Chapter 8: Sandtraps

This first part of the level is more or less straightforward as far as where to go. It’s not easy getting lost because you’ll be following a road (Highway 17) for quite some time. Because of this, when I say to get back in the buggy, that just means to keep driving in the direction you were originally heading in (i.e. forward).

As you drive along, you’ll soon see an overturned truck on your left. Swerve to the right to avoid it, but plow into the zombie that walks around it. If intentional manslaughter doesn’t kill the bugger (or isn’t your cup of tea), shoot it with your tau cannon or just drive on. Shortly thereafter, you’ll come upon a long of dead vehicles blocking your path 1. On the right there’s a little out cove and a small room. You’ll be able to see a window to the room as well as a door, but the door is locked. Go to the out cove and climb through the little vent-like opening in the floor. There are two headcrabs in here as well as supplies. Once inside you’ll have woken up the hiding zombies. Go back out the way you came in and start blasting. There are a good number of them, including some fast zombies. It may help to get back into the buggy so you can fend them off with the tau cannon. Once you’ve splattered all of the zombies, clear the path with your gravity gun and start driving again.

Shortly after you emerge out of the tunnel, you’ll encounter a small road block: two dead vehicles and some crates will be blocking the path 2. If you’re careful, you’ll be able to simply plow through all this. However, if you want to be more cautious, drive past it slowly, nudging things out of the way with the buggy. Conversely, you can dismount from the buggy and push everything to the side with the gravity gun.

Further up the road is a large house off to the right 3. Drive over there, and blast down the fence with the tau cannon: two combine will be on the other side so be alert and shoot them quickly. If you want supplies, get out and go around to the side of the house that faces the coast. There’s a big gaping hole in the side of the house you can enter through. Comb the each floor, collecting supplies as you do so. Stay alert, however. When you reach the top floor, roller mines fall through the roof. Use the gravity gun to shoot them out the windows. Not to state the obvious or anything, but don’t let the roller mines get too close: it’ll hurt like hell. Though, if you do, you’ll feel the electricity between you and the mine.

Get back in the buggy and therefore back on the road (look for the small dirt ramp in the bend that leads back to the road). As you drive on, you’ll see a combine outpost: they took over a civilian’s home and garage then erected a big wall and roadblock. Up on the right part of the combine wall, you’ll see a combine standing there. It’ll start shooting at you, so shoot him back. Charge up the tau cannon and shoot the punk in the face. When you approach the first roadblock (a piece of wood extended over the road that you can drive through), two wedges pop up from the road along with two roller mines 4. You’ll most likely flip over when you hit the wedges because of your speed, but the only way to avoid happening then is to get out before hand (you’ll see them in the road before they pop up). Although, be advised that even after you kill the combine the wedges will still pop up, and they’re a pain in the butt to get around.

It would be well advised that if you stop before the outpost to throw the two roller mines towards the water with the gravity gun before you tend to the combine as these will be a pain in your rear end, literally. There are combine in the house on the left, near the garage on the right, and one will appear behind you that was hiding in the barricade. Kill them all and grab the supplies. There’s also a charger unit in the wall. Get back in the buggy and continue forward, paying attention to the road block at the other end of the outpost, again with a piece of wood across the road and two wedges, which will again pop up no matter what. Notice: If the buggy should flip over for any reason, don’t fret: remember that you can flip it back with the gravity gun.

At the next section, there’s a big roadblock. On the right side is a little hill; drive over it and go to the left. Get out and run inside the house. Two drop ships will be arriving. One will drop roller balls into the street and the other lets out some combine. Kill them 5 then throw the roller balls into the ocean. Now you need to open the gate 6. You have to find two car batteries and place them into the opener that’s inside the house 7. There’s one already in there on the bed frame. Pick it up and place it onto one of the power conduits. Several more are laying about the place. One is under the hood of the dead car next to the house; another is up the windmill; and the final one is under the overturned bathtub next to the gypsy wagon. If you happen to lose one (say, throw it into the ocean) another will magically reappear. Try it! It’s really fun! (Okay, maybe not. It is funny, though.)

Now hop back into the buggy and get a move on. Eventually you’ll come to a small town-like place with a bunch of buildings. You’ll be directed by a member of the resistance to drive your buggy into a garage on your right 8. At this point, you have virtually no time to do anything productive, but make sure you save. This is imperative. Once you exit the garage, that same civilian will approach you and speak; his speech in a nutshell is that you’ve got to help them fight off the combine that are coming. Several drop ships will arrive one at a time; they’ll land and offload four or five combine. Keep out of sight when the ship arrives because it will shoot at you 9. The biggest house has a porch on it; there is a crate of MP-7 ammunition here and inside are other supplies.

