Soon after defeating the tentacle monster in Half-Life, players enter the chapter called "Power Up." As the name suggests, the goal of this chapter is to power the tram track that can transport Gordon Freeman to the surface.
However, there are more than a few enemies and puzzles in the way, including one that refuses to die by ordinary methods. Players of the new Half Life 25th Anniversary Update will need to be cautious, quick, and aware of their surroundings if they want to make it through the gauntlet and turn on the track power.
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Gargantua and the Track Hub
Soon after the chapter title flashes on the screen, players will enter a hub area with several doorways and arches leading out. They'll also see a giant blue monster killing several marines. This monster's official name is Gargantua, and players should avoid engaging it. While it has a hit point total, there aren't enough grenades and trip mines in the whole region to take it out. Instead, take advantage of its distraction to run to the red doorway on the far side of the area.
Players can go straight ahead to fight two vortigaunts, but the stairs behind them have collapsed. Instead, turn left and avoid the flaming pipe. Look closely through the broken floor around the pipe to spot four headcrabs. A few careful pistol shots will mean not having to deal with them later.
Keep going to reach a catwalk to the barricaded track controls. Another quake will shatter the catwalk, and players must fall down and use the ladder to get across. Don't try to jump across or jump down: the catwalk is just low enough for players to not take fall damage.
Inside the track control booth is a dying security guard who explains that the track power is off. Take his magnum pistol and use the energy dispenser, but don't approach the window or the controls for now. The Gargantua will see Gordon and can attack through the window.
Instead, take the ladder back down and continue down the lower path. At one point, two vortigaunts next to exploding barrels will attack. Run back immediately, because their electric blast will clip the barrels and blow them both up (and Gordon if he's too close).
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The Road to the Generator
Use the wheel to open the door to a vertical room with radioactive water at the base. There's a ladder down, but this is for players who fall in and not to reach any loot or hidden areas. Instead, take the ladder up to watch a marine getting dragged into a dark hole and shoot the marine one level up. Several more marines and a turret are waiting at the top level, along with a health dispenser. Break the crates for ammo and continue down the corridor.
The next area features a fortified area full of marines. First, duck into the room and blow up the explosive crates by the sandbags. This takes out one marine, but there are several more who will wait for players to enter the doorway at the far end of the room. Grenades and trip mines are a useful way to take them out without letting them get too close. There's a health dispenser under the ramp into the main room and an energy dispenser next to the radios, plus most of the crates have ammo and health pickups.
The way forward is an elevator by the radios, but don't take it down immediately. Instead, send it down and drop a grenade on the platform. This will blow up all the trip mines around the base of the elevator.
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How to Fix the Generator
The lower floor has several houndeyes running around, but they shouldn't be much trouble so long as players kill them before they can explode any barrels. Turn left in the red room to reach a spiral staircase and take it down.
The next level down holds the generator that players must turn on. Only the left generator is off, but pressing the button won't work. Instead, continue down the spiral staircase to the lowest level to find the problem: a crate is blocking a pump that's supposed to keep water out of the generator. Alien leeches are in the water and can cause a small but steady amount of damage, so shoot the crate from a distance to unblock the pump. The water will drain out, leaving the leeches to flop around helplessly. Players can now explore the lowest level if they like, but keep an eye out for the headcrab zombie hiding behind a wall.
Head back up to the generator floor and turn it on. This causes the electric boxes to fire a lightning beam between them, but players can avoid it with careful timing. What's harder to avoid are the marine reinforcements who take the elevator down as players return to it. An MP5 grenade or a pre-placed trip mine can take care of them quickly. Two more marines are waiting at the top of the elevator, and a third is next to the area entrance. If the exploding crates are still around, the third marine spawns next to them.
Another vortigaunt and headcrab spawn in on the way back to the track hub, but the way is mostly clear. At this point, players must connect the generator to the track power system, and doing so means going back into the main hub with the Gargantua. Be sure to save here, because the Gargantua can kill players even if they do everything right.
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First, try to lure the Gargantua away from the path to the generator controls. A grenade can work for this: while the Gargantua isn't blind like the tentacle monster, a grenade blast can still draw its attention if players aren't in its line of sight. Once it's far enough away, run back out through the red doorway and go through the large archway immediately to the left. It's the only archway that doesn't have a track going through the center.
Don't hesitate or look back, just run straight forward because the Gargantua is right behind. Go past the two Tesla coils, head up the stairs, and then flip the big switch on the control console. The lightning that zaps between the two coils will explode the Gargantua, but if the monster gets too close it'll fry Gordon to a crisp before it dies. To avoid the coils, go through the side door to the right and take it around to the other side of the coils.
The tracks are now electrified, so stepping on them directly will deal damage. On the bright side, the orange tram will now move, so jump on and drive it to the rotating track in the middle of the hub. Head back up to the track control area to hear the dying guard's last words and flip the lever to rotate the tram. Players can jump straight through the window and back down to the tram. Turn it on to ram through the barricade and head into the next chapter.
Half-Life 25th Anniversary Update is available now on Linux, macOS, PC, and PS2.
