Station 51

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

23rd May 2012

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

You receive a radio message about an impending attack.

Follow the instructions and save yourself.

Stay alert and don’t dawdle!

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This release has been updated and extended: Station 51: Updated and Extended. I have decided to create a new post for it, so there is no confusion. The name Update and Extended is unofficial and mine to help users understand the difference.

Basic Details
  • Title: Station 51
  • File Name: hl2-ep2-sp-station-51.7z
  • Size : 7.04MB
  • Author: Sam Combs
  • Date Released: 22 May 2012
MapTap Users

Download directly into MapTap [7MB]

You MUST have MapTap installed before using this link.

Download Options

Download to your HDD [7MB]

Manual Installation Instructions
  • Copy station51.bsp into your Half-Life 2: Episode Two Maps folder.
  • Launch Half-Life 2: Episode Two
  • Open the console and type map station51.
  • Press enter/return or click the Submit button.
  • Play and Enjoy.

If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.

Panoramic View

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Please Note: Panoramic images only are available in full screen mode. You can either open one by clicking the image link above or by saving it to your computer and then opening it locally.

How to use: Once the image is open and your cursor is on the image, press and hold your left mouse button and move around the image. Use your mouse wheel to scroll in and out of the panoramic image.

Videos

The playthrough below is provided by Podcast 17 Let’s Play. See more of the playthroughs on this site: VP: Podcast 17

The playthrough below is provided by Podcast 17 Let’s Play. See more of his playthroughs on this site: VP: Custom Gamer

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!

30 recommendations, average score: 4.9 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.09 (what's that?)
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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 6 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 6 Users

Time Taken:
Average: 0 Hours, 50 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 17 Mins by JellyBeanDude27
Longest: 1 Hours, 30 Mins by slurm23
Total Time Played: 4 Hours, 59 Mins
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Phillip says Play It!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Personal FavouritePlay It Now!Play It Now!Personal FavouritePersonal FavouritePersonal FavouritePlay It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It Now!Play It LaterPersonal FavouritePlay It LaterPlay It Now!Play It Now!Play It LaterPersonal FavouritePersonal FavouritePlay It Now!

47 Comments

  1. Phillip says Play It!

    Definitely enjoyed playing this one. I had lots of fun exploring and looking for areas I wasn’t supposed to get to.

    The views are great and although it feels a little high for a factory the layout and design seemed highly detailed.

    I felt the Combine soldiers attacked to obviously at times but nothing that annoyed me.

    In general this is a great piece of work and highly recommended, especially through MapTap which makes installing and playing a breeze.

  2. Play It Now!

    The gameplay was fun, the layouts were very well designed. The visuals are enjoyable and very consistent.

    My only complaints are that the ladder at the helicopter battle didn’t quite seem to work properly and having to fight the combine during the helicopter battle was maybe a bit too much as I couldn’t really concentrate on hiding from the helicopter’s fire while shooting at the combine simultaneously. These are pretty small complaints, however.

    This is very close to a PF in my opinion. If the mapper does decide to continue this, I probably will give it a PF.

    Highly recommended map.

    1. no better recommendation than a play it now from miigga …. you know when you see a excellent peice of work like “STATION 51” that you have a up and coming modder/mapper… and much like most things in life “theres people who are good and theres people who are better …. sam looks like one of those guys …. any future maps in the pipeline miigga ( from one of your best fans )

    2. Hec

      I’d love to see and play as a gamer a joint venture work between Migga and Sam Cobs, that would be really great, halucinating, I can only imagine….

  3. Play It Now!

    We start in a beautifully designed house, there’s a nice view in the window. Someone from Station 53 alerts us through the radio that enemies are going to attack our station 51, so we are going to introduce them to our pistol and grenades which we grab from the nearby crate.

    The design is very detailed and atmospheric. In the forest there is a cool structure which consists of various buildings. Industrial plant and some town are in the distance.

    The combat is very well balanced. It’s challenging but never gets too hard. We find more weapons soon. Layout includes bridges which make it 3-dimensional. Sometimes an enemy appears on a bridge. Fun opportunity of spending remaining rockets on combines once we destroyed an aircraft is also present here.

    This map is definitely great. The places that we visit are very atmospheric and detailed. The design and gameplay offer great variety and fun. This map doesn’t disappoint in any way, so you can safely play it now.

  4. Play It Now!

    This is certainly among the best maps here on PP this year, it looks good and plays well and most importantly is fun!

    There is a good mix of indoor and outdoor areas, with the lighting fitting well for each environment. The combat is balanced quite nicely, even in the helicopter/combine battle.

    [spoiler]If you are prepared to take some damage in the helicopter/combine battle, use the rocket launcher while standing next to the rocket crate. The helicopter only needs about 3 hits but drops behind the buildings quite a lot, so you can use that the time to blast the combine with it.[/spoiler]

    From the playing view, this is one where length really doesn’t matter, what there is, is well executed although bit’s, such as the barnacle’s left me thinking did they really need to be there?

