The Image: Now for something a little more simple. Alyx Vance cradling the corpse of her father, Eli, while Dog looks on in the background. Why It's Powerful: Eli Vance became an instant hit with audiences following the release of Half-Life 2, making fast friends with Gordon Freeman and being unflappably devoted to ensuring the survival of his daughter Alyx. He's without question the most sincere and straight-up "nice" character in the entire series, and as such it was all that more devastating when he was killed by a Combine Advisor at the end of Half-Life: Episode Two. Though it's fairly standard fare for a game to kill off a beloved character to enhance the dramatic stakes, Episode Two's death holds a special place in our hearts precisely because it's a cliffhanger we're still waiting to be resolved. That's right, almost 7 years on, neither Episode Three nor Half-Life 3 has emerged, and this closing image is a stinging reminder of that fact.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
