MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMM MMiiMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMiiiiiiiiiiiM MM MiiiiMM MMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMiiiiiiiiMMMMMM MiiiiiMM MMMMMMMMM MMMMaiiiiiiMMMM MMiiiiiMM MMMaMMM MMMMiiiiiMMM MMMMiiiMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM MMMMiiiMM MMMMMMiiaMM MMMiMMM MMMMMMiiMM MMMiiM MiiMM MMiMMM MMMMMMMiMMM MMMiMMMMMMMMMMiMMa MMiMMM MMaiMM MMaiiiiiiiiiiMMM MMMiMM MMiiMM MMiiiiiiiiiiMM MMMiMM MMiiMMM MMMiiiiiiiiMM MMiiMM MMMiiiMM MMiiiiiiiMMM MMiiM MMMiiiiMMM MMiiiiiiMMM MMiiiM MMMiiaaaiMMM MiiiiiiMM MMiiiM MMMiiMMMMiiMM MiiiiiMMM MMiiiM MMMiiMM MMiMMM MiiiiMMM iMiiiM MMMiMMM MMiiMMM MiiiiMM MaiiM MMMiMMM MMiiMM MiiiMM MMiiMM MMMiMMM MMiMMM MMiiMMM MMiiMM MMMiMMM MMMiMM M MMiMMM MMiMMM MMMiMMM MMiiMMMMMMM MMiiMM MMMiMM MMMiMMM MMMiMMMMMMMM MMiMMM MMMiMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMiMMM MMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMMM MMiMMM MMMMMMM MMMMMMM MMMaMMM MMMiMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM http://www.grawl.nl Half-Life 2: Episode Two Guide by Grawl grawler (@t) gmail (d0t) com 12/14/07 - Version 1.1 ============================================================================== Donations ============================================================================== Writing guides takes a lot of time, and I do it all for free. Next to that, games aren't free to come by. Did you enjoy this guide? Do you have yourself a PayPal account? Please show you like this guide by donating a dollar or two. I'd be very thankful and you'd help me out. Plus you'll get more guides to enjoy. http://www.donategrawl.cjb.net Don't have any money? Sending a mail is appreciated just as much :) ============================================================================== Introduction ============================================================================== 1) Don't steal anything from this guide. This guide is copyrighted according to the DMCA (http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf) and stealing this guide and/or parts of this guide without my written permission will lead to a removal request. When this request doesn't get accepted within 48 hours, an official DMCA notice will follow. If this gets ignored, bigger steps will be taken. 2) Do you see someone use parts that look like parts of my guide? Please let me know. 3) This guide is IGN-exclusive, which means you can't use it on your site. 4) Donations are more than welcome. I need the money to buy the latest games, fix problems with my PC etc. If you enjoyed this guide, head to http://www.donategrawl.cjb.net and donate something. It's more than appreciated. 5) I have the right to answer a mail or not. Be sure you checked the latest version of the guide. You can find the latest version at http://www.grawl.nl. I won't reply when you're mailing about something obvious, something that's already covered, something that'll end up in the guide in later versions or when you're not able to write a proper mail. Use proper grammar and spelling. 6) Mailing me to tell how good the guide is, is appreciated ;p You can write in either English or Dutch. To make searching easier, I added search-codes in the TOC. Just press CTRL + F and enter the code to jump to that part immediately. ============================================================================== Table of Contents [HL.00.00] ============================================================================== * Table of Contents.................................................[HL.00.00] * History & Next Version............................................[HL.01.01] * Introduction......................................................[HL.02.01] * Walkthrough.......................................................[HL.03.01] * Chapter 1: To the White Forest..................................[HL.03.02] * Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil.....................................[HL.03.03] * Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex.....................................[HL.03.04] * Chapter 4: Riding Shotgun.......................................[HL.03.05] * Chapter 5: Under the Radar......................................[HL.03.06] * Chapter 6: Our Mutual Fiend.....................................[HL.03.07] * Chapter 7: T-Minus One..........................................[HL.03.08] * Cheats & Secrets..................................................[HL.04.01] * Console Cheats..................................................[HL.04.02] * Achievements....................................................[HL.04.03] * Weapons...........................................................[HL.05.01] * Enemies & Bosses..................................................[HL.06.01] * Allies............................................................[HL.07.01] * FAQ...............................................................[HL.08.01] * Conclusion........................................................[HL.09.01] ============================================================================== History & Next Version [HL.01.01] ============================================================================== Version 1.0 (10/14/07) - Everything is new. (51,8KB) Version 1.1 (12/14/07) - Added info on the 'Little Rocket Man' achievement (52,6KB) ============================================================================== Introduction [HL.02.01] ============================================================================== "As Dr. Gordon Freeman, you were last seen exiting City 17 with Alyx Vance as the Citadel erupted amidst a storm of unknown proportions. In Episode Two, you must battle and race against Combine forces as you traverse the White Forest to deliver a crucial information packet stolen from the Citadel to an enclave of fellow resistance scientists." ============================================================================== Walkthrough [HL.03.01] ============================================================================== Some hints and tips