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The ''Half-Life'' video game series features many locations set in a
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n future stemming from the events of the first game, ''Half-Life''. These locations are used and referred to throughout the series. The locations, for the most part, are designed and modeled from real-world equivalent locations in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, but also include
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
settings including the Black Mesa Research Facility, a labyrinthine subterranean research complex, and Xen, an alien dimension.


''Half-Life'' and expansions


Black Mesa Research Facility

The Black Mesa Research Facility (shortened to B.M.R.F) is the primary setting for ''
Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...
'' and its three expansions: ''
Opposing Force An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. T ...
'', ''
Blue Shift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in fr ...
'', and ''
Decay Decay may refer to: Science and technology * Bit decay, in computing * Software decay, in computing * Distance decay, in geography * Decay time (fall time), in electronics Biology * Decomposition of organic matter * Tooth decay (dental caries) ...
''. The base is a decommissioned
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
launch complex A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...
at an undisclosed
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
desert location, which has been converted into a scientific research facility and bears a number of similarities to
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
,
Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Ba ...
and Area 51. This facility is depicted as a vast series of underground research laboratories as well as surface constructions such as offices,
chemical waste Chemical waste is any excess, unusable, or unwanted chemical, especially those that cause damage to human health or the environment. Chemical waste may be classified as hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, universal waste, and household haza ...
disposal plants, and personnel dormitories (even cafeterias, where Gordon Freeman can destroy Doctor Magnusson's microwave casserole), all powered by a
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
and connected by an advanced
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
system. Over the course of the series, Black Mesa is revealed to be conducting top-secret research into various fields, such as
teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...
and experimental weapons research. Prior to the beginning of ''Half-Life'', scientists experimenting on teleportation discover Xen, a border dimension somehow intrinsically involved in the teleportation process. Creatures and crystals from Xen are subsequently brought back to the facility for testing. At the beginning of ''Half-Life'', one such crystal, revealed in ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' to have been provided by the G-Man, is put through an anti-mass spectrometer and causes a resonance cascade, tearing the
spacetime continuum In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why diffe ...
. As a result, Xen creatures are teleported into the facility and prey on its human inhabitants. There are many notable creatures that come from Xen, such as the
Vortigaunt Vortigaunts or Alien Slaves are a fictional extra-dimensional species in the Half-Life (series), ''Half-Life'' series of video games by Valve Corporation, Valve. In ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' and its three expansions, Vortigaunts are ...
s and
Headcrab A headcrab is a fictional alien parasitoid first appearing as an enemy in Valve's 1998 video game ''Half-Life'', as well as in subsequent games in the ''Half-Life'' series. Attributes Depiction In-universe, headcrabs are parasitic life f ...
s. The resulting crisis is seen from several points of view in ''Half-Life'' and its expansions. In ''Half-Life'', protagonist
Gordon Freeman Gordon Freeman is the silent protagonist of the ''Half-Life'' video game series, created by Gabe Newell and designed by Newell and Marc Laidlaw of Valve. His first appearance is in ''Half-Life''. Gordon Freeman is depicted as a bespectacled Ca ...
is introduced to the facility in a notable sequence involving very little interactivity. This serves to foreshadow many of the challenges the player will face, as well as the labyrinth-like structure of the game. Eventually, the player fights through the facility and teleports to Xen to try to seal the tear from the other end, where a Xen creature is keeping it open. ''Blue Shift'' shows the events from the viewpoint of a security guard,
Barney Calhoun This is a list of characters in the ''Half-Life'' video game series, which comprises ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', ''Half-Life: Alyx'', and their respective expansion packs and episodes. Introduced in ''Half-Life'' and expansion packs This sec ...
, who joins a group of scientists who use the teleportation technology to evacuate survivors from the base. In ''Decay'', another group of scientists attempt to close the tear through their own equipment, after calling in the U.S. Military to assist with the situation. The military situation is shown through the eyes of
Adrian Shephard This is a list of characters in the ''Half-Life'' video game series, which comprises ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', ''Half-Life: Alyx'', and their respective expansion packs and episodes. Introduced in ''Half-Life'' and expansion packs This sec ...
in ''Opposing Force'', where
U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
(referred to as HECU, or Hazardous Environment Combat Unit) are ordered to cover up the incident by killing the entire population of Black Mesa as well as the alien attackers, but are overwhelmed and forced to withdraw, allowing for black operations units to detonate a
nuclear warhead A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
in the facility, ultimately destroying it. However, the fracture in the spacetime continuum remains, allowing the Combine to invade and occupy Earth. Black Mesa is also mentioned several times in another Valve game, ''
Portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
'', and its sequel. In these games it is a competitor of
Aperture Science The Half-Life (series), ''Half-Life'' video game series features many locations set in a dystopian future stemming from the events of the first game, Half-Life (video game), ''Half-Life''. These locations are used and referred to throughout the se ...
, the company that owns the area where the games take place. Black Mesa is also referenced in the ''Portal''-themed levels of ''
Lego Dimensions ''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. It fo ...
'', wherein Chell and
Wheatley Wheatley may refer to: Places * Wheatley (crater), on Venus * Wheatley, Ontario, Canada * Wheatley, Hampshire, England * Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England ** Wheatley railway station * Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England * Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...
discover a hidden storage room in Aperture containing various crates and boxes stolen from Black Mesa.


