Half-Life 2/Characters

Throughout the course of Half-Life 2, you will encounter many different major characters. Many play a crucial role in the story of the game.

Dr. Gordon Freeman
Gordon Freeman is the main protagonist of Half-Life 2, who has just escaped the Black Mesa Incident due to the efforts of the G-man. He is currently twenty-seven years old and a young graduate of MIT. Gordon is obsessed with the idea of teleportation and made it his life's ambition. Bored with the slow pace of teleportation research, he eventually received a job at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico with the help of his mentor, Dr. Issac Kleiner. Moving into Black Mesa, Gordon began working in higher and more classified projects, eventually working on Xen teleportation techniques. During one of the most critical tests, a resonance cascade occurs, springing forth the Black Mesa Incident; Gordon barely survived this event, and was forced to collaborate with G-man or face certain death. Currently Freeman is in stassis and does not know where his next desitnation lies or what his true destiny is.

G-man
The G-man is a very mysterious character who's true intentions are not known at this time. Throughout the Black Mesa Incident, Gordon spots the G-man in various locations around the facility, watching and waiting for him. Towards the end of the game, the G-man finally comes to Gordon and offers him two choices: to work for him or to fight a battle which cannot be won. Half-Life 2 assumes that the choice to work for the G-man was selected; now G-man serves as Gordon's employer, whose intentions for him are unknown.

Alyx Vance
Alyx Vance is the young daughter of Eli and Azian Vance. She is very intelligent, sympathetic, and extremely independent, as she likes to do things her own way and rebels authority. She meets Gordon in the beginning of the game and quickly becomes friends with him (however, no sensual relationship is involved). Alyx is also friends with Barney Calhoun, Issac Kleiner, and Judith Mossman (although she can be stubborn with Dr. Mossman at times). She also has a robot companion named Dog and serves as a vital figure in the resistance of the Combine.

Dog
Dog is Alyx Vance's robot companion, who was built by Eli Vance when Alyx was very young. Dog started out as a small four-foot robot but over the years Alyx added more and more parts to him. He is very intelligent and acts friendly toward the player and others around him. Dog serves as the protector and guardian of Alyx, as he is extremely strong and uses a tractor beam like the one found on the gravity gun.

Dr. Wallace Breen
Dr. Wallace Breen serves as the current administrator of City 17. Breen was also the administrator during the Black Mesa Incident. He has strong Combine ties.

Barney Calhoun
Barney Calhoun is an assistant of the resistance and former security guard at Black Mesa during the Black Mesa Incident.

Dr. Eli Vance
Eli Vance was Gordon’s boss during his tenure at Black Mesa and was in charge of his research team along with Dr. Kleiner due to his unquestionable scientific genius. He has only one leg, the other presumably lost during the events of the first Half Life. The leader and figurehead of the underground human resistance, he spends his time working on the new teleporter in Black Mesa East, just outside of City 17. Father of Alex Vance, his daughter was one of only two things he brought out of Black Mesa, the other being a picture of his late wife. Many of the events of Half Life 2 are centred on recovering him after his kidnapping by the Combine.