Air and Fuel

Beyond the security door is a bridge with a Mawman on it. The Mawman is trapped between two explosive barrels. You can either run past the Mawman or shoot the barrels. Shooting the barrels destroys a section of the bridge; cross by walking on a thick blue pipe to its left. Follow the corridor to an area with a locked door labeled "Fuel Room" and a ladder leading down. Don't descend the ladder. Instead, turn on your Flashlight, jump down without using the ladder, and then turn around quickly to destroy two Mawmen lurking beneath. Down here, you'll find a circular grate in the floor. Destroy it and climb down the extremely long ladder below. At the bottom you'll find yourself standing on a rusty pipe suspended above shallow water. Walk along the pipe, taking care not to fall off. Take a left at a T-junction.

Follow the pipe to a ladder leading up. Climb the ladder, shoot out the grate at the top and kill the Mawman you find standing up there. Upstairs, collect Grenades from a small alcove, and then follow the only available corridor to a door. Press a button near the door to open it and shoot two Mawmen on the other side. Beyond them is a huge vertical shaft with a massive, motionless fan in it. Climb down two red ladders to reach the fan's level. Walk up to the base of the fan and press a switch to activate it. Then turn and climb back up both ladders as quickly as you can. When you reach the top of the second ladder, jump into the shaft. The fan is blowing so hard, the force of the air propels your body straight up, and you'll come to rest against some wooden planks. Destroy the planks with your Crowbar to float to the top of the shaft. There, destroy a metal grate in the wall.

Go through the destroyed metal grate. You might need to crouch to do this. You also must be high enough. If you aren't, steer yourself to the middle of the shaft where the fan blows you higher, and then make a beeline for the blasted-out metal grate. Kill a Headcrab in the ventilation duct. Proceed forward, knocking out grates and killing Headcrabs, to a ladder leading down. Take it. Proceed to a room with three Mawmen in it. Kill all three Mawmen and approach a console with buttons labeled "Oxy On" and "Fuel On." Press both buttons, and red-and-blue lights blaze to life. Climb the ladder to the right of the console. Press a wall button upstairs to trigger a door. Beyond the door, you're back in familiar territory. Make your way along the corridor toward the central part of the silo.

Restoring Power

Return to the large room with the Tentacle. Locate a ladder leading down (remember to crawl), and take it. You should be at the bottom of the silo, near the hole the Tentacle emerges from. There's a boarded-up door down there. Smash the timbers blocking it and go through. Walk down the corridor to a hole in the floor. Save the game, and then leap across. Continue down the corridor until you find a Mawman feasting on two dead Scientists. As you do, a section of corridor collapses behind you. Ignore it. Just kill the Mawman and go through the security door. Cross a bridge with explosive barrels on it. Kill a Bullsquid on the other side and a trio of Houndeyes in the corridor beyond. Proceed to a large, dark room with Barnacles on the ceiling and a Bullsquid eating a dead Scientist in the corner. Kill the Bullsquid and the Barnacles.  

Walk out on a platform and press a button to summon an elevator. Board the elevator when it arrives. As the elevator descends, turn on your Flashlight and scan the walls around you for a ladder. About halfway down, the elevator stops abruptly. Jump up to the rim of the elevator, and then leap over to the ladder. If you jump correctly, you can catch the ladder and sustain no falling damage. Climb down the ladder. At its base is a platform with a Scientist. Listen to him, and then follow the only corridor leading away from the platform. Proceed along the corridor, jumping up on a large pipe to avoid a spill of toxic sludge about halfway along. At the end of the corridor kill a Mawman, and then walk forward. You're in the silo's power core. The only alien in here is a Bullsquid at the bottom of the core. Throw a Grenade down at it to kill it.

Walk out onto a mesh basket overlooking the core. Press a button, and the basket will whisk you to the other side. From there, climb a ladder to a catwalk around the core's perimeter. The haywire basket up here is like the one you just rode in, but it moves by itself and will squash you if it touches you. Walk around the catwalk to a ladder up, careful not to let the basket hit you. Climb the ladder. At the top, a beam leads to the center of the power core. Walk along the beam and press a button on the core itself. A red light comes on. Jump on the core and walk across it. Press an identical button on the other side. A second red light comes on. Make your way back to the room's entrance by descending a ladder and riding the basket again. From there, return to the large shaft with the elevator you jumped out of. Climb the same ladder you climbed down originally. Return to the room with the Tentacle. Along the way you must leap through an electrified puddle and jump across two sections of missing corridor.

