Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 2: Direct Intervention - Starting the Containment Field

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 2: Direct Intervention - Starting the Containment Field
Page content

Soaking Up Some Radiation

Kill the 4 elites waiting to ambush you. The gravity gun can take them out in seconds at this range. Then let Alyx work on the console. It seems like our friends were trying to blow the Citadel up on purpose. Interesting.

Follow her into the control room. Then get onto the elevator when it arrives. Ride it down and get ready for a mirror of the last chapter in Half-Life 2. Go out into the core. Don’t worry about the radiation. Your suit stops it all. Approach the electronic bridge. Grab an energy core and blast the stalker across from you. He’ll destroy any energy cores you get into the receptors. Once he’s dead, just shoot an energy core into the receptor across from you. You might have to shoot one up into the receptor above and behind you. Cross the bridge. Repeat the receptor trick to activate the other one. Go across and hit the button in the little room to make the bridges realign.

Go across and look for the ladder up the core. It’s by the dual bridges. Go up and then across the bridge. Go into the little side room. There are about 8 Combine guarding this control room. Just keep blasting. Remember to also pull in soldiers and use them as shields while you reposition yourself. Once you shoot up the room, look at the receptor on the wall.

Gordon Freeman: Reactor Repairman

Go back out and grab an energy core. Hurry back and fire it into the receptor. This will cause a containment generator to raise up and fire at the core. Charge up again with the charger in the corner. In a few seconds, the metal door will open for another attack. 1 elite and 1 soldier are waiting in the hallway. Pull one in and punt him into the other. Then wait and kill the few manhacks that they send in. Kill the 2 Combine who come in through the catwalk behind you. Then take out the last straggler who should come in from the core area.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - These Few Combine Are All That Stand in Your Way

Go down the new hallway and pull off the panel. Jump and then crouch to get into the gap. Step out and crouch. Move to the left side of this energy chamber. You need to fire at all of the energy cores that the lower left generator fires. Don’t bother to pull them in. Just punt them away. A hit isn’t too devastating to your suit or your health. The problem is that they knock you back to the start. Get to the end and go up the slope. Jump up by the pipes and go through the little gap. Punt out the panel and jump in on a few Combine. Use rapid fire gravity gun shots to take them all out. Go ahead and pull out the energy core in the stream. This kills the shield and gives you a good weapon against the Combine on the ledge. Step out again to the core.

You need to get onto the bridge and approach the center. The pulsing of the core will knock you off easily though. Wait until it contracts and then sprint across to the other side. There’s another control room here and it’s a repeat of the first one. Just blast the Combine and throw them into one another again. Once they’re dead, turn and look for an energy core in the room. Use this on the receptor to start up the second containment device.

The doors at the end of the room open up afterwards. Go through and step onto the elevator lift. Go out and blast a few more Combine. Then go out to the platform. Jump onto the spinning arms and get in a good spot. About 8 manhacks flood the room. Just grab them and punt them into the arm. Also try to pull off the Combine waiting on the platforms. Once it’s safe, start watching the walls. You need to get onto a new platform. Just wait until you pass Alyx and then hop on the next one.

Sealing Things Up

Go inside and blast the 5 Combine rushing the platform. Shoot out the panel in the wall and climb in. Follow the wrecked corridor until you get to another energy core room. This one is really long though. You’ll need to stay crouched and fire your gravity gun as quickly as possibly. Don’t even bother looking for the cores. Just keep clicking. This keep everything out of your path. Duck into the little alcove at the end.

Half-Life 2 - The Containment System Is Back In Place

Shoot the panel and kill the 3 Combine guarding this control room. Pull an energy core out of the tunnel you just climbed through. Shoot it into the receptor to fire up the third and final containment device. It doesn’t work right though. Drop down into the unshielded compartment below.

You need to get an energy core into each of the fields to power it up. There is a hole in the ceiling by the fields that gives you access to the energy core tunnel. Grab 2 energy cores and fill the 2 streams on the right. Don’t fill the third one just yet though. We have to get out of here, and the third shot will put the shielding back in place and trap us in here. Grab an energy core and step onto the lift device by the machine. Fire it into the third field and ride the lift up. Grab another energy core and fire it into the receptor in the room. This fires up the complete containment field.

A Not So Clean Escape

This also marks the end of your game breaker gravity gun. It loses the special charge and your suit loses all the energy. Go back and meet up with Alyx. Follow her around to get some more information about what the Combine have been up to lately. Once the siren sounds, just follow her to the elevator and ride it down to the train platform.

Half-Life 2 - Of Course It Had To Be A Stalker Car

Walk forward and move quickly. You need to get out into the little control room and round the corner. Alyx will seal off the door. Go forward and let Alyx approach the panel. 2 rollermines drop in though. Pull them up and hold them close to Alyx for a quick realignment. Hang back by the glass and make sure the rollermines stay by the central door. Once Alyx opens it, they should roll into the room and kill the 7 Combine pushing toward you. Go into the room and heal up through the health panel as soon as Alyx drops the shield. Then duck into the train before the wave of Combine get to you.

Ride along and realize that it’s a stalker car. Also note that the worst is definitely not over. The train crashes in a minute and Gordon is thrown into the back. After the crash, crouch and hop over the little partition. Keep moving to the back of the train. Use your gravity gun to pull the stalker off of Alyx. Then knock the panel open. Drop down into the station to get away from all the noise. Crouch and go through the little hole to end the chapter.

This post is part of the series: Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Part 1

Things have gotten a bit rough in City 17, and it’s time for us to get out. This means buying some time with quick repairs on the Citadel, an escape through the zombie filled sewers and a battle with the remaining Combine so that the rebels can escape.

  1. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 2: Direct Intervention
  2. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - Chapter 3: Lowlife - Zombies in the Dark
  3. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 4: Urban Flight - A Breath of Fresh Air
  4. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - Chapter 4: Urban Flight - Finding Barney