Why exactly did we have to go through Ravenholm?

[Liberaliter]

You had to go there because the Gravity Gun was just introduced and the entire level was set up to showcase how you could use it, that and for the much needed zombie horror level.

 

[Agayek]

Wait wait wait....You're saying that finding and capturing incredibly dangerous (yet very tiny) creatures, holding them captive (that means feeding, etc) then packing them into rockets (which must be designed in a way so that it can not only carry multiple crabs, must they must be able to survive the landing) and launching them into areas where, for all you know, the intended targets will escape and/or just kill the crabs....Is less expensive/practical then just making the straight up bombs, weapons that are less easily evaded and that even humans, who are probably thousands of years behind the Combine; can mass-produce easily?

Come on.

The main use of Headcrabs is a weapon of terror. Which, coincidentally, is the primary reason most biological weapons are outlawed by international agreement. The ensuing panic of a true biological weapon attack would do far more damage than the weapon itself.

Not to mention the effect on morale. It's one thing to be willing to die for your cause. Quite another to know you will be mutated and used against your former colleagues while retaining your consciousness.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

In real life, I'd rather deal with the zombies instead of the Combine

 

[Doclector]

I am pretty sure you were trapped and the only way out of there was through Ravenholm. Only other exit would have probably gotten you killed by the Combine. Besides, meeting that priest made Ravenholm all worth it. That entire level was pretty great.

Pretty much this, though I was thinking of the coincidence in it just yesterday.

Spoiler

Alyx: "That's the passage to ravenholm. We don't go there anymore."

Me: That said, you'll tell me to go exactly there in just a couple of minutes.

A few minutes, and a long delayed "2 points" achievement later.

Eli: "Alyx, whatever you do, don't go through raven-"

Alyx: (major paraphrase) "Go through ravenholm, Gordon!"

Me: Yep, logical as ever...

I do love ravenholm though. Playing through it yesterday made me realise how much of their post-apocalyptic scene setting in that one level seemed to influence Left 4 Dead.

@Agayek: So my worst fears are confirmed, the headcrab victims are still concious, just completely unable to control their own actions? Damn...the whole "Yabba! My icing!" thing just got a whole lot less funny.

 

[Judgement101]

Because you just got the gravity gun and they wanted to give you a fun place with tons'o'enemies.

 

[Tharwen]

Didn't the ceiling collapse and separate you from alex?

Yes, but the hole was easily big enough to crawl through. I think Alyx was just being silly.

 

[bam13302]

Didn't the ceiling collapse and separate you from alex?

Yes but she tells you to go through Ravenholm and then for Dog to circle around and get back to you.

Oops I meant circle around and get back to Alyx.

To come back and help alex clear the rubble, the reason she said to go through ravenholm is so that you can move and get out of there b4 the combine can get in there, and from what i can tell, dog has a much higher con then you, he can take a machine-gun without any trouble, that, and having u sit in front of the rock pile while dog digs would be boring
from a developers point of view, the point of ravenholm is to get you to have fun with the gravity gun and teach you some of the physics, the entire level can be beaten with the gravity gun alone (i believe they added a, fairly easy, achievement for it)

 

[imnot]

It even had a note under the sign saying
'U sudnt com here'!

 

[SnipErlite]

For teh lulz.

Meh, it was cool and Valve wanted to scare us.

[sub]It worked [/sub]

 

[SnipErlite]

@Agayek: So my worst fears are confirmed, the headcrab victims are still concious, just completely unable to control their own actions? Damn...the whole "Yabba! My icing!" thing just got a whole lot less funny.

May I use tvtropes to assist?

"Headcrab zombies on fire make a disturbing "human dying in agony" sound?especially chilling if you are the one who set the zombie on fire, initiating the torture and death of the underlying innocent human. Apparently, for headcrab zombies, the human consciousness is gone but the part that feels pain remains. In fact, if you play a headcrab zombie's cries backwards, you can hear a human weeping as they beg for their death...."

Yeah playing that shit backwards is scaryyyy. Youtube it 0_O

 

[Shadowfaze]

It was for the freakout factor. After all the guards and stuff, headcrab zombie dudes are a change in direction. Mostly because the dont hide behind cover shooting at you, they leg it right up to you and claw your face off.

 

[imnot]

Also, we wouldn't have any of the headcrab jokes and spoofs if we didn't go through ravenholm ether. So we basically have that leavel to thank for the silly half-life crap we find on the interwebs.

Also bc gordan Freeman is the chuck Norris of video game worlds

Yes but then I wouldn't have the nightmares where I am surrounded by black headcrabs.

-clears throat and says to the tune of the 'head-on commercials'- Headcrab, apply dirrectly to the forehead.

that help?

 

[Doclector]

Does anyone actually know why the headcrab zombies torso's are open? I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to have an explanation, it's damn freaky, but I can't help but wonder why and how. Maybe I just have an overly morbid imagination.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

Also, we wouldn't have any of the headcrab jokes and spoofs if we didn't go through ravenholm ether. So we basically have that leavel to thank for the silly half-life crap we find on the interwebs.

Also bc gordan Freeman is the chuck Norris of video game worlds

Yes but then I wouldn't have the nightmares where I am surrounded by black headcrabs.

-clears throat and says to the tune of the 'head-on commercials'- Headcrab, apply dirrectly to the forehead.

that help?

*cracks up* i had no idea that existed xDDD

 

[Dr. wonderful]

I'm still stuck at ravenholm.

No ammo, damn it.

 

[Outright Villainy]

The bigger question is - are the resistance too inept to raid museums and steal WW1 era german helmets as headcrab defense, or did the combine see such an obvious threat to their reign of terror, and 'suppress' them all? :O

Ep. 1 shows us that the Combine's technologically-superior helmets didn't do much to protect them- the headcrabs just took off everything above the jaw. I don't think a vintage half-sphere of steel only kept on by a leather strap would put up a better fight.

True, but their helmets don't stab headcrabs to death whilst they try and latch on. You can kill them with bullets easy enough, impaling ought to work.

That's brilliant! Hell, put the spike on a fire after and you have skewered lunch.

 

[SalamanderJoe]

Surely Dog could have Shroukened his way through that debris in no time.

 

[Jumpingbean3]

The point was so they could shove the gimmick weapon in your face for a whole level instead of just isolated bits. I don't see why you couldn't just use the gravity gun to move the rubble out of your way.

Are you ever going to get over Half Life 2 or are you just going to keep going on about it forever. Yahtzee feels the same way about Halo as you do about Half Life 2 but he's gotten over it. I understand that some people just won't like certain things but you seem to be preaching your opinion as if it's fact and shoving it down everyone's throats. I think you'll do yourself a favour if you just let it go rather than getting all worked up about it and berating the fanbase.

Also, in answer to the OP, looking back I don't see why we had to go through Ravenholm but overall I'm glad we did.