After a long hard trek, you've finally made it into Nova
Prospekt. You'll also find out that you've managed to raise hell thanks
to the Ant Lions, who've managed to get inside the prison as well as you.
Well, let's push on by first going through the door. Go around to the stairs
and go down, and turn left into the cell with a hole in the wall. Climb
through the hole, watching out for the headcrab lurking inside. Once on
the other side, move out of the doorway and past the locked gate, where
you'll see some sentry guns shooting at the invading ant lions. You can
help out by using the gravity gun to knock them down if you want, but it
isn't necessary (though it will help you later).
Turn around and head for the nearby stairs; go up and you'll come to a fence that's been partly torn down. Jump over and head down the corridor, and you will now be back in the starting area, but on the other side of the fence. Take the opportunity to recharge with the stations if needed, and watch the security monitor to see some ant lions tear up the combine (as well as a sneak peak at the G-man). You can change cameras with the "use" button.
Carry on past the security room and up some stairs, and you'll see some sentry guns to your left. They won't be facing you, so they won't shoot at you. Easiest way to take them down is with the gravity gun, but if you don't want to get to close, there's a few filing cabinet in a nearby room (along with some supplies) that you can use to throw at them, as well as a radiator on the wall you can rip off. Once they hit the ground, make sure they're not facing you as they go a bit haywire and shoot in random directions for a few seconds. Continue on past the gate and through the door.
You’ll now find yourself in a flooded room. There’s no where else to go but down, so time to get your feet wet by going down the ladder. Watch out, as there are a few barnacles in this room that could catch you out. The best way to get past them while conserving ammo is to pick up objects with the gravity gun and hold them under the barnacles. They will latch onto the object and try to eat it, so you can sneak by. There's a set of stairs on the other side of the room, so head that way, distracting the barnacles with nearby boxes etc. Keep going around the walkway and through the doorway.
You'll be on the other side of the gate you passed previously, so get out of the hole via the wreckage. As you approach the door, some fast headcrabs will drop from the skylight, so be ready with either your shotgun or gravity gun (bare in mind that it takes longer to kill them with the gravity gun). Once they’re dead, head through the next door.
Remember those ant lions being torn down by sentry guns before? Well, this is where they were, so if you didn't take down those sentry guns from before, grab a nearby object for cover and get rid of them. There's no where to go but down, so drop down to the next level and head forward into the large room. There are two sentry guns in here at the top floor, so see if you can take them down with a barrel. If you want, you can use a barrel to make your way up the stairs while in cover, so you can get a better shot at them. Once they've been taken care of, head right to the top and go right down the corridor.
After the map loads, keep going and clear the wreckage blocking the door (watch out for the headcrab nearby). You should now find yourself overlooking a shower room behind a fence. Keep heading down the corridor and you should be able to jump over the small banister. Make sure you hit the ground running though, as an Ant Lion Guard will come bursting through the doors to your right. Once you hit the ground, head straight for the small hole in the wall opposite you and crawl through (clearing the wreckage quickly with the gravity gun). Repeat the same thing in the next room on the wall to the right of you.
You're now in the adjacent room, and the ant lion guard will soon smash through the wall behind you, so quickly grab an explosive barrel and throw it at the guard once it charges through. You'll have no help from anyone this time around, so you use the large row of sinks in the middle as a barrier between you and the guard. Use explosive barrels to take it down, as well as some of your more powerful arsenal. It should go down with relative ease as long as you keep the row of sinks between you and it. Watch out, as it can throw things at you as well, including explosive barrels.
Once it's dead, some ant lions will drop from the roof; finally, some help. There should be a large blockage of benches and stuff in front of some doors; clear it out (making sure to NOT pelt your ant lions with it), and go through. Some more ant lions will come out of the ground here, ready to do your bidding. Before going around the next corner, equip your bug bait. There are some combine lying in wait, so throw some bug bait at them and enjoy the show.
