Strider - Death Battle Machine

Undoubtedly, every player has encountered the Strider - the heavy, walking tank of the Alliance, whose purpose is to suppress mass uprisings of the population of the planets conquered by the Alliance. Deployed into battle during the early hours of a siege, these biomechanical giants can obliterate even the most advanced technology of future slave races. With almost reverential admiration, Striders have proven themselves to be formidable opponents from the very first moments of acquaintance and promise to be a headache for the brave defenders of the orange "lambda" with their weaponry and maneuverability (despite their enormous size, the tank possesses striking flexibility, speed, and the ability to squeeze through the narrowest holes, in our opinion). So, what does this creation of hostile thought represent? Let's take it step by step.

The Strider is a heavily armored combat synthetic robot. This biomechanical walking machine consists of an armored body - fuselage, and a chassis with three stabilizers of articulated struts. Its armament consists of a nose turret equipped with pulse weaponry and a mounted compactification gun - a spacetime curvator that compresses spatial metrics into a string. The Strider's legs are very sharp and are used to eliminate nearby targets.

Striders are used individually for patrolling and supporting groups of soldiers. In large-scale combat operations, multiple Striders are used simultaneously. Striders can destroy entire buildings to eliminate enemies entrenched there, then simply step over the resulting ruins. They can also crouch to pass through not very high tunnels. Transporters are used for delivering Striders to distant territories.

In Half-Life 2: Episode One, one civilian remarks: "I heard they put children in those Striders," although this is unlikely due to the overwhelming field of the Alliance.

In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, there is a notable scene where a Strider battles the robot Dog, in which the Dog first tears off the front plate, simultaneously damaging the antimatter gun, and then detaches one of the armor plates from the body, ripping out its brain. The Strider's brain is vaguely similar to a human brain but is entirely covered in glowing implants, which indicates its artificiality and measures approximately 50 cm in width. The player can also lift the brain using an ordinary gravinator, which does not allow manipulation of organic objects.

In Episode Two, a small explosive device ("Magnusson device") is demonstrated, which attaches itself to the Strider's body using the gravitation gun and can be detonated by firing from any other weapon, guaranteed to destroy the Strider. In the battle for the "White Grove," in the second episode, each Strider is necessarily accompanied by several hunter robots, which destroy the Magnusson devices before they can be placed on the Striders.

The design of the Strider resembles the "combat tripods" in Herbert Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds," but unlike the novel, the main purpose of the Strider is as an autonomous combat unit rather than a machine controlled by alien beings.

As mentioned, the Strider is not a tank in the literal sense but rather an intelligent biomechanoid; however, its tactical-strategic programming is sufficient to present a comprehensive set of problems for the Resistance, as well as for Dr. Freeman himself. Of course, each of us would like to control this formidable apparatus, and some enthusiasts have even developed a fan mod that allows this idea to be realized, albeit not at a high level

( http://city17.ru/hl2/strider-mod/ )

Example from the mod:

Moreover, the Strider can also refer to a smaller variety of self-propelled units from the Alliance - Hunters. Faster, more mobile, and exceptionally agile, they have become excellent hunters of the leaders of the Underground Movement and are perfectly suited for the quick and massive destruction of small groups of insurgents.

Hunter (mini-Strider) - a combat infantry synthetic cyborg controlled by artificial intelligence, designed for fire support of combat units and attacking light ground targets. It represents a small walking combat machine. Hunters were created to combat numerous infantry. Being relatively low in height - 2.45 meters - the robots can easily infiltrate enemy hideouts inaccessible to heavy machines, such as homes. The Hunter can independently destroy enemies in these hideouts or lure them into the line of fire of artillery and other troops. Hunters can work in teams and do everything in their power to prevent enemies from retreating, surrounding cover or climbing on roofs. Additionally, in one of the teasers for Episode Two, another way for Hunters to support Striders is seen: the Hunter takes a combat position directly under the Strider, making them together completely impregnable.