Xen

Xen is an alternative dimension and is the adopted home of the
Vortigaunt Vortigaunts or Alien Slaves are a fictional extra-dimensional species in the Half-Life (series), ''Half-Life'' series of video games by Valve Corporation, Valve. In ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' and its three expansions, Vortigaunts are ...
s. A collection of
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
s hanging over a
nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
, Xen is briefly featured in ''Half-Life'' and its first two expansions, ''Opposing Force'' and ''Blue Shift''. It is often referred to as the "border world", as it is somehow involved in the
teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...
process used by the Black Mesa Research Facility. The player encounters multiple types of fauna such as Headcrabs in Xen, in addition to its sentient inhabitants. The asteroids are linked with their own teleporter system, and a number of asteroids are shown to include underground factory-like areas, where Vortigaunts work to create or mature Xen's military forces, including the large, blue ape-like alien called the Gargantua. Gravity in Xen is significantly lower than on Earth. Xen forms the setting for the closing parts of ''Half-Life'', where Gordon Freeman travels to Xen to kill the Nihilanth and seal the spatial fracture to Black Mesa. The player briefly visits Xen in both ''Opposing Force'' and ''Blue Shift'' as well; in the former, Adrian Shephard is forced to travel to Xen to escape an otherwise enclosed area, while in the latter, Barney Calhoun goes to Xen to align some equipment to allow Black Mesa to be evacuated using the teleporters. After the death of the Nihilanth in ''Half-Life'', the fracture is destabilized further, causing large amounts of Xen's wildlife to be teleported to locations across Earth. In the third party remake of ''Half-Life '' '' Black Mesa '' Xen is greatly expanded upon with many environments being completely new, such as a remote research facility operated by Black Mesa adjacent to a lush forest area as well as a village inhabited by enslaved Vortigaunt factory workers.


