Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 4: Urban Flight - The Explosive Room

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Walkthrough - Chapter 4: Urban Flight - The Explosive Room
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One Dangerous Room

The collapsed pipe lands in one very dangerous room. The whole room is wired to blow and it should kill you if it does. Freak accidents are possible. I once survived a full explosion with only a minor hit, but that’s a rare exception. You need to knock out the vent on the top of the pipe. and then pop your head out. Climb up and jump over to the barrels. Drop down to the bench and position yourself for a clear jump over the tripwires. You should be able to make it over without setting anything off. Hurry to the elevator and jump into it.

The elevator doesn’t work though and quickly sinks. Use the gravity gun to knock off the roof panel. Swim through the hole and jump out at the next level. Be careful, though. There are 2 barnacles above you and they like to grab you as you jump out of the water. If they start to pull you up, just turn around and shoot them with the pistol. If you want to do the puzzle right, you just have to crouch under the 2 tripwires and jump through the broken window. That’s boring though. Put 2 shots into a barrel and then duck below the water. Hop out when the explosions stop.

Kill the poison headcrab inside the little room with the broken window. Jump through the hole and then push the table to the left. Climb on top and go into the air duct. Climb up and come out carefully on a little part of the elevator support. You should be right back where you started, except on the rail. Be careful to not touch the barnacle tongue though, since it will drop you back to the lower level. Walk along the edge and jump over to the other side. Walk along it and grab the ladder.

Climb up and carefully get onto the beam. Drop down to the ledge on the right and knock off the vent. Crawl along until you come to the next vent in the floor. Drop it right through the tripwire to blow up most of the explosives before you drop down. Once the barrels stop exploding, drop straight down. There are still 3 hoppers in the room. Pull each of them up to disarm them. Then use the fuse box to unlock the doors and rejoin Alyx. Follow her through the next door.

Finding Sanctuary

Go forward with your gun drawn. Kill the zombie torso before it trips the mine. Then go forward and move the explosive barrel away from the next set of mines. Safely set them off from a distance with a pistol shot. Advance through them and look at the door. The Combine are preparing another breach. This one is pretty easy though. Just 3 Combine soldiers with shotguns and SMGs. Wait by the door and give them a good shotgun blast or 2. Go inside once they’re dead.

Grab the crossbow in the corner and make sure you break open all the supply crates. You should be able to find some SMG grenades. When you’re ready to go, use your gravity gun to pull the plug in the corner. Then head downstairs and go through the dead force-field.

Go outside and rush up the stairs. Try to pull up the hopper and reset it before the Combine rappel in front of you. Fall back down the steps and switch to the pulse rifle. Use it to start clearing the streets from the 5-8 Combine rappelling down. Push forward past the hospital to team up with a rebel with a rocket launcher. Look up and kill the Combine who chased the rebels across the bridge. Then move down the street. A few more Combine rappel down on this half of the road. Another group also do a door breach on the double doors at the end of the street. Just take cover by a car and help your allies pick them off. Move back up the street a bit to find a rebel on the side of the street. He can take you inside to the safehouse.

A Short Reunion

Follow him forward. Stop along the way to get some supplies from the side alley. Then go inside and listen to Kleiner for a little bit. When you’re ready to go, head upstairs. A Combine headcrab rocket will hit above you and block your path though. Destroy the board over the door and then open it. You’ll probably fall through the floor here, so just do it anyway. Shotgun blast the torso zombie and fall back to the back left corner of the room.

Then just take out the other 4 zombies. Grab the supplies in here and then use your gravity gun to move the cabinet and break the board over the door. Go out and listen to the rebels complain if you want. It’s a little funny. Then break open the door and head back around to Alyx.

Go back through the room again and stick to the few surviving boards along the wall. A zombie will break the broads over the door at the end and rush in. Nail him with the shotgun before he draws the grenade. Go through the door and upstairs. Keep moving to come to a steel door with a familiar face behind it.

Go through and talk to Barney for a minute. It seems that we won’t have our new ally for long. We’re officially the decoy for the evacuation. Wait for Barney to unlock the bridge and accept your new crowbar. This would have been handy earlier.

One Hostile Hospital

Go through the building and up the stairs with Alyx. Kill the 2 normal headcrabs, then go up further and blast the 4 poison headcrabs. Turn and kill the next 2 zombies that should come running toward you. With the path clear, go out on to the roof. Kill the Combine firing on you from the other rooftops. Then break the board to free the bridge and lower it. Kill the few Combine who come charging across it, then cross it yourself. Go down the hallway and turn the corner to get inside the hospital.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - The Gunship at The Hospital

Go through the steel door. Then go down the hall and look at the battle. Let Alyx kill the one zombie approaching you so that you can save a little ammo. Hold back on the rest. Just let them fight it out with the Combine. Advance along the right wall in the next room. The gunship outside will continue to fire at you if you leave the security of the right wall. Just be very careful. Kill the next zombie waiting by the door. Then wait in the corner and gun down the 4 Combine in the room with the tripwires. Then take out the zombies playing possum. Cross the room carefully on the right side and then get into the room with windows. Push through a bit further to get to a little windowless area with some supply boxes. Stock up and then go upstairs.

It’s time to finally blow up that gunship. You should see the rebel get killed by gunship fire. You need to drop down and grab the rocket launcher. Then go upstairs and wait for a shot to open up. The gunship can shoot through most of the wood. This includes the roof and most of the floor. The only solid cover is the pillars. Just try to stay close to one and then fire. The angle of the roof and all the junk in the building means that it won’t often get too many hits on you. The box of rockets is over on the top floor by a pillar. Go over and grab more ammo if you need it. You’ll probably need a fair bit, since this gunship seems to be in a good position to shoot down the rockets. After about 5 solid hits it will crash into the corner of the building. Make sure you aren’t standing there when it does. Grab some health kits from the supply crates it should have knocked down.

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