BIG CITY Key locations in City 17
TRAIN STATION
Freeman arrives in City 17 by train,
meeting oppressed citizens and
enslaved Vortigaunts, all watched over
by the ever-present digitised mug of
Wallace Breen, the human face of the
Combine invasion force.CITY SQUARE
Emerging from the train station,
Freeman gets his first glimpse of the
Citadel, the sinister headquarters of
the Combine. The city’s distinctive
Eastern European architecture is
especially prominent here too.CITADEL
Freeman eventually makes his way
into the Citadel, confronting Breen
and his alien lackeys. Inside we see the
Combine forces being created,
including a production line of War of
the Worlds-inspired Striders.SECRET LAB
One of the few safe places in City 17.
Here Freeman is reunited with Isaac
Kleiner, a colleague from Black Mesa.
And if you pay attention you’ll learn a
bit more about how the Combine
conquered Earth.VALVE UNDERSTANDS THE POWER OF
HOLDING BACK, THAT LESS IS MORE,
WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT ELUDES
MANY DEVELOPERS EVEN NOW