Half-Life 2: Nova Prospekt

15th April 2013

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This is the ninth chapter of Half-Life 2. In this chapter, Gordon Freeman attacks Nova Prospekt, a Combine base, and a former prison, and breaches its defenses with the help of an army of Antlions, with the goal of finding and rescuing the captured Resistance leader, Eli Vance.

This is also the last chapter where Antlions are encountered, because the player soon leaves Antlion territory.

Trivia
  • If the player escapes the second Antlion Guard encounter without killing the Guard, they can look into the room and see it looking around in the corner, and even creep up behind it and only being noticed when they get very close.
    • Achievements

    Flushed (5G): Kill an enemy with a toilet.  Bug Hunt (10G): Use the Antlions to kill 50 enemies.

    Screenshots

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

    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
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    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 Walkthrough

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

    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 directly through Steam and could be playing in within moments, depending on your internet connection.

    Categories (?)
    Games Half-Life 2

    15 Comments

    1. PlanetPhillip

      It feels like ages since I played the previous chapter and this was one of the more memorable chapters from the game – I have to admit so far, most seems new, but does have a vague sense of deja vu.

      I was wrong though. I only remembered the antlion and washing areas – the rest was like playing it for the first time, only faster.

      The lighting here is so well done and image 51 is very subtle.

      This is a pretty short chapter but there’s a lot of action here, along with some reminders that the Combine are very ruthless.

      What did find strange is coming out of the prison into the moving walls. Ic an’t remember the next chapter at all but it seems I am in the city again. Whereas when I entered Nova Prospekt I was near the coast.

      This chapter suffers from the feeling that new sections quickly become reptitive, both in the visual design AND the gameplay elements. Again, Valve timed things just right.

      playtime: 35 minutes

      Reply
    2. Greenman

      One of my favourite chapters after the first and coast.

      Reply
    3. Stanley Dunigan

      My very favorite part of Half-Life 2 starts when you get the bugbait in the previous chapter, and ends when you teleport out of Nova Prospekt in the next chapter. The antlions and the Alyx-hacked floor turrets have always been my favorite ammo-saving combat resources. (I never cared much for vehicle driving, and I always tend to feel overprotective of my squad in “Anticitizen One” and “Follow Freeman!”)

      Reply
    4. Blue Lightning

      Lots of stratagy need for this level!

      Reply
    5. Olrick

      Nova Prospekt is set in the old tradition of Half-Life levels. A series of rooms and corridors filled with enemies like in Black-Mesa, but this time it’s a prison.

      Gordon start in the A blocks where we can notice the high security level with heavy doors on each cells and warden posts. Curiously, the B blocks cells seems lighter but also smaller.

      It seems that the combine have a low usage of those parts but, of course, they equipped it with turrets and fields in addition of bars. At the opposite Antlions have already dug many tunnels and spawn everywhere. So that, it’s a full action chapter and Antlions are very useful.

      Sometime we can pause in a warden post to watch supervision TVs set by Combines and see the invasion in others sections. One of those TV shows others things like a combine soldiers in “training” and a not yet named Stalker. We now know that Nova Prospekt is not a simple prison.

      Finally Gordon reach C blocks where are located laundry and kitchen. While leaving the canteen we obviously enter a very different area of the prison. It’s seems that the combine had build new sections without dismount older ones. A fact that will be more visible in next chapter.

      G-MAN SIGHTING

      On the TV in the first sentry post. Walking safely in front of turrets!

      CAUGHT MY EYES

      Hey man, I broke this huge fan with an old crappy boot!

      DEATH

      None

      PLAYTIME

      21 minutes

      MY FRENCH LET’s PLAY

      Reply
    6. Unq

      As mentioned above, this chapter is mostly in the tradition of Half-Life (1) levels. You even come up against a couple of equivalent obstacles from Half-Life: sentry guns and tripmines. It’s set mostly indoors and the labyrinthine level design is great – often you get to see areas before you can reach them. And the mixture of cool and warm lighting is very attractive. I think it’s pretty classic as far as FPS games go. You could even argue it’s a pretty standard FPS level, if it weren’t for the antlion horde at your command.

      But I think the most important part of this chapter is Dr. Breen’s speech to the Combine. It’s quite long and unfortunately it’s inevitable that you’ll be in the middle of combat for much of it, so it’s kind of hard to hear. But there are some gems in there that really add to the intrigue of the game:

      – He repeatedly calls the troops listening “transhuman“, confirming that the Combine forces are not human, perhaps modified genetically or somehow augmented.

      – He also repeatedly mentions “Our Benefactors“, reinforcing the idea that he is really serving higher-ups, perhaps under severe duress.

      – Also reinforced is the idea that you’ve started something bigger; Breen threatens anyone who harbors you and essentially calls Freeman a terrorist (“… the spirit of spreading general chaos and terror.“)

      – But by far the best bit is this:

      Gordon Freeman is a theoretical physicist who had barely earned the distinction of his Ph.D. at the time of the Black Mesa Incident. I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was in a state that precluded further development of covert skills.

      He knows Gordon was in stasis after Black Mesa. How? Is he somehow in league with the G-Man? Of course it opens more questions than it answers.

