Half-Life 2: Episode Two: Under The Radar

4th August 2013

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While Alyx and the rebels work on the car, Gordon disables a Combine Autogun that is hampering Resistance movement.

In the meantime, a rebel technician repairs the car and installs a radar detector that picks up Resistance caches.

After the car is fixed, Alyx and Gordon continue to White Forest, traveling through the zombie-infested countryside and retrieving supplies from several hidden caches.

An enormous Combine ambush is laid for them at the White Forest Inn, but after defeating Hunters, soldiers, and Elites, they approach the White Forest base.

They witness a dropship being downed by rebels, however the Strider that it was carrying awakens. Dog arrives and defeats the Strider, and Alyx challenges him to a race to the base.

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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Achievements

I won’t be covering the Episode Two achievements in the same way as I did in the Half-Life 2 TREE event, because they are less chapter based. However, the CombineOverWiki has nice list that is very useful.

The Replay Experience Experiment

This post is part of the The Replay Experience Experiment event. This is a chance to replay all the Half-Life games and discuss them based on our experiences since we first played them.

Hat Tip

The intro and trivia text are taken from the CombineOverWiki, a fan-supported, editable wiki covering the Half-Life series of games.

Walkthrough
A Complete Half-Life 2: Episode Two Walkthrough

On the left is a complete text walkthrough for Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

It has been written by Stanley E. Dunigan and updated with all the tricks and tips from PlanetPhillip.Com readers.

It is in PDF format, meaning you can open it directly in modern browsers or download it and print it.

(Left-click to open and right-click to save)

Do Not Own This Game?

You can purchase Half-Life 2: Episode Two directly through Steam and could be playing in within moments, depending on your internet connection.

Categories (?)
Games Half-Life 2: Ep2

11 Comments

  1. PlanetPhillip

    This chapter contains another one of my favourite sections and that’s the Automatic Multiple Turret. I have no idea what it’s actually called,but that seems a good a name as any. You can really only attack it one way but the area feels as though you have a few choices.

    Before this though, there is a section for you to get past which does that familiar job of showing you what’s coming but making it a little difficult to get there. I managed to get on top of a few containers and it’s even possible to avoid the turret completely but as image 10 shows, you aren’t allowed to continue without Alyx.

    I can’t remember exactly where I found image 09 but it’s a touching little scene.

    After the turret, you have to drive around for a bit and I found the caches a complete distraction. In fact, I somehow got the car stuck and it caused some sort of warp-field. Image 22 shows a grenade that got caught in this warp-field and just froze. I was unable to move the car, either by driving or with the gravity gun, so I had to reload.

    The level does a great job of pausing after the high-speed pursuit from the previous chapter and the damage to the car. Finally, we are reunited with Dog and see how useful he is.

    It’s clear that things are about to get really exciting.

    Playtime: 1 Hour 1 Minute

    Reply
    1. Amidnarasu

      I wasn’t aware that you could skip the autogun, but Valve apparently did, which is why they have that little “precaution” seen in image 10…

      Then again, I believe that’s there since you could probably sprint through the sludge that is blocking the path that way.

      As for image 9, some people have said that those are the couple from HL2; the ones who were comforting each other. The first time you see them is in Point Insertion, and the second is during Anticitizen One. If it is them, then, well, that’s just plain depressing…

      As for where you find that scene; you turn right when you’re in the aforementioned sludge puddle. There should be an opening in the fence there. At least, that’s what I remember.

      Reply
  2. JG

    I’ve always been a fan of the little village where you can find the White Forest Inn. While I’m not terribly amused by the combat there, the concept of exploring this abandoned “rest stop” is kind of cool.

    There are many places in the Episodes that feel extremely guided. All of Episode 1 is pretty much straight ahead. The mines in Episode 2 offer very few options as well. This is one of the pleasant areas that has the Highway 17 quality of being able to get out of the car and stretch your legs a bit without having an excruciatingly clear idea of what to do. That might be why I also liked the radio tower section earlier.

    For me, the vehicle sections are at their best when they have that nomadic quality of roaming from place to place, exploring the location and solving local conflicts. One of the best things about Fallout 3 and New Vegas is just wandering into a new area and finding yourself cast in some problem that has to be solved, one way or the other. You knew nothing about this area before you arrived, but by the time you leave, you’ll know everything about it and will have left your mark. It’s hardly unique to games – old TV series like The Fugitive and Route 66 demonstrated this long ago – but it works very well in some games.