The Hunter in Half-Life 2: Episode One was initially called the mini-Strider. The player does not encounter it in battle throughout the entire game, only seeing it on the screen of a comm monitor, where the forces of the Alliance are attacking an arctic base where rebels led by Judith Mossman are located. However, the cyborg can be summoned via the console, although in this game it is only an early version. In the first episode, the Hunter wields a pulse machine gun. If the enemy retreats a significant distance from the Hunter, the robot uses a device that annihilates matter - the same one used to protect City 17 from orbit in Half-Life 2. The Hunter's unfinished state in Episode One lies in the very limited number of animations that the model uses, the absence of sounds, and some firing effects. The Hunter robot is destroyed by heavy objects thrown with the gravinator, by energy blasts used in Alliance generators and the standard AR2 rifle, or heavy weaponry such as rocket launchers.

The Hunter in Half-Life 2: Episode Two acquired numerous changes that made it a playable enemy. The first changes can be noticed in the first teaser for the second episode. The cyborg received a more acceptable texture of dark blue or black color with several white elements. It is evident that the Hunters move much faster than Striders, galloping with a heavy gorilla-like gait. In the subsequent teaser, the robot has a turquoise color, two chain devices under its "head," which can slam enemies to the ground, as well as a short wide antenna on the left side of its head (the two most probable theories regarding the antenna's purpose are: 1) through this antenna, the robot is controlled by the Alliance Control Center; 2) the antenna helps the Hunter detect the presence of enemies from a distance). There may also be a third option for the antenna's use - for communication or controlling Alliance infantry, as in some moments, as mentioned below, the Hunter does not always attack immediately. In the next teaser, it is also seen that the Hunter shoots from its "lenses" if enemies are at a considerable distance from it. The shooting effect strongly resembles using the Alliance pulse rifle. The running animation of the Hunter now less resembles that of a gorilla; additionally, it is noted that before firing a burst from its machine gun, the Hunter widely spreads its legs for stability.

The Alliance's synthetic Hunters rarely act alone.

In the subsequent trailer and demonstration video for Episode Two, the turquoise texture of the Hunter became more shiny, and in tight spaces, the cyborg demonstrated kicking attacks. In the demo video, it can be observed that although the player has some weapons, Hunters can only be killed by throwing objects with the grav gun at them or by knocking them over with a self-propelled ram - obviously, Hunters have very strong armor.

In the second episode of the game, the Hunter robot almost always acts in a team with soldiers. Covering them, it is a very dangerous opponent, as considering it the primary target leaves the player vulnerable to other enemies. Often, the Hunter acts as a precursor to an ambush waiting for the player after their appearance. Thus, in several places, there are scripted scenes where the robot does not attack the player, even though it sees him, and soon thereafter, a mass assault is launched against the player. The Hunter's weaponry consists of pulse weapons from which it fires bursts of energy darts. These darts explode a second after hitting any surface, as well as two folding blades located underneath its body (the blades can attack its NPC enemies but not the player). The Hunter is destroyed by throwing heavy objects with the grav gun. Additionally, the Hunter is impervious to all forms of gunfire (it can be killed but their effectiveness is very low) and is annihilated by a single antimatter burst from a pulse rifle. Additionally, in one of the last levels of Episode Two, the Hunter is hit by a vehicle, even at moderate speed, and can also be destroyed by a bomb invented by Commander Magnusson. There is also a way to destroy the cyborg with its own darts. For this, one must take cover behind a large object (a sheet of metal, a barrel, etc.), and after the Hunter's salvo gets stuck in it, throw it back with the grav gun.

Soon we are expected to see the 3rd and possibly the concluding episode of this wonderfully fantastic saga. Perhaps the developers will present us with new modifications of Combine combat technology, thereby diversifying the gameplay.

Materials from Wikipedia were used, as well as my personal thoughts and conjectures.