OverWiki:Featured article queue (2009 to 2011 archive)

This is the archive of the queue for the featured articles that appeared from 2009 to 2011 on the Main Page.

May 18, 2009 - Gordon Freeman

Dr. Gordon Freeman is the silent protagonist of most titles in the Half-Life series. He is a theoretical physicist who is forced to defend himself and the human race against hostile aliens and other enemies following an experiment gone wrong. In the process, he becomes an almost mythical resistance hero, eventually becoming one of the leaders of an uprising against the alien invaders.

May 25, 2009 - Alyx Vance

Alyx Vance is the main deuteragonist of Half-Life 2 and its Episodes. She is portrayed as a woman in her mid-twenties, and is a prominent figure in the Resistance campaign against the rule of the Combine.

June 1, 2009 - Kleiner's Lab

Kleiner's Lab is a City 17 location seen during the chapters "A Red Letter Day" and Entanglement of Half-Life 2. It is a small laboratory hidden in the workshop of a decrepit warehouse, home to Dr. Isaac Kleiner for some time until the uprising in and eventual destruction of the city. The lab also houses Kleiner's teleport, which he has been developing as an alternative and safer route to Black Mesa East.

June 8, 2009 - Weather Control

The Weather Control, also known as Weather Station, is a location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2. It was to be set between the Kraken Base and Skyscraper chapters, being the second and last location of the third day.

June 15, 2009 - The G-Man

The G-Man, or simply G-Man, is a key, yet mysterious and enigmatic character in the Half-Life series. Referred to as a "sinister interdimensional bureaucrat", he is known to display peculiar behavior and capabilities beyond that of a human and his identity and motives remain almost completely unexplained. He plays the role of an overseer and eventual employer, watching over Gordon Freeman and other characters as the series progresses.

June 22, 2009 - Skyscraper

The Skyscraper, also known as Vertigo or Palace, is the generic name of a City 17 location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2 and an informal predecessor for the Overwatch Nexus. Being the first location of the fourth day, it was to be set after the Weather Control chapter, and to be the first chapter of the street wars.

June 29, 2009 - Borealis

The Borealis is an Aperture Science research vessel introduced in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. According to Isaac Kleiner, Aperture was working on a promising project, but in their rush to beat Black Mesa for funding, they neglected ordinary safety rules and it appears that the ship simply disappeared with parts of her dry dock, which earned her an almost legendary stature. It is assumed that the Borealis contained an immensely powerful and dangerous secret.

July 13, 2009 - Rail transport

Rail transport such as trains, trams, monorails, railway tracks and train stations are recurring themes throughout the Half-Life series. At numerous points in every one of the games (excluding Portal), the player encounters one or more moving or stationary locomotives, lone carriages, or full-length coupled trains. There are also several instances where the player must cross or follow railway tracks, either on foot, non-rail vehicle, riding in or on the train itself, or by use of an electric monorail, the latter a prominent feature in the original Half-Life game.

July 20, 2009 - Judith Mossman

Dr. Judith Mossman is a scientist who plays an integral role in the Half-Life 2 series. She is a cunning and manipulative double agent, aiding both sides during the Uprising but eventually siding with the Resistance. Later on she discovered in an unknown Arctic location a secret and powerful project that could be used against the Combine, in a vanished ship named the Borealis. She is portrayed as a Caucasian woman in her forties.

July 27, 2009 - Gina Cross

Dr. Gina Cross is a Black Mesa scientist who first appears as the Holographic Assistant for Gordon Freeman in the Black Mesa's Hazard Course and then later as one half of the protagonist team involved in the Black Mesa Incident in Half-Life: Decay.

August 3, 2009 - City 17 Trainstation

The City 17 Trainstation is the first City 17 location visited by Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2. A passenger train station used by the Combine to link with other cities and Nova Prospekt, it appears in the chapters Point Insertion, "A Red Letter Day" and Anticitizen One.

August 10, 2009 - Eli Vance

Dr. Eli Vance is a brilliant physicist and researcher, an African-American man apparently in his late fifties or early sixties with short gray hair, a beard and moustache. He wears a prosthetic leg to replace his left leg beneath the knee, which was lost when he was attacked by a Bullsquid while helping Isaac Kleiner climb over a barrier to get into City 17.