''Half-Life 2'' and its episodes


City 17

City 17 is a dystopian metropolitan area that forms the primary setting for ''Half-Life 2'', its first expansion, '' Episode One'', and '' Half-Life: Alyx''. The city features a variety of architectural styles, mostly Eastern European architecture dating from pre–
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
, to post-war revival of classical designs,
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
, and post-Soviet contemporary designs, as well as alien Combine structures. The playable area of the city is quite large, including plazas, railway stations, a dilapidated canal system, underground road tunnels, multiple communal living quarters and crowded, tightly-packed
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
buildings. The whole city seems to be in an advanced state of
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
, with abandoned structures and graffiti rampant throughout the city. It contains a large number of signs written in
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
. Signs advertising a "Café Baltic" can be occasionally seen, suggesting City 17 may be located on the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, rather than the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, as could also be the case. The city is policed by the Combine Civil Protection, who patrol the streets and suppress dissent with extreme brutality, which is seen frequently in ''Half-Life 2''. Massive jumbotrons broadcast propaganda from
Wallace Breen This is a list of characters in the ''Half-Life'' video game series, which comprises ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', ''Half-Life: Alyx'', and their respective expansion packs and episodes. Introduced in ''Half-Life'' and expansion packs This sec ...
, the administrator of Earth. Travel and other luxuries are severely restricted, and citizens are under surveillance from floating drones. According to ''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'', the game's artbook, City 17 was inspired by elements from several European cities, such as
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and for the railyard in the game's introduction,
Gare Saint-Lazare The Gare Saint-Lazare (English: St Lazarus station), officially Paris-Saint-Lazare, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It serves train services toward Normandy, northwest of Paris, along the Paris–Le Hav ...
in
Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Art director Viktor Antonov, after being approached by Valve, expressed an interest in moving 3D games out of 'corridors' and into realistic environments, with layered histories. Eastern Europe was chosen as the setting due to "the collision of the old and the new", resulting in strong influences from Sofia, Antonov's hometown, and George Orwell's dystopian novel ''
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
''. City 17 is the base of operations for the Combine on Earth, and its Citadel the headquarters for Wallace Breen, the human administrator for the Combine. The Citadel itself is an exceptionally tall structure of Combine design, reaching both deep underground and approximately 2.5 kilometers into the clouds, forming an ominous, foreboding presence in City 17's skyline. The Citadel serves as a reference point to help the player navigate, as well as providing a long-term goal to drive the player's action. In ''Half-Life 2'', the player (as Gordon) initially arrives in City 17 by train; but, after being discovered, flees the city via its canal system. When Gordon returns later in the game, the city has been turned into a war zone as the citizens mount a full-scale rebellion against the Combine. The player eventually enters the Citadel itself to confront Breen, destroying the
dark energy In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. The first observational evidence for its existence came from measurements of supernovas, which showed that the univer ...
reactor and teleporter at the top of the Citadel. This proceeds to destabilize the Citadel's main reactor, which the player, accompanied by Alyx Vance, must temporarily stabilize in ''Episode One'' to allow for the population to be evacuated. The Combine try to accelerate the Citadel's collapse to send a message to their native dimension, requesting reinforcements. The Citadel eventually explodes at the end of ''Episode One'', destroying City 17 and forming a super portal to the Combine dimension, which the player must work to collapse in ''Episode Two'' before Combine reinforcements arrive.


Black Mesa East

Black Mesa East is the name of the base for the Lambda Resistance on the outskirts of City 17. It is featured briefly in ''
Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and ...
'', where it acts as the base of operations for Eli Vance, the leader of the human Lambda Resistance against the ruling Combine. Situated alongside a
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
outside City 17, Black Mesa East is mostly underground, consisting of several levels containing laboratories, kitchens, recreational areas and maintenance facilities. Its population includes both humans and
Vortigaunt Vortigaunts or Alien Slaves are a fictional extra-dimensional species in the Half-Life (series), ''Half-Life'' series of video games by Valve Corporation, Valve. In ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' and its three expansions, Vortigaunts are ...
s. The base is the primary destination for the player in the early stages of ''Half-Life 2'' after an attempt to teleport directly to the facility fails (due to Dr. Kleiner's pet
headcrab A headcrab is a fictional alien parasitoid first appearing as an enemy in Valve's 1998 video game ''Half-Life'', as well as in subsequent games in the ''Half-Life'' series. Attributes Depiction In-universe, headcrabs are parasitic life f ...
Lamarr), leaving Gordon Freeman to proceed there by conventional means. Shortly after Freeman's arrival, Judith Mossman alerts the Combine forces to his presence, resulting in the base being raided. Though Eli Vance tries to say not to go through Ravenholm, Gordon has no choice but to do so to escape, while Vance and Mossman are captured.


