeline, that the G-man could in fact get the combine off earth simply by reverting his own actions.
He could just travel back in time and prevent the resonance cascade from happening
@@gamerduck4597 idk.. that would change THAT timeline, not this one
I'd just like to note the nature of G-Man's confinement. Half a room locked in an odd D-20 looking cage. It's almost as if, instead of restraining the G-Man and carrying him off, the Combine had to carve out a piece of reality and contain that.
That's exactly why they did; that's why the only thing imprisoned isn't the gman but also a bunch of apartments belonging to the same block he happened to be in.
Yeah they like put an entire apartment block into a time lapse just to contain him. Even citizens got stuck thats why you see those memories as if time just stopped.
Reminds me a bit too much of the asbestos spheres in P2 🤔
@@Twiddle_things shape of bacteriophage/virus inspired gman's containment cell.
@@Twiddle_things There are only so many platonic solids.
"You wouldn't need all that to imprison Gordon Freeman." What a baller line. Amazing delivery, too.
Smoothest head movement of this ending I've seen, thanks for this.
But he missed the "Inflexible" part, where G-Man had the most menacing look on his face
Furry Rice right? Why can’t these people just LOOK at him lmao
its just as denys said. it baffles me to see how many braindead sheeple liked this comment.
@@burgessawaits9908 why are you saying like its harming in any way
@@burgessawaits9908 very cool
My favorite G-man quote might just be "Some believe the fate of our worlds is inflexible. My employers disagree."
yeah it’s a really good one
“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and - smell the ashes.”
It’s badass but I do t really get it.
@@Satan-yt6ks It means that the right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.
@@Satan-yt6ks that means something happend to bond their world unchanged or to be destined which they seemd want to change from occuring. Just as he(gman ) prove he can change the outcome of eli's death
5:20 6:03
We have now advanced 43 seconds into the plot of HL3. All we have to do is wait at least 5 more years.
1 down 4 to go XD
We all know Valve, better late than suck.
@@aronnerycs2: better suck now than suck in major
2 down 3 more to go :D
If you look carefully G-man actually observes the entire event on the top of the warehouse
Dang! I thought I was wrong assuming that the first time I saw this video... Now I can tell you that... YOU'RE RIGHT. The whole time you were right
Wait where exactly is he!?
@@briandesetages7052
To the left, not on top
Eli even appears to look over at G-Man a few times, though I doubt Eli actually sees him.
@@briandesetages7052 Pause at exactly 5:49 if anyone else is wondering.
G-man's on the catwalk on the left at the after-credits scene
And Eli looks in that exact direction as he mentions him.
Good eye
So many playthroughs keep missing that detail.
He even walks away and fades out of existence.
I was just genuinely wondering how eli looks in his direction twice without noticing him at all.
@@vladislav109 I think he did
If you think about it Alyx is the only person whose actually spoken to the Gman
Don't discount the events of Half-Life 1
Mottflyer if your referring to the HECU commander and science team leader then I guess so, but in terms of main characters, Gordon and Shephard never actually spoke back technically
@@ryanhartigan8758, Cabbage?
there was a scientist in half life 1 that can be seen having a conversation with gman at the beginning
I wonder what Gordon Freeman would have to say to Gman, if he was able to talk that is.
I like how when asked WHO he is, not only does he dodge the question, he cryptically changes it when saying it back, saying “WHAT I am isn’t important” This man is a walking riddle
Another thing to note is his response to getting the combine off earth. He doesn't say he is incapable but says it would go against his employees interest, meaning he is perfectly capable of getting rid of the combine.
Fun fact: this isn't intentional. I'm sure it is now because it works and makes him even more mysterious (which is the point), but the reason it's worded like that is because Alyx's line was different originally. I think it was in the leaked beta ending
@@tricursor2481 Oh interesting! I kind of love it even more because it fell into place. I always love seeing the seams of how things get changed
@@firestar1230 oh yeah for sure. I love that line and was a little disappointed when I heard it unintentionally worked. They would have had Shapiro do his lines again if they thought "who" would be better, but I'm sure they realized it's even better this way with GMan referring to himself as a "what" instead of a "who", making the player feel even more uneasy and like he could be a god for all we know.
Half-Life has the most interesting story of any video game I've ever played, and Aperture Science is part of that universe. It's only been referred to by name, but they're essentially the reason the gravity gun exists (you can see the aperture science logo on one of the microchips on the gravity gloves) and invented something that an extremely powerful and sophisticated alien race wasn't even able to invent (teleportation a la the Borealis). I am SO excited for what the future will bring us. Alyx proved, if anything, Valve has gotten better since their "golden era" and I'd be genuinely surprised if Valve doesn't completely deliver the impossible task of making a Half-Life 3 that lives up that hype.