August 17, 2009 - Bullsquid

The Bullsquid is a bipedal, highly aggressive creature that appears throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility due to the dimensional rift. Bullsquid are able to survive, if not thrive, in environments that are unfriendly or even toxic to humans, including sewers and pools of radioactive, chemical, or biological waste. On Xen, Bullsquids are found drinking from pools of an unknown liquid that has healing properties for humans and Vortigaunts.

August 24, 2009 - Victory Mine

The Victory Mine is an abandoned mining area located in the Outlands, visited by Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance during their journey to White Forest. Early on, Alyx is injured by a Hunter and Gordon must go deep inside the mines in an Antlion colony to retrieve larval extract to save her.

August 31, 2009 - The Fisherman

The Fisherman is a character who appears only in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast as the guide to Gordon Freeman, setting him on his task to take out the local Combine presence.

September 7, 2009 - Kraken Base

Kraken Base is a location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2. It was to be set between the Borealis and Weather Control chapters, being the first location of the third day.

September 14, 2009 - Manhack Arcade

The Manhack Arcade is a City 17 area cut from Half-Life 2 that was to be visited in the first chapters of the game. It was to be located in a business/entertainment area, between the Trainstation Plaza and Kleiner's Lab.

September 21, 2009 - Combine Factories

The Combine Factories, also nicknamed "garage" or "industrial", is a City 17 area cut early in the development of Half-Life 2. It was to be seen during the very first chapter, between the City 17 Trainstation and its plaza. It was to be accessed from the back of the trainstation, although Gordon was likely to first pass through the area while arriving to City 17 on its train.

September 28, 2009 - Conscripts

The Conscripts is a human Combine unit cut from Half-Life 2. They were to be the remains of the former Earth forces requisitioned and unwillingly reincorporated (according to the definition of Conscription) into the Combine units as low rank human Combine soldiers, even lower than the Civil Protection. They were to be headed by Captain Vance.

October 5, 2009 - Armored Personnel Carrier

The Armored Personnel Carrier (also known as APC) is a Combine armored transport used by Overwatch and Civil Protection units.

October 12, 2009 - Black Mesa East

Black Mesa East is a Resistance base located at the Wasteland end of the Canals outside of City 17. It is nestled inside the hydroelectric plant of a nearby dam and its reservoir, and right next to the abandoned mining town of Ravenholm. Black Mesa East is where Doctor Eli Vance, Doctor Judith Mossman, Alyx Vance, and many other Resistance members, including several Vortigaunts, used to live before its destruction. It was named after the Black Mesa Research Facility.

October 19, 2009 - Borealis (cut ship)

The Borealis, originally known as the Hyperborea, is a location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2. It was to be set between two other cut locations, the Air Exchange and Kraken Base, and to be the last location of the third day, visited during the night.

October 26, 2009 - Cremator

The Cremator is an enemy cut from Half-Life 2. "A Combine janitor of sorts", it was originally intended to remove corpses from the city streets, cleanup Wasteland trains coming into the city from any wildlife that might have held on to it during the journey, as well as patrolling some parts of the Wasteland, such as train depots. It was also apparently to occasionally fight the player.

November 2, 2009 - Air Exchange

The Air Exchange, also known as Air Conditioner, AirEx or Combine's atmospheric reprocessor, is a location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2. It was to be set after the Depot, at the end of the Wasteland / Coast chapters, and before the Borealis, as the penultimate location of the third day. Prototyped and having most of its maps made, it was never finalized to let the team concentrate on areas more fruitful for gameplay.

November 16, 2009 - Hydra

The Hydra is an enemy cut from Half-Life 2 during the later stages of the game's development.

November 23, 2009 - Race X

The Race X is a mysterious alien race appearing in the Black Mesa Research Facility late in the Black Mesa Incident, a few hours before Gordon Freeman teleports to Xen, serving as one of the main antagonists of Opposing Force.