You're going to have to help your ant lion buddies out, as there are some sentry guns posted around the room. After the combine nearby are taken out, go round the corner and duck into the room on the left to avoid the far sentry. You should see another sentry to the left of it from where you are, so grab a barrel and throw it at the sentry to take it out. Repeat this with the other sentry. Some manhacks will start to appear now; take them out with the gravity gun by grabbing them and throwing them at the wall.
One of the two gates in the room will now open, and combine will come pouring out. Your ant lions should make short work of them, but make sure to help out with the gravity gun (a fun thing to do is grab a manhack and launch it at a combine; killing two birds with one stone). Go through the newly opened gate and run down to the end of the room, killing the combine on the higher levels (take note of the locked gate on the right). There should be a forcefield to your right with two combine and a tortured vortigaunt on a chair behind it. Quickly take out the combine with your shotgun, and then fire your gravity gun at the plug that's powering the forcefield. A combine will come out of a side room; kill him, then go into that side room and flick the switch.
Go out of the room, and the previously locked gate should now be open. Go up the stairs and you'll come across a tripmine. You can just send your ant lions to go through it for you, but you can also shoot the mine on the wall. Be careful not to be too close, though. Go in the control room and take out the two combine in here. There's another security monitor in here, showcasing an ant lion guard being taken down by combine. There should also be a switch on the far wall; press it. That will open the locked gate on the ground floor, so go all the way back around again, back to the room that had the sentries in it.
Some combine should have flooded through this gate now, so be prepared. There's another sentry behind the now opened gate, so take it out with a well placed grenade so your ant lions can go through more easily. Around the corner is another forcefield with two more sentries behind it. Take out the combine first, and then use the radiators on the walls to knock over the sentries. Now you need to get around the forcefield. To do this, look to the wall on the right and you should see a vent behind a fence. Get rid of the fence with the gravity gun, and then climb into the vent.
You will reach a small ventilation room with a large fan in the centre. To get past, you must jam the fan with an object. You can't use the wooden plank as it will break, but there is a spade (for some reason) nearby, so use that. Simply pick it up with the gravity gun, having it face away from you. Then just slowly insert it into the fan between the metal bars. Keep it there and the fan will eventually brake down. Once it's stopped, go pat and through the next vent. Grab the vent cover and fire it at the nearby combine, then pull the plug off the wall. This will deactivate the forcefield, so your ant lions will come to you from round the corner. Grab the nearby supplies from the boxes, watch the combine through the gate get slaughtered, and then continue on.
Go up the stairs, and before heading into the next room, throw some bug bait in first. This will make the ant lions go through the numerous tripmines for you, and take out the nearby combine (don't worry when they die, more will come through the roof above you). Once the coast is clear, head in after them. Take some time out here to listen to Breen's message to the Combine Overwatch if you want. As you go forward, a combine will man the gun turret on the floor above you; throw some bug bait at him, watching out for the tripmine in front of you. Once disposed of, continue right.
The next room will have two sentries, to throw some bug bait at them so your ant lions can take them down. Try to throw behind the sentries, so the ant lions will go around them and take them down from behind. Once done, continue through the doorway they were guarding. Some manhacks will now appear, but your ant lions will take them out easily. Sent your ant lions up the stairs before you, and make sure they're in front of you as you approach this next corner on the upper walkway; a combine will appear, and get a face full of ant lion. Jump over the ant lions and go around the corner, then duck into the small side room on the right. Some combine will appear (again) in front of you, so throw some bug bait in their direction and hide in the side room. Once it's clear, keep going.
Go up the steps and some combine will be behind you on the walkway; you know the drill. The gate on your right is locked, so don't bother trying to get through. Keep going around these walkways, and you'll come to a split. There's a supply box on the right, so grab that, but otherwise go left. Get your ant lions to go through the trip mine, and then around the corner throw some bug bait at the combine at the far end of the corridor. Keep following this path around, killing combine with your ant lions as you go.