Sorry, their games (sadly) are the only thing i care about and that make me happy at all these days so i jump at the chance to discuss anything related to Valve and their games.
@@tricursor2481 For what it's worth, this could still be quite intentional. They still made an active choice to include the lines they did, so my guess is they'd intended the Gman to say "who", but then heard the 'what' line together with Alyx's and went "o shit this works better!" and kept it in.
half life 3 confirmed... literally
I Said that too
@@terjeaasheim3651 unfortunately history wont see it that way
-maul
half life 3 or half life 2 epsiode 3 though?
Apparently the Half life development team at valve feel energized for a full scale non VR half life release in future. This comes from Geoff who does the game award show. So pretty credible.
@@KillZoneHart1 thats good to hear
After being imprisoned for god know how long, Gman immediately picked up his briefcase with enthusiasm and is ready to work. You would want that kind of employee in your company. Imagine have an HR specialist in your company who can talk like him.
"What if I could offer you something you don't know you want?"
Well, it's not Half-Life 3 then, because everybody knows they want that.
but it actually was half life 3 in a way
I see it that overtime,as the rumors faded to obscurity and the devs moved on,everyone forgot or just figured it was never gonna happen.
The desire for it though hasn't left our hearts,and it's a desire we don't even know we wanted.
That would be too big of a nudge
“Opposing Force two, Ms Vance…”
Portal 3
Dude you missed the "inflexible" part... that made my stomach turn.
Yeah, the old black and white tonal range from Half-Life 2. Creepy stuff
your profile pic is perfect for your comment
The what part?
3:29 Either it's a coincidence that the Advisor is looking at past Alyx or it is fully aware of what's happening before it is frozen in time, the latter being more terrifying than the former if true.
Advance but not advance yet as what ever side the g man is on.
There’s a war going on and anything that happening on earth is minuscule to the combine empire barring it’s a job to fix a problem.
It’s terrifying indeed that even advisor has some resistance and awareness during such a state
Maybe the g man just let the advisor be conscious about his fate the same as he let's alyx be aware of hers
I don't think it's aware wtf is going on, but I think it noticed Alyx appear in its peripheral vision. Alyx isn't invisible to it, so basically a random woman just popped into existence right next to it - wouldn't you look over to see what happened to, especially if you're in the middle of something where someone entering and stopping you is a real concern?
That's why the Gman paused time - there was no way to avoid it seeing them, but this way it couldn't react.
Man, seeing him like this and hearing him speak actually gave me goosebumps.
G-Man is by far one of the most iconic characters in gaming, and it’s so good to have him back.
head cannon is that after eli dies in HL2: E2 gordan stops preforming any actions at all and just refuses to play g-man’s games which causes Gman to seek out a slightly more capable alyx from another timeline
So, the unforeseen consequences, were also to gman himself? Like, maybe he didn't anticipate at all that Gordon would do that. Lol, reminds of that pingu meme "now I don't wanna do it"
I thought the twist was that, after Gordon refused to play any more of his games, G-Man resets certain events, causing Eli to live, but Alyx is taken by either the Combine, or G-Man, and it's now up to Gordon, Eli and Dog to save Alyx from her captors.
That explains why at the end of Episode 3 when they are planning to hit the ship towards the combine, G-Man saves Alyx and leaves Gordon behind, just to be saved by Vortigaunts again.
It was more in Episode 2 when the Vortigaunts pulled Freeman away as GMan was about to put him back in stasis or whatever, and that by doing so the Vortigaunts locked G Man from being able to fully influence Gordon. From that point on in Episode 2 all the actions you take are no longer orchestrated as part of Gman's plan. You freed the Vortigaunts from Nihilanth's control, and now they free you from Gman's.
@@THEGRUMPTRUCK Episode one
Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but, when the G-Man rewinds time, the scene freezes at a point where Alyx can shoot the Advisor. During that moment, it's looking right at her. It's as though the Advisor is conscious of her just long enough to think, "You shouldn't be here..." before time stops. Or, seeing how Eli knows that the G-Man abducted Alyx, it was paralyzed but conscious the whole time.
Gordon was unable to stop the Advisor from killing Eli Vance and could only watch. Seems fitting that the G-Man gives Alyx the same power over her father's killer.
Eli knew it was the G-Man because he talked to him in HL1, hence "unforseen consequences".
Looks that way. You can see the camera/eye twitch towards the view of the player just before time freezes.
I took at as gman plopping her into the world and then refreezing time a second or two later, giving the advisor enough time to notice something new in the scene but not enough time to react. I love little details like this, Valve is such a god-tier game dev.