Killing the Tentacle and Escaping the Silo

Climb all the way back to the top of the Tentacle room. Remember to crawl to cut down on noise, or you'll get smacked! From the top, return to the silo's control room. Note that the console's Oxygen, Fuel and Power lights all glow now. Press the red Test Fire button at the center of the console, and stand somewhat back from the window. Watch as the Tentacle is burned to a crisp by a booster-rocket ignition. Enter the room where the Tentacle used to be. Climb down to the bottom and descend a ladder into the hole the Tentacle sprouted from. Proceed along a series of nearly vertical tunnels. Eventually you'll find yourself falling into a pool of water. Make sure you hit the water when you land. Swim to the surface and investigate: you're in a small room with a Scientist and a Security Guard, both dead. A .357 Magnum lies near the guard, and bullets for it are scattered on both sides of the room. Take this stuff, and then dive back into the water.

Swim straight down toward two circular openings. One is partially covered by Tentacle remnants. Line things up with the Tentacle-covered opening on your left and the other on your right. Then swim straight down through the clear opening, and then go forward. Swim up again to surface near a platform overlooking a radioactive lake. Descend the nearby ladder to a lower platform with First Aid and HEV stations. Return when you've powered up. From the upper platform, walk along a big pipe that leads out across the radioactive lake. Drop from this pipe to a lower one, and follow it to a concrete wall. Then turn right and drop onto a third pipe. Follow along to into an even larger pipe. This one has a valve wheel on it. Turn the valve wheel (hold it down for a while), and a section of pipe will extend across a chasm. Walk through the newly made pipe bridge to a mesh-covered tunnel, and through a small hole in the mesh.

Crawl through the new tunnel until you approach a very rusty section, visibly different from the rest. When you walk on this section it gives way beneath you and dumps you on the floor, hurting you a lot. Immediately kill any Headcrabs you find downstairs. You're in a crate-filled room. Take the First Aid Kits from the floor and then break every box here. You'll collect more First Aid Kits and some handy explosives. When the room's empty, proceed through the only available corridor to the next level.

Power Up

Getting Started

Proceed through the corridor. It opens into a huge room with several exits. As you enter, a massive alien, Gargantua, emerges from one of the doorways, and a pair of Grunts tries in vain to shoot it dead. Run straight past this firefight, to the exit just left of the one Gargantua came through. The corridor quickly forks. Take a right. You'll encounter two Vortigaunts, some explosive barrels, and the dead end an earthquake created. Kill the Vortigaunts; then return to the fork and take the other path. Proceed past a broken pipe sticking out of the floor, careful not to get caught in the flame jetting out of it. Kill two Vortigaunts beyond the pipe. A walkway crashes to the ground in front of you, leaving you with no choice but to jump down. Shoot the Headcrabs on the lower level before jumping. Downstairs, destroy some crates for ammunition, and then climb a ladder to a boarded-up door labeled "Track Control." Destroy the boards with your Crowbar. Beyond is a room with a dying Security Guard and a big switch lever. A window gives a view of the room with Gargantua. Listen to the dying Guard, but don't throw the switch yet. Just note the room's location.

Starting the Engine

Return through the door you entered. Descend the ladder to the lower level, and take the only available corridor. Follow the corridor cautiously. You'll encounter several more Headcrabs and a couple of stray Vortigaunts along the way, and then a room with Vortigaunts and explosive barrels. Kill all enemies, and stand well back from those barrels! The corridor ends at a door. Open it by turning a valve wheel in the wall nearby, and walk into the new area, a vertical shaft with toxic goo at the bottom. Equip your .357 Magnum. Climb a ladder to the shaft's second level. Immediately turn around and look up. Shoot a Grunt standing on a higher level. Then collect some ammo from a small room nearby. Climb a second ladder to the top of the shaft and slowly go through a doorway. You're now in a small Grunt bunker. Kill the Tripod-Mounted Chaingun and the lone Grunt in here, and then smash boxes to collect gear.