to get you started: * Remember to check out the controls. Some features won't be discussed anywhere, so you might miss the zoom-function of the suit, for example (that's the Z-button, by the way). * Run, walk or crawl while shooting, that way you're harder to hit. * Save often, but not when you're low on health. * Even if I don't tell you to do things, you can still try them out. There's nothing wrong with trying to talk to someone, unless I tell you not to do so. * Reload your gun when you're not in battle to be sure you won't start the next battle with just one bullet before you have to reload. * Aim for exploding barrels, because they'll blow things up, including enemies that are near. Don't take cover behind one of these barrels yourself, obviously. When Combines roll them towards you, shoot them before the barrels arrive. * If you need health, it's fine to go back a few rooms to get it. You get the idea? You can also do this for ammo, suit energy or whatever you want to get. * Most weapons (only the Crossbow) don't have a zoom-function. However, there is a way around it. Zoom with your suit (Z-button), aim, go back to the original view, and shoot. It's not a way to quickly snipe Combines down, but it works. In the walkthrough, I'll add *Loading* quite a few times. This means the game will load a new area and you'll have to wait a few moments. Not only for that reason I decided to add it, but it'll also make searching more easier. I've seen Half-Life 2 guides, but they aren't really organized, so it can be hard to find the spot you need. Sometimes, in levels with a lot of walking, I won't describe every corner for you. If you see an enemy, just shoot it. Don't let it attack you, just because I didn't tell you to defend yourself. If I tell you to get from A to B, I assume you're able to go there without too much trouble. And the biggest note; THIS GUIDE CONTAINS SPOILERS! Don't use it if you don't want the game to be spoiled for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 1: To the White Forest [HL.03.02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The game starts with you in the very same train you used to leave City 17 back in Episode One. Move forward until you reach the end of the train. Alyx will show up and use the Gravity Gun to move the door away. She figures out she's not really good with the thing and hands it over to our friend Gordon. 'Question!' Sure. 'Is Gordon Freeman really your friend?' Let's just move on. Shoot away the doors that are ahead to end up in an open space with a clear view of what once was the Citadel. As Alyx gets near it, a portal storm will come out of nowhere and cause the bridge to collapse. Not just that, but it also opens the path ahead into a mine. Go this way, and you'll eventually be greeted by a bunch of Zombies. Use the explosives around here if you want, or let Alyx take care of things. That's the way I prefer it - letting others do my job. Sadly it's so much harder to get this done in real life. Once the Zombies are gone (dead, if you want to hear it from me), enter the cute little shack up ahead. Alyx will go and fix the machines. Why don't you play with the garden gnome underneath the bed until Alyx wants you to plug in a power cord? Alyx will contact White Forest. The message is clear - hurry up and get over here. Walk (no one tells Gordon Freeman what to do) into the next area. It's yet another mine, and the only way out is blocked. Up the rails is a cart, on its turn also blocked. Shoot away the planks from the side to get the cart rolling. You may also stand in front of it while you're removing the planks, but that will most likely lead to a very unpleasant experience and mails aimed at me for not writing proper guides. Outside you need to get to the area next to the fence, and thus making your way into the next area. Alyx hears something, but there's no harm... yet. Climb up the ladder, and enter the house through the roof. Hit the button here and crawl underneath the house, back outside. At this point, Alyx will be attacked by a Hunter, but a Vortigaunt comes to save her (and you). Alyx is in grave danger and needs medical attention. Move forward once again, until you come to an elevator. Grab the Crowbar and the lift will fall down. You're on your own for a little while now. Move down the corridor. *Loading* Step onto the elevator and turn the wheel until you're a level up. Quickly jump off the elevator, since it'll fall down if you don't turn the wheel. Look around for a gun and keep on moving until you fall down into a shaft filled with Grubs. If you want to get the annoying achievement, start killing every single one of them. If you continue some more, you'll be greeted by the firsts Acid Warrior. Kill it with your gun. Down the road you'll find a Shotgun and Grenades. In the same room, there is another shaft blocked by planks. Remove the planks and jump down. There is not much to say about the next part. This is filled with Grubs, Antlions, Acid Warrior and water. Kill them while you move on, until you reach chapter 2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil [HL.03.03] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For now you're done with Grubs. Not with the Antlions. No, not with the Antlions. Did that sound mysterious? I was trying to be. The guys you meet are Griggs and Sheckley. Stock up on ammo and health, and check Alyx. There isn't much time for anything else, since Antlions will start to spawn out of one of the four holes. You can do this in two ways: you move the turrets around, or you place them near Alyx (put them in the corners) and you wait here. I used the second method, and I fired my gun just a few times. What will happen, is that Antlions will slowly show up (use a Hopper Mine against them if you want the achievement unlocked) and try to attack Alyx. At first this is limited to a small number, from one entrance. Soon it'll be two swarms from two holes. In the end it will be swarms from all holes. As I said, stay near Alyx (and the turrets) and you'll be fine. Don't worry about Griggs and Sheckley. The turrets