Raising The Bar : Redux storyline

This article describes the Raising The Bar : Redux storyline, chapter by chapter.

***As of January 2024. RTB:R's story concludes at the end of Chapter 5.***

## Chapter 1: Vector Error

"*Climb aboard, Mr. Freeman. Its time to wake up.*"
―The G-Man
Nearly twenty years after the Black Mesa Incident, the G-Man wakes Gordon Freeman from stasis and inserts him into a train arriving in City 17, a city located somewhere in on the east coast of the USA under the control of the Combine Empire.

After leaving the train, Gordon and the other passengers are welcomed by a broadcast by Dr. Wallace Breen, former administrator of Black Mesa, and now the Counsil of Earth. Continuing on his way, Gordon meets armed Civil Protection officers policing the train station and its surroundings. After being set upon by a group of Civil Protection officers, Gordon wakes up in a cell before being escorted into a small interrogation room by another officer - revealing himself to be former Black Mesa security guard Barney Calhoun, who is operating undercover for the Resistance.

Barney hurries Gordon to where Dr.Kleiner, an old asocciate of Gordon is currently - Once arriving at Kleiner's lab, Gordon is given a H.E.V suit where he is to be teleported to Kraken Base, something that Barney disagrees with, a malfunction in the teleporter causes it to destroy itself, knocking Kleiner out as Combine forces are put on full alert.

Following the failed teleport sequence, Gordon's only option is to go on foot through the old Canals, with Civil Protection officers in hot pursuit. Before starting his journey, Gordon is given his iconic Crowbar by Barney.

#### Differences between HL2 and RTBR

* Half-Life 2's City 17 is set within an eastern european city where as RTB:R's City 17 is set within a city somewhere on the US's East Coast

## Chapter 5: Necropolis March

"*Have you not heard that Ravenholm has been claimed by the dead!*"
―Father Grigori
Gordon journeys through the tunnel to the ghost town of Ravenholm after bidding farewell to Alyx. Originally a hidden lakeside village that lived free from the rule of the Combine, it was discovered by the Combine and attacked by hundreds of Headcrab Shells, thus transforming almost the entire population into deadly Zombies.

This chapter focuses mostly on allowing players to use the Physics cannon much more liberally as an offensive tool whilst still having plenty of ammo for conventional weapons. Freeman kills Zombies and avoids bizarre deathtraps, meeting the man who set them, Father Grigori, who gives Gordon a shotgun. Freeman and Grigori make their way to an old mine via an elevator in a cemetary, Grigori gives Freeman his rifle "Annabelle" to help fend off the oncoming horde of zombies before bidding farewell.

Near the end, Gordon makes his way through the mines, encountering headcrab zombies and combine overwatch soldiers before driving a makeshift digger into a Gonarch to exit.

Differences between HL2 and RTBR

* Ravenholm is set nearby a body of water (although smaller compared to Beta Builds of Ravenholm), a blocked off tunnel is also present.
* The mines are much more complex compared to retail HL2's mines, this chapter also introduces the cut Digger vehicle.