Follow the corridor leading away. As you round a corner you'll see some explosive crates. Approach them and round a corner to see a large room with two small balconies and some Grunts at the far end. Fire a single shot into a pile of explosive crates near the opposite end of the room to kill several Grunts. Kill any visible remaining Grunts, and then enter the large room. Note the ramp leading down to Grenades and a First Aid Station. Slowly approach the other end of the room, killing newcomers. Go up the ramp at the other end of the room to a T junction. Kill any Grunts nearby and take a right. This corridor leads to a dead end, but it yields lots of gear if you break boxes along the way. Return to the T-junction and take the other path. Break boxes and look for a lift.

Place a Remote Mine on the lift, and then activate the lift. Don't get on:;just watch it descend. When it hits the bottom, back up slightly and detonate the Mine. This destroys some Laser Mines planted down there. Summon the lift and ride down. Kill any Houndeyes that bother you, and advance along the only available corridor. Proceed to a large gallery overlooking an engine room. Kill any stray Houndeyes and take a left. A staircase spirals down to the engine room. Take it all the way down. You'll know you're at the bottom when you reach a basement area where you stand in ankle-deep water. Equip your Crowbar and wade through the water. Kill a Mawman and numerous Hagworms in the water as you proceed. You'll find a large engine down here. It's stalled because a couple of boxes are jammed in it. Break the boxes with your crowbar. The engine will start, and the water will drain slowly from the room.

Go back up the spiral staircase, but just halfway. Approach a large console labeled "Power Generator." There are buttons on both sides of this console. Press the one on the left to restore power to the engine. It hums to life, and a sign above the console now reads "On." Return to the spiral staircase and climb it to the top. From there, backtrack to the big lift. As you approach the big lift, a pair of Grunts descend in it. A single Grenade will kill both. Ride the lift up. Kill a Grunt at the top, and another waiting nearby. Backtrack all the way to the big room with Gargantua, but don't enter yet.

Escaping Gargantua

Save the game and run into the big room with Gargantua. Look for the two largest exits: only two are large enough for Gargantua to get through. Take the leftmost of these. Run down the large corridor, to the end of the room, go up a ramp, and throw a lever at the top. The lever activates a pair of huge Tesla coils in the middle of the room. If Gargantua followed you all the way in here, the Tesla coils will fry it instantly. Don't approach the active Tesla coils. Instead, take a small side door. It leads to a tunnel that terminates at the other side of the coils. Return to the big room Gargantua used to occupy. There's a rail cart in a corner of this big room. Get on, activate its control panel, and drive forward onto a circular switch plate at the center of the room. Go back to the Track Control room with the dying Security Guard and the big switch lever. Throw the lever; the rail cart spins until it's lined up with a new set of tracks.Get back on the rail cart and turn it on again. Crank it up to maximum speed. Hold steady as it smashes through a barricade into new territory.

On a Rail

Your rail cart hits a barricade where a Security Guard stands. Listen to the Guard; then get off and press a wall lever to raise the barricade. Get back on the cart and send it forward. The cart lowers to a new area. Start it up again and slowly ride it through a watery section of track. The cart passes over some wooden planks. One has a Battery sitting on it. You can stop and pick up the Battery, or just keep moving. At a fork in the tracks, you can stop the cart, go on foot to break some crates at the end of the left fork to collect ammo, and then get back on. Dodge or duck as the cart passes a dangerous wire hanging overhead. You approach an open area to the left that holds three Houndeyes and a Bullsquid. Stop the cart from time to time to gun them down when they come into view. When all the creatures are dead, get the cart moving again.

As you approach a rail junction, you'll spot a Junction Switch on your right. Stop the cart before it reaches the junction and shoot the switch once. The arrow pointing right swings away, replaced by an arrow pointing straight ahead. Start the cart again and get moving. It will go straight through the junction instead of turning right. You'll pass an area where a Bullsquid perches on a platform to your right. Kill the Bullsquid and collect a First Aid Kit nearby. Just beyond the Bullsquid, you must shoot a Barnacle on the ceiling over the track. You also can stop the cart here and destroy two crates on your left for a Battery and Grenades. Next, your cart approaches an open area on the right. A lone Bullsquid stands over the body of a Grunt, and a short staircase leads up. Stop the cart and kill the Bullsquid, and a Headcrab that emerges from under the stairs.