will explode, but don't worry. Once this is over, some Vortigaunts will show up, and soon after even more Antlions. However, this time it's even easier. The Vortigaunts are very strong, so you just stand in a corner defending yourself, while the rest fixes the job. After the battle, it's time to heal Alyx. You need to get an extract, together with your Vortigaunt friend. A tip for this run: let him do most of the killing. It saves ammo and health. The Vortigaunt will run ahead and open a new path. Continue this way. *Loading* Keep on moving (and killing) until you reach a room with no direct way out. If you make some noise, the Zombies on the other end of the room will wake up. Kill them to solve that. Then use the Gravity Gun to shoot away the planks and open the door (watch out, one Zombie in the hallway will attack). There is a sort of elevator here. How it works? Use the Gravity Gun to put things in. When there's enough inside of it, jump in yourself to get underneath your current position. There are more Zombies here, so kill them. There's another elevator here. Put as much stuff on it as you can, then use the button to send it 'up'. Because of the weight, it can't. Jump on and remove the things to send the lift (with you on it) up. Huuuuuuurgh! Zombies indeed. Let the Vortigaunt kill them, while you turn the wheel to open the gate. The Vortigaunt will on its turn open a path for both of you. There's another mine passage here. Wait for the cart to go down and open the path for you, then find your way to a room with concrete. Shoot the 'bell' (or whatever it is) with your Gravity Gun to open up a path. Quickly enter. Use the cart to rush down and you'll fall in the water. Use the ladder to go up and the Vortigaunt will pop up (I shot him in the face, since I thought it was a Zombie - he didn't care much) and state 'no pit would be complete without a Freeman climbing out of it.' Whatever. Enter the cavern area and follow the path. *Loading* Remember how I said to let the Vortigaunt do the things for you? In this area you need to call the lift, then fight enemies until it's down. But we're not going to do that. We are going to act like Solid Snake. Call the lift, and use the ladder to climb up. Hide from the enemies, while the Vortigaunt fights with them. You may need to kill a few enemies that try to attack you, but it's pretty quiet otherwise. Once the lift is down, quickly go up. The Vortigaunt will follow suit. What's left are Zombies fighting Antlions down below. Open the doors and you'll be in a mine again. As you proceed, the Guardian will try to attack you. No fighting time yet. Continue. *Loading* Eventually you'll end up in a room with a broken lift and a shaft with a fan. Enter this shaft and remove the bench. The fan will spin, blowing you out and then stop working. Get back to it, and use the Gravity Gun to shoot at it, until the broken part is down, and allows you to crawl underneath it. You'll end up in a cave again. Swim down to the other side of it, and follow the path. You'll be greeted by the Guardian after a short while. Now, this isn't a fight scene. There is no point shooting at it, since it can't die. Besides, the Vortigaunt told us not to. And while in general, no one tells Gordon Freeman what to do, this time we'll just listen. Just this time. Let the Guardian rush towards you, and it'll kick away the rocks. Run past it until you see a thick web on your left. Use your Crowbar or a random gun to open it and quickly get it. The Guardian will run past you, and you'll be safe for the moment. Open the other end, and repeat the trick. Run towards the next 'hole' and hide. If you keep doing this, you'll end up finding a blocked wooden room. Run towards it with your gun and start shooting the planks to get in as soon as you can. The Guardian will try to attack you, but all that will happen is that you will fall down. You are safe from it for now. The next time we'll kill it. In the next room you will find an elevator. The thing is, it's broken. Pretty much opposite of it, you'll find the missing part. Use it to get the elevator working again by pulling the lever. This will cause the Vortigaunt to go down. It'll open the next door, and a nice scene will follow where it will get the extract. Hurry up towards the lift and go up. *Loading* It's time to heal Alyx. Well, not really. It is time for G-man to kick in. G-man, long time no see! No time for chit-chat, the G-man has business with you. He gives you instructions. You need get Alyx to White Forest. Well, that was the plan anyway. And Alyx gets instructions as well - she needs to say 'unforeseen consequences' (the name of the second chapter of the original Half-Life) to her father. Well, Alyx is healed, but not in best shape. You will take the elevator up, the Vortigaunts will greet you and you need to enter the next chapter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex [HL.03.04] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When you step outside, you'll see the Combine walking over the bridge. They are leaving City 17 and heading to White Forest. It'll be a race to White Forest. A fun race! The next area consists of Alyx not being very good at walking, so you need to take breaks at the machines that keep the Antlions distracted. Make your way to the small fort in the middle of it all. To make the upcoming fight easier (don't you love me?), collect as much explosives as you can here, but don't get near the mine entrances. Once you are ready, walk towards the entrance. You probably expected the Guardian to rush out, but they threw in a bonus Antlion Guardian as well. They are pretty much the same next to the color, so just focus on one. You should have enough explosives to kill them. If you manage to run out, rely on your guns. When they are down, the Vortigaunt will call for the lift. However, it's stuck. Follow the small path up (Headcrab alert) and enter the lift. Remove the tool from the lever and when everyone is inside, push the button to go up. Continue. *Loading* It seems the rebels can't help you, since they turned into a pool of gore (and healing items). The car however, is on the bridge. 