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Half-Life 2 Hints
Avoid the Whole Issue Strategy
1 of 9: In order to use this strategy, you have to plan ahead a bit.
2 of 9: You need to take six of the many barrels in the areas at the end of the previous chapter section into the control room with you.
3 of 9: The barrels tend to disappear when you cross chapter section boundaries, so throw all six of them down the checkered-floor corridor that leads to the control room entrance before you go down there yourself. In fact, you may have to toss more than six barrels down there in order to end up with six.
4 of 9: Be sure to get all six barrels through the barred gate past the bottom of the control room's stairs before you go through it, since it closes behind you.
5 of 9: Kill off the two guards in the control room as specified in the Guard Combat Tips, then go about setting all of your barrels upright.
6 of 9: Take them down to the very left end of the force fields (or the very right end) and carefully set them up in a 3-2-1 staircase formation in the corner so that you can use them to jump over the force field.
7 of 9: When the barrels are all set, go back and get one of the sentry guns from the storage case if you're wanting to take it along with you. (Just don't pick up both guns, or the attack will begin.)
8 of 9: Thankfully, you don't have to hold onto it while hopping up your barrel staircase -- you can toss it through the force field and pick it up when you get to the other side.
9 of 9: NOTE: Getting past the force fields this way skips a major plot development point, namely finding out who the traitor is who told the Combine how to find Black Mesa East. However, you'll learn the traitor's identity a bit further along, anyway.