Upstairs, break a box and the Tripod-Mounted Chaingun located behind it. Then flip a red lever. This moves a hanging hook out of the way of a section of track. Return to your cart and get moving again. After passing under a dangerous hanging wire, you'll approach the junction. Stop the cart before you get there. Shoot the Junction Switch on the left to point the arrow left. Restart the cart and start moving slowly. Equip your .357 Magnum. The cart approaches a lift. Several Grunts attack as you ride the cart up the lift. Target and shoot them down methodically with your .357 Magnum as you ascend.

Upstairs

Descend the red ladder near the lift to an area with a First Aid Station. Then return and get on the cart. Move the cart forward very slowly. You'll pass a Junction Switch and a section of track leading left; you can hear the sounds of battle come from that direction. Ignore the Junction Switch and keep riding forward. Past the junction, your track veers left. Stop the cart until the sounds of battle subside; then creep forward on foot into a large area that's open on both sides. Kill several Grunts here with your .357 Magnum. Stop the cart and get off in this area. Stairs lead up from both ends of this large area. Opposite where you came in, a staircase leads up to an HEV Station. Take it, and charge up your suit. Now return to the large area and climb the stairs on the end near your rail cart.

You're now in a small administration area. In addition to the alcove near the stairs, you'll find a small office with another Grunt in it and a storage area with racks of supplies. Break boxes on the floor of this room and proceed. At the other end of this area, a stairway leads down. Throw a Grenade down the stairs to kill a Grunt at the bottom, and then descend. Break a box beneath the stairs for supplies. At the foot of the stairs, you can go left or right. Take a right, and proceed slowly with your .357 Magnum equipped. Wait until the sounds of gunfire subside before proceeding. Three Grunts guard an open area bordering the railway. Kill all three, and then jump across the rail to collect supplies from the boxes. Now jump back across the rail, take a left, and walk along the rail. If you walk in the wrong direction, you'll stumble across two Laser Mines.

Eventually you'll see a brick wall ahead. Three Grunts stand on a raised platform left of the brick wall. Kill them and collect gear from the platform. Take the exit across the room from the raised platform. Around a corner several Grunts and Vortigaunts engage in close combat. Let them fight, and kill the survivors when the gunplay stops. Round the corner and approach a boarded-up doorway. Break down the boards to find a Security Guard in a small office, along with some small crates. Take ammo from the crates. Across from the small office is an alcove with soda machines and a First Aid Station, plus a Battery in a crate. Kill the Headcrabs in here and take the loot. Save the game and round another corner. A fortified Gun Emplacement has been set up across the rail from you. Kill the Grunt manning the emplacement.

Now proceed through a pair of big red doors labeled "Caution: Blast Danger." Before you do, note the ramp-like ledges on either side of this door. If you jump and crawl up them, you can collect a Battery located just above the red doors. Open the red blast doors and note the pair of Laser Mines just beyond. Back up and shoot the mines with your Pistol. Then walk through the doors to find yourself next to a rocket you'll fire later in the level. Go through the blast doors to a walkway around the rocket. Look down and shoot a Grunt through the floor grate; then descend a ladder and go through a second set of red blast doors.

More Rails

Ignore the new rail cart. Instead, take some gear from the office nearby and follow the rail under a pair of red lasers. Since you aren't on the cart, you're too low to trigger them. You appear in an open area inhabited by Bullsquids and Tripod-Mounted Chainguns. Approach slowly and cautiously, killing the Bullsquids first. The Chainguns won't activate unless you walk right up to them, so ignore any you don't need to pass. Proceed a little farther along the rail. An open area to the left contains another Tripod-Mounted Chaingun and a door. Destroy the Chaingun and go through the door. You'll find a Bullsquid, a Headcrab, a Barnacle and some ammunition. Return to the rail and keep going. Eventually you'll round a corner. Open space lies to your left. Up ahead, a Grunt manning a huge Rocket Cannon fires at you. Crouch. The Rocket Cannon is an amazing, deadly weapon that can kill you in one swift second, but there's one thing it can't do: aim down.

Crawl toward the Rocket Cannon. Aim for the Grunt's legs. Shoot him in the legs until he's dead. Destroy a Laser Mine just beyond the Rocket Cannon and proceed along the tracks. Destroy a second Laser Mine you find around a bend. Follow the tracks still farther. Up ahead on the right is an area packed with Vortigaunts. Kill them all, healing yourself at a nearby First Aid Station, if necessary. Also in this area is a staircase partially blocked by boxes. Shoot a pair of Laser Mines on the staircase; then jump over the boxes and walk upstairs. You'll come to a control room with a pair of Grunts and a switch lever. Throw the switch; a barricade raises on the floor below. Go back downstairs. Downstairs, continue exploring the new area. It terminates in a double rail track. On the track farthest from you, another brand-new rail cart awaits you.

