Half-Life 2 - Overwatch Voice Analysis

[@mabs9503]

I could listen to her coordinate the oppression of an entire species all day.

[@xotl2780]

Funny, because if they did take over, you would.

[@terrypennington2519]

She can coordinate my oppression anytime ................█ (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ███۞███████ ]▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▃ ▂▄▅█████████▅▄▃▂ I███████████████████]. ◥⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙◤...

[@ShakeWelBe4Opening]

👉 KZbin.com/watch?v=W-LMXP5sQTk

[@TravisaInc]

i would rather listen to glados killing overwatch with neurotoxin

[@daveh7720]

@@TravisaInc I love hearing GLaDOS say "neurotoxin." She makes it sound so sexy.

[@Tommymad1]

next time i'm arguing with someone i'm gonna tell them to go permanently off-world relocate themselves

[@B_Site]

Go commit permanent off-world relocate

[@AccessDenied20078]

I’m fucking laughing to tears. That’d be funny af

[@noble20xx56]

Lol no one would know what to say to that.

[@MisterJohnDoe]

“Five ration units deducted.”

[@andrewrobson879]

It would just be: Friend: "I'm telling you the earth is flat" You:"FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH MY POINT OF VIEW WITH RESULT WITH PERMANENT OFFWORLD RELOCATION AND 10 RATION UNITS DEDUCTED"

[@ghost_ship_supreme]

Gordon’s first crime was littering. “Pick up that can”.

[@Andrew-hr7yr]

Littering is clearly a gateway crime.

[@PedroThePanda64]

*I SAID PICK UP THE CAN, NIGGA*

[@natahndolar2142]

*Chucks can at officer* Officer: THE FUCK YOU SAY TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT!

[@Gideon_the_Seraph]

“Anticitizen One demonstrates malcompliance with Civil Protection team. Priority warning: liquid ration vessel illegally detected unconfined to liquid ration dispenser. Security alert: acquire liquid vessel and mandate removal of vessel into waste device. Civil Protection team, report. Failure to sterilise liquid vessel will result in permanent off-world relocation.”

[@brianfarrell4987]

GhostShipSupreme 900th LIKE

[@Jamesthe1]

I like how it changes from “Stop; you have violated the law” to “Eviscerate everyone on sight” in just two episodes.

[@derdurstbursch]

She goes full glados, even the voice!

[@lukalaa1764]

@@derdurstbursch yea. Episode two makes her voice close to Glad0s

[@luuk3213]

@@derdurstbursch Papa?

[@derdurstbursch]

@@luuk3213 co, synku?

[@dogvtf]

Her voice after in the episodes is freaky.

[@Shoxic666]

The Orange Box is packed with 3 things: - Teleportation devices - Sentry guns - Ellen giving people orders over a speaker system (sass level varies)

[@whenthegaming9916]

For real though!

[@jackmio]

LMAO i hate and love how true the last one is

[@carlosbustos8096]

When was there a teleportation device in portal 1?

[@Shoxic666]

@@carlosbustos8096 The portals

[@AterNyctos]

@@carlosbustos8096 You have a portal gun

[@Vesterpester]

Overwatch: "Individual, you have been charged with divisive sociocidal counter-obeyance" Individiual: "...What?”

[@akeiai]

xD. Even Freeman won't understand. Submissive means to accept orders easily(this is my own meaning) Divisive must be to not follow orders. Sociology is the study of groups of people. Suicide is to take self life, to murder oneself. Sociocidal must be degrading the lives of groups of people based on self actions. obeyance is to obey. Individual, you are charged for not following instructions, you are harming lives of other individuals, obey and follow orders.

[@sabotabo7476]

Overwatch: STOP! You’ve violated the law!

[@indigotyrian]

There's a lot of newspeak in Portal 2 and they really cut their teeth on it in Half-Life 2

[@Horny_Fruit_Flies]

Sounds like regular legalese to me.

[@TheJas20]

I just love that vernacular, it makes me so wet

[@Tyerell]

I added many words to my english vocabulary.

[@TravisaInc]

dear god

[@gay_madilynn]

@Henrique Batatinha *no..*

[@syv6173]

(edited)

[@freemoriah8160]

debride and cauterize.

[@jcs_190]

@@chopper6408 you did collect every voice file?

[@TimberFinz]

Imagine the Overwatch saying “THE CART HAS ALMOST REACHED THE FINAL TERMINAL HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA”

[@CrazyGamer1541]

Well you don't have to it's the same voice actress

[@thesilent185]

"It's all up to you now..."

[@tragedyplustime8271]

YOU FAILED! Stalemate!

[@specialunit0428]

I can actually imagine her saying "hahaha" as "Ha. Ha. Ha."

[@uhsund]

@@specialunit0428 She'd do the glados laugh

[@PedanticPig]

The Overwatch Voice is one of the most mysterious entities in HL2. Seemingly omnipresent, yet we never observe or interact with her directly. I always wonder if she is indeed an AI or, like the soldiers and stalkers, once a human woman who was surgically and cybernetically mangled to suit the Combine's purposes.

[@Jin-di9zv]

Pretty sure she's AI

[@nikolaisagvold3540]

Maybe glados

[@philthephilosopher9235]

Or maybe an office full of stalkers pressing buttons to make the voice talk.