    At the end it says “To be continued”, I hope the next part will arrive sooner rather than later.

    1. Think so Bolx, the idea being that as you jumped off the ledge and were surprised by the hidden zombies, if you weren’t careful you’d naturally recoil into the barnacles. Or the other way around, maybe! Tricky…

  5. Play It Now!

    This is a very well-made map.

    The Combat was really nice and I liked it very much.

    The details were just amazing.

    Say no more, Play it now!

  6. Play It Now!

    a excellent map… infact I would go as far to say one of the best maps ive played over the last year…. the map was extremely well made with no visible errors and good placement of weapons and npc,s
    if I had to be critical I would say there was too many zombies mid way through the map.. I would of also like to of seen a puzzle thrown in ( such as to open a door ) .. however some maps dont work well with puzzles and this may be one of those
    the lighting was excellent in this map… and it made station 51 a joy to play……
    station 51 if you remember has been mentioned in other mods….. and is actually a known area of the hl2 world …so its good to see someone has given us a idea of what the place looks like
    its also good to see that sam is planning on continuing this map… maybe into a full mod… if so I will be downloading it as soon as its released
    in summary “station 51” deserves a “PIN” and comes very close to a personal favourite… however since maps are generally short in length its hard to give them PF,s
    I look forward to more of sams work… well done mate !

  7. Play It Now!

    Great map. The map design & layout look good and fun to explore. I really like the idea of being on a tall building, it reminds my of Mirrors Edge.

  8. Play It Now!

    Hmm… bit torn on this.

    Looks great! Mapping is top notch as is the level of detail and the level design.
    Top marks!

    It’s fun to play… no doubt there but…

    The gameplay is a little lacking however.
    It’s very easy, the combine aren’t very dynamic when they assualt. They all tend to run to the same spot. Not sure how you are controlling them but recommend you look at rally points etc..

    The chopper battle was very easy. I would have put the player through much more of hiding and scooting here to reach the rocket launcher. You walk in and it’s right there.. no effort required… you do have to move to get to the ammo but it’s not that tough to reach.

    the latter parts of the map seemed to be very large areas that were a bit wasted… only a few bad guys and not much going on.

    Would have liked a few puzzles too…

    Still, well worth playing is fun and looks great!

    Recommend you push this up to the hardest difficulty though to get the most out of it.

    Cheers

    Aaz

  9. Play It Now!

    Fun map, a bit challenging, but I suppose that’s a pro more than a con.

    Plenty of detail and it actually ran pretty nicely so I’m impressed.

    Could have used a little more enemy variety, but what was used was used well.

  10. Hec
    Play It Now!

    Mine is the 10th review recommendation and is definitely a Play It Now!!, why, well, this map gave me good fun time, and is handful of combat so is really dynamic and allways maintain you busy.

    It feels a little bit better than the lasts maps of Migga, why I get Migga into this review? well, because his maps allways are a reference and I felt this map tough it didn’t have any puzzles, I felt it right because of that great, because this map, is really sticked to the old pure combat and keep forward style, and I like it, is really really good for me at least, to get away from the puzzles only for a bit.

    The atmosphere is great, very industrial and into the HL2 universe, and I also liked because I think it was kind of like a CSS map, I think the modder maybe also mapped for CSS, but I don’t know, and well I loved that, for some reasons CSS maps are most of the times lovely when you play them in HL2 that’s for sure.

    The plot story is sweet and simple, lovely voiced acted, and that’s also another touch of cleverness in this job.

    So go on and play it, and please MR developer give us more!!!

    1. Ade

      CSS or sumthin else multiplayer, like HL2: DM, as the chunk of walls meeting at 90 degrees in the middle of an open area (see screenshot 19) proves it – had no reason to be there but it felt familiar to me and to any other mp player out there, I’m sure, and added a lil extra to that small fight.

  11. ikar

    in general it’s a very good card – play it now!

    – The balance between the light-darkness as 2 to 3 (open space – underground) is somewhat biased towards to the dark (this is my idee fixe, I do not like dark maps I prefer 3:2 or 3:1)
    – Flashlight does not illuminate objects in the dark
    – very sorry for the rebels[spoiler] – author killing them all the time before the player has time to reach them,
    I was glad that now to be short and fierce battle with a brothers in arms but … [/spoiler]
    – I hope that the author raise to the level of maps (yes maps or a mod) to the level Mission Improbable ->
    shift the balance toward the light (open) spaces, to release a sequel, fix minor bugs

    – Me do not have enough subtitles, I bad accept English by ear, have to listen a couple of times to catch all the nuances in message on the radio – but that’s my problem (and maybe other not english speakers)

    We demand the continuation of the banquet! please?