Jump across the rail and get on the new cart. Start it up and get moving. Eventually, the cart approaches another barricade. Near the barricade, an opening leads to the right. Stop the cart well before the barricade. Get off on the left side of the rail and run along the tracks past the barricade. A few shots will be fired from the right, but nobody pursues you. Just keep running. Eventually the tracks end in a big lift used to move rail carts up and down. To the right is an elevator. Break some nearby crates to reveal Remote Mines. Place a Remote Mine in the elevator and press the button to send it upstairs. Do not go up with the elevator. When you hear that the elevator has reached the top floor, detonate the Remote Mine. Press the button to summon the elevator to your level. Get in and ride up.

Rocket Launch

When you reach the upper level, get off the elevator. Shoot a lone Grunt on your right and break crates for gear. Then climb a ladder. Upstairs, break more crates for gear. Then walk along the new railway you find. Duck under a pair of Laser Mines set across the tracks and keep going. You'll reach a spot where crates are being hoisted back and forth across the tracks on mechanical rails. Take care as you pass this area; the crates can smash you into the wall, and a pair of Grunts burst from boxes on the right as you go by. Proceed past this area, following the rail. The ground slopes up as you go. At the top you'll find yourself at a rail intersection. Take a right. Almost immediately you'll find yourself staring at a second intersection. Take a left. Walk along the rails until they terminate in a lift. Near the lift is an alcove with a ladder in it. Start descending the ladder, but slowly.

Before you reach the bottom, you'll notice something's up. A red laser beam down there will set off several Tripod-Mounted Chainguns and a pair of Laser Mines lie nearby. The key here is to jump off the ladder before you reach the bottom, avoiding the red laser. Walk into a dark alcove nearby. Kill two Mawmen in there and collect some Grenades. Then break the windows and destroy all four Tripod-Mounted Chainguns in the room beyond the windows: either shoot them through the windows or door, or throw Grenades at them. When the Chainguns are all gone, throw a Grenade into the Laser Mines and stand as far back as you can. When the Laser Mines are gone, you can finally move freely. Follow the rail tracks to a straight section with tall crates on either side; a Grunt and a Gun Emplacement are positioned somewhat farther along the tracks. You must run like crazy toward the Gun Emplacement, killing the lone Grunt as you run. Then get up close to the Gun Emplacement and kill the Grunt manning it by staying inside the gun's firing radius.

The tracks end at the Gun Emplacement, so follow a corridor to the right. You emerge in an outdoor area. Kill two Grunts and then run up to the red blast doors. Open them with a wall-mounted console, and go through. Pass through a second set of blast doors into a launch area. Kill three Grunts and go through a new set of blast doors. Three red laser beams crisscross the stairway beyond the blast door, and dynamite lines the walls. Save the game. You can't trip the red laser beams with Grenades or other explosives. You must simply avoid them. To do this, find a tall metal crate to the right of the staircase. Push it between the two farthest laser beams. Now crouch and crawl up the stairs. Crawl under the first two laser beams and stop before the third. Stand. Jump onto the tall metal crate, which should be very close. Jump from the metal crate to the top of the stairs, clearing the third beam in the process. Save the game immediately.

Go through the door at the top of the stairs and kill two Grunts in the hallway beyond. Two doors lead from this hallway. Open the closest one to find a room full of Scientists. Check out the room, and then have a Scientist follow you to the other door. He'll unlock it using the Retinal Scanner. Go through the unlocked door into a small launch chamber. Press the red button labeled "Launch." Blast shields drop to protect you, and the rocket launches. When the rocket's gone, the blast shields retract. Jump out the window and backtrack through two sets of blast doors to the outdoor area. A large arched doorway has opened in this area. Go through the newly opened door to a small room with a ladder. Break some crates in here for supplies, and then take the ladder downstairs. Downstairs, break more crates for supplies. The rail cart down here differs from the others. It's red and looks almost like a fire engine. Get on and start it up to blast into the next level.