[@lionhartjohn1000]

@@philthephilosopher9235 That seems... Horribly inefficent. it doesn't feel like the Universal Union

[@thenobslol]

@@philthephilosopher9235 thats pretty primitive and inefficient. Do you really belive an alien civilization that took all of earth in just 7 hours, terraformed quarter of said planet in a span of 20 years after. And are half way done completing their version of a Dyson Sphere on their home system. would only use pulleys, and late 80s computer science of a used to be dominant native species who they dismantled into nothing more than last generation of cattle, while what has remained of their past infrastructure, refurbished and recycled into an Authoritarian [Orwellian-like] society, which its only purpose is to re-educate and assimilate its last pockets of humanity into what the Citadel AI deems worthy to The Combine cause?. I don't know about you but i doubt that a type 2 civilization that deemed humanity a questionable species would let them rule themselves on one of their newly aquired turfs do the 1's and 0's, which alone is like cavemen digitaly banging rocks in comparison to what The Combine have at their disposal. Thus The Combine AI operated citadel towers comes to play. acting as a judge, and as prime authority of the last few decaying bastions on earth.

[@MaximG.]

To think that Ellen McLain voiced three "disembodied voice" type characters (four if you count her role in Pacific Rim).

[@AzulGatos41]

She was in Pacific Rim?

[@Corium1]

AzulGatos41 yep

[@noob1138]

You mean GlaDOS, Overwatch Voice and the TF2 Administator? :D

[@Corium1]

Sam Haley no he means Freemen, Chell and the wood cut out of a cow on 2fort.

[@Le_Codex]

It's to be noted that she has kind of the perfect voice for this kind of job

[@Cx10110100]

So basically Freeman gave her PTSD in Episode 1

[@Xalerdane]

More like severe brain damage.

[@Da_Rivulet]

he gave her PTSD in general

[@elkinnortlee3497]

Me: "I'm out of ammo !" Me, a willing Civil Protection: "I'm running low on verdicts !"

[@gneo5524]

Bro I'm elite what you talking about

[@oriiif]

Terminal verdicts

[@someguy4258]

@@oriiif Prepare to receive civil judgement

[@creatrplays]

*gets gatling gun* *delivers 5000 verdicts per minute*

[@klaykid117]

Sounds like something out of judge dredd

[@ironraccoon3536]

12:57 [ASMR] Combine soldiers fend off Antlion attacks.

[@RescoeZ]

Heh, I bet someone will request this now.

[@xotl2780]

@@RescoeZ if I were still in high school I might've. Loved this stuff back in the day. I guess I did find my way to this video though.

[@benlyman115]

@dead squid on keyboard I could imagine the rebels one. Every time one of them died, one of the other rebels would scream "NOoOoOoOo!" Ahhh, so soothing.

[@houghwhite411]

@@RescoeZ 24 hours version pls

[@LowReso1ution]

@@robertd4100 go commit permanent off-world relocation

[@BlueKunai]

I was looking forward to this one. The Overwatch adds so much to the atmosphere and world building of Half-Life 2. It's just a shame you can't hear her that well in most scenarios

[@noble20xx56]

I agree. Last time Ivwatched a playthrough of the game I was wondering what she was saying. Only caught bits here and there. "Contain." "Sterilize" Sounded...Cold.

[@KyokuiGhostASMR]

@@noble20xx56 In subtitles she has BIG RED TEXT that really pops out

[@noble20xx56]

@@KyokuiGhostASMR Yeah I just watched it. She had to let them mf's kno you mean bidness. 🔫

[@skuglious]

Turn on çaptions bro

[@hideous_taco_michael_zacki]

Captions: I don't exist

[@sulphurous2656]

One detail that isn't mentioned often is that there is chatter between Civil Protection and Overwatch regarding the unexpected arrival of Freeman before he becomes a fugitive, then their "miscount". May have something to do with the G-Man essentially just "spawning" in Gordon in the station leaving behind some sort of residual temporal energy, but also shows how much of a tight leash the Combine keep on the occupied.

[@chattenmetchad]

Sulphurous what kind of chatter?

[@Jp-bg3fc]

When you pass the metrocops you can hear them talk to Overwatch that they suspect a miscount and when your fresh off the train a scanner takes a shot of Gordon and a shot from the security cam from the Nova prospect checkpoint, this indicates that metrocops are given visual huds or advance input or output of information in their masks given by the combine which isn't talked about

[@Nathan-kk6lb]

I’m pretty sure G-Man canonically spawns Gordon in a citizen uniform so he wouldn’t be noticed, but even then they have the population so locked down via the Combine force field grid blocking most unscheduled traffic on the streets and a ridiculous number of cameras, scanner drones, and facial recognition systems *constantly* validating that everyone is where they’re supposed to be that they immediately knew something was up as soon as Gordon got off the train.

[@remarus]

This was actually put together as exactly try by the voice lines found in the files that play during that period. Channel: Wibble has a video, (watch?v=jAfdegijras) on it all put together alongside the active time of playthrough. It's fascinating.

[@JRexRegis]

@Jp there's one line in the canals where the Voice says "prepare for download of his face" or something like that, so this is pretty likely.

[@OmnipotentGoggles]

Hey, we don't know all the soldiers are ignoring her in Episode 1. There could be some soldiers in the belly of the Citadel in a room full of active turrets, confused why they need to deploy, deploy, deploy.

[@PsychadelicoDuck]

I sort of wonder whether Overwatch's orders and code words are just supposed to be shorthand for soldiers' instructions, or if Combine units are literally programmed to follow Overwatch's directives, and couldn't ignore them even if they knew they should.

[@ladyselin35]

@@PsychadelicoDuck Thats right theyre brainwashed to follow the orders. Theyre not CP's at leastCP has human personnels too and they can ignore orders.

[@captaincancer7786]

@@ladyselin35 Well it's seemingly clear enough that the Combine Units, or at least the standard grunts, still have some human capacity left. They occasionally scream "Shit" when grenades are thrown at them, and they can still be threatened with Offworld Reassignment, implying they still are capable of dissent, or at the very least, an unwillingness to sacrifice.

[@dustypaint]

advisors were relocated to positions where confused overwatch inbound.

