Freeman Pontifex

Freeman Pontifex is the third chapter of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. It details Gordon Freeman's journey through a large zombie infested sawmill to retrieve a vital vehicle, the muscle car. The name refers to the Ancient Roman title for high priest, which literally means "bridge builder".

Walkthrough
Turn right and duck under the barrier, picking up the Pulse Rifle. Welcome to the Ravenholm of Episode 2. If you look at the near left end of the bridge, you'll catch a glimpse of the G-Man. Once Alyx opens the gate head through and down. Punt the carts and cabinet on the right of this room out of the way and drop down the exposed lift shaft. Forwards and down next to the next lift shaft. The rather unsettling noise you can hear is a Poison Zombie laughing to itself. Punt your way through the debris, grab the chair blocking the door and then step back quickly as it will claw its way through. Once its dead walk through and drop down again. Walk over to the lift, unblock the ceiling trapdoor. You may like to kill the Poison Heacrabs below with a grenade here first. Drop down, head left through the door. Alyx should take care of the Zombie here. Keep heading down and turn right.

Two barnacles here will be playing around with supply crates, you need to grab them as they drop to prevent them falling into the pit. Turn around and head towards the door. Use the Grav Gun to grab the barrel beyond into the Barnacles, then quickly set it on fire and step back. Walk through and bear left. More Barnacles will play around with the floor here, carefully edge around them along the verge on the left. Don't turn the fire off here immediately, walk up to it and two Zombies will incinerate themselves. Use the valve and walk through. You can get the Zombine here to run into the flame trap, although it's likely to survive the initial burns. Open the door it was trying to get through, edge forwards and then back as the lights go out. Once you've cleared the Zombies out go back in and pick up the supplies. Head down the stairs.

The Fast Zombie playing around in the skip here can't be easily dealt with a grenade, it'll chuck it out again. Once it's dead break the padlock on the gate and go through, turn left to see a mob of Zombies advancing. Alyx will take care of most of them, save your ammo for ones that get close. Head to the end, crawl left under the pipe. Use the flame trap here by ignoring the Zombies, jumping right over the fence, turning the valve and then firing into the gas from a safe distance. Lots of Zombies come up the stairs, flames and Alyx should deal with them all. Turn it off, head down the stairs and through the door. All the Zombies here you may care to lead back to play in the gas. Head down the corridor and turn right to see some Zombies advancing into some Barnacles. Use the barrel trick here with the Barnacles here again if you like. There's a crate hidden by pipes on the right in the next room. As you come close to the boarded up door at the end, a Zombine will force its way through. Head up the far stairs.

Jump down into the next area. The cargo crate at the far right end has some goodies in and around it. Head forwards from where you dropped down and up the ladder next to sawbladed zombie. Head left onto the roof. Before you even think of dropping down, peel off all corrugated metal you can so that Alyx as free firing lines on the zombies below. Kill all the Zombies and Headcrabs you can see below, and then drop down onto the platform below the hole. This thing is unstable, and will collapse once it's been hit a few times. Take advantage of it as much as you can as the Zombies pour in. Once you go down keep moving, use the Sawblades as much as possible, if you've got rid of the roof Alyx should deal with a lot of them. Once you're done pick up the supplies littering this room and head out through the door in the far right corner.

Duck down underneath the storecase, crawl left. A Crawling Fast Zombie, would you believe, will come at you. It's dark in here so it's easy to miss the two Barnacles at the end here. Jump up the storecase on the right, keep heading around the room until you reach the forklift, watch out for the Poison Headcrab, jump down. Before you activate it put a large object on it, a wooden crate is ideal. Push the button on the forklift, quickly get on. You'll need the object to jump up to the airshaft. Whack it open and crawl through, whack and out.

Forward to the hole, jump down the pipes bit by bit. Head to the edge of the poisonous sludge. Lots of Zombies spawn from the sludge at the end. Don't rely on Alyx to get rid of them all as Sod's Law dictates that she concentrates on the distant normal Zombie and ignores the advancing Zombine. Jump from island to island towards the far end until you reach the verge running around the edge. A group of Zombies will be advancing along the corridor flush to you, try and set the barrel on fire as they pass it to get rid of them. Head to the right end to get into the corridor, watch out for surviving Zombies. Head to the end and climb up, avail yourself of the grenade stash here. Amuse yourself by firing a couple at the still-spawning Zombies in the sludge, and then duck right under the pipe into the next area.

Turn left. A Poison Zombe will appear at the far end of the sludge and with admirable strength and aim lob a headcrab right at you. Use the Magnum to take it down. Carefully make your way to the diagonal pipes and up to the supply crate at the top. You'll need to use the big wooden top things floating in the sludge here to build safe paths in this section. Use one now to get to the next island, jump onto the first car and then the second. The second will begin to sink so quickly grab a wooden top, position it in front of you, jump on and then onto the next island. You will need two wooden tops to reach the next bit of land successfully. As soon as you do Zombies will spawn nearby. Concentrate your fire on the Zombine. Wooden tops to the next island, more Zombies. There's a supply crate on a island far out on your right, grav gun it over. Use the wooden top again to trip over to the concrete steps and ladder and away from this wretched place.

There's supplies (plenty of Magnum ammo), a Zombine and a Fast Zombie in and around the two storey shack to your right. Once you're done, head left up the slope to the bridge. As you get onto it, the Portal Storm will make your life that bit more difficult. Head left onto the catwalk, right up the ladder and then carefully jump onto the broken section of the bridge. You now need to punt about five of the cars here off the edge. Once you do the bridge will settle in a different shape. Head to the Muscle Car end, jump down onto the concrete support and then around again and finally start up the car. Jump across to the broken section. Turbo across the far end. Get out, avail yourself of the supplies and head left up the ladder. Press the button to let Alyx and the Vort through. Once they're done babbling about how great you and the car are, get in with Alyx, the Vort will open the gate, drive through and you're done.