Apprehension

Intro the Drink

Your rail cart approaches an open area to the right. Crouch down in the cart to avoid weapons fire from the Grunts in this area. The cart goes off the tracks, plummets down a vertical shaft and crashes into a pool of water. You won't be harmed if you crouch as it falls, and then stay inside until it comes to a full stop underwater. Swim out of the cart and get some air at the surface. Then swim back down and look for a bunch of barrels trapped in a cage underwater. Break the lock of this cage with your Crowbar and the barrels will bob to the surface. When the line of barrels bobs to the surface, jump on them and stand. Run and jump from the line of barrels toward a red doorway. Beyond the red doorway, approach a stairwell. You'll see a Mawman eating a dead Grunt beneath the stairs, and another Mawman in the middle of the stairs. Kill both, collect nearby ammo, and walk upstairs. Break a crate up there for a Battery, and then walk out onto a ledge. Break a crate for some ammo. Then look down from the ledge: a wall halves the pool below. You just came from the left half, distinguished by the floating barrels. The right half is new territory. Jump into the right half of the pool.

Underwater, locate a passage out of this area. Follow it through a small room filled with rusty barrels, and then through a winding underwater corridor. Watch for a metal door on the right; it leads to a small room where you can take another breath of air. Hagworms are scattered throughout the water in this level. Keep your Crowbar out the entire time and smash any Hagworms that get in your way. Take a breath of air in the small room, return to the underwater corridor and continue following it. You'll come to a pile of broken beams and debris you must crouch to swim under. Swim under the beams. Soon you'll reach a small corridor with grates on the wall and floor, a blocked metal door and two corridors leading away. Get some air.

Break the grate on the floor, crouch, and swim through it. Downstairs is a tunnel. Follow it, taking a right when it forks and swim up into a vertical shaft. Break another grate to swim to the surface. You're in a room adjacent to the corridor: the one behind the blocked metal door. Collect Combat Rifle grenades and Crossbow bolts from the floor in here; then swim to the computer bank blocking the metal door. Push it over. The door will swing open and admit you into the corridor. Swim through the door and continue down the new corridor beyond. It leads to a hallway that rises from the water and now you're back on land.

Dangerous Waters

The hallway terminates at a room with a pool in the center, a catwalk around the edge and Barnacles on the ceiling. You enter to see an Ichthyosaur killing a hapless scientist in the water. Pump a few Combat Rifle rounds into the Ichthyosaur, but don't expect to kill it. Follow the catwalk around the room. Don't take the first exit on the left; it leads to a sunken hallway that takes you into the pool with the Ichthyosaur! Instead, follow the catwalk across the room to a ladder. Climb the ladder to a small room with a Scientist. He tells you there's a shark cage and a tranquilizer gun nearby. Walk out the room's only exit onto a cross-shaped ledge overlooking the water. Slowly walk off the end of the cross to fall onto a diving cage. Drop down into the cage, where you'll collect a Crossbow. The diving cage lowers. Shoot the Ichthyosaur with the Crossbow repeatedly from inside the diving cage. When it's dead, swim up and out of the cage. Get some air. Dive back into the water and locate a large metal grate with a valve wheel nearby. Turn the valve wheel to raise the grate high enough for you to swim under.

Swim under the grate and up to the surface. You're in a hallway leading to some stairs. Climb the stairs, past a metal door, and up more stairs. Take the metal door at the top. Beyond the door lies a room filled with crates and Barnacles. Go downstairs and start breaking crates, ready for a pair of Vortigaunts that warp in as you do this. Kill both. Take the corridor out to emerge in a large room filled with water. Narrow, wet catwalks ring the walls, and Ichthyosaurs swim in the dark waters at the center. First you must jump across a gap in the catwalk. Carefully come to a dead stop after this leap; the wet floor underfoot makes this tricky. Follow the catwalk around a corner, sticking to dead center. A section of catwalk breaks apart under your feet as you cross, but a beam in the center will remain—so keep to the center and you won't fall in. As the catwalk breaks, a Vortigaunt teleports in just ahead. Shoot it dead and continue.