November 30, 2009 - Adrian Shephard

Corporal Adrian Shephard is a 22-year old US Marine Corporal assigned to the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit from the Santego Military Base, Arizona, where he was trained by Drill Instructors Dwight T. Barnes and Sharp, and the silent protagonist of Half-Life: Opposing Force. He is one of the men sent in the Black Mesa Research Facility to kill the Xen invaders and later silence the witnesses, especially a scientist named Gordon Freeman, as part of a classified mission. Early in the game, Shephard finds himself separated from his unit and ends up fighting for his life only, aided by fellow Marines scattered around the facility and Black Mesa employees.

December 7, 2009 - White Forest

White Forest is a major Resistance base located in the Outlands, north of City 17, used by the Resistance to build a rocket intended to shut off the Combine Superportal. Reaching the base is the first Episode Two main goal.

December 14, 2009 - Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle

The Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (OSIPR), also known as Pulse Rifle or AR2, is a Dark Energy / pulse-powered assault rifle manufactured by the Combine.

December 21, 2009 - Isaac Kleiner

Dr. Isaac Kleiner is one of the main characters of Half-Life 2 and its episodes. An archetypal 'absent-minded genius scientist', he is a prolific author of several works on teleportation and interdimensional travel, and one of the few survivors of the incident that took place in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Later on, he becomes a key (if somewhat self-conscious) leader of the Resistance against the Combine, and a prime member of the Resistance science team.

December 28, 2009 - Barney Calhoun

Barney Calhoun is one of the main characters of the Half-Life series. He was a security guard at Black Mesa before becoming a key Resistance leader. From Half-Life: Blue Shift and onwards, he turns from the Half-Life generic security guard into a standalone character, is given a surname, and an expanded role.

January 4, 2010 - Black Ops

The Black Ops, sometimes hyphenated to Black-Ops and sometimes referred to as Black Operations, are a commando group of trained government assassins briefly seen in Half-Life and later expanded upon and featured in Half-Life: Opposing Force. Soon after the HECU, they invade the Black Mesa Research Facility to conceal any evidence of the Resonance Cascade.

January 11, 2010 - Timeline of the Half-Life and Portal universe

A timeline of the Half-Life universe can be made by gathering known dates. Several retcons having been made since the release of the first game, because it is still being written as of today (2010), and because technological limitations have changed in the intervening time, a complete official Half-Life series timeline will probably never be made, since it could probably make the writers contradict themselves and limit their creativity for possible subsequent episodes. Despite of that, general events can be organized in a chronological order, around known dates.

January 18, 2010 - Houndeye

The Houndeye is a tripedal creature that teleported to Earth from Xen after the Resonance Cascade.

January 25, 2010 - Rosenberg

Dr. Rosenberg is a scientist working at the Black Mesa Research Facility. In Half-Life: Blue Shift, Barney Calhoun helps him and two of his colleagues escape from Black Mesa. Along with Dr. Richard Keller, he also plays an important role in the events of Half-Life: Decay, standing by the side of the two main protagonists, Dr. Gina Cross and Dr. Colette Green.

February 1, 2010 - The Wasteland

The Wasteland, also known as The Wild or The Scrapland, is the area surrounding City 17, both being the two main locations of Half-Life 2.

February 8, 2010 - Combine power generator

Combine power generators are Dark Energy-powered generators used by the Combine. Coming in several types, they are mainly found within the Citadel, but can also be found in certain locations in City 17, such as the Overwatch Nexus, the plaza visited in the Half-Life 2 chapter Anticitizen One, or near the White Forest Inn, in the Outlands.

February 15, 2010 - Black Mesa Science Team

The Black Mesa Science Team is the overwhelming majority of Black Mesa's population. With the Black Mesa Security Force, it is one of the most important bodies of the Black Mesa personnel.

February 22, 2010 - Black Mesa Security Force

The Black Mesa Security Force is the main component of Black Mesa's support personnel force. With the Black Mesa Science Team, it is one of the most important bodies of the Black Mesa personnel.

March 1, 2010 - City 17 Underground

The City 17 Underground is a series of dark underground tunnels, parking lots and storage areas introduced in Episode One.

March 8, 2010 - Portal ARG

On March 1st and March 3, 2010, Portal was updated to feature parts of an eventually highly successful alternate reality game (or ARG) to promote its sequel, Portal 2, leading gamers and journalists to postulate that an announcement for Portal 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode Three might soon be made, until Portal 2 was announced for release in Q4 2010 on March 5, 2010.