You should see a control room opposite the walkway; get your ant lions to go through the tripmine, and take out the combine that appears from the control room. A sentry gun will be in a small closet on the other end of the next room, so grab a barrel for cover and knock it over. There's another security monitor in here, detailing a few of the grisly things that go on at this place. There are also some recharge stations, so take advantage of them. Flick the switch on the wall, which will open a nearby gate. Some more combine will appear, so send your ant lions after them. The way you need to go, however, is opposite the entrance to the control room.
This is the area where you saw the combine taking down an ant lion guard on a security monitor, Some more ant lions will show up to help you here if any died in the last battle. There's yet another security room in this area, with yet another security monitor. Here you'll be able to see some combine setting up an ambush for you. Take advantage of the supplies and health recharger if need be, then go back into the corridor. Do not run around the corner, however, as the combine have set up a blockade. Send your ant lions instead, who will easily kill them.
The next corridor has even more sentry guns for you to take care of. The ant lions won't be able to reach these ones in time, so use them as a distraction while you go into a side room on the right. At the end of the room is an open doorway and a tripmine; use a grenade to take down the tripmine, and then simply knock over the sentry guns.
The next room is where the combine are about to ambush you, so send the ant lions in first to take out any they can. There's a sentry gun on the far end of the room; go down the left hand side of the room, taking out combine with your shotgun as you go. Knock over the sentry gun from here. Once all the combine are dead, there's a small secret area you may be interested in. If not, skip the next paragraph.
On the right hand side of the room are small narrow passage ways; you can go in, but your ant lions can't follow you. You will come to a darkened room. There's a poison zombie in a small side room here (the one with the bloody floor), so be careful. There's another room with a health recharger and some ammo supplies (including rare crossbow ammo). After you're done here, go back to the main room.
Go up the stairs, through the fence and the doorway on the right. Shoot the explosive barrel to easily take out the tripmine, and then send your ant lions around the corner. That's right, more combine. There are also more sentries here, down a side corridor, so send some barrels their way. There's a small room with supplies here as well. There are now two options you can take. One corridor is full of tripmines, while a room that runs parallel to it has a couple of combine in it. I recommend taking the combine route, as you don't have to deal with them later. Go through this room to other side, and you'll see a kitchen with some sentry guns in it. You can easily take at least one down from her with barrel through the window. If not, simply crouch down and go into the room via the door on the right.
Watch out in here, as there's a gas leak on the right. If you shoot the cooker that it's coming from, it will ignite. Use the tables and such to shield yourself from the sentries, as well as using them to knock them down with the gravity gun. There is a small doorway at the far right of the room, but the corridor is again guarded by a tripmine. So, as usual, send your ant lions in first. In this room, there are some more combine, so throw some bug bait at them and some more ant lions should appear from underneath them. The sentry guns here are easily taken out with the gravity gun, as there's some cover you can take quite close to them.
The gate ahead is locked, so go into the room onto the left (take note of the train sound; you've almost caught up with Alyx). Throw some bug bait up the stairs to take out the combine, then take advantage of the huge amount of supplies and rechargers; you'll need it. There's a small broken window on the right side of the room, so use that to get out. Don't forget to say your farewells to the ant lions; it's the last you'll see of them.
Once you land in this room, you should hear gunfire. Some combine will come running into the room, with an ant lion guard chasing them. The combine shouldn't attack you, as their focus will be on the guard itself. Now, if you want, you can skip fighting the guard entirely by simply going to the far right, clearing the wreckage away from the doorway, and simply leaving the room. However, the combine tend to get killed very quickly here, and you might not have time. If you do end up fighting the guard, make sure you take advantage of the explosive barrels. You can also trick it into running into one of the pillars in the room, which can also damage it. Again, as long as you keep moving and shooting, it should die fairly easily.