You'll come to another big gap you must jump over. Leap, and when you reach the other side, do your best to come to a stop despite the water underfoot. A choice confronts you. To the left is a doorway to jump through, but a hanging electrical wire partially blocks it. To the right is a metal wall with a gaping hole in it. Take a running leap into the hole at the right. You'll land in water on the other side of the wall, but the Ichthyosaurs can't get you here. Swim through an underwater hallway and climb a ladder to a big generator room. Kill a pair of Bullsquids in this room; then take a hallway to the right. The hallway leads to a ladder, which in turn leads to a balcony overlooking the generator room. You'll find two metal boxes up here on the balcony. Push them off the edge. Then drop down to the main floor. Push the metal boxes to the other side of the room, where an immobile crate partially blocks a ladder. Arrange the two metal boxes to form a crude stairway to the hard-to-reach ladder. Jump up on the metal boxes and break a wooden crate blocking the ladder. Then climb the ladder to a catwalk and follow it.

Frigid Welcome

Follow the catwalk into a hallway, where a Bullsquid suddenly appears. Kill it and continue until you reach a computer-filled room. Kill a pair of Vortigaunts and Headcrabs in this room, and then charge up your HEV Suit with the HEV Station on the wall. The room nearby has a Scientist in it. Listen to him, and then press a button on a control panel nearby to open the door to a freezing cold storage unit. Save the game and enter the cold storage area. Run through it as quickly as you can, using a Combat Rifle or other high-powered weapon to efficiently mow down Vortigaunts and Headcrabs that appear in front of you. When you find a hole in the floor, drop down into it quickly. Descend a ladder to a platform and another ladder to ground level. Round a corner to find yourself in a long, crate-filled hallway. Vortigaunts materialize both ahead and behind as you advance. Kill them and break crates for gear. Take the lift at the end of the hallway.

At the top, a Security Guard tries to give you a message, but unseen forces kill him before he can finish. Arm yourself with a potent weapon and walk down the hall until you can see a big, open area to the right. Then backtrack and watch the corner. There are three Assassins in this large area; the easiest way to kill them is to wait in a safe area and shoot them as they appear. If all three Assassins don't appear, cautiously walk around the large area until you find them all. Then retreat and fight them from a position of relative safety. Collect ammo and gear from this area by breaking crates and investigating a small room off to one side. Then go up the ramp at the center of the area.

At the top, throw a lever labeled "Surface Access." Go back down the ramp. Two large doors labeled "Surface Access" have opened. Take either; they both lead to the same place. When you enter the small room, the lights go out; you've been captured.

Escape

You wake up at the bottom of a trash compactor. The walls start closing in just moments later. Immediately start climbing the mountain of boxes, jumping from lowest to highest. From the top box you can leap to the trash compactor ledge. Stand up and watch the compactor slowly crush all the boxes. Walk across the metal crushing arms of the compactor itself, all the way to the other side of the room. Pick up a Crowbar on the ledge you just walked to; then descend a nearby ladder to the floor of the compactor. Break a floor grate and drop through into a tunnel. Walk toward the light at the end.

Residue Processing

The tunnel carries you out into a rocky valley. Proceed through the valley, killing or avoiding Headcrabs as you go. Locate the valve wheel labeled "Flow Control," it's stuck to the side of a silo-like structure. Turn it fully, and then climb a nearby ladder as quickly as you can. Leap down onto a descending platform. At the bottom, leap into a dark tunnel and proceed to the end. There you must break a grate to enter a big room with a vat of toxic waste. You'll see a Security Guard shoot some Headcrabs, and then flee through a doorway. Follow the Security Guard through the doorway, picking up a Pistol clip from the ground as you go. Round a corner. A Barnacle snatches the Guard. Wait as the Barnacle digests him, and then spits out his Pistol. Collect the Pistol from the floor, careful to avoid the Barnacle.  

Return to the room with the vat of toxic waste, and climb a ladder to the top. Jump across the floating chunks of who-knows-what inside the vat, and crawl through the pipe on the other side. You emerge atop a vat in a room full of vats. Hydraulic presses move up and down above them. You must jump from vat to vat, straight across the room, into a red-tinged tunnel on the other side. Through the red-tinged tunnel you find yourself in a room where two pipes lead down a long corridor. Walk along the right-hand pipe and it will collapse. Climb a ladder and follow the left pipe. Leap from the left pipe to the far edge of the right pipe, and follow the right pipe around a corner. You're in a room with two vats. Jump across them by leaping onto the mixers stirring them. Then crawl into a pipe at the other end.

