Combine work by integrating technology from races they conquer into their armies. Their name does mean something after all. Since humans based weapons and vehicles work fine it makes sense just to replicate them rather than import large amounts of equipment from other worlds. However they will still use more advanced tech (such as Striders and Pulse Rifles) where human technolgy does not suffice.
Just look at their helicopters. That thing could outrun a Super Cobra and kill twice as fast!
Also, play HL2:ep1. See the reactor? Tell me we have those capabilities. The combine take what they can get easily, and for everything else, they modify what’s there also.
Seriously, when I look at Combine, I have a little voice in the back of my head that shouts “BORG!” because of the way their technology advances: Adaption.
I think more about Strogg when I see the combine. They’re both very similar, although the Strogg don’t seem to bothered by blood, poorly kept machinery and extremely dark buildings.
Please don’t compare the two. The only things I imagine they have in common is they’re aliens, cyborgs, and they dump toxic waste.
That’s a hell of alot of things considering the lack of depth in both factions.
One’s a bunch of evil cyborgs. One’s a bunch of evil cyborgs… FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION!!!
They’re damn near the same stylistically. Just The combine are a but less extreme, and mostly blue instead of green.
You shut your whore mouth!! 
Lack of depth? What? What’s going on? Combine have a lack of depth? All I know is it’s deep enough for me. It could be deeper though but it doesn’t LACK depth.
Are you kidding? The Combine are an intentionally shallow and hollow enemy. When you think about it, the only things that are remotely combine are the Advisors. Everything else are just altered versions of other races. The majority of enemies in HL2 are actually humans.
If you count the zombies as human, you’re absolutely correct.
The combine soldiers and stalkers are humans too.
The combine aren’t shallow in that they’re well written. With the strogg it’s more like: here be some enemies. kill. kill. kill.
FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
deleted. Shitty ass ass shit.
God damn glitches.
the strogg aren’t shallow and neither are the Combine
and this thread’s still going.
Id makes shallow games, no matter u saying
Where are the Strogg ever given depth?
I’d like to know that too…
/\ That.
I very much doubt that sentient life throughout the universe would be THAT tough they would need such crazy crap you imagine.
I mean seriously, other than freeman, who the hell is going to be able to stop an invasion army of synths? Oh yeah, that dimension where everythings 100x the size of everything here, and everythings bullet and psychic proof? :S
I mean come on, what do you expect to be in another dimension?
( i say this knowing the complete retardedness of the answers about to come )
Just let this thread either die or lock it. I prefer the last one.
There only the soilders they arnt going to give them all the high tech stuff they save all that for the striders and hunters ect (which sucks cause there buggers to kill)
all I can say about all the relpies ya made:
1 smg grenade launchers: valve didn’t implemented it because if the combine soldiers could all throw grenades, combine balls (I think the could in beta without needing to be elite) and grenades you could be f***k’d up with a lot of gibs around you and your weapon in China for the explosions. Even valve get some smg of the beta wich got a grenade launcher and then put the same functions on another model wich REALLY HAVEN’T GOT A FREGGIN GRENADE LAUNCHER.
-
Helicopters: the helicopter has been modiffied don’t say it’s low-tech
-
Gmod Artificial Intelligence and ressistance of NPCs: in Gmod the friendly npcs (excepting kleiner, magnusson and eli) has been modiffied to have a BETTER AI and MOAR hp than enemy npcs that’s the cause the combine took only 3 shots on the leg.
-
Advisors/synths/sirurgical operations and technollogy: the combine adapt their troops to their world that means: the humans they captured/ joined them got transformed into half cyborg troops as seen in an easter egg on the road of the coast wich you can see the organs of a monkey, a normal human and a CP officer. Also means put robotic arms to the advisors.
-
AI: If you think the combine are ‘‘stupid’’ and ‘‘easy to kill’’ play ep2 hard mode and try to kill a freggin hunter alone with a smg1 or a pistol.
-
About the low-tech: if the combine were low-tech enemies they would have created the Stunstick, the ar2, the synths, the crab mines, and the S.L.A.M. (I dunno if the S.L.A.M. is combine made or human made but it seems a high-tech C4 like with 2 modes)?
So if you think the AI is stupid, then all you have to do is act stupider at it will seem smarter by comparison? Hell, why would you go in with Pistol or SMG when you ALWAYS have the Gravity gun in Episode 2 and throwing objects at the Hunters works about 10x more effectively than any type of ammo in the game?