Infected

Cross: "Why are they here? What purpose do they serve?"

McMullen: "All I know is that if the virus achieves control, we won't be around to see the outcome."

―Captain Cross and Dr. McMullen concerning the infected.

Elizabeth Greene leading her army of the Infected.

The Infected are humans that have been mutated by the Virus. During the first outbreak, some were born from Elizabeth Greene's will, such as the hunters, and could be found throughout New York City.

Most were either developed in Hives that were located throughout the city, or bred in infected water towers, which were also prevalent throughout Manhattan Island. During the second outbreak, some forms of the infected were the result of Alex Mercer's will and developed in underground Lairs.

Goal

The infected, led by Elizabeth Greene (and later, Alex Mercer), have one aim: to spread the virus across the city, and eventually to the world. The military (and Mercer) stand in the way of their conquest, necessitating the creation of an "Infected army."

During the second outbreak, Mercer assumes a role akin to that of Elizabeth, wishing to create an Infected army and spread the virus throughout the world. Though in Mercer's case, he pursues this goal in a much more active and aggressive way, even resorting to using Blackwatch and Gentek resources and scientists (his enemies) to achieve this.

Infected Citizens

Heller fighting a group of Infected Civilians.

Infected citizens are ordinary people who have been infected by the Blacklight virus and have undergone minor mutations, becoming carnivorous walking corpses virtually devoid of intelligence and driven completely by their base instinct to feed and procreate the virus by infecting others. Their augmented characteristics include increased damage resistance (or perhaps higher pain tolerance), enhanced strength, and various different growths and deformities.

Their attacks, while lethal to non-infected humans, pose almost no threat to armored vehicles and greater infected beings. The largest threat that they present is a minor hindrance, even when they gather in hordes. These Infected behave like the generic zombie.

Walkers

Main article: Walkers

Walkers are humans who have been infected with a different strain of the Virus than the Infected Citizens.

Most walkers are bare-headed, bloated, and dark-skinned. Others are more lean and lack skin entirely. Walkers are highly mutated, giving them increased muscle mass and numerous deformities, namely the blade on one arm. This blade is not unlike the one wielded by Alex Mercer, though it is vastly inferior.

Carriers

A few Marines Infected.

Carriers can only be distinguished when Alex Mercer has Infected vision active. To put it simply, they are any type of human (Civilian, Military, or Blackwatch) that has been unknowingly infected with the virus, and has not yet begun to show symptoms.

They present no real threat in this state, as they behave in the same manner as their uninfected counterparts. The only instance that they are noted at all is in a mission where Alex consumes multiple Carriers to help achieve a mental link with the Leader Hunter.

Hunters

Main article: Hunters

Hunters are the main offensive force of the Infected, and are the most common infected variant that actually pose a real threat to Mercer. They are usually found near Hives and Water Towers, as these are their breeding grounds.

The Hunters are presumed to have been human at one point, since they have a vaguely hominid appearance, however, they have been drastically altered by the virus. The most notable change is their size; they are at least twice as large as the average human being, and much stronger.

Hydra

Main article: Hydra

A Hydra appearing from the ground

Hydras are large, tentacle-like incarnations of the Blacklight virus. They possess a jagged, horizontal maw at their end that gives them a forked appearance.

A Hydra will emerge from the ground when it senses a threat, such as a tank or a helicopter. When the enemy moves outside of the Hydra's range, however, it will retreat underground once more to tunnel to a more effective location. Heller gains the Tendrils power after consuming a Hydra.

Mother

Main article: Mother

Greene, having near complete mastery over the redlight Virus and its mutations, made the "Mother" form as a defense against the Bloodtox. Erupting from the ground to confront Mercer and the military, she appears as a repulsive mass of infected biological matter standing over 20 feet in height. The mass is supported by something resembling a spinal column, which is protected by three thick, tentacle-like growths.

Brawlers

Main article: Brawler Hunter

These Infected are similar to Hunters, but they look less human with a more reptilian appearance. Heller consumes one to gain the Claw power.

Juggernauts

Main article: Juggernaut

Large Infected that are more difficult to kill than Brawlers. They try to smash their massive fists at their target, and will try to block melee attacks. The stronger Juggernauts have larger fists and use a ground spike similar to the one used by Mercer. Heller gains the Hammerfist power by consuming one.

Goliath

Main article: Goliath

Gigantic Infected with a massive club for a left arm and a spike for the right. To kill one, Heller must remove its right leg, sever the left arm, tear off the head, and consume the body.

Flyers

Main article: Flyer

These winged Infected are the only known infected creatures not to be derived from humans, being the result of infected pigeons. They are significantly larger than their uninfected counterparts and tend to attack in swarms. Out of all the Infected, Flyers are the weakest, and have approximately the same amount of health as Walkers.

Evolved

Main article: Evolved

Alex Mercer's spies in Blackwatch and Gentek. They have weaker powers than Prototypes, but they are still very powerful. They are the more intelligent Infected, as they know exactly how to complete their assigned missions. The first Evolved found was Dr. Anton Koenig.

Trivia

• If Thermal Vision ability is used, it can be seen that any infected individual emits more heat than the average human. This means thermal vision can be used if the player is surrounded by smoke to pick out only the infected forces, or to individuate them before they see him/her.

• During the mission before fighting Mother, Hunters and Leader Hunters will burrow to the surface from underground, but none of the Walkers or Infected citizens can be seen doing that. Because only these creatures share the trait only with more advanced virus strains, it might mean that in fact infected creatures are of a subterranean nature, but inferior subjects are used mainly for spreading purposes.

• The Hydra might have been a reference to the Beta Half-Life 2 "Hydra", which is extremely similar as it is a tentacle like the Prototype's "Hydra".

• For some reason, Military/Police forces (including Blackwatch units) doesn't have an infected counterpart, this is probably to decrease development time.