1:04
The way his eyes appear before he does, is such unbelivably layered cinematography.
Makes him look so predatory
@@mrsnatural2368 That's exactly the descriptive word, I couldn't think of!
Damn, Shapiro sounds better than ever as G-Man. It's incredible, he's literally gotten progressively better each time he's had an appearance as G-Man. Iconic af.
The character is growing.
No, the Episode 2 cutscene is actually where the character's presentation is nailed down perfectly
"What if I could offer you something you don't know you want...
...The recipe to my world famous Headcrab Jambalaya!"
A CoreyLaddo reference. hm?
Does anyone else love G-Man's face at 2:05? He looks like he's genuinely interested in what Alyx has to say :)
Something so odd about the G-Man is how he oozes evil but presents himself as, essentially, a polite and well mannered gentleman, if sinister. I can imagine through his wry grin he probably was very interested in what Alyx had to say, if only because it would be exactly what he expected, and in some rare cases, what he never could've expected.
With how squished his face is it makes him look like a goblin
something about right after that exchange of words between Gman and Alyx, is that Gman did "duplicate" himself after that request. maybe he did actually walked off right there and try his hand at "getting the combine off earth", but the end result prove to be too high risk for his "employers". hence going back in time to this exact point, probably trashing the timeline where he did get the combine off earth but having his employers not happy with the end results, thus, returning to the exact moment where he took off from the start, and stating that it was "too much of a large nudge".
something tells me that Gman did indeed, in a split second, went into another timeline and actually did try to nudge reality into combine leaving earth alone. It didn't work out as he wanted it to, and just came back to tell Alyx that it wasn't a good result.
@@TheLemming1337 The G-man is such a lovecraftian being. We barely know anything concrete about it other than observing that he can:
-teleport freely
-freeze time
-change timelines
-only vulnerable to vortigaunt energy
@@KorianHUN and weren't those vortigon like really special and powerful ones too
1:44 = G-Man Squad confirmed canon
holy shit you unlocked memories buried deeper than atlantis
@@kevinshi6500 I missed Xanatos so much. Those old, borderline offensive Machinimas were the shit back then.
You mean a theory, that G-man is not a single person?
@@TheLizardWizard_the2nd no, gman squad was a bunch of old "shit-post" videos done in deathmatch I believe. It's been the better part of a decade since Ive seen or thought about the vids
@@kevinshi6500 oh...
I couldn't ever have dreamed of such a perfect ending for this game. It's a masterpiece of writing. Manly tears started building up when I heard the HEV-suit and Eli calling to Gordon, and the next second I started whimping in a way I never had before, when I grabbed the crowbar. It was the moment I realized Half-Life 3 will be made, the first message from Valve that says "Yes, we're doing it."
Unbelievable what kind of emotional locks can be created with a cliffhanger ending like HL2:E2... And the feeling when it unlocks: indescribable. Never had that kind of feeling of joy. It was something new and wonderful.
that metallic echo when we grab the crowbar. Such a wonderful offering
i just hope that HL3 won't be a VR exclusive, no matter how incredible and well designed this technology was implemented in this game, it still in his infant stages and are very expensive, VR should be a option, not a necessity. Thousands of people are waiting more than a decade to play this future game, and Valve would be a asshole saying them to buy a pair of special headsets and motion controls to being able to play this so long awaited game. if they insist of introducing new technology, they could try with something that makes the game more acessible.
@@Staterra.X exactly why though?…
@@jayemel By the time it comes out, VR will be extremely accessible. We already have offerings like the quest 2 which is $300, and with Valve coming out with the Steam Deck soon, they will hopefully prove that they can pack power into a small form factor and deliver it at a reasonable price.
Those things combined point to one thing for me; A standalone Valve created budget VR headset which is as affordable as a regular console.
Half life games have always been about pushing the limits of what games can be. Limiting what is possible for half life 3 by making it playable without VR (which is absolutely not possible to do properly whilst still making it VR compatible, anyone who has played alyx will tell you this) is in my opinion a terrible idea.
The real solution is not to dumb down the game for pancake screens, but instead to make VR as accessible as possible. We likely won't see half life 3 for a number of years yet, so by the time it releases you'll probably have VR anyway. It's here to stay.
Additionally, if you want to play certain console exclusive titles, YOU HAVE TO buy the console those games are exclusive to. At least with VR titles there's a genuine reason for it to be exclusive.