Once through the doorway, get the supplies form the boxes to your left, and keep going forward. You should come to a narrow canyon formed by large combine fences. Jump down the steps (taking out the zombie in the process), and go down the canyon. At about the half way point there will be an opening in the wall, which is handy considering the canyon is getting thinner. Quickly get a box and use it as a step to get up to the opening, before the fence crushes you. Watch out for the headcrab that will jump from above you, and go around the fire. Drop down to the lower level, and let the next chapter load up.
Turn around and head for the nearby stairs; go up and you'll come to a fence that's been partly torn down. Jump over and head down the corridor, and you will now be back in the starting area, but on the other side of the fence. Take the opportunity to recharge with the stations if needed, and watch the security monitor to see some ant lions tear up the combine (as well as a sneak peak at the G-man). You can change cameras with the "use" button.
Carry on past the security room and up some stairs, and you'll see some sentry guns to your left. They won't be facing you, so they won't shoot at you. Easiest way to take them down is with the gravity gun, but if you don't want to get to close, there's a few filing cabinet in a nearby room (along with some supplies) that you can use to throw at them, as well as a radiator on the wall you can rip off. Once they hit the ground, make sure they're not facing you as they go a bit haywire and shoot in random directions for a few seconds. Continue on past the gate and through the door.
You’ll now find yourself in a flooded room. There’s no where else to go but down, so time to get your feet wet by going down the ladder. Watch out, as there are a few barnacles in this room that could catch you out. The best way to get past them while conserving ammo is to pick up objects with the gravity gun and hold them under the barnacles. They will latch onto the object and try to eat it, so you can sneak by. There's a set of stairs on the other side of the room, so head that way, distracting the barnacles with nearby boxes etc. Keep going around the walkway and through the doorway.
You'll be on the other side of the gate you passed previously, so get out of the hole via the wreckage. As you approach the door, some fast headcrabs will drop from the skylight, so be ready with either your shotgun or gravity gun (bare in mind that it takes longer to kill them with the gravity gun). Once they’re dead, head through the next door.
Remember those ant lions being torn down by sentry guns before? Well, this is where they were, so if you didn't take down those sentry guns from before, grab a nearby object for cover and get rid of them. There's no where to go but down, so drop down to the next level and head forward into the large room. There are two sentry guns in here at the top floor, so see if you can take them down with a barrel. If you want, you can use a barrel to make your way up the stairs while in cover, so you can get a better shot at them. Once they've been taken care of, head right to the top and go right down the corridor.
After the map loads, keep going and clear the wreckage blocking the door (watch out for the headcrab nearby). You should now find yourself overlooking a shower room behind a fence. Keep heading down the corridor and you should be able to jump over the small banister. Make sure you hit the ground running though, as an Ant Lion Guard will come bursting through the doors to your right. Once you hit the ground, head straight for the small hole in the wall opposite you and crawl through (clearing the wreckage quickly with the gravity gun). Repeat the same thing in the next room on the wall to the right of you.
You're now in the adjacent room, and the ant lion guard will soon smash through the wall behind you, so quickly grab an explosive barrel and throw it at the guard once it charges through. You'll have no help from anyone this time around, so you use the large row of sinks in the middle as a barrier between you and the guard. Use explosive barrels to take it down, as well as some of your more powerful arsenal. It should go down with relative ease as long as you keep the row of sinks between you and it. Watch out, as it can throw things at you as well, including explosive barrels.
Once it's dead, some ant lions will drop from the roof; finally, some help. There should be a large blockage of benches and stuff in front of some doors; clear it out (making sure to NOT pelt your ant lions with it), and go through. Some more ant lions will come out of the ground here, ready to do your bidding. Before going around the next corner, equip your bug bait. There are some combine lying in wait, so throw some bug bait at them and enjoy the show.
You're going to have to help your ant lion buddies out, as there are some sentry guns posted around the room. After the combine nearby are taken out, go round the corner and duck into the room on the left to avoid the far sentry. You should see another sentry to the left of it from where you are, so grab a barrel and throw it at the sentry to take it out. Repeat this with the other sentry. Some manhacks will start to appear now; take them out with the gravity gun by grabbing them and throwing them at the wall.
