Information AboutHeadcrab |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HEADCRAB | |
| fictional parasites | |
| first-person shooter creatures | |
| half-life characters | |
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A headcrab is a fictional Alien species found in the '' Half-Life '' and '' Half-Life 2 '' Computer Game series created by Valve Software . Headcrabs are also referred to as '''head-humpers''' by Barney Calhoun and '''parasitics''' by the Combine Overwatch. They are the most numerous, and by far considered the most annoying, aliens in the games. FEATURES Physical description The headcrab is a small creature with a design consisting of a small rounded body with four legs for movement (two hind legs at the back and another stubbier two at the front, obscured by its claws) and a pair of larger frontal claws for attacking prey or as additional support when standing still. Under its body is a large rounded mouth with viciously sharp teeth. Headcrabs have a mottled tan-coloured skin and red legs. Although small, slow-moving, and relatively weak on its own, the headcrab has the ability to quickly leap long distances using its hind legs, while tilting upwards to face its mouth towards a target, inflicting minor injury with its claws, legs, and teeth. Its main goal, however, is to attach itself onto an appropriate host body. Headcrabs are often heard making a variety of vocalisations. When they are not hunting, headcrabs usually emit squeaks and fairly quiet, repetitive calls, whilst gently swaying their bodies back and forth. When attacking, the headcrab will emit a sharp, shrill shriek as it leaps towards its victim. Headcrabs appear to be very social animals, often seen clustered in groups, and like sheep, the entire group often copies the actions of a single creature. This, combined with the fact that headcrabs will pursue their prey under the most dangerous conditions, suggests that, like sheep, the headcrab possesses only a basic level of intelligence. An unusual behavior of certain headcrabs is that they tend to hide in dark corners and Ventilation Shafts . At the Black Mesa Research Facility , headcrabs are most commonly encountered while crawling through air ducts. ''Half-Life 2'' headcrab variations New to '' Half-Life 2 '' are two previously unseen varieties of headcrabs. The first variation is known as a fast headcrab, having longer, thinner, almost spider-like legs, which allows it move much faster. It does not have a "beak" like the other varieties, it seems to use the sharp talons at the ends of its legs to latch to hosts instead. The second variation, a poison headcrab, is identified by its dark sage green color skin (sometimes with a wet shine) and thick hairs on the joints of its inward bending legs. To distinguish it further is the white bands that encircle the knee joints. It also makes a distinctly sinister chirp at range (occasionally described as cute) and a hissing/rattling similar to that of a , ''Araneus Diadematus'' . A poison headcrab's Neurotoxin is extremely powerful and hazardous to non-hosts; in gameplay it reduces the player's health to 1% immediately upon contact regardless of the current health amount (but health slowly recovers if they remain away from harm for a period of time, due to the HEV suit quickly providing an antidote). As the poison headcrab's only method of attack is by its poison and not from direct physical damage, there is no way for it to kill someone outright. Even a whole army of poison headcrabs continually attacking the player will not be able to kill them as the most that can happen is the reduction of one's health to 1%. However, this does make the player extremely vulnerable to enemies which are in the vicinity of poison headcrabs, as a player attacked by a poison headcrab is unable to resist even the slightest damage until they recover. While appearing similar to the original headcrab, both headcrab variations differ in a sense that they strictly use their four longer limbs for movement, attacking and standing, as opposed to six from the original headcrab. Parasitic qualities A headcrab's primary goal is to attach to the head of a suitable 's fighting fantasy book '' Island Of The Lizard King '', involving a creature called a "Gonchong" whose proboscis would bury into the head of a host to control it. Headcrab zombie '' (left) and '' Half-Life 2 '' ('''right''').]] The result of an headcrab-infested host is known as a "headcrab zombie". The headcrab's alien Physiology causes various " Mutation s" to rapidly manifest in its host, such as elongated claws, increased strength, and a sharp-toothed, sideways mouth that bisects the victim's chest cavity from neck to groin. This last feature has caused some fans to dub the headcrab zombies as "Mawmen", and may be another homage to a famous scene from John Carpenter's '' The Thing ''. The results of these changes may depend on the type of host and/or the length of time the headcrab is attached. It is also worth noting that the headcrab zombies are also implied to be at least somewhat smarter than than the generic undead; in the original ''Half-Life'', one was seen surprise-attacking a security guard through a vent and carrying or dragging victims, and in ''Half-Life 2'' they will occasionally throw an object towards the player. ''.]] The gonome is apparently the next step of headcrab zombie "mutation". It is larger, stronger, and more intelligent than "ordinary" zombies; it also produces some sort of volatile '', and the ''Half-Life'' Mod , '' Sven Co-op ''. In most cases, a headcrab remains attached to its host until destroyed, although in '''' or '' Halo 2 ''. It is not clear why the headcrab species is so compatible with its human victims. In this sense, it would be strange to think that the headcrab were really an alien species that evolved in a world where no human had ever been before. Headcrabs are never seen attaching to any creatures other than humans, not even to Vortigaunt s which have a roughly similar anatomical structure. It is not impossible that the headcrab species was created by the Combine for the very purpose of neutralizing humans. This theory is backed up by the fact that in ''Half-Life 2'', headcrabs are often used as a Combine weapon (see #Combine Application ), though it is also contradicted by the fact that headcrabs are very common on Xen. The theory