Follow the pipe to a room filled with crates and conveyor belts. Jump down into this room and break crates to collect ammo; then jump back up to the conveyor belts and let them carry you through a hole near the ceiling. The conveyor dumps you into a pool of water. There are catwalks on either side, but for now, ignore them and allow yourself to be dragged down an incline into another pool. A grinding rotor lies at the far end of this new pool. Get out of the water before you get sucked in and crushed. You're now on one of two short walkways that flank the rotor. Walk to the other side of the rotor, and then reenter the water. Swim under a low wall, and then back up. Surface on the other side. You're in an area with a spinning rotor to the left and an open waterway on the right. Follow the open water, ducking under when flame jets singe you from above. Follow the underwater tunnel until you get a chance to surface.

Machine Madness

Get out of the water. Behind you is a small guardroom with a Bullsquid in it. Kill the Bullsquid with a .357 Magnum you find on the floor, and pick up the Batteries, Satchel Charges and other useful items in here. Walk along a path to the right to a bank of three levers labeled "Conveyor Contro.l. Flip the middle lever, so that all three are in the "up" position. Also, shoot a Bullsquid in the water to the left. Return to the guardroom where you found the .357 Magnum. Locate a wall button that faces three conveyor belts. Press it to temporarily halt the steam hammers smashing the conveyor belts; try to press it when the hammers above one conveyor belt are at their highest point. Quickly jump onto the conveyor belt with the hammers frozen at their highest. Crouch as you ride under the hammers and through a tunnel into a new area. The conveyor belt takes you into an area where massive metal pistons slide in and out of the walls. Avoid them as you move down the belt.

Past the pistons is a row of steam hammers. Do your best to avoid them and continue down the conveyor belt. The belt carries you into a large room and approaches a vat of toxic waste. Below is another conveyor belt. Drop onto it. Let the new conveyor belt carry you through a red-hued tunnel. Past the tunnel, you'll approach another conveyor belt. Drop onto it. After passing through a short tunnel, drop to yet another conveyor belt. This one takes you through a red-hot tunnel where you'll take fire damage. Run along the belt to get past the flames quickly. At the other end, drop to another conveyor belt. Drop from this belt to another belt beneath you. You'll approach a spot where there are two conveyor belts beneath you, and you must decide which to drop onto. Drop to the first belt you pass over.

This belt tries to drag you into a tunnel with a Laser Mine in it. Slowly walk backward as you face the Laser Mine and shoot the mine with your Pistol from a safe distance. This is easier if you turn on your flashlight, and if your Crosshair is enabled. Now drop a Satchel Charge onto the conveyor belt and continue to walk backward periodically to hold ground. Watch as the Satchel Charge is carried into the tunnel and disappears around a corner. Detonate it when it disappears to take out a second Laser Mine. Now let the conveyor belt take you into the tunnel. Around the bend is a section of belt with massive rollers. Jump back and forth between two conveyor belts to get past them. The belt you're on terminates above a massive cutting device. Drop onto the area beside the cutter, and then jump through the cutter itself. You'll fall onto another belt that leads to a pit of waste with Barnacles overhead. Leap from the end of this belt to a ladder on the opposite wall. Climb the ladder into a red-hued hallway. Follow the hallway to the next level.

Questionable Ethics

Follow the red hallway to a ladder. Climb it and smash a grating at the top. Upstairs, you find yourself in a room filled with Houndeyes. Kill them however you like; the best choices are the Pistol or Satchel Charge, combined with fast footwork to minimize damage. When all the Houndeyes are dead, look at the electrified metal fence that serves as one wall of this cage. At the top-center of the fence is a knob with an electrical wire attached to it. Shoot the knob with your Pistol until the electricity no longer flows to it. After shooting the knob several times, a door in the fence slides open. Walk through it and regain health from a First Aid Station. Follow a corridor to a room with an Alien Grunt trapped in a containment tube. Break the glass protecting a red button on the wall of this room; the Alien Grunt will escape. Kill it swiftly with .357 Magnum shots.

When the Grunt is dead, go through the newly opened door into a new hallway. You'll arrive in a room with a small pen of Headcrabs in the center and a booth in the corner. Enter the booth and press the button. Watch as the door to the booth seals shut, and an energy pulse kills the Headcrabs. When the Headcrabs are dead, approach the exit to this room. A Grunt stands in the doorway. Immediately turn and run back into the booth and press the button again. The energy pulse manifests, this time killing the Grunt. Collect the Grunt's Combat Rifle and proceed down the new hallway. Around a corner, you'll find a Security Guard. Listen to him, and then have him follow you.

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