Ravenholm

Ravenholm is an Eastern European mining town depicted in ''Half-Life 2''. The town was a hidden location housing refugees from City 17 until it was discovered and attacked by the Combine, using artillery shells filled with
headcrab A headcrab is a fictional alien parasitoid first appearing as an enemy in Valve's 1998 video game ''Half-Life'', as well as in subsequent games in the ''Half-Life'' series. Attributes Depiction In-universe, headcrabs are parasitic life f ...
s. Consequently, the town was massacred and its survivors zombified by the headcrabs. The tunnel from Black Mesa East is blocked to prevent the spread of the headcrabs and zombies. The mines are equally infested, and its structures have been heavily damaged. The town's sole survivor,
Father Grigori This is a list of characters in the ''Half-Life (series), Half-Life'' video game series, which comprises ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', ''Half-Life: Alyx'', and their respective expansion packs and episodes. Introduced in ''Half-Life'' and expa ...
, hunts the zombie population to put it out of its misery. Working from the church, Grigori has rigged numerous traps (one type involves a blade attached to an engine) and overhead walkways to keep himself safe. The player journeys through Ravenholm to get to the coast, after Black Mesa East is attacked by the Combine. Ravenholm has been noted as a cross-over of the
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
genres, as the player encounters the level at night, and many dark areas allow for surprise attacks from the zombies and other creatures within the town. Ravenholm is challenging for players to navigate due to its open nature as well as its overall circular path.


Highway 17

Highway 17 is a road featured in ''Half-Life 2'' that runs along a stretch of coast outside City 17. The player travels through this area in a Tau-cannon-rigged dune buggy to get to Nova Prospekt. The area is heavily occupied by large
insectoid An insectoid is an insect-like creature. Insectoid may refer to: * Insectoid robot * Insectoids in science fiction {{dab ...
creatures called
antlions The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. In North America, the larvae ...
that live in underground hives and violently defend their sandy territory, though Gordon is eventually able to direct them to target the Combine instead. The area around the road is mostly coastal with multiple boathouses and jetties but the water level has been reduced to such an extent that the derelict ships are sitting on what was once the seabed. The road itself is in disrepair; several portions have collapsed, and it is cluttered with many abandoned cars. Highway 17 is interspersed with various outposts under control of the Lambda Resistance, although several of them are under attack or have already been destroyed when the player arrives at them.


Nova Prospekt

Nova Prospekt is a security and detention installation controlled by the Combine in ''Half-Life 2''. The facility is the player's destination for the middle parts of the game, as Gordon Freeman travels along the coast to get there and free the leader of the human resistance, Eli Vance, after he is captured by the Combine at Black Mesa East. Nova Prospekt is described as once being a high-security prison, set on a coastal cliff. Its interior is largely dilapidated, consisting of several unoccupied and badly damaged cell blocks, a number of
interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
chambers and numerous guard posts and checkpoints. The actual facility, built on the ruins of the old prison, incorporates Combine infrastructure, a
teleporter Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...
, and a large holding area for political prisoners, held unconscious in pods suspended from the walls. The facility is also shown to deal with processing humans through
invasive surgery Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by definition ...
, either changing them into Combine Overwatch soldiers or into Stalkers, dismembered cyborg slaves used for menial labor. The facility also incorporates an express train link from City 17. Nova Prospekt is heavily damaged during Gordon's incursion into the prison due to his use of antlions to break into the facility and rampage through it, as well as a subsequent teleporter explosion as he flees with Alyx Vance. The fight at Nova Prospekt is seen as the first strike against the Combine, and signals a major uprising in City 17.


