So, taking up the trusty crowbar of Gordon Freeman again, I have been enjoying this game.
A couple of issues stand out for me as major problems that are so glaring compared to the rest of the gameplay that I thought I’d ask about them.
In Nova Prospekt the antlions help you, but their definition of “help” seems to be “block up hallways, prevent you from easily ducking into cover, trapping you in the line of fire of combine troops, setting of mines right next to you” etc. Is there a way, other than throwing the pod away from you, to make them give you some space? Throwing the pod just makes them frenzy, but if they are stuck with you they can’t get past either.
Eventually I just took to double tapping them with my shotgun to clear a path - not the most elegant solution for creatures that are meant to be your allies.
In the level after Nova Prospekt, Alyx is with you but she is a deadly combination of foolhardy (she rushes right into combat with no cover, runs ahead of you etc) and is fragile. A couple of well placed shotgun shells from a Combine soldier and she dies. I have tried shielding her, but you face similar problems that you have with the Antlions - she blocks your field of fire, and obstructs you moving for cover etc. I checked an online guide and it suggested that she was supposed to be immortal, but she is clearly not. Is this only on easy levels? Any tips to make her hold back when she rushes 4 Combine troops with shotguns and grenades? Can I just club her with the crowbar and carry her with the Gravity Gun (ok, ok, just kidding… a little).
I suspect that I am suffering from shotgun love, which works extremely well if I can use cover and bait the Combine into moving up on me, but it seems to get her killed (although she runs ahead anyway) and by this point in the game I’m supposed to be ruthlessly mowing them down with the pulse rifle with indiscriminate primary fire.
I considered throwing a grenade at Alyx’s feet to make the Combine run for cover, but this seems cheap, since it is exploiting the fact that you can’t harm her with your own weapons, but this tactic would clearly be stupid if friendly fire was active.
HL2 is the first shooter I have played since the original Halo that has really grabbed me - it is superb, but I just wish the quirks were a little easier to cope with - if Alyx dies, you automatically fail and have to go back to a save point. At least the marines in Halo, although utter cannon fodder on Legendary difficulty, didn’t cause you to fail the mission if they got toasted by Elites.
I don’t remember having too many problems with the Antlions, but I spent nearly that entire level using ONLY the pod as my primary weapon.
As for Alyx, I seem to recall in the commentary track that she runs ahead specifically to force you to move faster yourself, in order to keep the dramatic pacing going. That and pulse rifle use.
It’s been a while since I played through the original episode, but I got through NP without using my weapons much at all, really - I was mostly constantly tossing the pod and enjoying the show.
What Zeriel said about Alyx - the point is that you’re supposed to play that level in a run and gun style rather than stealthily.
I looked up a game guide and it suggests that she is immortal - she is certainly immune to Gordon’s weapons, but the Combine make mincemeat of her and she makes no attempt to go for cover. I’m wondering if she became mortal when the engine changed in the more recent steam updates.
The way I remember it is the antlions would always go after Combines if there were any in sight. They would fight the Combines, and whenever an antlion died a new one would respawn and join the fight. When the antlions all cluster around you that means that all the Combines are dead (unless you squeezed the pod, which would call the antlions to you). It’s been a while since I played it, though, so maybe I’m remembering it wrong.
That’s right Manduck, so between fights, they cluster around you, and then at the first sign of new Combine if you are in a narrow area, they are stuck behind you, or you try to move but you have 4 antlions next to you so you shuffle and jump and try to let them through and in the meantime the combine are throwing grenades and moving up on you.
I did try the more aggressive run and gun approach and Alyx is doing better. The trick seems to be getting the Combine pissed at you so you draw their fire, and liberal use of the pulse rifle.
The shotgun is my weapon of choice, with use of cover forcing the Combine to come and get me. Two taps in the chest or one in the head takes them down.
The ranged combat with the pulse rifle seems much less fun, but perhaps I am playing it too much like Halo, where ranged combat was pretty limited (and the pistol was hands down the standout weapon, followed closely by shotgun).
I use the SMG almost exclusively for the grenade launcher.
Y’know, that might be it–I have the exact opposite problem when I sit down to play Halo–the lack of medium-range combat just frustrates me to no end and even when I get good at it it’s not as much fun as a solid assault rifle in another game, and I end up camping with a sniper rifle just to get some distance.
The SMG grenade launcher is a thing of beauty though.
Indeed it is, about I have severely injured myself on a couple of occasions by aiming through a window only to have it explode on the frame. Ouch.
Medium range combat in Halo is tricky, especially on Heroic and Legendary - the Elites are just too damn good at avoiding projectiles, and the instant hit weapons like the assault rifle just do not do enough damage to their shields (with the exception of the sniper rifle of course). You can grenade them and empty a clip of needles at them as they dive out of cover, or try to hit them with an overcharge shot while they dive and then flip to the pistol and shoot them in the head, but it’s not easy. Red Elites especially, in Heroic and above are equivalent to the Master Chief in terms of shield power and health and are very liberal with seeking cover, you just can’t blast at them from range - it’s just a waste of ammo, since their shields recharge at the same time as yours when you duck back into cover to reload.
So, fighting as Gordon Freeman is a new experience, but there are definitely Halo-style tactics that work extremely well - grenade, shotgun, magnum/9mm - the holy trinity.
I thought it was only 18 rounds - 6 in the chamber and 12 in your ammo reserve. You really have to pick and choose what you shoot with it. I use it mainly for poison zombies. One shot to the body, then switch to the shotgun or grab an explosive barrel if there is one nearby. Any other weapon and you feel like Bill Paxton’s character in Predator 2 where he empties clip after clip into the approaching Predator and it just keeps coming. It’s also handy for taking out poison headcrabs before they spot you, since one shot kills them and you can hit them from miles away.
The 9mm is much more versatile since you can carry so much ammo. If you shoot the Combine in the head, they go down pretty quickly. Shotgun combine are especially vulnerable since they pose no threat to you at range. It’s just weak against zombies, but then, that’s why a Man of God gave you a 12 gauge, pump action smite stick.
She’s always been mortal but she is almost unkillable and she seems to regenerate health quickly. You pretty much have to shut her in a room where she’s taking shotgun/grenade blasts before she’ll go down.
I remember when I first got the game and she took a grenade and went down so it’s not a new thing. You just have to be unlucky or be willing to sit back all the time and make her do all the work.