      Intrigue is what this chapter’s strength really is.

      Playtime: 40 minutes

      Reply
    7. Kaito Kid

      Nova prospekt is a very nice chapter, with decent combat and puzzle solving balance. The antlions are a great help, especially when speedrunning because they will kill the enemies WHILE we solve puzzles. When entering, there is really nothing much going on, we’re just breaking in like any burglar. then as we move forward, the combine becomes aware of our presence and sends more and more troops to stop us. On the other hand, Breen tries to convince us to surrender through the “televisions”

      Nothing much to say, except that the final boss should not be THAT easy to skip.

      Challenges:
      – Flushed
      nope
      – Bug Hunt
      I don’t think so

      Five words or less review:
      Fun but repetitive

      Deaths:
      None. I’m pretty happy because the giant Fan thing is acting weird and can sometimes kill you after stopping.

      Playtime:
      7 minutes 27 seconds 083 milliseconds
      Pretty nice time

      Reply
    8. rikersbeard

      Starting at the Nova Prospekt door A3 with low health, but with my minions in tow, I reach the first office with power and meds! Relief!
      It’s a real stalk and gun-fest of a level through the dilapidated prison, even after the early swim! Using the antlions to set off traps and to spot sentry guns was fun and I will miss them dearly later. Are they good against hunters?
      I was dreading the first antlion guard encounter, but a right turn led to a much better fighting arena. So forewarned is forearmed!
      The first time I ever played this encounter was a disaster and I died numerous times, but now I aced it, just!
      The large fan room came as a complete surprise; I only remembered fan rooms from some mods I’ve played and Half Life. Well I died, or was that diced, here. Although I think the bucket hit me from a rebound!
      Watching the action on the monitors was a great way to give the player clues and forewarn of those Combine Elite troops. Not forgetting seeing the guards get pasted by the other antlion guard, who I was also dreading fighting. But when I jumped down into that arena I automatically went for the exit, something I did not know was possible. I remember an epic battle with smashed concrete columns and near death before finding the exit; but this time I just strolled out, rather quickly though!
      This is a mean level, getting you to really appreciate those once heinous antlions as invaluable allies, before snatching them away!

      G-MAN SIGHTING:
      On the monitor in first sentry post.

      THINGS OF INTEREST:
      Open-to-the-air roof and cell ceiling ports!
      A giant fan room, where the bucket kicked me!
      Breen’s incessant chat giving insights to our hero and
      The monitors showing combine secrets.

      DEATH:
      Bucket of death in fan room.

      ERROR?
      Walking out passed the second antlion guard without even a sweat!

      PLAYTIME:
      59 minutes!

      FIVE WORDS OR LESS REVIEW:
      Antlions, antlions, antlions ho!

      Reply
    9. Ade

      Interesting how the TVs also have audio, u don’t see that often in mods.
      I’m puzzled as to why they don’t use normal slams, but made up ones..
      Was fun to watch the combine fight a guard and impressive to see the ruined city continuing to be eaten up by combine walls.

      Playtime: 32 minutes

      Reply
      1. Sparks

        wut? SLAM – subscriber line access module?

        Reply
        1. Ade

          apparently they cut it out from the final release of hl2 and they use a poor button texture with a laser coming out of it, and the button lol explodes when tripping the laser
          in hl2: dm we have this neat weapon: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Selectable_Lightweight_Attack_Munition

          Reply
          1. Sparks

            Ok I remember it now, from Missing Information or SMOD I think. Dunno why valve dropped it, like so many of the other cool weapons that never made the cut.

            It’s a combination remote mine (satchel-charge style) with laser tripline, isn’t it? I remember it being quite handy.

            Always wanted to play DeathMatch, but as a MP novice I never fancied being annihilated repeatedly by some pimply school-kid, & it’s a bit pointless playing the MP maps solo. Does DM still work ok after the recent updates? I see it’s all .vpk now..

            Reply
            1. Ade

              Yes, it’s a nifty combination between the satchel and the tripmine.

              Actually the MP scene always had a very wide range of players, from 5y to 60+, me being almost 28 😛
              Yes it was broken by SteamPipe as well but they fixed what they broke. Sadly not all their updates are reverted/fixed so easily. But hey, what game ISN’t broken by Valve’s updates! As for vpks, they’re only for custom content, but it’s not being used a lot since atm there’s no fast download support for it, and might not be in the future..

              Reply
              1. Sparks

                That’s very encouraging to hear, I was not looking forward to “all mods are broken” again especially if it was permanent.

                I had no idea the MP scene spanned such a wide age range. I’ve long since wanted to play HL2-DM but needed to find an MP novice-tolerant opponent; don’t suppose you’d mind giving me some pointers to get started, would you? They say charity work is good for the soul! 🙂

                Reply
                1. Gypsy_Jim

                  I think I once started this as a thread on the old PP forum, as I, along with more than one other, had simply got tired of being wiped out by the insanely practiced DM players…..

                  If anyone does have a good server to suggest, then I might re-download DM and give it another go sometime. Don’t worry though, I’ve always been more of an explorer type than a high-speed run & gunner….

                  Reply

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