'Hey Gordon, why don't you go pick it up?' 'Sure honey'. Gordon just wants some action tonight. Well, time to go down. In the next room, remove the crates to find a path down. Down down down. In a dark room, a Piggy Tail Zombie will rush in. Kill it if you want. I don't care. I just want you to continue. When you reach a staircase, Alyx will pop a Zombie for you. Alyx will cover you from time to time now. The same rule applies here - let her do most of the job. In the next room you'll notice a huge fire. Walk near it, walk away from it (Zombies will come out) and when you think it's clear, turn the gas off. Instead of fighting through this part, I prefer to run past all the Zombies until you reach a small alley where Alyx will shoot some Zombies down. Wait here to get rid off them all. At the end is a small hole you can crawl through. Now this is a fun part. Turn on the gas, and when Zombies get near, shoot them. This will cause the gas to ignite and kill the Zombies. Turn it off, go inside, let the Zombies follow and repeat. It never gets old. If you continue your journey, and head up a ladder, you'll end up on the roof of a building. Shoot away all the panels, so Alyx gets a clear view on the Zombies below. Let her kill them, then jump down with your Shotgun ready and go sit in a corner. Kill any Zombie that gets too close while you let Alyx do the biggest job. Once the Zombies are all gone (which can take a while), continue. You'll end up in a storage room. Crawl your first way through (kill the Zombies) and find the forktruck. Put a crate on the front, lift it up and use this new path to reach the highest platform. Continue to find some toxic waste. Alyx will once again provide you with sniper action, so lure them into her sight and get rid of them. If you continue, you'll find two big pipes. Stand on top of them and look at the big toxic waste that holds rocks and cars. Hop over to them, and then keep hopping from rock to car (and other objects) while killing Zombies. Find the ladder and climb up. Inside the house are a few more Zombies to kill. And that's all we'll get for a while from the Zombies. Good. Walk to the bridge and get near the car. Another portal storm will show up, causing the bridge to split even worse. Jump to the side of the bridge that's lifted, and start shooting the cars off. This will make the bridge go level again, so you can use the car to drive to the other side. At the other side, find the lever, so that Alyx and the Vortigaunt can join you. It's time to part with your Vortigaunt friend and move on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 4: Riding Shotgun [HL.03.05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These levels are huge. Drive over the road and through the water until you reach a few buildings. Alyx wants you to explore. There is a hole in the side of one building, so use that to get inside. Go down here. There are two cords here - a short one and a long one. You need to connect a few sockets with the cords. I think I spoiled the puzzle for you, didn't I? Once you got it all connected, use the elevator up. Now shit will hit the fan. Hunters will show up. Start to get used to the idea of meeting them on a regular base. Frankly, you need to defeat a few right now. Once they are down, enter the house and find the transmitter. White Forest can reach you, but can't hear you. Let's leave this place. The gate will be open, so drive through that and follow the path. *Loading* You'll stumble upon another house. Enter it, and you'll get some weird visions of some sort. An Advisor is nearby, according to Alyx. Find the door with a lock on it, break it open and new path to crawl to where the Advisor is. Alyx will move the dead body and show the core. Shoot at it with your Gravity Gun to destroy it. The Advisor isn't happy, but won't be able to kill you. Get back to the car. It's time for a chase. Just drive until you reach a train track. Keep driving. A helicopter will drop mines, so avoid these. Enter the tunnel. *Loading* There is not much to say about this part. Just avoid obstacles and keep driving. Eventually the car will start to burn. This is a sign to get out of it. A Rebel will help you, but gets killed by the helicopter for doing so. It's time to fight against the helicopter. The rebels will keep it occupied (for as long as they are alive), so use this to your advantage. The helicopter will drop mines. Pick them up with your Gravity Gun and shoot them back. Finish it without any misses for an achievement unlocked. Follow the Rebel after the fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 5: Under the Radar [HL.03.06] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go down and you'll see a ton of Zombies. Kill them all. Continue your journey while killing Zombies, until you reach a part with a lot of car wrecks. Stay down here, since the Combines will take care of you with ease. Crawl through this area, until you reach a building. Kill the Combines here. Continue to crawl until you finally reach the side of the building where the Combines are. Get on the roof and throw a Grenade inside. Jump through the window and kill the rest of the Combines. Here you'll find the machine that's responsible for the shooting. Throw a Grenade at it to take care of that. Alyx will join you. Get back to the car. It got updated with a scanner. It will show you the location of radar packages. Get all of them for the achievement. As you drive away you'll notice the first one if already near. Enter the building that's the right one according to the radar and head inside to find it. When you continue to drive, you'll get another signal. When you head inside, Alyx states she doesn't see it. Well, that's because it's underneath the floor. Puzzle solved. Drive on through the tunnel. *Loading* When you drive on you'll get another signal. This one is pretty well hidden. Find a small hole and crawl inside to find it. Drive on and you'll eventually be surprised by a sudden barrier. You are trapped inside and