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Half-Life 2: Episode One Hints
Side Corridor Strategy
1 of 14: To the right of the elevator (as you face it) is a rather wide corridor that leads to a small room with a skinny wooden table and some other stuff. That corridor is where you're going to make your stand.
2 of 14: First, go to the room at the opposite end of this huge area that has an explosive barrel and a reclining zombine in it.
3 of 14: Kill the zombine by throwing the nearby red gas can at it, then get the table out of the room, being careful not to overturn it.
4 of 14: Carry it all the way back to the elevator, then set it lengthwise across the entrance to the side corridor so that one end of it is against the small bit of fencing next to the elevator.
5 of 14: Get the table from the small room at the end of the corridor and set it on the floor behind the other table. (It's best if this table is upside-down.)
6 of 14: That will leave a gap that you and Alyx can get through to enter and exit the corridor. Zombies can get in through it, too, but not very many at once.
7 of 14: There are three non-explosive barrels in the area that you can add to your barricade. If you thought ahead, you could have brought two more from the previous fence rooms. Use what you have to fortify your table barricade. (The best place to put them is on the upside-down table after knocking them over. If they're upright, zombies may take swipes at them.)
8 of 14: Now stockpile all the supplies you can find and don't immediately need near the back end of that corridor, plus all the good gravity gun projectiles you can find (radiator grilles, cement blocks, and especially red gas canisters). But no explosive barrels -- they can too easily blow you and/or your table barricade up if you try to use them.
9 of 14: NOTE: You might want to put health and armor items on the stairs that lead up to the elevator so that you'll automatically pick them up on your way to the elevator car after it arrives.
10 of 14: Save your game in a regular slot right before you activate the power box, then run back for the corridor and get yourself and Alyx positioned a ways back in it.
11 of 14: NOTE: You could use your second table and/or barrels to try to totally block zombies' access to the side corridor (moving the last bit of blockage into place after you and Alyx get back there), but there can be problems with that, too, such as zombies knocking stuff aside.
12 of 14: Keep your flashlight trained on the narrow entrance you created so Alyx can shoot zombies as they appear, and you can aim your gravity gun projectiles (and/or shotgun shells). Note that the red gas canisters are best to use until you run out, but try not to hit your tables with them.
13 of 14: Even if your tables get knocked around or shot up by Alyx, this routine should work fairly well until the elevator arrives. However, things can vary greatly from one playthru to another, so you may have to try several times.
14 of 14: When the elevator arrives, Alyx will know it and say so. Make a quick run for it, only shooting zombies that you have to in order to enter the elevator.