One of the two gates in the room will now open, and combine will come pouring out. Your ant lions should make short work of them, but make sure to help out with the gravity gun (a fun thing to do is grab a manhack and launch it at a combine; killing two birds with one stone). Go through the newly opened gate and run down to the end of the room, killing the combine on the higher levels (take note of the locked gate on the right). There should be a forcefield to your right with two combine and a tortured vortigaunt on a chair behind it. Quickly take out the combine with your shotgun, and then fire your gravity gun at the plug that's powering the forcefield. A combine will come out of a side room; kill him, then go into that side room and flick the switch.
Go out of the room, and the previously locked gate should now be open. Go up the stairs and you'll come across a tripmine. You can just send your ant lions to go through it for you, but you can also shoot the mine on the wall. Be careful not to be too close, though. Go in the control room and take out the two combine in here. There's another security monitor in here, showcasing an ant lion guard being taken down by combine. There should also be a switch on the far wall; press it. That will open the locked gate on the ground floor, so go all the way back around again, back to the room that had the sentries in it.
Some combine should have flooded through this gate now, so be prepared. There's another sentry behind the now opened gate, so take it out with a well placed grenade so your ant lions can go through more easily. Around the corner is another forcefield with two more sentries behind it. Take out the combine first, and then use the radiators on the walls to knock over the sentries. Now you need to get around the forcefield. To do this, look to the wall on the right and you should see a vent behind a fence. Get rid of the fence with the gravity gun, and then climb into the vent.
You will reach a small ventilation room with a large fan in the centre. To get past, you must jam the fan with an object. You can't use the wooden plank as it will break, but there is a spade (for some reason) nearby, so use that. Simply pick it up with the gravity gun, having it face away from you. Then just slowly insert it into the fan between the metal bars. Keep it there and the fan will eventually brake down. Once it's stopped, go pat and through the next vent. Grab the vent cover and fire it at the nearby combine, then pull the plug off the wall. This will deactivate the forcefield, so your ant lions will come to you from round the corner. Grab the nearby supplies from the boxes, watch the combine through the gate get slaughtered, and then continue on.
Go up the stairs, and before heading into the next room, throw some bug bait in first. This will make the ant lions go through the numerous tripmines for you, and take out the nearby combine (don't worry when they die, more will come through the roof above you). Once the coast is clear, head in after them. Take some time out here to listen to Breen's message to the Combine Overwatch if you want. As you go forward, a combine will man the gun turret on the floor above you; throw some bug bait at him, watching out for the tripmine in front of you. Once disposed of, continue right.
The next room will have two sentries, to throw some bug bait at them so your ant lions can take them down. Try to throw behind the sentries, so the ant lions will go around them and take them down from behind. Once done, continue through the doorway they were guarding. Some manhacks will now appear, but your ant lions will take them out easily. Sent your ant lions up the stairs before you, and make sure they're in front of you as you approach this next corner on the upper walkway; a combine will appear, and get a face full of ant lion. Jump over the ant lions and go around the corner, then duck into the small side room on the right. Some combine will appear (again) in front of you, so throw some bug bait in their direction and hide in the side room. Once it's clear, keep going.
Go up the steps and some combine will be behind you on the walkway; you know the drill. The gate on your right is locked, so don't bother trying to get through. Keep going around these walkways, and you'll come to a split. There's a supply box on the right, so grab that, but otherwise go left. Get your ant lions to go through the trip mine, and then around the corner throw some bug bait at the combine at the far end of the corridor. Keep following this path around, killing combine with your ant lions as you go.
You should see a control room opposite the walkway; get your ant lions to go through the tripmine, and take out the combine that appears from the control room. A sentry gun will be in a small closet on the other end of the next room, so grab a barrel for cover and knock it over. There's another security monitor in here, detailing a few of the grisly things that go on at this place. There are also some recharge stations, so take advantage of them. Flick the switch on the wall, which will open a nearby gate. Some more combine will appear, so send your ant lions after them. The way you need to go, however, is opposite the entrance to the control room.