If you want to see why what you're asking for is impossible (VR being optional not a necessity to play either alyx or hl3), just go and watch some of the developer commentary for half life alyx. It reveals so much about the unique challenges and benefits of working in VR, and it is simply impossible to create a game that works well in VR and on a regular screen. You would need to have 2 completely different editions of the game each with completely unique mechanics and story beats, which would completely mess up the continuity of the story, and require players to play both games to get the full experience.
@@jayemel I don't think valve would be more of an asshole for making people buy the latest tech to play the latest games more than any other videogame that basically do the same thing
They didn't imprison THE G-man. They've imprisoned one of his many iterations, this one linked to this chain of events. The blurry silhouettes aren't just a visual nod, but other... hims.
Exactly. Considering that half-life uses the multiverse interpretation of time travel, this is exactly correct.
Pretty good theory, and I like to think that when Alyx says she wants the combine off earth, he sends one of him to ask his employers what to do next.
I think this also explains the many G-Man sightings. It's literally just multiple copies of him. I think he's a 4th dimensional being, and that he's in control of time in the same way as we're able to lift objects, but a 2nd dimensional being wouldn't be able to lift objects, nor understand what that means. The Employers are some kind of consortium of 4th dimensional beings controlling the affairs of beings beneath them for some goal. Perhaps to prevent a Type 2 civilization like the Combine from getting widespread free teleportation technology (which seems to be G-Man's goal) to stop them from becoming Type 3 and controlling potentially the whole universe. Maybe the outright detonation of the Citadel without any intervention would have collapsed the superportal anyway, but Gordon and Alyx intervening at the hands of the Vortigaunts just led the Combine to pursue the Borealis even harder.
this could explain the changing eye colours and tie colours and how he looks older in the first game
Those silhouettes arent him. Its his employers. Listen to his fucking words.
The thing I adore about the advances in technology is that HL2's G-Man had so little animation that his face was expressionless while now... now he smiles a predatory smile as he plays with Alyx's head.
I kinda prefer the expressionless look. Like he’s pretending to feel something but he really isn’t.
Watch the HL2 E3 tech demo.
When I realised that he was imprisoned because he is a massive threat,
and that WE just released him... ooooh noo.
He just got caught so Alyx would find him, we are but puppets to him
@@inn5268 In my opinion that theory is boring and terrible.
@@fractal5764 theory? it's what i understood from the game's story. But go ahead, explain your theory
@@fractal5764 What theory??? that's literally how it happen in the story, is canon you like it or not
Y'know, seems like gman will be the final boss in this franchise, somehow, someday
Wow! What an interesting statement. Yes I agree he could be. I am curious to find out what is his true form..
@@s.satvinraj a barnacle
@@KLVSN 😂🤣
and the way you beat him is like playing Stanley Parable but more advanced
I'd imagine his boss fight to be very similar to the Man in the Hat from Little Nightmares
The chills every time i see Gordon picking up the crowbar. Cant wait for HL3.
"Like that's ever gonna happen"
@@roxtor8473 wow so original. Did you go to funny school?
@@roxtor8473 i genuinely think it will after the release of this game. With the breakthroughs in graphics and physics with source 2 and the overwhelmingly positive feedback for this game its the perfect time to make a hl3. Sure, we could be waiting a few more years but it just seems silly to me that they would further the plot like this and not finish it off. To me, this is a teaser for whats to come...
@@Splatinum69 well, if it's actually going to come, then I'll be very pleased to know that Valve wants to make games again and that'll be very exciting. But I think that in terms of the release date, it's nothing but soon. HL2 Episode 3 or HL3 had twice the time it took for Valve to make the Source Engine AND HL2. If they really wanted to, HL3 would have dropped by now. It's indeed possible that they continue the series, but it's kind of unlikely to me, since most of the HL2 developping team have quit Valve since, Including the story's writer. It's a possibility when you know they'll soon release CS2, work a little more on TF2 and released HL : Alyx, just a low one. And with the typical Valve communication, we won't hear about the release date nor a trailer soon I believe.
Or Half-Life 3 Episode 3
The Gman is the best 4th wall breaking plot convenience of all time. His employers being valve, valve being God in the Half life universe.
this actually makes so much sense
Isn't G-man a hatched Shu'ulathoi? They are much like Vortigaunts. Shu'ulathois are non-slaved advisors, and g-mans "employers" are other advisors, that escaped the combine invasion
@@moisander8858 yeah, but we're talking meta here
Gman is Gabe
this has always been the only interpretation that makes complete sense. G-Man was created by and is a tool of Valve to manufacture plot for their games. He's their excuse to get things to where they need to be to make an interesting and fun game
Half-Life: Gordon
half-life: Gordon 2
Half-life: Gordon 2 episode 1
Half life: Gordon 2 episode 2
Half-life: Barney
Half-Life: HEV
It feels so good to actually feel something for once.
