Gargantua (Half-Life)

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A Gargantua, as seen in Half-Life.

The Gargantua, or simply "Garg" as it is commonly abbreviated, is a fictional creature from the 1998 computer game Half-Life by Valve Software.

The creature is approximately 4 metres tall, mostly blue in color, and has one yellow eye that glows red when it perceives a hostile unit. In place of hands, it sports two claw-like appendages which can be opened to emit jets of intense heat. Another form of attack it possesses is the ability to send a shockwave towards its opponents by powerfully stomping the ground. This shockwave can also traverse vertical structures. The Gargantua moves fast and is very strong: it can smash or toss large obstacles from its path with ease. Gargantuas are very determined pursuers, and have been known to wait patiently for their target to come out of an area they can't reach for a considerable amount of time before moving on to do something else.

Gargantuas can be found on Xen, though their true origin is unknown. It is rumored that the Gargantua is a member of the same evolutionary lineage as Vortigaunts, as they are usually found in proximity to the Nihilanth's forces and they share many physical characteristics. The Gargantua's backwards-jointed legs and hoofed feet are seen on the Vortigaunts as well. However, each Vortigaunt sports three arms (two at the shoulders and one jutting from the chest) while the Gargantua has four arms (two at the shoulder position and two spiked arms at the abdomen). Note that many of the species of Xen share common physiological characteristics.

Due to these discrepancy, and the Garg's disproportionate size, the Garg's family tree is often subject to speculation.

Some theories posit that the Gargantua is:

Related to Vortigaunts, Alien Controllers, and/or Alien Grunts.
Related to the tiny, explosive Snark alien.
A Combine synth. (Note: This theory has recently been disproven.)
An entirely unique and independent species.

The Gargantua is a kind of sub-boss creature. It is completely bulletproof, and requires a large amount of explosive, electrical, or energy damage before being destroyed. Gargantuas can be seen in Half-Life in the chapters "Power Up," "Surface Tension," "Interloper," and "Nihilanth." In the expansion, a Gargantua can be seen in the chapter "Foxtrot Uniform" tied up on top of the hydroelectric dam, while marines and Race X Shock Troopers fight around and against it. In most of these locations, there is a convenient way to escape or destroy the Gargantua so that the player does not have to expend scarce ammunition on it, such as detonating explosives on it or calling in an airstrike against it.

Note that the book Raising the Bar mentions that a Gargantua (or a species related to it) was going to be seen from the train ride in the beginning of Half-Life 2.

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