"Half-Life 2" - Trivia by Twos Quiz

Answer: One

The game subtly marks the passage of time through lighting and the coloring of the sky. It is daytime when Gordon first arrives at City 17, and the sun is setting as he squares off against the Hunter-Chopper. To add to the atmosphere at Ravenholm, it is nighttime - however, the sky is slightly brighter when he first enters compared to when he runs through the graveyard. Dawn is just breaking as Gordon emerges from the mines.

This is marked by the music as he enters Shorepoint, titled "Triage at Dawn".

The whole series, from "Half-Life 2" to "Episode Two", spans approximately five or six days, not including the lost week from the "slow teleport"... at no time is Gordon allowed to sleep.

Answer: A Fast Headcrab

Arlene, the woman who fuels the airboat, can be seen dead alongside a Fast Headcrab if the player goes forward one map and then backtracks to Station 6. Using the "noclip" command on the PC version (or simply disabling the AI), one can see the Fast Headcrab running down the pier.

This is the first time a Fast Headcrab is seen, and one is not seen again until the chapter "We Don't Go to Ravenholm...", in which Fast Zombies are introduced.

Answer: The Scout Car

The Scout Car that carries Gordon from Shorepoint to Lighthouse Point is ensconced in a shed once he reaches this final checkpoint before hoofing it to the Vortigaunt camp. At some point after the refugees at Lighthouse Point tell him to escape, the shed is broken open and a Dropship carries away the Scout Car to places unknown.

Answer: The head of a Combine Cremator

The Cremators were cut from the game before it went retail and are seen nowhere else except for the head of one floating in a jar in Black Mesa East. Cremators used an acid-shooting device called an Immolator to incinerate their enemies - this device, too, was cut from the game.

It should be noted, however, that charred corpses exist in several places throughout the game and may be the work of unseen Cremators.

Answer: Howie Scream

Headcrab Zombies make very interesting noises. The Fast Zombie's scream when attacking is actually the stock sound known popularly as the "Howie Scream", pitched up by approximately 25%. Poison Zombies make a sound like the trumpeting of an elephant when throwing one of their Headcrabs, sound very similar to a whinnying horse when hit, and actually chuckle when they die (perhaps the host is glad the suffering is over). Normal Headcrab Zombies actually speak English, but their voices are reversed (a process called backmasking).

When played backwards, it sounds as if they are saying "please God help me". These sounds, particularly those of the Poison and standard Zombies, give the impression that a human does not die when they become a Zombie... they live on in constant torment.

Answer: A Combine Soldier

There are three bodies here - one is a Combine Soldier, the other two are rebels. The scenario appears as though the Combine attacked the rebels and was killed when he stepped on the sand and enraged the Antlions. This detour contains two supply crates, but is otherwise a dead (no pun intended) end.

Answer: Poison Headcrabs

The wooden beam is the support for a wooden panel that covers a nest of Poison Headcrabs. Once the beam is broken, the panel falls... along with six Poison Headcrabs. Not to fear - the Headcrabs usually all die in the fall and are of no threat to the player.

In general, Poison Headcrabs are no real threat; they cannot kill a player directly. The bite of a Poison Headcrab will reduce Gordon's health to 1 immediately, but the suit's built-in antitoxin will heal the player slowly in increments of 10 health. Poison Headcrabs are, however, very dangerous when put alongside other opponents.

Answer: Nevrin54

Nevrin54 (with or without a space) is an "insecticid neutralizat", or "neutralized insecticide" (in Romanian). This is one of the only times a sign is seen in a language other than English or Russian. The languages seen on signs and posters throughout the game hints at the setting of "Half-Life 2" being in Eastern Europe.

However, "Half-Life" takes place in New Mexico, which makes one wonder how and why the main characters of that game ended up here. Perhaps Eastern Europe was one of the last safe places after the Seven Hour War.

As an interesting note, Gordon Freeman is likely fluent in German, having worked in Austria prior to his stint at Black Mesa - but it is unlikely that he knows any Russian.

Answer: An umbrella

There are some debates as to whether or not this is actually the G-man. Since few people seem to know of the G-man's existence, it is unusual for there to be graffiti depicting him.

Answer: A Dropship flying overhead

The most obvious of these is the roadblock blocking a tunnel. Alyx will comment on this, noting how it's strange to find a roadblock out in the middle of nowhere. The first warning, however, is when you exit the previous tunnel. You can hear Combine radio chatter, although it cuts off quickly. Once you proceed up the hill, you can catch a glimpse of Hunter legs as they run toward the ambush point.

The Hunters are hidden by a fence, some trees, and a fallen log.

Answer: Fifty

The sign painted on the first building you enter says, in Russian, that the place is called Victory Mine and that it is "in memory of 50 years". Victory Mine is a relatively large area, consisting not only of the mines themselves but of the area Gordon must fight through to reach the car. Victory Mine is also settled over a large Antlion nest.

Answer: Two skeletons

There are multiple instances where the player will encounter two bodies - one male, one female. These are meant to add a poignant note to the game, giving the image of love enduring when all hope is gone. In most cases, these couples have a gun near them, hinting at a double suicide.

In this building, however, all that is left is a pair of skeletons on a couch. There is no way to know the gender of these two, since all skeletons in the game look alike, but the way their heads are turned signifies that they were a couple in life, still together in death.

Answer: In the rafters

The developers put this corpse in the rafters to help indicate what the player has to do to get to the switch. The burn marks on the ground and the grenade box in the corner are generally enough of a hint, but the corpse is a nice, gruesome touch. The van itself also serves a purpose - it is there to deter players from bringing in boxes or barrels that they could stack to get up to the catwalk.

Answer: A headcrab

When entered Silo 1 for the first time, the player can approach the rocket's hatch and see Lamarr climb inside, where she supposedly remains even after the rocket is launched into space. Incidentally, the garden gnome, found very early in the game, can be brought through to the rocket and placed inside the hatch.

In the PC and X-Box 360 versions, doing this successfully results in the "Little Rocket Man" achievement. It is unlikely that the garden gnome is the anomaly, however, as it would have to be made of a very heavy material to weigh 8.5 pounds.

Answer: Its brain

Those familiar with the game will note that Striders are synths - Combine life-forms that are mechanical in appearance, but alive and reasonably self-aware. Striders, Hunters, dropships, and gunships are all examples of Combine synths. The Strider has no pilot, but has a crablike carapace that houses a remarkably biological-looking internal system.

When D0G tears off the carapace, he reaches inside and rips out its brain, thus killing the Strider. The brain can be found in the water nearby after the Strider falls.

Interestingly, the brain looks almost identical to a human one.