Gordon Freeman rides a tram from his dormitory deep into the heart of the Black Mesa Facility, on his way to the Anomalous Materials Lab to begin his work. He arrives at the lab and has the front door opened by a security guard. Inside, Freeman learns that a computer systems failure has complicated communications between the Black Mesa scientists and that he must acquire his Hazardous Environment suit (or H.E.V suit) before proceeding to the test chamber, where he is to assist the more senior scientists with an experiment. Freeman reports to the Anomalous Materials Lab, where he is tasked with pushing a "specimen" into the scanning beam for analysis. Following that, he inadvertently causes a time-space catastrophe called a "resonance cascade,"[16] opening a portal between Earth and a bizarre world called Xen.[17] Freeman is sporadically teleported there and catches glimpses of various alien lifeforms, shortly before blacking out.[17]
Freeman awakens in the ruins of the Anomalous Materials lab and stumbles through the wreckage, strewn with the bodies of scientists and security personnel. After discovering survivors, Freeman learns communications with the outside world are down, and decides to gradually make his way to the surface for help, in the process sidestepping Black Mesa's structural damage and defending himself against hostile aliens randomly teleporting in from Xen. The survivors, including Eli Vance, initially claim that a rescue team will be arriving shortly, only to discover that the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit, which has taken control of Black Mesa, is killing both the aliens and the employees there as part of a government cover-up.[18] Freeman fights the Marines before finally reaching the surface of Black Mesa, where he learns that the secretive Lambda Team may have the means to solve the problems brought on by the cascade. Gordon must then reach the Lambda Complex at the other end of the facility to assist them.[18]
The player is subsequently faced with several tasks, such as killing a giant, rapidly growing tentacle creature,[19] riding across the facility on a railway system in order to reach a satellite rocket that must be launched in order to reverse the resonance cascade[20] and fighting a group of mysterious Black Ops,[21] before being captured by Marines and dumped in a garbage compactor. Gordon escapes without being crushed and makes his way to an older, secret part of the Facility where he discovers an extensive collection of specimens collected from Xen long before the resonance cascade.[22]
Gordon again reaches the surface, which has become a warzone. The Vortigaunts, supported by other alien soldiers, have begun fighting the Marines, who are beginning to lose. They call in reinforcements, but it is not enough to turn the tide.[23] The player must scale cliffs and navigate bombed out buildings while avoiding both sides. Finally, Gordon reaches relative safety underground.[23]
The Marines begin to evacuate Black Mesa and airstrikes begin. At one point, the player must use the military equipment to call an air strike to re-enter the base. Gordon navigates underground water channels and tries to avoid scores of alien soldiers as they pick off remaining Marine stragglers.[24] After much struggle, Gordon finally reaches the Lambda Complex, which is revealed to be the location where scientists developed the teleportation technology that allowed them to travel to Xen in the first place.[25] Gordon reaches the handful of surviving personnel, who are holed up in a small stronghold, and discovers that the satellite he launched failed to reverse the effects of the resonance cascade because an immensely powerful being on the other side of the rift is keeping it open. Gordon must kill this being to prevent the Xen aliens from taking over completely. The scientists activate the teleporter and Gordon is relocated to Xen.[25]
On the strange border world, Gordon encounters many of the alien species[26] that had been brought into Black Mesa, as well as the remains of HEV-wearing researchers that came before him. The player engages in one of the game's few boss-style battles against Gonarch, a giant headcrab with a huge egg sac.[27] After fighting his way through an alien camp, Gordon arrives at a huge alien factory complex, which engineers and builds the Alien Grunt soldiers.[28] After fighting his way through mysterious levitating creatures, he finds a giant portal and enters it.[28]
In a vast cave, Gordon finally confronts the Nihilanth, the creature who was maintaining the rift, and destroys it.[29] As the creature dies, it explodes in a giant green blast that overpowers Gordon's senses. Gordon awakens unarmed in the presence of the G-Man. Both are transported to various locales around Xen, while the G-Man praises Freeman's actions in the border world. The G-Man explains that his "employers", believing that Gordon has "limitless potential", have authorized him to offer Freeman a job. The final teleportation takes the player to the original tram car, which is depicted as flying through space. If the player refuses the job offer, the G-Man teleports him to a location in front of a considerable number of alien enemies, stating, "No regrets, Mr. Freeman," as the screen fades out, saying "Subject Freeman. Status: Acceptance terminated." If the player accepts, by stepping into a portal, he finds himself floating in nothingness and hears the G-Man's voice one last time: "Wisely done, Mr. Freeman. I will see you up ahead." At this point it says "Subject Freeman. Status: Hired. Awaiting assignment." [29]
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