Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life: Decay The G-Man then leaves Shephard via a portal in the cockpit, and the screen fades to the closing titles. The aircraft's location then suddenly switches to the skies of Xen, then finally to an emptiness similar to that encountered by the Black Mesa tram at the end of Half-Life. As the G-Man delivers this closing monologue, the plane carries them away from Black Mesa, shortly before a nuclear blast flashes outside confirming its destruction. The G-Man says that he has been impressed by Shephard's ability to "adapt & survive against all odds" in the Black Mesa facility and comments that these are traits that remind him of himself. The G-Man informs Shephard that, contrary to his employer's original wishes, Shephard is to be spared and detained. On this occasion, Shephard finds himself onboard one of the HECU's V-22 Ospreys, facing the G-Man. As he cannot return to the truck, the destruction of the facility became inevitable.Īfter Shephard defeats the Gene Worm at the end of the game, G-Man appears again. Later on in the chapter "The Package," the G-Man is seen rearming the nuclear bomb that eventually destroys Black Mesa, while Shephard had deactivated it moments prior. One chapter later, "We Are Pulling Out," as Shephard attempts to evacuate Black Mesa with the rest of the marines, the G-Man closes a hangar door, forcing him to remain on the base.
The G-Man opens a door allowing him to escape, saving his life. Since the drill instructor mentions that Shephard's training has mysteriously accelerated, the implication is that the G-Man had an interest in Shephard before the Black Mesa incident, for unknown reasons.ĭuring the chapter Welcome to Black Mesa, Shephard is trapped on a small walkway, with deadly radioactive liquid rising steadily towards him. In Opposing Force, the G-Man plays a slightly more direct role in the story, alternately hindering and aiding the player, Corporal Adrian Shephard, as well as observing him.ĭuring the boot camp training chapter, the G-Man can be spotted at a window speaking to an officer and occasionally glancing at the player. The Marines behind the G-Man appear oblivious to his presence. The G-Man preventing Adrian Shephard from escaping from the Black Mesa Research Facility. Freeman." Interestingly, within the game files, an extended line of this can be found: "(.) but there are a few survivors of your personal holocaust, who would like the chance to meet the man responsible for the total annihilation of their race." (This line may have been referencing the Xen creatures.) Declining the offer results in the unarmed Freeman facing a horde of hostile Alien Grunts as the screen fades to black with the G-Man's final words "No regrets, Mr.
Canon states that Gordon takes the job, although the player is given a Hobson's choice, the "illusion of free choice" being reminded by the G-Man in Half-Life 2. The G-Man then informs him that he has recommended Gordon's services to his "employers," and offers him a job. military forces participated in capturing Xen for the G-Man's "employers", although this may merely be part of G-Man's illusions.Įventually, the scene changes into what appears to be a Black Mesa tram traveling through space at high speed. As he says this, dead HECU Marines, destroyed tanks, and a downed jet fighter can be seen around this area of Xen, suggesting that U.S. The G-Man tells Gordon that he has been observing him very carefully and praises him on his actions in Xen, which is now in his "employers'" control. Appearing beside Gordon, having stripped him of his armaments while claiming the excuse that "most of them were government property," and showing him various areas of Xen. Following the catastrophic Resonance Cascade which commences the game's action through Black Mesa, the G-Man can be seen quietly observing Gordon Freeman in several out-of-reach areas as the game progresses.Īfter Gordon defeats the Half-Life final boss, Nihilanth, the ruler of Xen, G-Man brings the player to "safety" in an inexplicable, abstract sequence. Before the experiment begins, the G-Man can be seen arguing with a scientist in a locked, sound-proof room of the Research section of the Anomalous Materials Lab where only mumbling can be heard. He somehow manages to arrive at the Test Labs and Control Facilities before Freeman. The G-Man is first seen along the Sector C Line, standing in an electric tram frozen on the track opposite the tram that Freeman is traveling on during the Half-Life introduction sequence. The G-Man congratulating Gordon Freeman in an elevator on Xen. 1.3 Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life: Decay.