Xen in 3... 2... 1...

[RandomGuy]

I just want to see his reaction to all the dead HEV-suited corpses. I replayed the Xen levels recently, and there a LOT. Half of them are in pools of blood, half of them aren't, and all of them have containers loaded with weapons. They all also have helmets. Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder how those scientists in the Vort cave got killed in Ross's version of the game, since he's been more or less playing Freeman off as being immune to alien projectiles. Were they all killed be melee attacks? That's a plausible explanation, but Freeman seems to have forgotten how damn strong these aliens really are. Or maybe he just never cared and thought that being able to smash through heavy steel doors and thick concrete with your bare hands wasn't impressive.

 

Another thing I just thought of: Freeman said this in episode 21: "This probably leads to a room filled with poison gas and a bunch of dead people who look just like me, but I don't KNOW that, so there's room for hope I guess". There actually is a room just like that on Xen. It's in a cave, with spikes closing in and blocking the exit, with weird plant things shooting green crap that gives you toxic damage. There's an HEV-suited corpse in the same room.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Guest (see edit history)

[Seattleite]

I'd bet he'd reason that as falling damage, being beaten to death, or getting stuck and starving. Or, with that particular room, as just being stuck in that hole until the plants finally killed them. Or maybe he won't bother figuring it out, but I doubt that. Either way, I'm certain it would freak him out.

[RandomGuy]

Most likely. Falling from a high height would work for some of them, especially the first one you see dead, who is slumped over the ledge of a tiny island barely big enough to stand on, with blood everywhere. Starvation would work as an excuse for a few as well, namely the ones in isolated areas with no blood. But most are dead in fresh pools of blood next to hostile aliens, so "beaten to death" will be the most likely cause of death (or "crushed to death/perforated" in Big Momma's case).

 

Speaking of Xen, having replayed the levels the other day, I predict it will take the following episodes for him to get through the chapters:

 

"Xen": 1. It's very short. Even if he lollygags around and talks to himself for a while, it can easily be completed in under ten minutes. Plus, that last teleporter is a natural ending point (not sure why Freeman would jump in, though).

 

"Gonarch's Lair": 1. With the x2.5 damage (or thereabouts) FM!Freeman has on his weapons, the Gonarch shouldn't take very long, as the chapter's length mainly comes from Big Momma being a tank. Also, there's no good ending point in between the start and end of the chapter, while there's a very good one (in the form of another teleporter) at the very end. It could possibly be two, with Freeman ending episode 63 in one of those crevices in the second stage of the fight, and killing the Gonarch in 64, but I doubt it.

 

"Interloper": 5. The first two islands (the big one with the mantas and the smaller one with the Garg respectively) are each just long enough take up their own episodes, if he takes his time, and separated by teleporters to boot. The factory comes right after that, and it's by far the longest 'level' of this chapter. I predict this will take two episodes at a minimum (he could complete it in that time if he doesn't take his time TOO much, and they're long episodes), four at maximum, but most likely three (somewhat depends on how many optional areas he explores).

 

"Nihilanth": No idea. More than one episode, at least. Really depends on how long Freeman talks to himself, how long he takes to realize the Nihilanth's gimmick, and how many times he gets teleported.

Edited October 21, 2014 by Guest (see edit history)

[Box Tactics]

I'm guessing the Nihilanth will be one episode; possibly a triple-length one, but a single episode nonetheless.

[Blaperture Mesa]

I'm hoping he teleports between a bunch of unrelated games before he actually gets to Xen.

[Seattleite]

I'm hoping that exactly that does not happen.

[RandomGuy]

Any particular reason? Don't get me wrong, I don't want that to happen either, I'm just curious as to why you don't.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Guest (see edit history)

[Box Tactics]

Any particular reason? Don't get me wrong, I don't want that to happen either, I'm just curious as to why you don't.

Unpleasant filler of the kind other Mind series loved indulging in but that has always been above FM. Further, we already got our fill of "optional content inserted via teleportation" with Uplink.

[Seattleite]

Mostly. Also, I want to get to Xen quickly and then move on to part 2.

[RandomGuy]

Mostly. Also, I want to get to Xen quickly and then move on to part 2.

 

Ditto, both this reason and Box's.

 

I'm actually dreading him getting to part two for three reasons:

 

1. He'll probably take a big break after finishing HL1 this year. Assuming he does.

 

2. There's a chance he won't even do HL2. Not a big one, but still.

 

3. Half-Life 2 is LONG, a few hours longer than Half-Life 1. I'll still follow it, of course, but if it takes seven or more years to finish season 2 I'll be mildly annoyed.

 

On the other hand, in a five year old podcast, Ross said he'd have a much easier time coming up with jokes for HL2, due to the increased NPC interaction and scripted sequences. He even considered starting there at one point. So that's a positive, I guess.