Manhack

From Combine OverWiki, the English Half-Life Wikia

Manhack General information Affiliation Combine Type Mechanical Personal information Health 25 Weapon(s) Sawblade In-game information Game(s) Featured Half-Life 2, "Episode One", "Episode Two" First Appearance Half-Life 2, Chapter Three, Route Kanal Entity npc_manhack
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Manhacks (referred to as "viscerators" by the Combine Overwatch, and simply "hacks" to the Citizens and Rebels) are flying, gyroscope-like devices. They have three razor-sharp blades which constantly spin at extremely high speeds. The spinning blades produce a high-pitched whirring sound, which often is a good indicator of manhacks nearby. The blades are powerful enough to cut and break through wooden obstacles, but not stronger materials such as metal or concrete. They are programmed with very little concept of self-preservation, careening off walls and through objects in the single-minded pursuit of their target.

Manhacks are deployed by the Combine and are used to scout areas too dangerous for city scanners, and to force enemies out of inaccessible spaces. Manhacks never travel alone, and are usually deployed in groups of at least four or more. Some Civil Protection troopers carry them and can deploy them in an emergency. Manhacks can be especially deadly in confined areas, like alleyways and sewers.

They appear to have some resistance to gunfire, and are more easily destroyed by being smashed with a hard object, where the initial hits cause it to become disoriented, and lose interest in its target for a couple of seconds as it re-stabilizes itself. Attacking with a crowbar causes it to go haywire, similar to a "wounded" city scanner and will attempt to crash into the player. During this the red light on the manhack turns an orangish color and emits a high-pitched warning signal, possibly to alert nearby Combine. The Gravity gun is also very effective against them. Once in the gravity gun's field, they can be launched into walls (which instantly destroys them), or even other manhacks or enemies. If it is held with the gravity gun, it can be used as a chainsaw-like weapon. But be warned, if you do use it as a weapon and ram it towards something, it will nudge back to you, causing minor damage. Also, your squadmates won't understand and will keep shooting at it.

[edit] Trivia

• Originally, a section of the game was designed where the Combine allowed citizens to, what seemed to them, play virtual reality games in something known as the "Manhack Arcade." The citizens playing these games had no idea that they were, in fact, controlling manhacks in real-life, and killing fellow citizens with them. This is perhaps a reference or inspired by the film Toys, where in one part teenagers unknowingly controlled remote-controlled military robots in a vast arcade with varying games to "play." The concept never made it into the final version of the game.

• Manhacks resemble the description and have the same use as the Buzzball/Sneetch devices from the Stephen King novel Wolves of the Calla.

Units of the Combine
Humanoid:		Civil Protection · Overwatch Soldier · Overwatch Sniper · Overwatch Elite · Nova Prospekt Guard · Shotgun Soldier · Stalker
Synth:		Combat Pod · Crab Synth · Dropship · Gunship · Hunter · Mortar Synth · Shield Scanner · Strider
Other:		APC · Hunter-Chopper · Manhack · City Scanner