[@Sillytommysadventure]

Stale Bagelz dosent take out the human part tho dude

[@cheesygrilkaboomyawoman]

I think the second Overwatch AI is a different variant that is deployed when things start to get out of control, probably more geared towards a war scenario. She says her orders a lot faster and is a lot more legible which would make sense if the Combine need to get things done quickly, as well as the fact that she seems a lot more supportive in the finding of fugitives, completely throwing away the law stuff. Instead of a slow "You have violated the law, these are your charges. This team go here and arrest these people." it's a fast "Scanning. Found them, this is their location. Go fuck them up."

[@asteroidrules]

It does effectively state that the advisors are taking direct control after Breen's gone, the lines mention taking over "autonomous units" and complying with the advisors' orders.

[@maximnikolaev6627]

@@asteroidrules that's exactly what I thought, I think the overwatch before was essentially a human brain implanted into a computer (shouldn't be difficult considering aperture science has done it before, in a more personality state Vs a more psychological state). Then in episode 2 one of the advisors implanted their brain into the computer and since they lack any of the empathy or the psychology of a human, they are more direct in a more "universal" state. (It reminds me of someone...)

[@jasonalbert6251]

I always assumed that it was the difference between urban and rural. In the urban environment, AI speaks slowly and communicates in legal terms. In the rural environment, where no-one is watching, AI is quick and warlike.

[@artem.boldariev]

I think that the second version is a less advanced one deployed by advisors to control the remaining forces.

[@decretumdeluxe9670]

@SuperMarioFan 3001 Definitely

[@CriminaL277]

Honestly, Overwatch Voice in Episode One gives me goosebumps.

[@-INK-]

Sounds like Glados, no?

[@-INK-]

Watched the vide till the end - its the same voice actress! That explains a lot...

[@randomtexanguy9563]

@@-INK- Get this: the Overwatch Voice in Episode Two sounds like the Intelligence Core from the same game GLaDOS debuts in, which is also voiced by the same voice actress. It's actually her speaking in her GLaDOS voice but the pitch is decreased a fair bunch.

[@uav5594]

@@randomtexanguy9563 it’s really no surprise. I don’t know why they made it sound just like fucking glados

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

I think during the citadel collapse, the voice is scared. It sounds like it has been damaged, or wounded some how. It doesn't understand whats happened to it but knows that its damaged and isn't functioning so its calling out to *anyone* who will listen to do *something, anything* that might fix it.

[@long_chin_man]

can we please hit this comment with at least 500 likes

[@lunarcultist6214]

Now I'm feeling sympathetic and protective for an oppressive alien AI.

[@CrispyChicken44]

Yeah, I was feeling sorry for it at that moment.

[@mastaslate5982]

I hate it when people try to be deep but fail miserably

[@mastaslate5982]

That's you, I'm talking about you

[@jankaryjen3830]

mom can we get glados? mom: we already have glados at home glados at home:

[@gustavosantos106]

Ellen McLain give her voice to both "villains". I hope we will hear her again.

[@nathans7801]

Gustavo Santos I’m hoping we get to hear her voice Overwatch again in HL: Alyx

[@predattak]

@@gustavosantos106 portal 3 would be great now that valve is finally learning how to count to 3...

[@FormerWarAnimator]

Both. Both is good.

[@semaj00]

This is even better

[@SrMeechio]

The creepiest thing is when she reveals that one of the "perks" of being in Civil Protection is that the Combine won't split up your family... as long as you hit your quotas. It humanises the CP officers a bit.

[@Saruman38]

Where does she say that? Is that in the video?

[@casenjones826]

Saruman38 no but it’s in the civic protection video. It’s said as “Family cohesion maintained”

[@ConradFiat]

These are just perks to keep a leash on them. Its not humane. They know that humans care about what's left of family or partners. To encourage recruiting yourself to the ranks of your overlords. It's like... manipulative coaxing.

[@SrMeechio]

@@ConradFiat Was talking about Civil Protection, mate. Their motives are human.

[@ConradFiat]

It said something completely different before. But i do get what you guys mean now.

[@ursa_margo]

The Overwatch is the best part of Half Life world-building: mysterious, creepy, unique, very alien, very inhuman. Truly the work of a genius

[@roger5555ful]

But also familiar

[@Xalerdane]

A pity that the Valve we have now isn’t the same Valve we had then.

[@ZombieGuy2401]

My favorite moment in the whole series is when overwatch addresses gordon as “individual” because the combine sees all of humanity as one entity, just as it sees itself as one entity. So the fact that it recognizes gordon as an independent entity on his own is huge

[@EndLooker-el8jn]

Yeah, it even goes deeper with Overwatch occasionally referring to Gordon as freeman. It almost seems to be adopting the name from the local or Dr. Breen, as the overwatch doesn't know who Gordon is (which is a bigger deal than you'd think once you realize that overwatch seams to be able too and is keeping track of all of humanity, including genetic and designated identification). It's all just so fascinating... as if this massive combined super entity is literally calling out and addressing Gordon in it's own inhuman way.

[@thehandlesticks66]

Jesus, HL2 really was a magnum opus of modern video games. The voice also reminds me of a repurposed GLaDOS.

[@samanthablack7990]

Well, it was the same VA

[@TheRogueWolf]

I remember there being theories that Overwatch was a modified copy of GLaDOS, stolen from what remained of Aperture Science somewhere between HL1 and 2 and Portal 1 and 2.