The goosebumps, chills, and tears are very real. Been a while since I've been this excited, and Valve knows it, too.
"I can... nudge... things in a particular direction from time to time. What... would YOU want nudged..?"
"A VR-Heasdet. I want a VR-Headset to play this game myself."
"Ahhh... that... would be a considerably.. large nudge. Too large, given the interest of valve's wallet."
"Well.. you asked" :(
"What if... I could offer you something you... don't know you want?"
*half-life 3*
"I-Is that Half Life 3? Wha-what is this? What's happening?"
"We are in the future. This is the moment Gabe Newell cancelled Half Life 3 over Alyx. Unless....
"What....UNLESS WHAT?"
"Unless you were to take matters into your own hands."
*Smites Gabe with vortigaunt energy*
"Good.
As a consequence of your actions, this game development will continue, and this game development will not"
Some say this can only be played through a VR headset...
My bank account balance would disagree.
too bad, maybe try filling up that bank account with money
Triglav Chill out Bezos
Just wait a little, probably in a few months source's nerds will do a polished mod. Probably you will lose a lot from the original VR mode, but that's fine. Here in my country even the cheapest oculus rift has the same price as a fucking car...
Well PS3 original price was 200-300 bucks more expensive than a good VR headset atm. Dont say its too expensive, you just think it is as its new
i was able to find someone selling their VR set for 300 dollars online. If you look hard enough, you could find a cheap used one.
The way his eyes glow in the shadows like an animal's eyes is so awesome and creepy at the same time because it only further proves that while the G-Man may appear human to those on earth with whom he chooses to interact, he is far from it. I'm very curious to know exactly what he is
Probably one of the gods or rather a god of reality in the half life world
@@amartya9034 then why bother with humanity for my headcannon Ive thought it more of gman being a sorta worker for gods that have a huge stake in humanity's survival like humanity is a threat to something worse then the combine what ever that is
You'll likely never know, and we probably shouldn't. Mystique is ruined by explaining everything, and I feel like Half-Life's lore is kept interesting by its underlying mysteries. If everything was explained, it would get boring
The moment at 3:02 where he says: "This is the moment where you watch your Father die" this breaks my heart so much, knowing my best friend dad past away and he loves half life too, he has Alyx and I can't see what he will feel when hearing this POWERFUL line.
At 3:45, if you choose not to act, I wonder if there's a different ending. In Half Life 1 there was an option to not side with the G-Man, so I wonder if that would be the same here.
I had tried that in a later play through, the game will just wait for you to grab the suitcase or blast the Advisor. There are no alternate endings.
I couldn't figure out for like a solid 10 minutes what i was supposed to do before realizing it was the super charged gloves. sadly nothing happens.
@@Mottflyer Can you blast the Gman?
@@nooneinparticular3370 I can answer this question for you; no. The G-Man isn't even in the shot when he tells you to blast the Advisor. Even if he were, I doubt they'd let you hit him.
@@Resi1ience Thank you! I was thinking maybe Gman would laugh at your pathetic attempts, or as the other commenter said maybe give an alternate ending where you don't end up employed.
5:38 look who is standing there
notice his eyes glow when those clones of him appear..hm..
My god, G-man never gets old! That freaking moment he said, "Some believe the fate of our worlds is inflexible." OMG
0:56 it’s nearly been 20 years, and we STILL know very little of the mysterious entity known simply as….The G-Man.
I would find it funny if we in the future get a to see G-man in his normal work to work day.
I imagine him in some kind of intergalactical 4th dimensional office drinking coffe infront of his computer and some higher up tossing a bunch of paper on his desk.
"Our boss wants Xen's space terminal at monday, and i need you to work at saturday mkay?"
And all the magical, intense, worldchanging events that we see is for G-man like writing some rapports at a boring job.
The Combine being like if his computer freezes and he didn't press save on his document.
To us he is a walking god like entity but to his coworkers and bosses he is just a run of the mill underling.
He's defiantly higher than a run-of-the-mill employee. People like Gordon and Alyx would be contractors, so he'd be somewhere in middle management at least.
Which, honestly, makes what you say even funnier. The start of HL2e1, to us, is some triumphant moment where the day is saved and even something as incrementable as the Gman has been "overcome". To him, we're outside help trying to wiggle out of a contract, and all that's changed is he's going to have to file a bit more paperwork before he tells us to get back to work.
@@trianglemoebiusi cant wait to see what interdimensional HR is like in half life 3
G-Man with his new model actually looks much creepier, and his eyes glow even brighter, truly making him look otherwordly despite being in human body.