White Forest

White Forest is a fictional mountainous region in Eastern Europe that forms the setting for '' Half-Life 2: Episode Two''. The area also contains a
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-era
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...
that acts as the base of operations for the human resistance against the Combine and is the primary destination for much of the game. White Forest is the only area of gameplay in ''Episode Two'', and is depicted as a largely forest-land region near the base of several mountains. The area consists of several villages and minor resistance bases, connected by a road in a state of disrepair with a number of abandoned cars. Various other structures include radio stations, industrial warehouses and bridge houses, which are often infested with headcrabs. In addition, there are several mineshafts, which are shown to have been colonized by antlions. The player travels the forest roads in a salvaged
1969 Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger (1966), also known as Dodge Charger (B-body), is a mid-size automobile that was produced by Dodge from 1966 to 1978, and was based on the Chrysler B platform. Origin During the early 1960s, automakers were exploring new id ...
to reach the base. The base itself is used by the resistance as a platform to launch a rocket containing codes to shut down a Combine superportal that is opened in the wake of the destruction of the Citadel at the end of ''Episode One''.


Other locations


Aperture Science Laboratories

The Aperture Laboratories Computer-Aided Enrichment Center is an Aperture Science Innovators research facility built completely underground, that forms the setting of ''
Portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
'' and ''
Portal 2 ''Portal 2'' is a 2011 puzzle-platform video game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The digital PC version is distributed online by Valve's Steam (service), Steam service, while al ...
''. Aperture Science is a direct rival to Black Mesa and, as revealed by in-game information and a website for the fictional company, initially provided shower curtains for the
US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
. However, after receiving a
US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
award for Best Shower Curtain Contractor, its founder Cave Johnson shifted the company's focus and embarked on several ill-conceived projects, interdimensional portal research among them. The project was deemed worthwhile and government funding was granted to expand Aperture Science's facilities, using an old
salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...
in
Upper Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the Peninsulas of Michigan, two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from t ...
to give them nearly unlimited space, expanding the maximum dimensions of the facility to approximately 10 by 1 miles in width and 3 miles deep. This ultimately led to the installation of the "Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System",
GLaDOS GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) is a fictional artificial intelligence, artificially superintelligent computer, computer system from the video game series ''Portal (video game series), Portal''. GLaDOS later appeared in ''Th ...
, an advanced
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
, revealed in ''Portal 2'' to be based on the personality of Johnson's assistant Caroline; however, shortly after its installation, GLaDOS turned on its creators, connecting the facility's ventilation system to a
neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature ner ...
generator and imprisoning the survivors (including the player character Chell) for later use as test subjects. The areas of the underground Enrichment Center seen by the player in ''Portal'' consists of clinically white "test chambers", overlooked by laboratories and office spaces devoid of life, and disused maintenance areas behind these chambers. The clinical feel was designed after the settings in the film ''
The Island The Island(s) may refer to: Places * Any of various islands around the world, see the list of islands * The Island (Cache County, Utah), an island on the Bear River, Utah * The Island, Chennai, a river island in India * The Island, Chicago, a n ...
'', aiming to reduce the amount of background detail to allow players to focus on the puzzles. In ''Portal 2'', however, the facility has been overgrown by plant life and has fallen into disarray after many years. GLaDOS is able to rapidly restore the chambers to their pristine conditions after being reactivated, showing the capability of highly configurable testing chambers. Later, the player travels deeper underground through the mine revealing earlier sections of Aperture Science from the 1950s to the 1980s, which have a more industrial style. Recordings from Cave Johnson during these areas relate the gradual decline of the company's fortunes, going from performing tests of its discoveries on elite personnel from the military, to using paid volunteers, and finally to requiring mandatory testing of its employees, and this directive became the basis for GLaDOS' core programming. At the end of ''Portal 2'', the player reaches the surface, revealing that one of the accesses to the facility is a run-down shed in the middle of a wheat field. In '' Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', the player learns that the ''Borealis'', an Aperture Science
research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...
, and a portion of the drydock it was moored to, was somehow teleported to the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
, and is a point of interest that the player is told to investigate. ''Episode Two'' concludes as the player prepares to visit this location. ''Portal 2'' includes the surviving portion of the drydock deep in the Aperture Science facility where the ''Borealis'' was originally located before its disappearance.