that captured the least interest is that this is simply a Plot Hole that was never thought about. = ''Half-Life 2'' variations As is standard headcrabs, both fast headcrabs and the poison headcrabs are equally capable of attaching to a host through the host's head, although both headcrabs induce different forms of mutations on their hosts and their zombies employ different strategies of attack. Fast headcrabs produce leaner zombies, stripped of their outer Skin and some Body Tissue (revealing large parts of the victim's Skeleton ) along with the standard elongated claws. These zombies are astonishingly fast, agile, and have the ability to leap long distances and climb quickly. These qualities, in tandem with the loud shriek made by the zombies on sight of an enemy as well as when attacking, can cause the player to panic and hesitate, allowing the zombie to execute an initial attack. Common nicknames include "Shrieker", "Howler" and "Leaper". A poison headcrab zombie is created when the poison headcrab injected its toxin into its host through its bite, producing a bloated, hunched-over carrier zombie that is usually encumbered with several other poison headcrabs hitching a ride on it. This zombie's appearance is probably caused by the mass amount of toxins injected into its body, causing it to become swollen. It is able to hurl the hitch-hiking headcrabs at enemies over a great distance, while the headcrabs may also jump off the zombie by themselves. In addition, carrier zombies have extraordinary endurance, capable of surviving damage which even the best Combine Transhuman soldiers cannot, such as multiple .357 Magnum shots. A poisonous zombie's presence can occasionally be detected by its strangulated heavy breathing when not actively seeking the player and a muffled moan when on patrol. A unusual characteristic of both zombie variations is that only three middle fingers of the five on each zombie's hands develop into claws, compared to all the fingers on a standard headcrab zombie. Miscellaneous information 's lair in Xen , ''Half-Life''.]] In ''Half-Life'', headcrabs were found to have originated from a large creature known as Gonarch , sharing similar physical qualities with headcrabs, including movement and appearance. A sac dangles beneath the creature, from which underdeveloped baby headcrabs constantly spawn. It is not known, however, if other variations of headcrabs originated from Gonarch. Headcrabs appear to be quite low on the Food Chain in their native Xen habitat, as Bullsquid s, Vortigaunts, and Barnacles have been observed feeding on them. They appear to be relatively unintelligent enemies, and will move through dangerous areas or towards hostile prey with little concern for the consequences, even when their fellow headcrabs die in front of them. As such, they will traverse areas that are on Fire or under Siege , ignoring everything from Gun fire to Artillery to Mortars . However, they are able to tolerate Toxic Waste and Radioactivity quite well. This resilience appears to be passed on to the hosts they parasitise, and zombies are frequently found in conditions that would be lethal to normal humans. All headcrabs have a Green-yellow colored blood, although that of the poison headcrab is more of a vibrant lime green, like its Venom . Their infested hosts have also appear to contain blood of the same color, although it remains unknown if the game's developer had intended that both the headcrab and its host were to share the same blood color, or is simply the result of the Game Engine 's limited capabilities, which are unable to distinguish between the headcrab and host, and thus are unable to assign each of the two creatures to emit different blood types. LAMARR (right) attempts to coax Lamarr ('''left''') onto "(hopping) up" his head in chapter 2: "A Red Letter Day", ''Half-Life 2''.]] In ''Half-Life 2'', the catalyst for the first few chapters of the single player campaign is the pet headcrab belonging to Doctor Isaac Kleiner , Lamarr, who wrecks Kleiner's teleporter and so forces Gordon Freeman to travel on foot. Lamarr was named after the late 1930s Actress and Inventor Hedy Lamarr , as evidenced by a line issued by Dr. Kleiner at the end of the chapter "Entanglement". Gordon Freeman , Alyx Vance , and Dr. Kleiner are attempting to evacuate Dr. Kleiner's lab after it is discovered that the Combine are making an offensive sweep of the area. Dr. Kleiner states that he wishes to find and save his pet headcrab before they leave. Alyx attempts to rebutt him by telling him that there are many other headcrabs to use as a pet, and he replies by saying "There's only one Hedy." Lamarr is the first proof in the ''Half-Life'' series that it is possible to disable a headcrab's capability to couple and infest a host. Lamarr is said to be "debeaked" by cutting short a pair of its frontal "beaks", losing Lamarr's ability to firmly attach itself to a victim's head, thus preventing it from assuming control of the victim. Kleiner also refers to Lamarr as if the headcrab is a female (using "her" and "she" as Personal Pronouns on it); whether headcrabs actually have gender remains unknown. Interestingly, Lamarr was fed (and thrived, as it seemed) on Watermelon s (this is noted on a Post-it Note in Doctor Kleiner's lab). However, it is unknown what headcrabs normally eat in their natural habitat, or when they are attached to a host. Some have suggested that headcrabs may absorb nutrients from their host bodies, accounting for the decay seen in "used-up" hosts; others discount this theory since a functional body is necessary for the headcrab to take over the host's Nervous System . In ''Half-Life'', zombies are frequently encountered seemingly feeding on corpses, however this does not appear to occur in ''Half-Life 2''. COMBINE APPLICATION In ''Half-Life 2'', the Earth-occupying Combine alien race was seen utilizing headcrabs as a form of ''. How the Combine obtained large numbers of headcrabs for use in these shells has yet to be fully known, although it was revealed that a Beta model of an amputated Gonarch sac embedded with Combine equipment was found in the game's data files {Link without Title} ; this suggested that there were plans by the game developer to reveal that the Combine have been using one or more Gonarchs to produce headcrabs. |
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