    Now, I’m not saying White Forest Inn is the best example. The town is abandoned and really doesn’t hold that many dark secrets. But this is touched upon here and is a quality that some parts of Highway 17 demonstrated as well. Half-Life 2 is all about those unspoken little stories you stumble across, and this is one of those winning formulas to do it.

    Reply
  3. Amidnarasu

    Episode Two has the prettiest locations in the HL series, but the White Forest Inn and its village is by far the most beautiful. And at first, it’s so peaceful and relaxing (although it’s way too quiet to be normal). It’s the kind of place I would enjoy living in.

    Seeing the dropship get shot down after leaving the village was new; I thought those things were indestructible…

    The battle between D0g and the strider was pretty epic. Am I the only one that thinks “FATALITY” when he kills it? You could even keep its brain as a trophy if you wanted to.

    Reply
    1. Sparks

      Yes, with the GG you can punt it a really stupid distance. Straight up & it comes down on your head, eventually! Lovely.

      Reply
  4. Olrick

    Under the Radar start by a break in the car ride to White Forest. I don’t know why the reason of this heavy turret but I suspect it is a way to introduce the radar.

    Anyway this is an interesting sequence. After being purchased, and the battle against the Chopper, you must use of discretion in a sort of infiltration gameplay. However I don’t think that stealth is the best way to pass this yard. Even always crouched, enemies will notice your presence. So it is mostly an hiding game.
    I enjoyed the method to destroy the weapon, similar to St Olga in my sense.

    Then the ride continue in an amazing zombie infested yard. I think the radar caches is a very innovative idea but no so easy to use by modders. Searching those caches extend adventures but it is optional. This time I only looked for the RPG and it’s funny puzzle.

    After that we resume to mountain road and cross the now famous White Forest Inn hamlet. First I was annoyed by this strange service station, but I didn’t anticipate the ambush. It is a fantastic battle with enemies everywhere. They was so numerous that I didn’t know where and how I should fight, upstairs or in basement ? Soldiers or Hunters first ?

    We finally reach White Forest base and meet Dog again in this spectacular battle. Maybe we can learn many things with Strider’s brain.

    G-MAN SIGHTING

    I didn’t see him but I read somewhere that he enter the Inn.

    CAUGHT MY EYES

    When we enter the garage, they really want to repair this wreck ?

    DEATHS

    None

    PLAYTIME

    30 minutes, I didn’t really look for caches.

    MY FRENCH LET’s PLAY

    Reply
  5. Otto

    I have to agree with JG and Olrick. I consider White Forest Inn to be one of the more memorable moments of Episode Two, primarily because of the first way I played it. Since I basically play the series every year, I haven’t actually gone back and replayed this, by the way. But I would like to briefly go over how I felt the first time.

    It was the release date, October 10th, 2007. Because of my timezone, I could only unlock the game at night. It’s on Hard, as always, and I absolutely love the game. I’m a gigantic fan and fall in love with every detail of the design and story. At about 3:00 AM, I reached the White Forest Inn. I was long alone now in my dark room, and I was bloody tired. I saw the road ahead was walled.
    “Now, why would the Combine put a roadblock way out here?” says Alyx.

    I hear a Combine soldier radio something in. I wait where I am and see nothing. A subtle apprehension starts growing. I didn’t actually notice the Hunters in the background, that was the only clue I missed. I think I find the last cache at this point in a cave, and I leave the car behind as I walk up the hill leading to the view of the village. “I’ll watch the car.” she says. That’s new! I don’t think I’ve heard her say that before; she always followed me.

    I stop near the top of the hill, look at the huge trees above me. Wind howls, woodpeckers drum in the distance. I feel vulnerable and alone. I quickly run back to the car with her and drive up instead. We find a petrol station, a barn and a few Resistance bodies. “This could be Combine handy work. Hard to be sure; there’s so many ways to die out here.”
    Yeah, there is and we’re way out in the wild right now, let’s get back in the car.

    There is a low Combine hum in the barn, but I can’t enter. Very strange, I’m sure something will happen soon. I reach the lower village. Still nothing happens, I’m unsure of what to think. I investigate the only main house you can enter. All is quiet, and eerie. “Huh, this place must’ve been nice once.”
    “It looks deserted. I wonder how long it’s been since anyone stayed here.”
    I look everywhere, there’s quite a bit of health, armour and ammunition. My play style is to take my time and explore, so Episode Two probably took me 14 hours to finish. Finally, we last check the basement of the house.