St. Olga

St. Olga is a seaside town featured in the '' Half-Life 2: Lost Coast'' level, provided to players as a technology demonstration of
high dynamic range rendering High-dynamic-range rendering (HDRR or HDR rendering), also known as high-dynamic-range lighting, is the rendering of computer graphics scenes by using lighting calculations done in high dynamic range (HDR). This allows preservation of details tha ...
in the
Source engine Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve. It debuted as the successor to GoldSrc in 2004 with the release of '' Counter-Strike: Source'' and '' Half-Life 2''. Updates to Source were released in incremental versions, with the engine being su ...
. St. Olga is built near a seaside cliff and features an
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
monastery at the top of the cliff, which the Combine have made a base of operations to launch artillery shells filled with
headcrab A headcrab is a fictional alien parasitoid first appearing as an enemy in Valve's 1998 video game ''Half-Life'', as well as in subsequent games in the ''Half-Life'' series. Attributes Depiction In-universe, headcrabs are parasitic life f ...
s into the town. In ''Lost Coast'', the player controls Freeman as he meets an old fisherman from St. Olga who asks him to defeat the Combine. Freeman storms the monastery and disables the artillery launcher, then returns to the fisherman, who congratulates him. The church style was specifically selected to enhance the influence of the high dynamic range rendering, while the cliff-side environments were built to encourage combat strategies in the vertical direction.


Reception

The environments of both ''
Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...
'' and ''
Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and ...
'' and their expansions have been well received by critics. The locations in ''Half-Life'' have been praised as "self-contained, believable, and thoroughly engaging" by
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, who also noted the "distinct looks" used in different areas throughout the game. The moment when the player arrives at the alien world of Xen towards the end of the game in particular has been praised for inspiring a sense of awe and astonishment. In addition, several reviews praised the way that players progressed through the areas of Black Mesa and the loading points in between as "largely seamless", with ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' commenting that this made level loading "a thing of the past". However, some aspects of level design were criticized:
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
in particular, despite describing the locations as "logically linked and fun to explore" noted that in the middle of the game "the tension seriously sags, as
he player is He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
forced to wander around some dreadful tunnels looking for switches in retro-gaming land, as jumping puzzles, switch hunts, and all the tedium of a dozen other games returns in force". ''
PC Zone ''PC Zone'', founded in 1993, was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as ''PC Leisure'', ''PC Format'' and ''PC Plus'' had covered games but ...
'' described the environments in ''Half-Life 2'' as "breathtaking, diverse and immense", while GameSpot praised the locations as "simply stunning, from the plazas and streets of City 17 to the rusted interiors of an abandoned factory" and stated that the game featured "excellent level design". In addition, IGN noted that the game world is "immaculately crafted and rendered". City 17 has been noted for its aesthetic use of 3D sound. Sound is used to remind the player of the trashy style of their train as they arrive in the city, while the sound of the surveillance camera in the large resonant space creates a generally unpleasant feeling. While some reviewers felt disappointment at the lack of new locations in '' Episode One'', the entirely new rural environments in '' Episode Two'' were significantly praised by critics. The ''Computer and Video Games'' magazine stated that ''Episode Two'' contained "wonderful art design and the odd bit of technical spit-shine", while IGN praised the "expansive" outdoor environments and "claustrophobic" tunnels featured in White Forest. Fumito Ueda, lead developer for ''
Ico is an action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, released for the PlayStation 2 video game console in 2001 and 2002 in various regions. It was designed and directed by Fumito U ...
'' and ''
Shadow of the Colossus ''Shadow of the Colossus'' is a 2005 action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It takes place in a fantasy setting and follows Wander, a young man who ente ...
'', has stated that ''Half-Life 2'' incorporates a "natural setting", and "the puzzles are incorporated in that natural setting, and the players don't get lost. And that's something we put a lot of effort into for Ico, so I understand what went into that."


References


External links


Locations in the ''Half-Life'' series
at Combine OverWiki, a ''Half-Life'' wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Locations Of Half-Life Half-Life (series) Video game locations
Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...
Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...