Special Sub-Topic: Half Life: Opposing Force Authored by: Bruce007 Sub-topic of: Half-Life

What is the name of the main character of the game?

Adrian Shephard. Shephard, is a 22-year old Marine Corporal assigned to the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit. He is one of the men sent into the Black Mesa Research Facility to kill the creatures of Xen and later silence the witnesses, particularly Gordon Freeman. Everything goes wrong when his Osprey helicopter is attacked by Xen interceptors and crashes. He is picked up and revived by the scientists of Black Mesa. That is where his adventure begins.

The melee weapons have proved to be a major part of the "Half-Life" gaming experience and this time around it's no different. In this game, however, the crowbar had been removed to make room for two new weapons. Which two weapons replaced the crowbar?

Monkey Wrench and Combat Knife. Although the crowbar is gone, the new weapons prove to have little extra effect than what the crowbar in the original game offered. The knife could kill an enemy faster and the crowbar could have a charged hit which deals extra damage. Apart from that their purposes are the same.

Instead of a flashlight, what does the main character of the game have?

Night Vision Goggles. The NV goggles are far more useful than the flashlight seen in the previous games. The night vision goggles turn the entire screen green, and allow the character to see in the darkest of areas. Enemies show up brighter in the NV display and thus allow easier battles in the dark.

You meet a headcrab zombie in the game, even before you acquire a weapon.

True. As you walk by one of the labs you see that a corpse with a headcrab on it begins to wake up from the MRI machine. A scientist trapped within the room is used as a projectile by the creature to escape through the window.

At one point in the game a certain surprising incident occurs that was never seen in the original "Half-Life" game. A new alien race captures several scientists and security guards, likely for study purposes. What was the name of this strange alien race?

Race-X. The race's intentions on Earth are to invade the planet and acquire its natural resources to alter them for their own needs. One of the most hostile of the Race-X creatures is the Shock Trooper. It carries an organic weapon that shoots electricity at its enemies. Once they are killed, these weapons act much like the headcrabs and jump at you, however they die quickly if there's no one nearby.

Throughout the game, you meet several other soldiers who survived the crash and were separated along the way. Apart from just the standard trooper, "Opposing Force" also included three new classes of soldiers. Which of the following was the one responsible for cutting down doors with his trusty blowtorch?

Engineer. The engineer was the only one who could cut down doors and help Shephard on his adventure. Medics carried pistols and were used solely to heal the injured. Heavy weapons men carried heavy automatics that deal extraordinary amounts of damage to enemies. Grunts carried standard SMG's, no extra armor, nor anything of the like.

What is the name of the other military group that enters the base planning to silence the facility, marines included?

Black-Ops. The Black-Ops are the most deadly human character you meet in the game. They are highly accurate with any of their weapons and can take a lot of damage. There are two categories of Black-Ops soldiers that threaten the well-being of the facility. The first is the male Black-Ops agents that carry carbine weapons and sniper rifles. In close range, they use martial arts and are very deadly. The female Black-Ops agents are very stealthy, speedy, and carry silenced pistols. In one part of the game, Adrian Shephard is trapped by the Black-Ops with heavy-weapons man, a medic, and another soldier at his side. All of the soldiers but the heavy weapons man die in that particular encounter. The heavy weapons man gets killed in the underground train station by the Black-Ops soon afterwards leaving Shephard on his own again.

You see Gordon Freeman, the hero of "Half-Life" in the game.

True. Adrian Shephard sees Gordon Freeman right before Freeman runs into the portal to Xen, seen in the first game. If the player is quick enough, they can run into the portal right behind and stop a few meters behind Gordon. Seconds later, however, the game ends, saying that Shephard was trying to create a temporal paradox.

At the end of the game, the main character runs into the creature that spawns the aliens of Xen as well as their experimenting counterparts. What is the name of this large creature?

Gene Worm. The creature resembles a worm-like creature with many tentacles with a protrusion similar in both shape and position to that of the green tentacles seen throughout Xen. The way to destroy it in the game is to use the two laser guns, to blind it. Of course, care has to be given to avoid its acid attack. Once it is blinded, the purpose is to shoot the creatures inner crystal which spawns Race-X creatures. Once that is done, the creature will die.

What is the outcome of the main character?

The G-Man isolates him safely on Xen. After killing the Gene Worm which releases the creatures of Xen upon Earth, Adrian Shephard is caught in a teleporter beam and loses consciousness. Upon re-awakening, he finds himself in an Osprey Helicopter and face to face with the G-Man. As they are flying, a thermo-nuclear explosion destroys the Black Mesa Research Facility. Admiring Shephard's ability to survive in such overwhelming odds, the G-Man sends the Osprey to a dead-area of Xen while he walks away through the portal after muttering that Shephard will be detained in a place where he can do no possible harm, and where no harm can come to him.