Half-Life Saturday is upon us and I actually got my game time in early because I'm about to go participate in the Operation Supply Drop charity event. You may recall last week I had a tough time getting into the Forget About Freeman level but I finished it off and made it all the way through Chapter 14 - Lambda Core.
Lambda Core
In this chapter, Gordon arrives at the Lambda Complex, where he believed the science team to be sheltering from the Xenians, only to find that the majority of the complex is now overrun by hostile creatures. He is informed that he must flood the reactor chambers in order to access the core, and that a team of scientists is waiting for him at the tip of the reactor. Gordon must then navigate through the Lambda Core, facing numerous assaults from the Xen forces (the primary enemy, now that the HECU has pulled out). In the end, he learns that a single large entity is hosting the invasion, and that he must teleport to Xen to stop it.
After much struggle, Gordon finally reaches the Lambda Complex, where he discovers that the Lambda Complex is where they developed the teleportation technology that allowed scientists to travel to Xen in the first place. The handful of surviving personnel, who have held themselves up in a small stronghold, inform Gordon that, unfortunately, the satellite he launched was not able to reverse the effects of the Resonance Cascade because an immensely powerful being on the other side is keeping the portal between the worlds open, and Gordon must kill it to prevent the Xen aliens from taking over completely. But before being teleported to Xen, Gordon gains access to several ammunition, health and HEV-charge caches, the Gluon Gun, and he is finally reunited with the Long Jump Module (not seen since the Hazard Course). After an attempted interception by Alien Controllers, the scientists activate the teleporter and Gordon is teleported to Xen.
This was a fun but challenging level. Lots of cool things happen. You find the Gluon Gun which disintegrates enemies, even the toughest baddies, in no time at all. You also find the Long Jump Module near the end of the map and have to use it for a very specific purpose. Otherwise, most of the level was navigating the reactor plant and subsystems to turn some switches and valves along the way. You run into more ninjas - always a joy. And you find a ton of scientists along the way too, which is no surprise since you learned on an earlier level this is where most of them were hiding. I can't help but wonder what sort of research was being conducted at the Black Mesa Research facility because you find all sorts of crazy things going - like a teleportation device. It's been a while since I ran into the G-Man, but I did manage to spot him right before he teleported away. Where did he go and why was he there? I still don't know. I took a bunch of pictures (and included some commentary) that will show the level off a lot better than me describing it.
(Watch your step - that's a long way down.)
(I think it's obvious which button I need to push.)
(See, I told you it was a long way down.)
(Not the welcome party I was hoping for.)
(I still don't know why I don't just make a run for it in one of the vehicles.)
(Oh my, that's never a good sign.)
(I'll take what's behind Door #2.)
(Ninjas be shooting at me.)
(I almost thought it said Keep Calm and...)
(Dude wouldn't open the door until I killed the beast. Why I oughta...)
(Oh...glad I didn't. I see I needed your help.)
(Been a long time since I've seen my stats look this good.)
(Sounds fun!)
(Cool. The Gluon Gun - how does it work?)
(Oh...don't cross the streams.)
(Head Crab escaped and I got the beam too close to the scientist.)
(I'm assuming I have to make all of those green, eh?)
(This Barney was like, hey let's go grab a beer some time. Seriously Barney?)
(So red. Should I be worried?)
(Is it okay for me to be down here?)
(That midshift was killer.)
(Two dead scientists can only mean twice the danger lies ahead.)
(Okay...they're all green now...now what?)
(I definitely don't think I should be in here.)
(So that's what the inside of a reactor looks like.)
(...when it's turned on.)
(Supply Room...can only mean danger ahead.)
(Last time I took an elevator a scientist died. Think I'll use the ladder.)
(Now you see the G-Man.)
(Now you don't.)
(Barney, you better open this door right now or else.)
(Watch your fingers - moving parts.)
(Ah, the ole teleportation glowing orbs like the G-Man used.)
(These scientist were just chilling out. Psh.)
(This looks promising.)
(More supplies = more danger ahead.)
(No, it's not a backpack full of Girl Scout Cookies - it's the Long Jump Module.)
(A portal device? Seriously...portals?)
(You want me to jump into that? You're crazy.)
(Last time I saw something like this was at the beginning of the game.)
(You remember how that turned out, right? Okay...here goes. 3-2-1. GO.)
(Where...the...heck...am...I?)
Previous Episodes:
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the rest of it.
Cheers.