I find his pronounciation of ''miss Vance'' really satisfying...
but terrifying at the same time
5:38 never noticed gman is standing there looking at them
Where?
@@guacamolen3673 in the Left.
For some reason I rly like the echo it makes when Gordon grabs the crowbar. Like the game knows that you feel like such a badass finally grabbing that crowbar in VR.
this was a genuinely well written ending, Valve maybe a shell of its former self....but shells come in very interesting shapes.
Valve is a sleeping giant in the gaming world. One of the best developers and storytellers in the industry imo. Apart from the fact that they have been playing safe on csgo, dota 2 and on handling steam, once they release their product, it's a product of a lifetime.
So this game is basically Half Life 3 Confirmed: The Video Game
As someone who personally inhabited the Gordon Freeman avatar and who completed G-Man’s insanely dangerous tasks well beyond expectation, it made me very unhappy to see the G-Man moving on.
In fact I’ve never been more angry to lose my job, than I am today.
Love the little details in the dialog, like when Alyx asks him "who are you" and he responds "perhaps what I am is not as important...". he basically acknowledge that he is a WHAT and not a WHO... Holy shit!
Well remember back in half life 1, Nihilanth was telling Gordon that if he wins something will be waiting for him but he then informs him that what he meets is not human. Therefore Gman is essentially not a human.
holy shit the detail in this game is insane
look at the light passing through parts of gman's flesh at 1:26
that is called subsurface scattering
@@Scalloops shut up nerd
I'm just now seeing this, as someone without a VR setup I've never played Alyx, but fuck me, the way they managed to tie up the whole "prepare for unforeseen consequences" thing was absolutely perfect. I never thought that my hopes for HL3 could've been re-awakened, somehow.
G Man's motion/animation of face and expressions are outstanding!
He looks like a real living being - not just like character.
The ending is so surreal in VR. The entire game is but the ending especially gave me feelings I've never got from a video game. Everything is so detailed. It makes me sad VR isn't more popular and this gem is underappreciated as a result. This should have been game of the year, I don't know anyone who played it that didn't have it land in "one of the best games I've ever played" territory.
So... this means we're witnessing things from the G-man's personal timeline? The way he says Gordon has been "unwilling to perform the tasks laid before him" implies that this G-man has witnessed Episodes 1 and 2. Yeah he could be omniscient, but he could also just exist outside of linear time. In order for us to have both seen Eli die, and seen it prevented suggests that the G-man saw this future before changing it... Theory: the G-man only became aware of Alyx from Episodes 1 and 2, and then went back to this point in time observe her for consideration as Gordon's replacement; hence the paradox. His personal timeline is the same as the release order of the games.
I know I'm a year late, but I don't think Gordon is actually 'unwilling/unable' in the long run. Even when he's "broken free" of the Gman in the Episodes, it's very clear the Gman only really lost control for that one, brief moment, and can still easily put everything back on track by nudging Gordon in the right direction as needed. The only reason he even needs the Vortigants to be "distracted" with Alyx is because he's under orders not to directly reveal himself - he's forced to limit how visible he is.
My read on it: Gman has the "keys" to Gordon at this point, he's the one who imprisoned him, and the one who can release him back into the world. The original plan by the Gman's employers had involved releasing Gordon back into the world far sooner (possibly right after Black Mesa), but with the Gman captured, they weren't able to. Now that the perfect chance they were waiting for has passed, they're forced to release Gordon under less-than-ideal circumstances, and need Alyx to involve herself to make sure it all works out regardless.
At the beginning of HL2, Alyx has to save Gordon from the metropolice, bring him to the lab, and make sure he meets Eli. The Gman can't reveal himself, so he can't do this himself, and I think that's specifically what he's hired Alyx to do: set things up to make sure Gordon gets to Kleiner's lab alive, and then towards Eli.
The way Gman phrases the word "Some believe" as that white flashes showing planets has that effect of an example as similar in a movie
One of the subtleties of writing here -
When asked who he is by Alyx, G-Man responds:
*What* I am is not important.
I feel like that says alot about him.
@@tikoblocks3224 nah advisors are too grounded in reality. Gman literally walks and teleports to an ethereal plane
@@tikoblocks3224 fair enough
@@tikoblocks3224 doesn't explain stasis and time travel though. Well, not like it's any more unrealistic than at the very beginning of the franchise
@@tikoblocks3224 vortigaunts are conterminous, they existed at the same time in the past,present and future which mean their minds are connected
@@slightlyamusedblackkidfrom9153 he might be a hatched advisor. Those seen in the game are only larvae, according to breengrub twitter (which may not be canon, but is very interesting nonetheless)
Is this why Alyx said to Eli prepare for unforeseen consequences near the end of episode 2.