the Combines will attack. This includes Hunters. Kill them all. Alyx suggest to find a way to get the force field down. I love it when women are clever like that. Backtrack the way you came while fighting Combine Soldiers and Hunters. You will reach a building with a force field and a turret. Get to the side of the turret and shoot it down with your Gravity Gun. Alyx will open the force field for you, but has to operate the console. Head through and suddenly the force field comes back up. Tough luck Gordon. Find the ladder with a lock on it. Shoot at it and climb up. Crawl around the other force field to get down. Grab the weapons and find the small shaft, hidden behind a barrel. Remove the barrel and enter the room. What you need to do here is open the door by pressing the button, then positioning yourself behind the core and shoot at it so it bounces into the other room. When done properly, this will cause both force fields to go down. And with that, also the ones around the car. Head back to the car and continue. Jump over the ramp and keep on driving. You will get another signal. Look up and notice the boxes hanging there. Grab a piece of log and throw it (with your Gravity Gun, obviously) at them. This will cause them to come down. Another radar signal solved. Drive through the tunnel. *Loading* Drive until you reach a gate. Step out of the car and walk towards the Combine object. A Strider will rise. Troublesome? Not at all. Dog will show up and finish the foul beast for you. Get in the car and Dog will remove the blockade way. You will now race Dog to White Forest. Win this to unlock the achievement. Head inside. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 6: Our Mutual Fiend [HL.03.07] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When you step inside an alarm will go off. No worries. Keep on walking to find Eli. Follow him to meet Dr. Kleiner and Magnusson. The alarm keeps going, which drives Magnusson crazy. He wants you to take care of it. Ok. He opens a hatch for you. Head down, then use the elevator to go further down. Break the glass near the door here and pull the lever. The Vortigaunt will open the door and tell you to follow the path to reach silo 2. Walk around the corner. *Loading* A Rebel will try to show you the way, but gets killed by a Hunter. You are locked in at this point. However, there is a small space you can crawl through. You will reach a room where Rebels are fighting against a few Hunters. What I did was grab my Crossbow and kill the Hunters from this safe shelter while moving away when they shot at me. This way I killed all of them. If you are a hero you can come out of there and kill them some other way. Either way, get up the platform and a few Manhacks will appear. Destroy them with your Crowbar or Gravity Gun. When you reach a ladder, turn off the gas and move up. A red beacon will be thrown your way and Super Combines show up. Kill kill kill! Get rid of the turret and move on until you reach a room with water. Kill the Combines here and move forth. When you reach the end of the hall, a Hunter will show up. Destroy it and move on for more Combines. Head up the stairs and jump down into the water. Swim to the other side to reach the silo we need to close. Start climbing up while killing Combines. When you reached the top a Combine is shooting at you with a turret. Crawl near it (avoiding Manhacks) until you look at the window without being shot at. Lob a grenade inside and then quickly move in yourself. Pull the lever to close the silo. Combines will rush in at the last moment, but don't bother with them. Go stand near the door and wait until the Rebels took care of it all. Greet Alyx and follow her. *Loading* Eli and Dr. Kleiner are just watching the broadcast by Judith. Dr. Kleiner notices there's something else on the tape, and you will watch some interesting video about the Borealis. After some chitchat, Alyx says the magic words 'unforeseen consequences' to Eli. When Alyx is off to get some tea, Eli clearly wants to tell you something about the G-man. Alyx however, is very fast with boiling water. To make things more fun, Magnusson will come in a spit out sarcastic comments. It's nearly a soap we're watching. Follow Magnusson to see his weapon - the Magnusson Device. Go outside to test it out. What it does? You grab it with your Gravity Gun, shoot it at a Strider and then take out a random weapon of choice (I don't see how a weapon of choice could be random, but it felt like the right thing to say) and shoot at it. Boom! Try it a few times from a longer distance and then move towards Magnusson to enter the next room. *Loading* Walk to the rebel. He upgraded your car even more. It can now hold the Magnusson Device, will show Combine forces on your radar and your suit will tell you where the car is. The rebel will also explain the mission for a bit. Well not really. He just tells you to head to the sawmill. Step in the car and drive towards the sawmill. Ok this is the last part of the game. And it won't be easy. Striders will come with packs of Hunters and you must destroy them. They aren't allowed to get too close to the base, or it's game over. The Striders will come from three positions - the cranes (northwest), the sawmill (north) and the water tower (northeast). At first they will come one at the time, but in the end they will come three at the time. Now listen to me, and listen to me good. You need to be fast and efficient. There is not much time to play around. This is what you'll do - you will drive towards the Strider in your car. Run over the Hunter(s) with your car. Quicksave a lot. I did it after I killed a Strider and when I got my car hooked up with the Magnusson Device. Talking about that, run over the Hunters as I said, use the device to destroy the Strider and then quickly get another device. Patch yourself up if needed and head towards the next Strider. If you want the achievement unlocked, you need to make sure the Striders don't even destroy one outpost. That's hard, indeed. So anyway, long story short - drive to Strider, kill Hunters, kill Strider, get new supplies, repeat. As I said it'll be just one Strider at the time in the beginning, but in the end there will be three at the time. Always pick the one that's closest to base to make sure they don't screw the mission up. Once all the Striders are gone, you did it. Return to the base and follow Alyx. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 7: T-Minus One [HL.03.08] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's time to launch the rocket and cancel the Combine portal, don't you agree? You have the honor of pressing the launch button. Do so to... well... launch the rocket. Head outside to see the portal closing. Follow Alyx and Eli towards the helicopter. And this is where I won't tell you what will happen and let you see it for yourself. To make this walkthrough, I used 4 hours of almost non-stop writing, 863 screenshots and a few videos because I set the keys very close together in Fraps. ============================================================================== Cheats & Secrets [HL.04.01] ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Console Cheats [HL.04.02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Open the console (~-key), and enter sv_cheats 1. After that, use any of the following codes: * No damage: god * Never Die: buddha * Infinite power for your suit: infinite_aux_power * All weapons and ammo: impulse 101 * Kill all npc’s in the area: npc_kill * Enemies don't attack: notarget * Walk through walls: noclip * Spawn a scout car: ch_createjeep * Spawn an airboat: ch_createairboat * skulls: impulse 102 * Wire frame models: mat_wireframe1 * Only objects effected by physics are wireframe: vcollide_wireframe 1 * Draw game triggers: showtriggers_toggle * Draw normal maps: mat_normalmaps 1 * Draw surface materials: mat_normals 1 * Turn off bump mapping: mat_fastnobump 0 * Remove weapon model from the screen: impulse 200 Use "give xxx", where xxx is one of the following: * item_healthkit * item_healthvial * item_box_buckshot * item_box_mrounds * item_box_sniper_rounds * item_box_srounds * item_battery * item_suit * item_ml_grenade * item_ar2_grenade * weapon_ar1 * weapon_ar2 * weapon_bugbait * weapon_cguard * weapon_molotov * weapon_manhack * weapon_immolator * weapon_irifle * weapon_crowbar * weapon_extinguisher * weapon_flaregun * weapon_frag * weapon_gauss * weapon_alyxgun * weapon_hopwire * weapon_iceaxe * weapon_physcannon * weapon_physgun * weapon_pistol * weapon_rpg * weapon_shotgun * weapon_smg1 * weapon_smg2 * weapon_stickylauncher * weapon_stunstick * weapon_thumper * weapon_sniperrifle * weapon_rollerwand * weapon_slam * weapon_hmg1 * weapon_cubemap * weapon_binoculars * weapon_ml * weapon_brickbat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Achievements [HL.04.03] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't suggest reading them before finishing the game due to spoilers. Bone Breaker Description: Kill 30 enemies with thrown physics objects. Deadly Harvest Description: Kill an enemy by planting a hopper mine. Note: Can be done during the Antlion ambush during the chapter 'This Vortal Coil'. Hot PotatOwned Description: Kill a Combine soldier with his own grenade. Grave Robber Description: Steal a Zombine's grenade. Acid Reflex Description: Kill an acid Antlion worker. Note: This will most likely happen during the chapter 'To the White Forest'. Get Some Grub Description: Squish every Antlion grub in Episode Two. Note: Nearly impossible. You can't miss a single one. There are 333. Piñata Party Description: Find and break every web cache in Episode Two. Note: There are 9. Into the Breach Description: Help Griggs and Sheckley hold off the Antlion invasion inside the mine. Note: Obviously this is done during the chapter 'This Vortal Coil'. Hit and Run Description: Run over 20 enemies with the car in Episode Two. Note: If you use my strategy for the end-game you're on your way. Meet the Hunters Description: Survive the Hunter ambush with Alyx. Note: Obviously this is done during the chapter 'Riding Shotgun'. Puttin' On a Clinic Description: Defeat the chopper in Episode Two without any misses. Gunishment! Description: Destroy the Combine Autogun in the junkyard. Note: Obviously this is done during the chapter 'Under the Radar'. Cache Checker Description: Find every radar cache in Chapter 'Under the Radar'. Note: If you follow my walkthrough you'll find all 5 of them. Gordon Propelled Rocket Description: Unlock the rocket launcher lambda cache in the chapter 'Under the Radar'. Note: There is a room in the chapter 'Under the Radar' with a rocket launcher. Lower the plate on the floor with your Gravity Gun, throw a grenade underneath it and fly up. Pedal to the Metal Description: Beat DOG in a race to the White Forest base. Quiet Mountain Getaway Description: Survive the ambush at White Forest Inn. Note: Obviously this is done during the chapter 'Under the Radar'. Little Rocket Man Description: Send the garden gnome into space. Note: The gnome can be found in the room where Alyx fixes the machine during the chapter 'To the White Forest'. What you need to do is take it with you throughout most of the game, and put it into the rocket back at White Forest. Yes, you need to take it with you all the time! It's easiest to pick it up instead of using the Gravity Gun, because you can switch weapons faster that way. Save often and play on easy. There are a few places where you can drop the gnome, since you'll come back at that point later. You can leave it near Alyx when she's being healed by the Vortigaunts and when the chopper attacks you when you're in the car, leave it there and come back for it when the chopper's gone. Put the gnome somewhere into the car and drive slow, without taking sharp turns. Look back every so often to check if your little buddy is still there. Once you finally reached White Forest, put it in the rocket together with Lamar. Secondary Silo Secured Description: Secure the launch door on missile silo 2. Note: Obviously this is done during the chapter 'Out Mutual Fiend'. Neighborhood Watch Description: Save all buildings outside the