askchapo

I adore how much detail is in the combine radio chatter and how it just doesn't come up in-game unless you're paying attention to it. It's unreal how detailed it gets. Like how you're charged over the radio directly with various crimes if you're at low health, my favorite being "divisive sociocidal counter-obeyance." You also get called different things over the overwatch as the game goes on, initially you're a "staph infection," then they start to catch onto who you are. They'll start identifying you as an "anticitizen" which seems to mean something like public enemy, then you're either "Anticitizen One" or "Freeman."

But my favorite thing is what you mentioned. Combine soldiers will get offered various things for your capture. At first it's just things like rations or drugs (stimulants). Somewhere around the canals you can hear them get offered "non-mechanical reproduction simulation" which has got to be some kind of psychic wet dream? After the canals the soldiers get threatened with death or "permanent offworld assignment" if they fail to capture you.

Their military jargon is cool too, like their guns are swords or daggers (if you get a jump on a soldier they might say "daggers free" or "go sharp"). Echo is a soldier, helix is a medic. Then they'll use terms like amputate or clamp to refer to various tactics.