Don't own Alyx as I don't have VR
Supposedly, yes. We either have to assume Alyx knew, or had her memory wiped.
Well, actually this leans more of a different route. Theoretically since time travel was involved, this starts a NEW time line all together. From one perspective we can assume she did not recall any of the past events due to a memory wipe OR she replaces her new self with the old. By that i mean she literally disappears from EP2 and gets replaced with Alyx from HL:A. All the events in Ep2 still happen, its just that she erases her future self by saving her father & simply takes her own place from a different time line or universe all together. Again this is valve, i doubt we will ever know the full extent of Gmans abilities, but since he is capable of time travel, who is to say he cant mess with other parallel universes.
@@MalcolmNessGranger that's why I hate that they resorted to time travel. It's too complex and very easy to make mistakes! It's just too bad of a storytelling crutch!
@@512TheWolf512 Half-Life has kind of always had alternate timelines and time travel to a degree. People who make the argument that Valve have "resorted" to this seem to forget they've always played fast and loose with the storyline. When Half-Life 1 came out, the G-Man was the administrator of Black Mesa. That got retconned to Breen with the release of Half-Life 2. In the same way two vague scientists became Eli and Kleiner, and every security guard in Half-Life was initially supposed to be Barney, but with the release of Blue Shift they retconned him to be just the one you see at the start. You time travel 2 weeks into the future in Half-Life 2, and G-man can clearly manipulate time if he's able to extract Gordon and Adrian, and now Alyx, from a timeline and put them in stasis only to release Gordon 20 years later. There's also experiments with time travel done at Aperture as the original plan for the Borealis was that it wasn't just teleporting between places, but also realities and time. I think the best thing to think with the Half-Life franchise is just to accept the new information as it comes, considering as every new Half-Life game has modified some prior detail somewhat.
@@512TheWolf512 HL2 already has time travel - when you do a forward time jump from Nova Prospekt's destruction to The Uprising in City 17.
such a masterpiece! The gman immediately takes control of all the space around him, there's nothing that can be done and you just know it. He moves everywhere and everywhen, amazing. Just with this one scene it shows his complete control of the storyline.
I'm reminded how Marc Laidlaw's fan fiction over what could be the plot of Half Life 3 ended with more or less the idea that there would be inevitable conflict between Freeman and Alyx with G-Man hiring her over Freeman.
Is it really a fan fiction if he is the author behind the original story?
I mean, I like what I just watched, but the name corrected Laidlaw text felt more... proper to me.
I feel like the various echos of him splitting away in different directions and fading away implies he is going off in alternate lines where he does different things. Meaning he has freedom to choose. And one instance that occurs is when Alyx asks for the Combine off Earth, as if he does oblidge only to decide it's not going to work and then he comes back to deny her request.
Experiencing this scene in VR really highlights just how strange Gman interactions are. I was taken aback when the initial white card doorway opened, expecting him to walk through, but the way it expanded to fill the space made me look around in genuine wonder. Then those eyes out of the darkness... just wow. The way they play with light and shadow, positioning and audio, is phenomenal.
So, let's see if I've got this right?
After the death of Eli, Gordon refused to play any of G-Man's games. So, he changes his plans. He basically resets part of the timeline. Eli lives, but Alyx is taken by either the Combine, or the G-Man, and now it's up to Gordon, Eli and Dog to save her from whatever has taken her. Gordon is no longer under G-Man's employ, and is now off to finally end all of their enemies.
Yes, pretty much exactly that. I think though G-Man had already found Gordon to be disobedient from the time that the Vortigaunts rescue him in Episode 1. Clearly G-Man didn't foresee Gordon interfering any further in those events. The story continues as normal, but he warns Eli through Alyx that he's about to take her, although he doesn't know what G-Man means yet. At this point, G-Man returns back in time, knowing that the Alyx by the time of Episode 2 is too close to Gordon to ever work for him (she's grown pretty attached given that she seems to openly show romantic attraction in Episode 2), so he travels to City 17 before Gordon ever arrived. He then either intentionally, or unintentionally gets captured by the Combine at the point of his arrival (but it seems to be intentional given that he's not surprised Alyx came for him) and removes her from the timeline to put her in stasis after she saves Eli.
At that point, I think Alyx literally just disappears from Episode 2. The events continue as normal, but at the point of Eli's death, suddenly he reappears alive again, and Alyx vanishes, because if G-Man's just taken her from the past in that moment, she'll immediately vanish in the future. It's not a separate timeline persay, more a modification of a somewhat non-linear timeline, at least to G-Man. I think he's a 4th dimensional being in that sense. But yeah, given that by Episode 2 the Combine are now stranded on Earth with no reinforcements, the G-Man will likely be the main antagonist of Half-Life 3. I can't wait.