missile silo from destruction. Payback Description: Kill a Hunter with its own flechettes. Note: Grab an item with your Gravity Gun, let the hunter shoot its flechettes at it, and throw it back. Profit! ============================================================================== Weapons [HL.05.01] ============================================================================== Crowbar Ammo: N/A Hotkey: 1 Description: This is the famous Half-Life weapon, although you won't use it all that much. You'll mainly using it to break stuff, and to keep Man Hacks away from you. Gravity Gun Ammo: N/A Hotkey: 1 Description: The most fun gun in the game. You can play with gravity, by grabbing objects, and putting them down, or just throwing them away. The primary attack button will shoot things away, the secondary attack button will grab things. At a certain point of the game, you'll get a much stronger version of the Gravity Gun, which'll be able to kill enemies and carry even heavier stuff. Sadly, you won't have it for long. Pistol Ammo: 18/150 Hotkey: 2 Description: A simple pistol, that's nice when out of ammo for other guns. Magnum Ammo: 6/12 Hotkey: 2 Description: This weapon will blow your enemies away, literally. Most enemies will also die from one good shot with the Magnum. Sub Machine Gun (SMG) Ammo: 45/225 + 3 Grenades Hotkey: 3 Description: I won't make the Sarah Michelle Gellar joke again, see my Doom 3 guide for that. Instead, let me just tell you this is a pretty good gun, which you'll get early in the game, and you'll love it for a while. It shoots pretty fast, so enemies will die faster too. The primary attack button fires the SMG, and the secondary attack button fires a grenade. Pulse Rifle Ammo: 30/60 + 3 Cores Hotkey: 3 Description: This is a quite a good gun, but it can't hold much ammo. The primary attack button will fire, the secondary will fire a core. The core will take out large groups of enemies, but it's also possible to kill yourself or allies with it. Shotgun Ammo: 6/30 Hotkey: 4 Description: My favorite weapon from Doom 3 for it's power. This isn't Doom 3 though, it's Half-Life 2. Still, this weapon is great for taking out enemies quickly. The primary attack button fires one shot, and the secondary attack button fires two shots. Crossbow Ammo: 1/10 Hotkey: 4 Description: The only weapon that has a zoom-function. Use it, because this weapon is great for taking out enemies from a distance. The primary attack button will fire, and the secondary attack button will zoom in. Grenades Ammo: 5 Hotkey: 5 Description: Well, what to say? Don't wait too long, or you'll blow your hand of, and be sure to actually throw the grenade, not just the pin. This is a nice weapon if you need to take care of large groups of enemies, or when you find a Combine behind a turret. The primary attack button will throw a Grenade, the secondary attack button will roll on. RPG Ammo: 1/3 Hotkey: 5 Description: A Rocket Launcher. It's the only weapon that can take the Gunships down. Also good for taking out big groups of enemies. Magnusson Device Ammo: N/A Hotkey: N/A Description: A sticky bomb. Throw it at a Strider, then shoot at it with a weapon to make it go boom. ============================================================================== Enemies & Bosses [HL.06.01] ============================================================================== Drones - Flying enemies, that come in various forms. Most of the time, the Gravity Gun works fine against them. Man Hacks - These are updated version of the Scanners. Not only do they fly, but they also have a small blade spinning around, which isn't nice at all. Just keep slashing it with your Crowbar to take it down. The Gravity Gun also works fine against them. Civil Protection - The enemy you'll battle most. They are some sort of super human (Über-menschen (the army Hitler wanted to create back in WW2), perhaps? Who knows.), and are available in various tastes and smells. Combines - These are the guards of City 17, and are the main enemy throughout the game. They are dressed in black, and appear to be human, but who knows. Sometimes they are only equipped with a stun-stick, others are equipped with heavy weapons. There are various of these Combines, ranging from the city version, to the prison version. Not enough difference to discuss, though. Super Combines - White Combines, that are stronger than any other Combine you encounter in the game. They are the only Combine that'll use the secondary attack of the Pulse Rifle. Headcrabs - The annoying enemies from the original Half-Life. Most will die from one hit with a Crowbar, though. Headcrab - Annoying little creatures. They are small, and will jump at you as soon as they see you. Black Headcrab - These Headcrabs are venomous, and when they hit you, you'll get poisoned too. When you got hit, just stand still until the suit healed you. Super Headcrab - They move faster, and can jump further. You can identify them by their long legs. Civil Protection Equipment - The vehicles and other unfriendly things the Combines will use against you. Strider - Big creatures, that have long legs. You probably know them from various Half-Life 2 screenshots or movies. They require 6 rockets, before they'll go down in normal mode, 3 in easy and 9 in hard. This means you'll need to find one of those boxes with unlimited rockets in them. Sentry Guns - Turrets you can just pick up, place somewhere, and they'll shoot the enemy. You can easily take them down with Gravity Gun, or by throwing something towards them. Hunter - A new enemy introduced in Episode Two. These guys will shoot at you, or otherwise rush towards you and hit you hard. Take them down with the alternate fire of your machine guns, a grenade, rocket, or just run them over with your car. Watch out, since they can dodge it without too much trouble. Helicopter - This helicopter will drop mines. Pick them up and throw them back. Zombies - Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh... that's the sound they make. Some are slow, others are fast. Shoot them in the head, if you can. Zombies - These poor guys got attacked by a Headcrab, and turned into Zombies. They'll throw things at you, so be sure to watch out. When the Zombie died, the Headcrab might still live, so watch out. Leapers - These aren't your average Zombies, they are way faster, and are able to climb. Take them out with your Shotgun. Zombine - A Combine that became a zombie. When it feels like it, it'll grab a grenade, hold it in its hand and then explode. Quite handy when it's away from you, since it'll take down his friends too. Piggy Tail Zombies - Even stronger Zombies. These guys have a load of Black Headcrabs on them, and won't hesitate to throw them at you. Take it down quickly. Mines - What needs to be said? Step on them, and get yourself killed. Hopper - An advanced type of mine. They'll only attack enemies. However, if you pick them up with your Gravity Gun, and place them back on the ground, they'll work for you. Antlions - A mix between an ant, and lion, as the name suggests. They just keep coming, and coming, and coming. Antlions - Like the name makes you suspect, this is a mix between a lion, and an ant. They'll fly, and attack you. They'll keep coming, so move away from them. Antlion Warrior - This is the advanced version of the Antlion. They'll summon Antlions and rush at you, trying to hit you. Acid Antlion Grub - A larva. They make annoying sounds, there are tons of them, and when stepped on they provide health. Acid Antlion Warrior - An advanced version of the Antlion. They can also fly, and will shoot acid towards you. Acid Antlion Guardian - Much like the Antlion Warrior, but green. Barnacles - You should know these enemies from the first Half-Life. They just hang at the ceiling, with their tongue out of their mouth. As soon as they feel something touched their tongue, they'll slowly move the object towards their mouth and try to eat it. ============================================================================== Allies [HL.07.01] ============================================================================== Barney Calhoun - The security guard from the original Half-Life. Although you saw many of his clones, in this game, there is only one Barney, and he seems to remember you ("Hey Gordon, it's me, Barney, from Black Mesa"). Dr. Isaac Kleiner - Another old friend from the original Half-Life. This time, there aren't clones, but just one Dr. Kleiner. He has a pet, Lamarr, and he seems to care more for her, than for his own life. Alyx Vance - The daughter of Eli Vance (more about him in a few seconds). She helps you in the game at various points, and see seems to be a better shooter than most other allies. Also, many gamers have a crush on her. Dr. Eli Vance - The father of Alyx Vance, as stated above. He has a strange leg, but he's friendly, so don't worry. Dog - The pet of Alyx Vance. It's not a real dog, but a robot. It's extremely strong, and help you in various ways. Dr. Judith Mossman - Don't want to spoil the original Half-Life 2 for you. Rebels - They contain the most stupid A.I. of the game, but it's still better than nothing, right? You can take up to 4 with you, and they'll aid you by shooting enemies, and giving you health (the medics will do this, obviously). Vortigaunts - They were enemies in the original Half-Life, but that's because they were slaves of Nihilanth. Since you saved them, by defeating Nihilanth, they are friendly now. Magnusson - A man who worked for Black Mesa back in the days. ============================================================================== FAQ [HL.08.01] ============================================================================== Q: Blablablablabla. Can you help me? A: Are you using a downloaded version? Then please don't even bother mailing me, since that version comes with more problems than anything else. This is not because of the game, but it's because it's the downloaded version. And by that I meant the illegal means of downloading. Q: I'm at , and I'm stuck, because the A.I. doesn't do a single thing!!!11 A: See above. I'm not going to help you because you downloaded the game. This is a problem that only occurs to the downloaded version. Q: If I download Half-Life 2, will my Steam account get banned? A: Yes, that might just happen. Q: You are kidding me. A: Yea - http://www.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184810 Q: Can I disable the title screen's background? Loading the title screen takes ages... A: Yes, find the file valve.rc in the /hl2/cfg dir, and add // in front of startupmenu . This will fix it. Just to be sure, it'll look like this: // display the startup level // startupmenu Q: My sound stutters, what can I do? A: There is a patch that should fix a few things, but if that doesn't work, you can try the following things: * If you're using more than 2 speakers, go back to 2 speakers. * Lower the sound quality. * Lower your graphical settings, including AA, resolution and texture quality. Q: Can I play a match of Deathmatch against you? A: Yes, see the introduction for my Steam-name. Q: I don't know who G-man is! A: Neither do I. Don't mail me about it. Q: I don't get the story... A: http://members.shaw.ca/storage_4/hl2story/ Q: Do I need the original Half-Life 2 to play this? A: No. Q: Can Alyx die? A: Yes, and the game acts as if you died if she does. Q: You're missing cheats! A: Sorry, mail me which ones please. ============================================================================== Conclusion [HL.09.01] ============================================================================== I hope you enjoyed my guide, since I put a lot of work in it. If you encounter problems, feel free to mail me. Also suggestions, feedback, comment etc. are accepted, the mail addy is on top of this file. Thanks-list: Stephen Ng, Logan Shively, Maik Zumstrull And especially you, for reading this. For other guides, you can check this link: http://www.grawl.nl http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/13739.html ============================================================================== Copyright (c) 2007 by Grawl. All rights reserved.