Alyx Vance

[wootsniper]

Maybe a stupid question, but I just have to know.

What is there so great about Alyx Vance?
I've heard lot of people on this site say that she is better than most other (female) game characters.
However i really don't get what's so special about here. :S
Isn't she just a normal character like all the others?

 

[zauxz]

She's hot, but not the shallow, fake kind of hot. Also smart and stuff.

 

[Jaranja]

Yeah, she's kinda boring as well.

 

[dududf]

Because she seems realistic, seems to have depth, and most importantly isn't like this.

 

[Cherry Cola]

She is a well developed character with a believable personality, whereas most female characters are either only there for eye-candy, or they simply exist so that they can be love interests.

 

[The Root Beer Guy]

She is great because she doesn't adhere to an over-sexualized stereotype. Plus the fact that she has real, emotional depth.

 

[BustaNinja]

She's attractive in a realistic way, saves your ass a couple of times, isn't a pushover when it comes to holding her own in combat, and has an awesome auto pistol that she is pretty good with.

On top of all of that, she still has a pretty nice figure. How does she do it?

 

[Vrex360]

Partly I think the excitement comes from the fact that she appeals not on a physical attraction scale (she looks somewhat normal really) but rather from a personality standpoint. She's a quirky nerdy tech geek sort of girl who is also tough, this is essentially the 'Stepford Wife' of the new millennium and the fact that she is designed to be seeming to flirt with the player a lot only intensifies that fact.

I don't know how I feel about this though, on the one hand it's good to see a female character that people are drooling over not for looks but for personality but on the other hand we are still holding her up and sculpting her to the desires of gaming males, it's just that we are holding her up to emotional desires rather than hormonal desires. So it is still kind of an idealization of women because in reality women are like all of us in the world and aren't perfect, they will get mad from time to time and disagree with you but as far as most gamers are concerned they seem to prefer this notion of a female character who will always be there for you and never disagree with you and be absolutely perfect 24/7.

I mean one can argue that she's forming a relationship with Freeman but given that he has no personality whatsoever and the player is expected to project onto him, it still ultimately feels like the game is making you a girlfriend figure. And as a result, you grow affection for her.

I still suspect that's one reason why 'cyber girlfriends' are all the rage in Japan. Figures like that occupy the special niche appeal of gamers who want a girlfriend but don't want the actual stress of being in a relationship.

Okay I got a little sidetracked there but I still feel it is slightly relevant, I mean yes she is cool and charming and strong willed at all the points where she's needed but at the end of the day she is still kind of an immature fantasy, just a different kind. I don't mean to insult any fans of her or fans of Half Life in general I'm just saying that it is similar in essence

I want to note however that I only played a bit of Half Life so if I ever missed a point where Alyx does get nasty or does show a few unsavory personality moments please let me know and I'll take them into consideration.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Iv never played Half-Life 2 so i don't know who she is.

But she sounds like Samus, only she talks.

 

[TheComedown]

This flame war has already happened over here - http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.168193-Alyx-Vance-supposedly-one-of-the-most-developed-characters-in-video-games-is-bullshit

I myself find her to be one of the fleshed out and interesting characters I've ever met in a game.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Alyx is cute, but not stupidly, unrealistically hot, smart, has a realistic and quite endearing personality, a sense of humou and, possibly most important of all, is extremely helpful. A lot of the time when you're escorting her through the game it's more like she's escorting you -she's tough, smart and a crack shot- but it doesn't feel like you're being made redundant either.

I think the problem with the people who think she's "boring" is that she's among the most realistic female characters ever to appear in a game. She's acts very much like a real person. So she's too much like people they know. You really need to take a moment to appreciate exactly what an achievement making a character as realistic as Alyx actually is.

I found Alyx to be one of the best female characters I've ever travelled with. Although she's not helpless and in need of protection like, say, Yorda from ICO, I still found myself feeling intensely protective towards her. In particular I found the part in Episode 2 where she was impaled by a Hunter while I could only look on helplessly to be almost traumatising.

 

[Alfador_VII]

She's well developed as a character, she's decent looking without being dressed like a stripper, with boobs like Zeppelins. Also she can hold her own in a firefight.

She's also doesn't fall into the usual female character trap of being nothing more than a love interest for the main character. Yes I know there's an element of a relationship between her and Freeman, but it's completely irrelevant to the main plot, and therefore all the better for it.

 

[Mister Awesome]

she is very realistic and she has emotions and just an all around interesting character. most people try to dress people in as little clothes as possible to make people like the characters.
Plus alyx is like your best friend in the half life 2 episodes, she is always with you.

 

[Marik2]

Iv never played Half-Life 2 so i don't know who she is.

But she sounds like Samus, only she talks.

Here she is.

Everyone likes her because shes a believable women.

 

[AlexGoBoom]

one thing i find weird is Alyxx's(and basically every other characters) believable humanity compared to Freeman's lack of... Anyone else notice that?

 

[The Procrastinated End]

Because she's in Half Life and because of that she is well developed, realistic, not generic, and not someones your going to grow to hate.

 

[Last Bullet]

one thing i find weird is Alyxx's(and basically every other characters) believable humanity compared to Freeman's lack of... Anyone else notice that?

Isn't that just so the player can kind of fill in the gaps? Like all the random little "adventures" other characters mention, they stay vague enough to kind of create their own little Freeman. Plus, seriously, if they gave him a voice... Nothing but whining from fans of "That's not how he should sound!" The interwebs would implode.

 

[Skorpyo]

I have no idea.

Three words: Ammo Dispensing Shield.

 

[jaketheripper]

Because she seems realistic, seems to have depth, and most importantly isn't like this.

mmmmmmmmmm, mila jovovitch, sorry, i know thats not her, for some reason rayne remindes me of her, but i dont think alex is hot, her face is fucked up,