Zombine
|
This article would greatly benefit from the addition of one or more new images. |  |
|---|---|---|
Please upload one or several relevant images (from canonical / official sources) and place it here. Once finished, this notice may be removed. |
| |
| Zombine | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Faction |
Xen wildlife |
| Type |
Parasitized transhuman |
| Personal information | |
| Health |
50[1] |
| Attack(s) | |
| Game information | |
| Entity |
npc_zombine |
| Designer(s) | |
- "Hmmm. A Combine zombie. Zombie Combine. That's, that's like a...ah...a Zombine! Right? Heh... Zombine, get it? Heh heh. Heh. Okay."
- ― Alyx Vance[src]
The Zombine, a portmanteau of Zombie and Combine, is the Zombie form of the Combine Soldier, after a Classic Headcrab has attached to its head. It has no Fast or Poison variant.
The Zombine is first encountered in the Half-Life 2: Episode One chapter Lowlife, when Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance stumble upon a troop train in the severely Headcrab-infested City 17 Underground.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The appearance of the Zombine is taken as evidence that the Combine were losing control of City 17 following the near-destruction of the Citadel. Prior to the human uprising, there were very few Headcrabs in the city, only found in areas that had fallen into disrepair. However, due to the prolific use of Headcrab Shells against Resistance safehouses before and during the uprising, Headcrabs came to infest large areas of the city, particularly its underground sections.
Commonly found alongside Classic Zombies and Fast Zombies, Zombines walk slower than the average Zombie; however, they are capable of short sprints, which allow them to quickly close in on their prey.
The term "Zombine" was coined by Alyx Vance during the Episode One chapter Lowlife. She attempts to joke about it, but, since Gordon Freeman never speaks, the joke falters, leaving Alyx awkwardly laughing by herself.
Like the traditional Zombies, Zombines attack with their claws. However, because Combine Soldiers are typically equipped with grenades, a Zombine will, on occasion, equip a live grenade, and attempt a kamikaze-style attack on its victim, rushing towards them until the grenade explodes, killing the Zombine and causing significant damage to the target. Players with quick reflexes can steal the grenade from the Zombine by grabbing it with the Gravity Gun, retreating, and then launching it back for a quick, easy kill; grabbing it will unlock the "Grave Robber" achievement. It is possible that the Headcrab's host is somewhat conscious, and is attempting to destroy perceived threats (themselves and Resistance members) using their grenades. Zombines are also notably more durable than other Zombies, because of the relatively intact suit-of-armor retained from the host, in addition to a Headcrab's ability to give the host body increased damage resistance.
Zombine vocalizations are filtered through the Soldier's vocoder. This "speech" consists not only of typical Zombie growling, but also Combine Soldier reports, such as "sector is not secure" and "necrotics inbound". Zombines may also say things such as: "infestation", "contact", and "biotic overrun". Much like the use of the grenades, this suggests the Combine host is aware of their infection, and is warning any surrounding soldiers, or that it is transmitting the last report the soldier was attempting to make before being attacked.
Zombines lack the characteristic "chest-stomach" present in Zombies overtaken by Classic Headcrabs, likely due to the aforementioned suit-of-armor preventing the bodily damage from being visible to the outside world.
Notably, the removal of a Zombine's Headcrab reveals that, aside from the jawbone and a small, lower portion of the cranium, there doesn't appear to be a head on the soldier's corpse. Since Combine Soldiers have metallic larynges, as seen on a stripped soldier in Nova Prospekt, it is indicated that they don't need more than these prosthetics to be able to speak. Nevertheless, Zombines appear to suffer from speech/linguistic impairments, as evidenced by how slow the radio chatter is spoken, compared to Combine Soldiers. For example, when a Zombine says "sector is not secure", it first says "sector is", gasps for air, and then says "not secure".
Another interesting fact about Zombines is that they can be sliced in half, while original Combine Soldiers cannot.
Tactics[edit]
If engaging with multiple Zombie variants, the Zombine(s) should be targeted first, due to their ability to run and potentially cause severe damage with their Grenades. Other Zombies can be disposed of later, due to their slow speed, with the obvious exception of the Fast Zombies. The optimal tactic to defeat Zombines is to attack them from a distance. The Shotgun and the .357 Magnum are the most effective weapons against them.
If the Zombine activates one of its grenades, the optimal tactic is to quickly retreat and allow it to explode. However, this may not be the most effective tactic, as they will generally run after the player. Alternatively, taking the grenade with the Gravity Gun and either tossing it back to them or into the distance can be useful in preventing damage. A Zombine's grenade can also be used to kill multiple targets if they are in a small space or cluster.
Zombines can be more of a threat when in larger groups. The most favorable tactic is to keep a good distance from the group and deal with them individually.
Related Achievements[edit]
| Half-Life 2: Episode One / Half-Life 2: Episode Two | |
|---|---|
|
Grave Robber (5G) |
| Steal a Zombine's grenade. | |
Trivia[edit]
- Strangely, the Zombine's texture sheet is built off of a version of the Combine Soldier's texture sheet from early 2004. The most notable differences between the early 2004 and final Combine Soldier texture sheet are an overall slightly brighter coloration, which is most noticeable on the white padding, and blue and gray camo being present on the arm and leg plates, compared to the flat dark gray color of the plates in the final sheet.
- Another oddity with the Zombine's texture sheet is that despite being unused, the Combine Soldiers' masks' lenses appear much brighter in the Zombine's texture sheet than in any other Combine Soldier texture sheet.
Behind the scenes[edit]
- The Combine was originally going to have its Zombie variant from Half-Life 2 in the form of the Zombie Assassin, the zombie version of the cut Alien Assassin unit.
- As found in the Half-Life 2 leak files, the Classic Zombie model was originally seen to have been decapitated by the Headcrab, with only the head's lower jaw remaining. While the Classic Zombie retains its head in the final game, the lower jaw part of the leak model was re-used for the Zombine.
- The 2023 repository leak contains an earlier model of the Zombine that only includes Classic Zombie animations and uses the gore texture and hands mesh identical to that of the Half-Life 2 leak zombie. Because it is placed in the
hl2directory rather thanepisodic, it may hint at the original plans to have zombified soldiers in Half-Life 2. This would also explain why both this model and the final one still use earlier soldier body texture.
Gallery[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
The Zombine from the
hl2directory of the repository leak, with early gore textures.
Retail[edit]
Alyx Vance standing next to a deceased Zombine.
A "sleeping" Zombine in the Hospital.
A Zombine (in the background) wielding a Grenade in the Hospital.
A Zombine attacking a door in the Outlands.
A Zombine among a group of Classic Zombies at Station 21.
A Zombine that has been sliced in half in the Outlands.
List of appearances[edit]
- Half-Life 2: Episode One (First appearance)
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Orange Box Prima Guide