    “White Forest is so close, I hate to waste anymore time…” she says.

    Right, absolutely. I’ve been here too long, let’s move. We exit the basement, I wonder why the game had this place look so usable. We drive. Zap! Forcefields are down and it startles the hell out of me! “It’s a trap!” I’m taken by surprise. The soundtrack starts playing “Eon Trap”. Everything suddenly makes sense now. The Combine Announcer speaks away. “Listen… They’re talking about us!” We run in the house, which I’ve become quite acquainted with, and cover all the exits. We fight, and there’s dozens of armed units outside. I’m suddenly overwhelmed by everything. The song really makes me feel like we’re losing, like this could be our last stand. The windows blow up by the Hunters” flechettes, the soldiers charge the doors, I think I must’ve died a couple times. When the Hunters start to breach, they chase us to the basement and I kill them outside. After I find the forcefield’s wire leading back up to the barn, it all seems so obvious now.

    Anyway, I use all my weapons, everybody dies, and we continue onwards to White Forest. I save the game and quit. I really need some sleep. This was the first night I saw the game, the first night I saw Alyx nearly die. When I was chased by the Antlion Guardian through the tunnels and nearly had a heart attack. The dream I have that night is filled with Episode Two themes, largely Hunters chasing me and hurting Alyx, in various abandoned outdoor places a far way from home. I finish the game the next day, but now I’ve always feared Hunters. Wow, sorry, that was long.

    Reply
    1. ghostygfd

      Nice review!

      Reply
  6. Ade

    Anybody else got half transparent props in that garage in the beginning? how could they make the lod so tiny lol
    Woooow I was sitting on a car that was then slowly syncing into the goo!
    Aaaaa I died twice by that super gun and once by a mere turret
    Is Valve teaching us how to grav jump? I used a platform to get up to a code to get a cache..
    Neat way to get the player to remove the floor boards, by putting a saw blade in 1 😀
    Wonder why mods don’t use this cache finding mechanic.
    The tunnels for level change are now officially over used.
    The fight between the dog and the strider is epic, I forgot about that! and what a way to see a strider die, eh?

    Playtime: 40 min

    Reply
  7. Unq

    Another strong chapter in this game. I really enjoyed the last two and this one perhaps outdoes its preceding chapters. It’s a great mix of slow puzzle elements and hectic, challenging combat.

    I liked the entrenched gun approach quite a bit. I never felt too rushed, and I enjoyed taking my time just making my way closer. The zombies around you are not too much trouble (I think they’re mostly there so you can watch them get torn up by the autogun). But here the gun was the big threat, one misstep and you’re done. Yes, there’s combat and some danger, but overall I think of this more as a puzzle, and it serves to give you a bit of a break after the hectic chopper chase. I also really liked the little puzzle to get the RPG.

    Then, it’s back to the car with its upgrade. The radar is a nice addition that helps us know where to stop since the landscape is not as empty as the coast road in Highway 17 so we’re sure not to miss anything (if we want). The ambush at the Inn is nicely foreshadowed and really nicely pulled off. I found it pretty tough, because even the basement isn’t a safe place to camp for too long. I also really liked how it was staged, after you defeat the first wave, you have to knock out the power, and then you’re re-ambushed including another hunter.

    Later, Dog shows up and has a nice fight with a strider – but this felt a little too contrived to me. Maybe it’s cause I’ve seen it before, but it kind of bothered me this time – it felt way too much like a cutscene.

    Playtime: 58 minutes

    Reply
  8. Kaito Kid

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQh-JMXZgxI

    Again a chapter in the car ._.
    Well we start with a battle between combine and zombies, we learn of a new mechanic with grenades, and finally the hazard course ducking tutorial comes in handy 😀
    Then the chapter itself is pretty short, but you can stop to find supply caches very often. The final battle in town is quite hard because you are trapped and enemies shoot from everywhere :0
    Then we see dog battling a strider, and he’s quite powerful, and then we race him to white forest. I won 😛

    Five words or less review
    so many hunters

    Deaths:
    none :D:D:D

    Playtime:
    19 minutes 22 seconds 167 millisecond
    getting longer and longer…

    Reply

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