After you kill all the combine from every ship (the civilians will point out where they’re landing), a gunship comes on the scene. Race to the lighthouse (can’t miss it) and climb to the top 10. There you’ll find a crate of rockets. Go to the topmost portion (where the actual light is) and destroy the gunship. There are other supplies in crates on different floors of the lighthouse. If you still need more after collecting these, return to the town and search the buildings to see if you left any during the fight. Now a resistance member will lead you to the basement of the lighthouse. He explains where you have to go and then opens a secret door 11. Exit here and carefully follow the ridge. After the first jump, look up: a combine will appear and shoot at you 12. Kill him then continue on. At the next rock, if you look to your right, you’ll see a drop ship flying off with your buggy 13.

Press on forward. You’ll soon encounter a sandy opening to the left (after the load spot) with two guys. Do not step on the sand. The guy on the rocks will tell you this. But the one laying down moves and causes antlions to pop out of the ground 14. Kill them then follow the rocks on your left. But before you do, collect the supplies in the middle of the sand; use your gravity gun to do so. At this point, a favorite kids’ game takes place, called "the ground is made of lava” or "don’t touch the ground” or etc. If you touch the sand, antlions will spawn and start beating you up. Be sure to save often! From here on, it’s a little difficult describing your path with words, but it’s obvious where to go. As you start hopping on the small rocks between the outcropping of the mountain, you’ll see a little cave to your left 15.

Make your way back there using the debris on the ground, placing one object in front then walking on it and taking the second and putting it front and so forth. It’s time consuming, but it’s your only choice. Go back the way you came and continue to the left. You’ll have to make several difficult jumps to small, yet tall, boulders. Next you’ll reach an opening. To the left is another cave with supplies 16. Back here, an antlion will be waiting above ground. Kill it and gather the supplies, pulling them towards you with the gravity gun. Return to where you were. There are several rocks in the middle of the sandy opening; one has wood pylons on it. Climb these to the top of the next rock. A wooden seesaw-type contraption is here 17. At one end is a large wooden crate. Pull it towards you and place it on the end nearest you before jumping down. Note: It is possible to fall to the sand through the gaps in the crossed wooden planks. You’ll need another large object to keep the seesaw balanced so you can climb to the next rock outcropping. There’s another crate on the sand next to the rock you were just on. Stack it on top of the first and move on.

At this juncture, you’ll have two options. To the right are lots of supplies 18. Some are lying on a broken dock and the rest are on the ground. Included in this arsenal are shotgun shells and .357 magnum bullets. However, it is difficult to return to safety, and you must use debris to stand on. To the left is the path to continue on. If you need supplies, continue reading this paragraph; if not, skip to the next one. When you’re on the dock, bust all the crates for supplies and go into the little shack. Toss an object to the ground and carefully jump down to it. Using debris scattered on the beach as previously stated, make your way to the little boat where more supplies are. Gather these and face the water. Now turn around 180-degrees: in a vaguely right-hand direction, you should see a ramp/hill made of rock. Use the debris on the ground to get to this location. Now you’re back to safety. Look for the path and follow it.

On this rock outcrop is a bunch of useless debris, but also a long pair of boards bound together. You need this. Moving to one end, pick it up with the gravity gun and bridge the gap with it to the next rock outcrop 19. There are supplies in this shed. Take the board, bring it inside the shed, and climb to the roof. Jump from the roof to the higher rocks to find more supplies. Go back to the ground and get the board again. Walk down the decrepit dock with it and lean it to the higher dock at such an angle so as to allow you to climb up it 20. Here are more supplies, both in the shack and at the end of the dock. Grab the board and place it to the next outcrop (straight ahead from where you first climbed up). Behind the bombed-out house is a generator 21. Turn it on and it will activate a thumper. Return to the front of the house. Facing out to sea, you’ll see a large rock 22. Use the board to reach it; there are more supplies on it. Return to the beach and use the debris scattered across it to walk to the thumper 23. This will keep antlions from appearing. Conversely, you can sprint to it, but it’s not recommended. Once in the radius of the thumper, head to the right (when facing it). There are some stairs made out of rocks. Hop up these to the top. Carefully climb down the next set of rocks, but save before you reach the sand 24. Prepare for the hardest fight as of yet.

Drop to the sand and wait a moment. An antlion guard will burst through the sand. This bigger, more bad-ass version of the antlions is much harder to kill. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving and shooting. You need to kill it as fast as possible. If you still have rockets, launch them at the antlion guard. Next, sprint past it to the other end of the beach. There is a resistance base here; a sentry is posted above the entrance and has a mounted pulse rifle. He’ll help you kill the antlion guard. Once the antlion guard is dead, you’ll have a moment to gather the scattered supplies before a vortigaunt appears 25. He talks to you for a bit and gives you the pheropod, a.k.a. "bug bait” 26. Follow him inside. He’ll lead you to a little pit (look for supplies on the way) then teach you how to use the bug bait 27. After the lesson, you’ll leave the outpost followed by two antlions.

