Alien Controller

An Alien Controller is a enemy which appears in the computer game Half-Life. Physically, the Controllers are small, levitating creatures, which closely resemble the Nihilanth. They do not appear in Black Mesa Research Facility until Gordon Freeman is about to teleport into Xen, but are more numerous in the alien world itself.

The Controllers share many characteristics with the Nihilanth, suggesting that they are of the same species. Like the other sentient creatures on Xen, the Controllers have a third vestigial arm growing from the centre of the thorax. In addition to this, the Controllers have disproportionately large heads, which open up when they die. They attack by firing fiery spheres from their hands, in the same way as the Nihilanth. Unlike the Nihilanth, though, the Controllers have long legs and are able to levitate without the assistance of a mechanical seat. This adds further credence to the possibility that Nihilanth has been surgically altered by and is reliant on the Combine, in order to keep it under their control.