[@MisterJohnDoe]

Considering what the combine does with other technology, that could actually happen

[@chefbob662]

@@TheRogueWolf im really starting the think the combine went to aperture between portal 1 and 2, since glados wouldnt have seen them, and the door to the borealis is clearly blown off. they probably copied glados ai while they were there

[@Fenrize]

@@chefbob662 This made me think of a scenario where Gordon and Alyx end up in aperture to get something to use against the Combine and seeing there will be most likely timetravel involved with HL:A, we'd get throwback scene where we're shown it was actually G & A who took the ship in the first place, causing it to teleport across the dimensions. Or maybe they'd just backtrack to where it came from to get more information. Idk.

[@srbrant5391]

"Non-sanctioned arson." Then what is _sanctioned arson?!_

[@uppishcub1617]

when the metro cops shoot the explosive barrels

[@saltedhorsemeat4843]

when someone sneaks a crowbar in the apartment building so Civil Protection needs to burn the whole complex down to ensure safety

[@asteroidrules]

The Cremator.

[@Da_Rivulet]

​@@asteroidrules Meet the Pyro

[@wormwoodbecomedelphinus4131]

Firebombing approved by Overwatch.

[@specialunit0428]

I take it "Deservice all political conscripts" is basically saying "Execute every prisoner" right?

[@RescoeZ]

Pretty much, yes.

[@mr.bucket8308]

Lmao 69 likes

[@St-bh5oz]

@@mr.bucket8308 lmao 111 likes

[@GORYGIRL]

@@RescoeZ HEY, I KNOW THIS IS LATE, BUT I TOO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. WHEN THE OVERWATCH VOICE SAYS THE LINE: "VANCE SUPREME ENGAGED" WHAT DID THAT LAST PART MEAN (ABOUT THE CAUTORIZING AND THE OTHER STUFF)? I FEEL I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS BUT I WANNA BE SURE SO I DON'T MISINTERPRITATE IT. OH, AND ALSO, WOULDN'T ELI BE ANTI CITIZEN ONE OR MAYBE EVEN DR. KLEINER BECAUSE ALYX PROBABLY WASN'T THE FIRST ONE TO CAUSE TROUBLE...RIGHT...IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE? OR IS IT BASED ON HOW MUCH DAMAGE THEY CAUSE OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S SIMILAR TO THAT? BECAUSE IDK AND I'M CONFUSED TBH LOL. ALSO, ONE LAST QUESTION, WHEN YOU REACH THE TELEPORTER NEAR THE ENDING OF HL2 IS THERE A SCRIPTED EVENT THAT MAKES BREEN TELEPORT AWAY IF YOU WAIT TOO LONG FOR HER TO COUNT DOWN, OR DOES EVERYTHING...REPEAT SO TO SAY? BUT ANYWAYS, THANKS FOR MAKING THIS! YOU CLEARLY PUT SO MUCH LOVE AND DETAIL INTO YOUR WORK/RESEARCH, SO GREAT JOB, KEEP IT UP. :D P.S FORGIVE MY BAD SPELLING AND/OR GRAMMAR MISTAKES IF ANY ARE PRESENT.

[@RescoeZ]

@@GORYGIRL Woah now, no need for all caps lol, I can see your questions just fine. I'll answer them as best as I can :-) 1. The Combine uses medical terminology in their vocabulary. The word "cauterize" means "burn the skin or flesh of (a wound) with a heated instrument or caustic substance in order to stop bleeding or to prevent infection". So they treat Gordon and Alyx as a disease/infection to be removed. Basically, it's the Combine's way of saying "kill them." 2. Eli and Kleiner are high priority targets (or at least Eli is, it isn't known whether the Combine know of Kleiner), but not as much as Gordon and Alyx, who both have caused serious damage to the Combine's rule on Earth (i.e, blowing up Nova Prospekt which started off the Uprising). Whoever is designated "Anticitizen One" is the Combine's current highest priority target, which would be Gordon during Half-Life 2 and its episodes, whilst in Half-Life: Alyx it's Alyx. 3. For the question about Breen's portal, I'm not sure. His portal starts to move more the higher up you get, but I'm not sure if he actually teleports if you take too long, it may have been taken out the game, but I haven't really tried it. Thanks for your comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the video :-)

[@Calibers50]

4:43 the overwatch voice also refers to gordon as: "individual" sometimes, because the combine see him as separate from the populous

[@scottm8292]

Yep, because unlike most of the populace, he isn't compliant, and is acting as an individual with free will.

[@da_real_ivanpan]

The way she pronounces "Vital alert" in Episode 2 is eargasmic

[@benlyman115]

I like "Sector sweep."

[@procyon6370]

There's a really great remix by morch kovalski

[@lukevankleef4245]

7:00 I've never seen that animation of the soldiers deploying turrets before! That crazy!

[@Horny_Fruit_Flies]

You could see them on one of the 144p Combine security monitors in Nova Prospekt.

[@BoraEdu]

Me too

[@chaosinc.382]

Legit.

[@BPKPhoenix]

Even with all that technology, 144p is their HD.

[@InterEDGE]

"INACTION IS CONSPIRACY" That is just so badass. I can't believe that isn't a meme or something.

[@camera2178]

dear god…

[@andrixold3]

@@camera2178 there's more

[@kedarunzi9139]

no...

[@JNJG1999]

Quite a ephumastic way of saying that being netural is committing an act of treason

[@benlyman115]

Fun fact: If there are infinite universes, the Combine are out there. Think about this before you shoot any lasers at suspicious crystals...

[@lolok6236]

But.. it'll be such a cool last moments of death, though! Seeing the sky peppered with combine aircraft and the entire military of earth getting beaten into shit in 7 hours would be such a cool sight! And imagine seeing hundreds of super-portals lighting the sky with a flush of neon blue!

[@Lucas-mh9ow]

lol ok This man is a sadist

[@akeiai]

@@Lucas-mh9ow he's not a sadist. He's an ignorant fucker.