The ARG was created solely by Portal 2’s development team; there was no marketing team behind it. While it mostly promotes their game, it was also seen as an effective way to extend the Portal universe, and make the Portal fans as part of the game.

March 15, 2010 - Synth

Synth is the term for a class of alien creatures turned into war machines, and one of the several species that make up the Combine organization. They are officially described as "self-replicating robots that evolve", "created or taken over by the Combine and enslaved during their conquests and wars." Most Synths seem to possess both organic and robotic characteristics, suggesting that they may be the cyborg derivatives of alien races that were previously enslaved by the Combine and assimilated into its armed forces.

March 22, 2010 - Civil Protection

Civil Protection is essentially the Combine thought police of all urban areas on Earth, including City 17. Its officers are named "Metro Cops", while the spelling "Metrocops" is also used. "CPs" is mostly used by the Citizens and Resistance members to refer to Metro Cops. The entity uses the term "Metropolice" (the original term), and the subtitles "MetroPolice". The Overwatch Voice simply uses the term "Protection".

March 29, 2010 - Arne Magnusson

Dr. Arne Magnusson is the leader of White Forest. He is a grey-haired stocky Caucasian man who looks to be in his early sixties. He is a former member of the Black Mesa Science Team and one of the few survivors of the Black Mesa Incident, and an important orchestrator of the Resistance.

April 5, 2010 - Bridge Point

Bridge Point was once a Resistance outpost on the Coast near a large railroad bridge. Its occupants were eliminated by the Combine and Xen wildlife some time before Gordon Freeman's arrival.

April 12, 2010 - Crowbar

The Crowbar is the signature weapon of Gordon Freeman. It is the first weapon acquired in Half-Life, serving as a melee weapon and a tool for puzzles. The crowbar is also used as a tool for breaking open supply crates and clearing destructible obstacles. The main melee weapon in the Half-Life story arc and the only melee weapon in the Half-Life 2 story arc, it is widely considered the iconic weapon of the Half-Life series, perhaps almost as famous as Gordon Freeman himself when referring to Half-Life.

April 19, 2010 - Strider

The Strider is a large tripodal Combine Synth introduced in Half-Life 2, often acting as a sub-boss.

April 26, 2010 - Combine imagery

The Combine heavily relies on imagery through logos, symbols, and propaganda posters to assure their influence on Earth and recall their presence to its residents. Combine units - humanoid and Synth - also bear insignias, logos and other markings. Many Combine posters are also scattered around City 17 and its sector (including the Coast, Nova Prospekt, etc.). Most of the time they include the two common Combine symbols (see below), with variants in color and image backgrounds. The Combine imagery is often quite abstract, and the intended messages can be very subtle.

May 3, 2010 - Gargantua

The Gargantua is a large and powerful Xen alien featured in Half-Life, Half-Life: Uplink, and Half-Life: Opposing Force.

May 10, 2010 - Black Mesa Research Facility

The Black Mesa Research Facility, B.M.R.F. for short, is the headquarters of the Black Mesa corporation and the primary setting for Half-Life and its three expansions, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Decay. It is located in the New Mexico desert, USA.

May 17, 2010 - Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device

The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, often simply referred to as the Portal Gun, or its acronym, "ASHPD", is an experimental tool used to create two portals through which objects can pass. The central piece of the "Portal project", Tier 3 of the three-tier program created by Aperture Science's CEO Cave Johnson on his deathbed in 1976, it is used within the Enrichment Center's Test Chambers, as the Test Subjects' primary tool to complete each chamber.

May 24, 2010 - Aperture Science

Aperture Science, Inc., often referred to as Aperture Science or simply Aperture, is a United States-based scientific research corporation appearing in Portal and Portal 2, as well as other sources.

Its main facility, the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, is located in Upper Michigan, while others can also be found in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a shower curtain manufacturer named Aperture Fixtures, it evolved over the course of half a century into an experimental physics research institution and a bitter rival of Black Mesa.

May 31, 2010 - Wallace Breen

Wallace Breen is Black Mesa's and Earth's former Administrator. From his headquarters in the City 17 Citadel, he is the primary antagonist of Half-Life 2.

