Summary
Groundbreaking actor Louis Gossett Jr, known within the video game community for his work inHalf-Life 2, has passed away at the age of 87. The initial voice of the Vortigaunts from theHalf-Lifefranchise, Gossett Jr leaves behind an illustrious career that includes Broadway, television, and movies. At the time of writing, no cause of death has been disclosed following the announcement of his passing on August 02, 2025.
Louis Gossett Jr’s acting career spanned over 70 years, having gotten his start on stage. It wasn’t until 1977 that his work on screen received critical acclaim when he was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in the TV miniseriesRoots. He had also acted in now-classic TV shows such asThe JeffersonsandGood Times. For his role in the 1982 movieAn Officer and a Gentleman, Gossett Jr became the first black man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Much more recently, he was seen in the2019WatchmenTV seriesas Will Reeves/Hooded Justice.
As the voice of theVortigaunt alien race inHalf-Life 2andHalf-Life 2: Episode One, Gossett Jr’s time in video game voice acting was short-lived compared to the rest of his career. The role of the Vortigaunts went toCandymanactor Tony Todd for subsequent installments in theHalf-Lifefranchise,Half Life 2: Episode 2andHalf-Life: Alyx. Gossett Jr went on to appear in yet more TV shows and films following his stint in video games, including 2023’sThe Color Purple, with a few other projects to be released posthumously.
Though nearly 20 years old,Half-Life 2is a staple of the shooter genreand is still considered to be worth playing in 2024. The game was a follow-up to the 1998 originalHalf-Life, and cemented the franchise as indispensable among fans of the genre. Despite the community clamoring for a potentialHalf-Life 3and a mysterious trademark that spawned rumors back in 2022, developer Valve seems to have no plans to produce a third installment, or at least it’s being very quiet about it.
ThoughHalf-Life: Alyxreleased in 2020 for VR, many fans hesitate to attach it to the franchise as a true successor toHalf-Life 2. Fans of the games have since had to make do with aHalf-Life 2fan-made remaster to hold them over, and it looks like that will be all they get for the foreseeable future.
Half-Life 2
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- HALF-LIFE sends a shock through the game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Valve’s debut title wins more than 50 game-of-the-year awards on its way to being named “Best PC Game Ever” by PC Gamer, and launches a franchise with more than eight million retail units sold worldwide.NOW. By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around them, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people he cares about are counting on him.