This is the area where you saw the combine taking down an ant lion guard on a security monitor, Some more ant lions will show up to help you here if any died in the last battle. There's yet another security room in this area, with yet another security monitor. Here you'll be able to see some combine setting up an ambush for you. Take advantage of the supplies and health recharger if need be, then go back into the corridor. Do not run around the corner, however, as the combine have set up a blockade. Send your ant lions instead, who will easily kill them.
The next corridor has even more sentry guns for you to take care of. The ant lions won't be able to reach these ones in time, so use them as a distraction while you go into a side room on the right. At the end of the room is an open doorway and a tripmine; use a grenade to take down the tripmine, and then simply knock over the sentry guns.
The next room is where the combine are about to ambush you, so send the ant lions in first to take out any they can. There's a sentry gun on the far end of the room; go down the left hand side of the room, taking out combine with your shotgun as you go. Knock over the sentry gun from here. Once all the combine are dead, there's a small secret area you may be interested in. If not, skip the next paragraph.
On the right hand side of the room are small narrow passage ways; you can go in, but your ant lions can't follow you. You will come to a darkened room. There's a poison zombie in a small side room here (the one with the bloody floor), so be careful. There's another room with a health recharger and some ammo supplies (including rare crossbow ammo). After you're done here, go back to the main room.
Go up the stairs, through the fence and the doorway on the right. Shoot the explosive barrel to easily take out the tripmine, and then send your ant lions around the corner. That's right, more combine. There are also more sentries here, down a side corridor, so send some barrels their way. There's a small room with supplies here as well. There are now two options you can take. One corridor is full of tripmines, while a room that runs parallel to it has a couple of combine in it. I recommend taking the combine route, as you don't have to deal with them later. Go through this room to other side, and you'll see a kitchen with some sentry guns in it. You can easily take at least one down from her with barrel through the window. If not, simply crouch down and go into the room via the door on the right.
Watch out in here, as there's a gas leak on the right. If you shoot the cooker that it's coming from, it will ignite. Use the tables and such to shield yourself from the sentries, as well as using them to knock them down with the gravity gun. There is a small doorway at the far right of the room, but the corridor is again guarded by a tripmine. So, as usual, send your ant lions in first. In this room, there are some more combine, so throw some bug bait at them and some more ant lions should appear from underneath them. The sentry guns here are easily taken out with the gravity gun, as there's some cover you can take quite close to them.
The gate ahead is locked, so go into the room onto the left (take note of the train sound; you've almost caught up with Alyx). Throw some bug bait up the stairs to take out the combine, then take advantage of the huge amount of supplies and rechargers; you'll need it. There's a small broken window on the right side of the room, so use that to get out. Don't forget to say your farewells to the ant lions; it's the last you'll see of them.
Once you land in this room, you should hear gunfire. Some combine will come running into the room, with an ant lion guard chasing them. The combine shouldn't attack you, as their focus will be on the guard itself. Now, if you want, you can skip fighting the guard entirely by simply going to the far right, clearing the wreckage away from the doorway, and simply leaving the room. However, the combine tend to get killed very quickly here, and you might not have time. If you do end up fighting the guard, make sure you take advantage of the explosive barrels. You can also trick it into running into one of the pillars in the room, which can also damage it. Again, as long as you keep moving and shooting, it should die fairly easily.
Once through the doorway, get the supplies form the boxes to your left, and keep going forward. You should come to a narrow canyon formed by large combine fences. Jump down the steps (taking out the zombie in the process), and go down the canyon. At about the half way point there will be an opening in the wall, which is handy considering the canyon is getting thinner. Quickly get a box and use it as a step to get up to the opening, before the fence crushes you. Watch out for the headcrab that will jump from above you, and go around the fire. Drop down to the lower level, and let the next chapter load up.