[@72I32895305634058340]

TreeMobile. Someone’s mad

[@lad7436]

@@akeiai oof what happened mom didn't let you play Fortnite?

[@clovericy5480]

"He's kicking it." "Overwatch says stop kicking it." "He stopped kicking it."

[@Firepup740]

Good to know I'm not the only one thinking of that.

[@Da_Rivulet]

wut yo tolkin boot?

[@mr.vister6262]

A pair of combine grunts in half life alex my friend.

[@shamWOOHOO22]

"Overwatch Augmentation Team, report synthetic detachment damage assessment." "He's kicking it." "Mmmmmmmmm what? Tell him to stop kicking it." "Overwatch says stop kicking it." "Report." "He stopped kicking it."

[@Mentallysubnormal]

Attention please: Unidentified person of interest concerns your civil status with local protection teams immediately.

[@untouchableE2IN]

Typical GMod RP lockdown)

[@michaeldebidart]

Confirm*

[@AmBush2048]

Right here, ma'am

[@RescoeZ]

Dang it I just realised I forgot to put an intro clip in. It would have been that very quote. Ah well.

[@Mentallysubnormal]

@@RescoeZ Haha really? I'm sorry about that lol

[@BirdRaiserE]

I knew her voice sounded familiar. Then I realized: Sounds just like the intercom at the hospital my dad works at.

[@valkaerie8715]

Record it some time, I'd stay away from that hospital too, too many zombies

[@yegorgribenuke6853]

Attention. Patient is on the immediate way to permanent off-world relocation. Advance immediately.

[@hetman1789]

Code: Treat.Sterilize.Disinfect.

[@Samwow]

Eliminate Antibody 1

[@Infinite_Archive]

I'd make sure no-one with the name Breen becomes a big deal there, if I were you.

[@gustavosantos106]

13:18 It is lovely to see how the shotgunner moves to cover his mate rifleman while reloading.

[@superz-sv1ih]

0:01 normal Overwatch 9:22 Damaged Overwatch 10:54 Recreated Overwatch Voice: Ellen Mclain

[@Rouge_GamingYT]

Wasn’t the Overwatch Voice in Episode 2 the same voice actor that played GLADos in the Portal series

[@zhankazest]

@@Rouge_GamingYT yeah this is mentioned in the video

[@LehySnek]

I like that the AI that takes over after the Citadel explodes cut the double-speak bullshit: she doesn't say "expunge", or "sterilize", she goes straight for "exterminate".

[@CombineWatermelon]

I think that instead, the ep2 AI is just for war, not for managing a societal superorganism

[@Slonitram]

Episode One's distorted Overwatch Voice is really creepy. She sounds like a ghost.

[@ged-4138]

She sounds so grasping linguistically, really like an AI that's breaking down, but also like a human struggling with her mistakes. She keeps repeating: "Reverse.. Singularity.. Reverse... Singularity..." which is the gravitational field manipulator held by Gordon that allowed all the hell to go down. Half-life 2 is really scientifically accurate with Einstein-Rosen bridges and the gravitational SPACE-TIME fields that allow them. I feel like the "slow teleport" Kleiner "invented" in hl2 is a setup for time or multi-space-time travel in hl3, which the Borealis in the epistle literally goes for. Man, Mark Laidlaw really did his Max Planck homework

[@TheRogueWolf]

Or like something akin to a stroke victim. Which makes sense, as she's probably suffered damage to a significant portion of her "brain".

[@MisterJohnDoe]

I think it’s to add to the creepiness to the citadel being in a badly damaged condition

[@makarylli1]

Because it's closer!

[@Thornbloom]

Combine uses the term deservice to refer to execution/death.

[@Jin-di9zv]

They use different vocabulary but means common things. Refreshing really. I don't wanna hear common crap with this entirely different alien race.

[@ceu160193]

Off-world assignment/service means exactly that: being sent in different Combine world.

[@sami0123456789ful]

@@ceu160193 Perhaps sentenced to some sort of prison or work camp?

[@ceu160193]

@@sami0123456789ful Serving Combine in their goals, just in other world, yes. Combine is rational, and forcing offenders to perform some pointless tasks as punishment is waste of resources. Most likely it would be service in some world, that Combine is currently taking over.

[@lionhartjohn1000]

@@ceu160193 It does make you wonder, whether there is a force out there that is at war with the Combine (or Universal Union as thier official name) and is keeping them busy. If the Combine managed to make an Intergalactic Empire, who's to say there are no others?

[@TP-rs5zl]

"submit and be subsumed" That's gonna be my new one liner when I win in CSGO

[@specialunit0428]

We need a 10 hour video of Combine Soldiers defending from antlions.

[@RescoeZ]

Longest I've seen soldiers last against Antlions is 5 minutes.

[@apxutekctypa]

Conquered the entire planet in 7 hours, yet the longest they can withstand antlions is 5 minutes. So, here’s how the Earth wins back: adopting antlions and then breeding an army of those.

[@arpadkocsis7472]

@@RescoeZ not if, maybe they are near a thumper so antlions can't really get closer, a similar situation to the one at the end of this vid. Also with MMod they last longer because they are smarter (they jump n all :D )and they are using the secondary attack of both the MP7 and the OSIPR.

[@pawematuszewski7630]

Combine AMSR: Soldiers fighting off Antlions on a coastline.

[@henriquecosta1175]

@@apxutekctypa Nah, we saw a indenpendent scout group attack earth *i know this comment is old* Pretty sure the antlions die easily

[@jsihavealotofplaylists]

I feel like part of overwatch died with the citadel. The new voice is some other a.i. or a clean system restore.