June 7, 2010 - GLaDOS

GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) is the sentient computer system managing the Aperture Laboratories, the guide of the Aperture Science computer-aided Enrichment Center, and the main antagonist of Portal and Portal 2.

June 14 to June 27, 2010 - Chell

Chell is an Aperture Science Test Subject, and the esoteric, silent protagonist of Portal and Portal 2.

June 28 to July 11, 2010 - Personality Core

A Personality Core is an independent sphere containing advanced personality software created by Aperture Science for use in their laboratories.

July 12 to July 25, 2010 - Portal ARG

On March 1st and March 3, 2010, Portal was updated to feature parts of an eventually highly successful alternate reality game (or ARG) to promote its sequel, Portal 2, leading gamers and journalists to postulate that an announcement for Portal 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode Three might soon be made, until Portal 2 was announced for release in Q4 2010 on March 5, 2010.

The ARG was created solely by Portal 2’s development team; there was no marketing team behind it. While it mostly promotes their game, it was also seen as an effective way to extend the Portal universe, and make the Portal fans as part of the game.

July 26 to August 8, 2010 - Timeline of the Half-Life and Portal universe

A timeline of the Half-Life universe can be made by gathering known dates. Several retcons having been made since the release of the first game, because it is still being written as of today (2010), and because technological limitations have changed in the intervening time, a complete official Half-Life series timeline will probably never be made, since it could probably make the writers contradict themselves and limit their creativity for possible subsequent episodes. Despite of that, general events can be organized in a chronological order, around known dates.

August 9 to August 22, 2010 - Aperture Laboratories

The Aperture Laboratories are the headquarters of Aperture Science and the main location of Portal and Portal 2. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the facility is monitored by the computer GLaDOS.

August 23 to October 2, 2010 - Black Mesa Incident

The Black Mesa Incident, or referred to once in-game as the Lambda Incident, is a catastrophic event resulting from an experiment carried out at the Black Mesa Research Facility, which results in a Resonance Cascade, and ultimately the invasion of Earth by the Combine. Its aftermath sees the teleportation of multiple races of extra-terrestrials into Black Mesa; the resulting battle between the base's personnel, human military forces and Xen creatures conclude in the complete destruction of the facility and the death of almost all of its residents.

October 3 to October 31, 2010 - New Little Odessa

New Little Odessa, also known as N.L.O., is a small Resistance settlement on the Coast named after Colonel Odessa Cubbage, the leader of the Resistance group based there. It is visited during the Half-Life 2 chapter Highway 17, during which Gordon Freeman has to save the base from a Gunship attack with the newly introduced RPG.

November 1 to November 29, 2010 - Half-Life

Half-Life is the game-changing debut title of game development company Valve Software. A science fiction first-person shooter played from the perspective of scientist Gordon Freeman, players take up the task of escaping from the Black Mesa Research Facility, but end up being teleported to Xen in order to save the entire world from destruction.

November 30 to December 27, 2010 - Dog

Dog is Alyx Vance's pet robot, built by her father Eli when she was only a child. He serves as both Alyx's loyal and loving companion, as well as her bodyguard and protector. His erratic quirks and odd moments provide much comic relief, and he is always willing to risk his life to save Alyx, having little to no regard for his own safety.

December 28, 2010 to January 24, 2011 - The Uprising

Combine occupation of Earth, taking place about 20 years after the Black Mesa Incident, is an ongoing war fought between the Combine empire and Earth's human and Vortigaunt Resistance forces.

January 25, 2011 to March 28, 2011 - Borealis

The Borealis is an Aperture Science research vessel introduced in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. According to Isaac Kleiner, Aperture was working on a promising project, but in their rush to beat Black Mesa for funding, they neglected ordinary safety rules and it appears that the ship simply disappeared with parts of her dry dock, which earned her an almost legendary stature. It is assumed that the Borealis contained an immensely powerful and dangerous secret.

March 29, 2011 to ... - Aperture Science

Aperture Science, Inc., often referred to as Aperture Science or simply Aperture, is a United States-based scientific research corporation appearing in Portal and Portal 2, as well as other sources.

Its main facility, the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, is located in Upper Michigan, while others can also be found in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a shower curtain manufacturer named Aperture Fixtures, it evolved over the course of half a century into an experimental physics research institution and a bitter rival of Black Mesa.