@@sniffie6391 he finally boss
you know what this means? half-life alyx 2 confirmed
No Half Life : Opposing Shift where Shephard and Barney works together
Or Blue Force
@@dzikripratama3776 that's sounds like a decent idea for coop game
@@TheLizardWizard_the2nd yes it will be a great idea and built on Source 2 engine.
One can only dream...
Ricochet 4 confirmed
5:27 No one actually noticed that we hear the gordon for the first time ever
we can also hear his breathing in the other games
He breathes in all of the games
I still can’t get my head around this, back in 2004 we were looking at gman on a flat screen and now we can stand in front of him ourselves.
My 9 year old self would have flipped if you told me this back then!
3:49 "as a consequence of your action this entity will continue and this entity will not"
me: poor advisor :c
Poor Advisor? That thing killed Eli in Episode 2
It's Dr Breen
@@PopcornMax179no, it's not. breengrub was a concept for episode 3. it is not canon.
I love how everyone looks away at "inflexible"
I gotta look at the bigass planet
@@Mottflyer and I cannot blame you for that, I would've done that too lmao
This is one of those endings where it's "I finished the game, but did I really win?"
Thanks homie, I've been looking for a recording with more of his face, and I'm not disappointed.
Not sure what's more unnerving, that the Combine had the technology to contain The Gman, or that they still failed to contain him.
Blah blah blah ms vance
Gman.
God dammit I remember that animation
@@Jukebocks good old one!
Every time I watch this I still get chills
Holy hell. 5:50 never noticed GMan over there on the left standing on the platform!
*makes game with cliffhanger*
*waits 17 years*
*makes prequel but changes original ending with another cliffhanger*
*refuses to elaborate*
*leaves*
I like how the letter that doesn't fade out @5:19 is Y and how it actually looks like an upside down lambda.
Every time I re-watch this scene I get chills when he says "until now" ahh just the corse voice and everything just makes me shiver. This is such a good fucking story
One thing that makes half life super interesting is the way it gives you the sense that all the time around you, there are forces at work that you are physically incapable of understanding.
"you wouldn't need *all that* to imprison Gordon Freeman"
Gman easily flexing over a puny human
"My dear... when you wake up... tell your father to prepare for... unforeseen... consequences..."
I remember playing this game blind and I'm glad I did because this was a incredible surprise
man the way they hand you the crowbar feels like a promise
I just thought of a theory... What if Gman was in that pentagon prison thing for a reason... Like what if the combine knew about him cause he's powerful kind of.... And they captured him and that chamber was suppose to keep him from teleporting or escaping.
I think thats confirmed
It has been already established in the game that the thing was supposed to be a prison for an powerful entity. So your theory is actually not a theory, it's a fact.
remember in hl2e2 when gman said that he wishes he could do more but watch, but he agreed to abide by certain restrictions?
I love how the audio gets warbly when he says "Nudged" when asking Alyx what kind of favor she'd like to ask him for.
"Son of a bitch and his unforseen consequences" gives me chills every time
"Who are you"
"Perhaps what I am..."
bro... this was last year... how did time go so fast!
Best footage I've seen so far. May I ask what kind of VR system you are using? (also pc specs) I'm considering upgrading my pc, only if it's absolutely necessary
I'm using the original HTC Vive right now. I'm running an i7 7600k, RTX 2060 Super, and 16 gigabytes of ram.
G man we meet again
"As a consequence of your action this entity continues and this entity will not."
“So, who are you?”
“Perhaps WHAT I am…”
She asks him a basic question, and he responds by heavily implying he isn’t human.
I love the G-Man.
There's this weird vibe of Gman being sort of the channel of the creators of the game commenting on their own work. Especially the lines "You are aware that you've proven yourself to be of extraordinary value. A previous hire has been unable or unwilling to perform the tasks laid before him. We have struggled to find a suitable replacement, until now."
It kinda sounds like Valve themselves talking about the format of the game - the previously "hired" Episode format didn't work out somehow, now Gman is going down the VR route with his games.
Alyx now lives out her worst nightmare, working a 9-5 job.
Thank you, i cant afford a pc or the vr to play this yet and i just had to know. This is awesome
5:38
For ppl wondering look to the left on th railing
I think you would need much more to imprison Gordon Freeman
Someone knows about speedruns
this was the best cliffhanger I could have asked for
So I'm guessing if Half Life 3 is Underway it's most likely going to be a vr game of Gordon Freeman trying to rescue Alyx