[@szamas-_-1812]

maybe a part of overwatch that's deployed locally in case of a major fuck up, basically overwatch but will kill anyone that shows even the tiniest bit of insubordination

[@elielc.8459]

Why the heck did they make her so hard to listen in-game? I even never heard most of these lines.

[@ataarono]

Hearing the voice has no gameplay relevance so they could make it realistic and believable instead of in your face

[@JINORU_]

Turn on closed captions

[@aolson1111]

Because you used crappy speakers instead of good headphones.

[@lathrin]

@@aolson1111 I use HyperX headphones but still can't hear the voice that well

[@zarrowthehorse]

Makes you stop and listen

[@MaximG.]

Fun fact: there are two Russian localizations of Half-Life 2 - the first was from Valve themselves, which had some technical errors, and the second from Russian company Buka, based on Valve's. Buka's localization fixed some of Valve's mistakes, as well as redubbed some characters, like Kleiner, Breen or Alyx with different VAs, while keeping other characters' voices unchanged from the first localization, like Eli, G-Man, Overwatch soldiers, CPs or Overwatch Voice. However, Episodes One and Two recast the rest of characters who got new dialogues, including damaged OW Voice in Episode One. Therefore only CP and OW soldiers remained unchanged from the Valve's localization. _However,_ as some people might know, confiscation field lines in Ep1 were reused from HL2, and weren't re-recorded in Russian version, thus creating jarring dissonance between two different voice actresses. Not to mention many other technical and translation errors in Buka's localizations…

[@Brandelwyn]

Buka is pure shit. Still have flashbacks from the horrible Dark Crusade localisation. HORUS OF HERESY, wtf

[@KeksimusMaximus]

@@Brandelwyn нахуй ты на английском обсуждаешь русскую локализацию?

[@Brandelwyn]

@@KeksimusMaximus тебя еьет?

[@Brandelwyn]

@@KeksimusMaximus она ж и правда говно

[@beyondbackwater4933]

"Permanent offworld relocation" Combine are an inter-dimensional species and capable of teleporting things to other worlds.

[@televisionandcheese]

But would they bother ? They're just humans not very useful, and have shown to be non compliant. Maybe they could be given really bad jobs mining some far off planets for the rest of their lives, or maybe their just rounded up on earth and shot

[@user-s9eu8ce9fw]

@@televisionandcheese I thought off-world was refering to afterlife since permament could of imply death in this context.

[@KingThrillgore]

The frightening part is we don't fully understand what it means, just that "permanent off world relocation" is bad. It could be death, could be a lifetime on a fringe world. It could be either/or, whatever Overwatch deems fit for your misgivings. Your mind just knows it's not good. And neither do active Overwatch officers.

[@gustavosantos106]

Off-world assignment is not death, but worse. Most likely they would serve as stalkers after some brain and body parts parts "amputation".

[@Bigglesworthicus]

my headcanon was you get sent to some rancid space gulag on Xen or somewhere similar in the Universal Union, being forced to build infrastructure for Combine colonies or mining for resources while trying not to get eaten by the local wildlife. If a civil protection guy fucks up, he gets the miserable job of guarding you. Overwatch gets sent to die in some horrible meatgrinder of a battlefield against the Combine's more capable foes that take them more than 7 hours to defeat. If you're an active rebel, then its stalker time for you.

[@LexarXaryonx]

9:52 Hearing her slurred, drunk-sounding, nonsensical lines in EP1 is really unsettling. Considering the fact that her orders/statements have always been explicit, intelligible, and to the point, and how she's somewhat of a commander to the combine, to the citizens, etc, now that she's just saying the same nonsensical orders over and over again and being unreliable to the point of combine soldiers ignoring her is seriously unsettling and kinda sad. It's not just what she's saying, it's how she sounds. Before, she spoke at a decent pace with a steady pitch. She would raise her voice slightly occasionally which gave her somewhat of a powerful sound if you know what I mean. Here she speaks at an inconsistent and irregular pace, and the same thing with the pitch of her voice. Sometimes it's low, other times it's normal just slow, other times it's high. It really puts me on edge. Not to mention the extreme amount of reverb makes it even more unsettling and creepy.

[@oklik6864]

I sincerely thank you for your : hard work, dedication and research ! This is really interesting to watch and listen, friend !

[@RescoeZ]

You're welcome :-)

[@j.l.theseagull4822]

hear hear!

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

The clinical newspeak the combine uses, such as referring to Freeman or other criminals as infections, really plays into the imagery of The Combine acting like one massive cross-dimensional organism composed of dominated and eventually assimilated organisms and technologies.

[@TheOrangex88]

5:01 “243 assault Civil Protection” I swear my kill count was much higher than that

[@alpacaChillMusic]

thats the code, not the number of crimes

[@cataclysm_ical]

@@alpacaChillMusic r/wooooooooooooooosh

[@plotheplayer6462]

rookie numbers

[@mati-asstorres9692]

Nobody: That quiet kid on the back: "prepare to receive verdict."

[@FV4030]

Cancer

[@MaxwellDST]

@@FV4030 you have cancer ? zamnnn bro

[@sentiuntreus]

Wonderful job on this! The Overwatch voice was one of the things I found most interesting in Half-Life 2. I never knew she addressed the player directly via CP radios.

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

I love the terminology they use. Particularly “Social fracture” and “amputation from civic population”

[@calinandrei8374]

Or deprioritise exogen contamination. Or Biotics containment.