Back out in the open, more antlions appear. These will not hurt you. Only four will ever be following you at a time, but like before they never stop spawning, except this time they’re on your side. Approach the three thumpers 28 and shut them off by climbing the ladder and pushing the button 29. This will allow the antlions to follow you. Now you’ll be on open beach. This won’t be your typical summer vacation down the shore. To the left up the beach are several combine bunkers. These have mounted guns that will shoot you, and combine are scattered around the beach on foot 30. Use the antlions to help kill them as you traverse the beach. Do not attempt to unnecessarily kill the combine in the bunkers; it isn’t worth the risk. Instead, stay near the water and let the antlions do the work for you.

Shortly after walking down the open beach, you’ll come across another thumper. Sprint up the ladder, shut it off, and then sprint back down to safety. A bunker is there and the combine gunner will start shooting you. Sprint towards it after you lob the bug bait in that direction so the antlions will go there too. Kill the combine and go into the bunker. Shut off the alarm (button is on the left) and arm the mounted gun 31. Several combine will appear from the left: turn them all into Swiss cheese. Walk back down the beach and continue on. Eventually you’ll get to a point where a log looks like it’s blocking the path 32. It isn’t, though it is a marker. There will be combine here and in front of you are more bunkers, but these are up on a cliff face. Once the combine are dead, run to the left (when facing this log marker). Up the hill, there will be three combine in the bunker. Kill them and any others in the area. To the right are a small concrete pit and a door in the cliff 33.

Inside the cliff, two manhacks will appear. Kill them and go through the next door. Let the antlions through to attack the combine. Wait a few seconds then shoot the explosive barrels that are lying about, careful not to get near one when it explodes. If you go straight through the door, eventually there will be a small vent-like opening in the floor that has a barrel in it. After you make sure all the combine are dead, remove the barrel and enter the little chamber. Supplies are in here. Exit the cave (but not the way you came in). Now you can reach the bunkers you saw from the shore 34. Make your way to them and kill the combine inside. Keep going until you reach the end of the bunker. Go out, but when you see combine running from the right, go back in and man the gun mounted closest to the door (lob the bug bait in that direction first). Lots of combine will appear so use the mounted gun to kill them to save ammunition 35.

Further along the path is a small gap in the rocks with a log sticking out 36. Sprint across this then jump at the last second to get across (it’s recommended you save first). To the right (the only way you can go) is a small cave with a fire built in the middle. Two zombies are "sleeping” next to a wall. Shoot the gas can next to them and then the two boards. This will drop a wooden ramp on them 37. Wait for the fire to die then climb it. As you walk around the mountain on the ridge, a man-made object will appear. The object is two large pipes, possibly part of the Nova Prospekt prison’s drainage system 38. Either way, you have to climb up the ladder to the platform above. There are combine here so you need to kill them. It is recommended not to use the crossbow if at all possible because it’ll be more useful later on.

Jump from the catwalk to the next rock ridge, but save first. Sometimes an antlion will fly up in front of you just as you jump, causing you to fall to the ground 39. (It’s coming to help you, but doesn’t know any better. If you have good reflexes, you can shoot it while both you and it are in the air). Gather the supplies and move on. Like in most places, the path forward is obvious, though look for rocks on the left that form crude stairs and climb them 40. At the top is a big pipe with a fast zombie in it. Sometimes you can dodge it just as it leaps at you, and it will fall to the shore below. If you’re uncomfortable doing this, a double-tap from your shotgun will dispatch it nicely. Or you can just stand aside and let the antlions eat it.

At the first junction in the pipe, look up. There’s a grate in the ceiling that you’ll be able to see a guard tower through 41. Use the crossbow and kill the combine on it (save after every shot in case you miss; you’ll need every bolt). The next junction is the same, a grate that you can see a guard tower from, but you can’t see the last tower from the third junction. The pipe ends in a pool of water. Climb out and move around the pool to the right. Staying out of sight, use the crossbow to kill the last three combine. With luck, the antlions won’t fly out and alert the combine, causing them to set off an alarm.

As you walk around the open grounds to the left, there will be some stairs. Climb them and kill the two combine at the top that are chilling under an overhang. They will launch a flare to call in a gunship: this is unavoidable. Stay on your toes, save often, and move fast, gathering scattered supplies on your way; the gunship arrives quickly. At the first corner are two combine in a shack. Inside it are both a health charger and a suit charger 42. Use these if necessary, but if you can, hold off until everything outside is dead. If you keep moving, you’ll climb more stairs where there will be a crate with rockets. There are also more buildings with mounted guns and combine. The antlions, at this point, go on their own, more or less, to help kill the combine. There are several explosive barrels strewn around so stay away from them. Kill the gunship as quickly as you can; another will be called in whether or not the first is dead and then you’ll really be in trouble.

The last gunship will blast a hole in the wall of the prison 43. Climb in and use the red valves to shut off the gas that is fueling the fires in front of you 44. The antlions can’t follow you at this point. In the next section are some supplies and a door 45.

Congratulations on surviving the Sandtraps.

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