[@lenakan8990]

I had never realised how carefully written her lines were. This is the best AI voice I've heard in a game, it's just unique. The colder tone in episode 2 makes also sense: after Breen's death, there is no human on the same level as the voice, and since the emotionless Advisors have taken over, their actions and orders are much more determined and drastic. Btw 6:58 watching a Combine soldier place a turret is the coolest thing I've seen

[@Baconomics1]

3:12 the crime of "non-sanctioned arson" implies the existence of sanctioned legal arson

[@burrconnie8716]

One word: Cremator

[@st1nger_music]

10:10 is my favorite line. EP1 has great atmosphere

[@Well-Rounded_Wildcard]

it sounds like a damaged and dying human being with the last shambles of the brain just going haywire. similar to a human acquiring brain damage from an ied blast or a landmine, its morbid i know

[@Well-Rounded_Wildcard]

like a damaged computer trying to run, except it seems more biological in this instance

[@MrPodushka]

I always freaking loved when her voice spoke in the game. Her phrases are just so purely AI badass, you cannot but fall under her coolness. Thank you for this video!

[@Johnny-zi6lw]

Maybe an Advisor analysis! Like how they give the Combine orders or why they have almost full authority over the Combine! :D

[@nick8052]

There's not enough info about them

[@PedanticPig]

There was more info on Marc Laidlaw's BreenGrub twitter if you're willing to take that as canon.

[@nick8052]

That's true, and although I do consider it canon personally this channel is about known information and justified speculation

[@janglejingle5937]

@@nick8052 and the official writer's own theories, who came up with almost all the concepts we see in half-life and half-life 2, can't be taken as justified speculation?

[@nick8052]

they're not approved by the rest of the half-life team

[@LiCuKi]

God damn, so much love and care for the game and it's not finished... It's such a shame.

[@fungusamongus9686]

Not finished just because there was cut content? Things where cut for a reason you know.

[@komatobeast9122]

@@fungusamongus9686 Not finished in the sense that the storyline never had a cannon ending put in game.

[@angelofdeath275]

because valve has very shitty management

[@Conserpov]

"Voice of Overwatch" is like "Big Brother", except she's a sister, a medical sister It's like a reference and a pun

[@nainorotodox]

It seems like this game is highly inspired in 1984

[@discovaria9507]

Big sister

[@marclapin]

Discovaria Big Sister is watching you

[@Conserpov]

@@OXY187 G-man was most certainly inspired by the smoking man from the X-files.

[@loggy6554]

​@@discovaria9507 Onee-chan

[@MegaAdeny]

Dude, I thought there was nothing you could show me I haven't heard, and then you creeped me tf out with EP1 Overwatch voice. Nice.

[@Jaxymann]

4:40 - The fact that the person who rebels against the Combine’s dystopian dictatorship so much that it outranks ‘Anticitizen’ is a man by the name of *Freeman* is such a wonderfully conceived bit of world building by Valve.

[@roddydykes7053]

It’s weird hearing her say Freeman or otherwise address the player directly, didn’t remember those lines during my many playthroughs

[@metalc.s3170]

I really hope to hear the overwatch voice In half life alyx

[@normalcore.]

:(

[@bbandthesv]

You got your wish

[@elopeous3285]

Half life probably won't be the same without the VOXes and announcers in the game to build atmosphere.

[@goodthatsonelesslooseend831]

Lol, Imagine the Half-Life 1 VOX as the overwatch voice for the combine soldiers/metrocops

[@dylon4906]

I personally think that a new AI or synth human had to be used in EP2 since the citadel is well... not a citadel anymore. I havent really thought that much about it before this and just always assumed that it was a simple change in VA for no lore reason but now it makes sense to me and I can be less jarred at the change

[@ged-4138]

Well they didn't change the VA. All the more reason to assume that the voice is some other AI system, maybe operating on Advisorial behalf. Now that I've been thinking about it, why did the combine make her assume a female form? It's like on a horse farm - they lead the female in front of the herd so that the males follow her. So essentially they utilized this like a farmer would. Man...

[@WinterRaven25]

@@ged-4138 It's pretty common to give computers female voices. I remember seeing something back in the 90's where they were discussing why airplanes would have female voices for cockpit warnings. It's simply because most pilots are male and males are psychologically hardwired to pay attention to female voices.

[@BoraEdu]

Citadel not a Citadel anymore... It reminds me of a Glados line in Portal 2 (door mainframe)

[@imlegos2153]

@@BoraEdu "Let's just say he won't be... well, 'living' any more."

[@WangleLine]

I love how the explanation and analysis is in plain text, rather than spoken. Thank you!

[@airfryerlucy173]

Overwatch voice is the voice of advisors, breen is a lowely puppet.

[@maximnikolaev6627]

Yes and no, the combines in general won't listen to a pure human, so instead they create a synth computer with a human brain inside of it considering most of their stuff is forcing them to become extinct and not fully trusting Breen but he has helped them throughout the time. (Although it did seem like they were experimenting on cloning perhaps?)

[@Roach-DoggJR]

An associate of mine recently accidentally cut himself with a knife. I coldly told him to "cauterize and expunge." So as to avoid infections, of course.

[@TheNaz01]

What i realized is that the Overwatch acts very similar to an immune system, its telling its 'white blood cells' (combine soldiers) to attack a cancer of some kind(Rebels). Words used by Overwatch like "subsume" entails that the earth seemed to belong to a body of some kind, to them(combine) earth is a small part of a larger organism. This would also imply the combine act like an organism which also consumes simpler ones. A cosmic predator in a sense. Maybe the G-man is an agent of someone looking to destroy these large creatures of the cosmos such as the combine. A Man versus a Giant. "code reminder: Sacrifice. Coagulate. Clamp."

[@Da_Rivulet]

yes

[@DaveDexterMusic]

This is why it's still one of my favourite games. The atmosphere of implied and actual subjugation is woven so powerfully and so subtly throughout, with the voice being something you could almost miss but adds to the tapestry of fully realised oppression.

[@UrbenLegend]

Oh man, her more terse form in Episode 2 gives me the chills. It is so cold and clinical, perfect for its murderous mission.

[@FryderykG523]

She sounds like GLADOS in Episede 2.

[@AgentMrX7]

It's the same voice actor

[@TW-qw5zr]

Well, true, but her manner of speaking, tone, and even voice is a lot closer to GLaDOS than HL2 Overwatch.

[@Coelohihi]

probably because portal and episode 2 came out in the orange box, so she probably dubbed them at around the same time

[@flaunjing]

My theory is that it is purposeful. They wouldn’t of made it so similar to Glados for no reason

[@kirill9064]

I imagine Overwatch connecting to the hev suit radio and listing all those crimes to gordon. at 4:03

[@Mercutian506]

The thing I like most about HL2 is the OpFor voice lines. The CPs and soldier dialogue had so many little nuances in them that made for such memorable immersion. The Overwatch Voice cadence is even adjusted based on whether she is speaking to a whole district or to an individual team. Faster when over comms and slower over loudspeaker to allow reverb and echoing not to fuddle the message. Just masterclass design.

[@HotSneks]

In case you weren't aware - Ellen McLain aka the voice of GLaDOS is also the voice of the Combine Overwatch!

[@roddydykes7053]

That’s in the video at the end

[@eyesack6845]

Since we never see the loudspeakers, I like to think the Combine actually have great acoustic technology, allowing for her to be heard at the same volume even if you are far away from the source.

[@salsamancer]

I'm glad Ellen McClain found her niche, she gave most excellent performances as Glados, Overwatch and The Administrator

[@steamsoldier]

This channel is criminally underrated if not for your I wouldn't know any of this. Makes the game that much deeper, thank you!

[@Good-pg5bt]

I believe the robotic voice is just a medium used by Combine Advisers to communicate with humans and transhumans.

[@RescoeZ]

Ingame Civil Protection Lines - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6ummq2terymnq8 Ingame Combine Soldier Lines - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJXWmHmraseArLM Overwatch Voice City Announcements - kzbin.info/www/bejne/i52slZJ5nJJrmLs Nova Prospekt Overwatch Voice & Guard Lines - kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3u9mnygrsqHbZo

[@alexquant1335]

The British Received Pronunciation accent in the female voice is .. eerie!

[@thehahagamer07]

7:35 you can hear for some reason screams in the citadel

[@sirizalot]

Just when I thought this magnificent game couldn't get any more detailed and perfect.

[@JollyJuiice]

The wonderful voice of Ellen McLain

[@invalid_user_handle]

I always interpreted Episode 2's Overwatch voice as being the Advisors directly giving orders to units through the Overwatch system due to the original AI's destruction in the Citadel, hence why the phrasing is further broken up and simplified. Whatever translation tool between their native language and human languages they use must be jumping through a lot of hoops to make it work...

[@ew9506]

I understand why you'd think that but Overwatch's voice changes before the Advisors even hatch from their pods. In the middle of Episode 2 she "deploys" the Advisors which futher shows they were in incubation and not active. Overwatch also has this direct and abrupt manner of speech in Half Life Alyx albeit with out the robotic GlaDOS-esque voice filter.

[@hoosierhell7456]

After hearing the voice in Alyx I feel it sounded more human like. My theory is that originally the Overwatch voice was an actual person, a collaborator like Breen, but eventually they had their consciousness converted to an AI.

[@Freezorgium]

If anything episode 2's overwatch voice sounds more human

[@nano7586]

11:30 Its interesting how she almost sounds like GLaDOS at some point. *Oh, just saw the rest of the video. But still, maybe the AI in the universe is the same?

[@maximnikolaev6627]

Or possibly similar technology, it shouldn't be difficult considering in this world we have created teleporters and similar ones, and in the fan-made game black Mesa (which I believe is semi-cannon) the radio system in that is quite similar to what the overwatch is doing, but on a smaller scale in comparison. But since the combines are assholes, they probably just shoved a human brain who is capable of both empathy and psychological warfare to encourage other combine units who still have a little bit of their humanity inside of them in check.

[@corbeq9806]

i remember hearing the line at 9:53 playing in the citadel when i was playing episode 1 when i was like 9. gave me the creeps

[@artelectual_ua7789]

This is one of the most awesome videos Ive seen I love how much detail valve put into the overwatch voice, despite her just being a background character.

[@nyipnyop]

Her voice is basically a good ASMR and helps me sleep

[@JohnnyShagbot]

Found the collaborator

[@leonorange9411]

Yet another feature built so seamlessly into the games atmosphere that I'd never paid it any attention until this video. Superb.

[@enbymina]

everybody gangsta till the overwatch go "bip bip bip"

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

8:08 damn, we actually made a better emancipation grid than the inter-dimensional combine

[@goofygoober2382]

I've seen the majority of these analysis videos and its crazy how detailed this game is even tho it was released back in 2004

[@DenisClan]

“Attention anticitizen you are judged guilty by Civil Protection Team. All units deliver terminal verdict immediately.” Freeman: nope

[@Skrubs]

3:03 I like the way her voice transmission goes like "Res-pond :3 uwu"

[@ATP2555ify]

Point Insertion - 1 wanted star Route Kanal - 2 wanted stars, later 3 Water Hazard - 4 wanted stars, later 5 Anticitizen One - 6 wanted stars

[@Hermitstatus]

I wonder if there's an ASMR version. A clinical, erudite and efficient way of speaking is one of the most chilling yet oddly satisfying events to witness.

[@danielriseno.o5929]

Great work RescoeZ, this is high quality goodness! :D

[@dustypaint]

10:40 since then city17 is an antlion cave :)

[@jaivirsingh6182]

looks like your console broke the city scanner took a pic of you at the begining