    1. You can save the rebels quite easily – hunters greatly dislike RPG rounds fired up their rear exhaust port; they make a peculiar squeal & die. Oddly enough, the rebels don’t seem very bothered either way…

  12. Play It Now!

    Probably one of the best mods I’ve seem in a long time.I did think it was a bit to easy with the amount of ammo around thou.I really liked that taking out the chopper was realistic rather than the usual 12-15 rockets like in other maps.

    I did a playthrough of it.

  13. Personal Favourite

    I have no hesitation in giving Sam’s excellent map a P.F. as it’s a real “old school” proper HL2 map, with pretty much everything included in it, except Alyx, the Vorts & the buggy (so no real loss there, then). Arty modders, please take note of the above reviews, especially from very accomplished mappers such as Miigga. This is what we prefer! There’s exploration (not too linear, good for inquisitive players), much combine blasting, some running away, surprises (nasty, of course) and plenty of zombie mashing – Hurrah! No suitless, weapons blundering about in the dark tripping over crap, whacky flashing colour schemes or walking on the ceiling; this is the real deal, and it functions very well too.

    Eventually, you acquire nearly everything (no AR2) & finish with the RPG for maximum satisfaction, and if, like me, you showed a little restraint with it on discovery, then the abseiling combine are in for an unpleasant surprise. Turns out that they don’t like it up ” em, no SAH! Also, (finally!) a more realistic strength chopper. The only disappointment was not being able to use the sniper rifle, what a rotten tease, and yes, the combine did all follow each other like sheep into ” death corner” (thanks, shotgun) but personally, I enjoyed that immensely!

    Very nicely designed and executed though, no glitches, stutters or crashes and above all, it’s great fun to play. Definitely one of the top offerings this year, for me – full marks to you Sam! I’m sure I won’t be the only one eagerly awaiting the next instalment…

  14. Ade
    Play It Now!

    As the mod description hints, it’s more of a run and gun map, which is actually my fav type, being an mp lover and all. And that’s how I feel it should be played for best feel, for more than 1 reason.
    If you take the time and hide and crouch behind doorways, yea it might seem like an easy mod (and here we can all agree that the AI needs more work) but if you run, the combine will come right behind you and samwich you from all sorts of places. Also, this way you’ll have no time to notice some small fps and lighting issues (despite being bit dark even for my own taste, also there’s a number of odd shadows and weird spots of cast light here and there) which are hard to be ignored by the non casual gamer, like let’s say a tester or a mapper.
    Cus that’s how I tended to start the map, as I tried a long jump right in the first area and hit an invisible wall and fell to my death. And said to myself ok just enjoy it and stop looking for bugs and things to improve, which I.. mostly did. 2 times. Mainly because I watched William’s playthrough and noticed I totally missed the xbow in my runnin’, but I was going to replay it anywayz, I knew that when I noticed the multiplayer elements in it, as this to me screamed replayability and this feature I feel it was somewhat lost, somewhere between my crossing from hl1 mods to hl2. I SELDOM replay anything, specially tiny maps, which means this particular map is THAT good!
    I mentioned mp elements and here’s why: one of them I already explained in a reply to Hec, so read up; there’s also the leveled architecture and the fighting. The way the outdoor is structured/layered so that going down, level by level (the area depicted in the panoramic image is the best example for this as it has levels of same default doorwayish height), does not do fall damage, is very common in mp maps, for instance. And the swarm of enemies that I know some would’ve liked less of and better placed strategically was really ok for me and not at all a cheap way of increasing difficulty, because of the layout and multiple pathfinding they had to accomplish. At least on my first playthrough, cus I went for a wait in a safe spot approach the 2nd time just to see how it plays out and that’s how I experienced what everyone was talking about, sadly. And besides the AI enhancement, I think there’s always room for improvement, for instance I’d like to see the weapon switch skill being put to the test, meaning different situations having required different weapons and the transition being faster than usual, just to separate the casual gamer from, well, the rest. If that means giving the player more weapons, then by all means! Even though I know some of you might disagree on this. But I remember a time when I used to replay a section over and over using different tactics just to get the most out of my inventory (weps, ammo, health and suit), to see what was more effective, and not just to increase my overall health just because I knew what was about to happen on the 2nd quick load.. And again, this requires massive AI improvement and scripting and of course lots of betatesting. This is small scale replayability and I miss it. Sorry for my ranting about it here on this particular map but I usually do this when I see great potential. Moving on!
    I usually rate down a notch for non puzzle mods but really don’t feel like it in this case. I just had too much fun playing it, talking to myself or the enemies, it’s so engaging so often. Don’t think there’s any easter eggs, I found a sniper rifle but too bad I couldn’t use it. There’s also a pretty well hidden (in plain sight) crate that I noticed William nor andyb saw it and admittedly neither did I on my first play, and I guess that’s good enough for me! I guess puzzles really don’t necessarily make a good map/mod.. It’s how you feel while playing it and after, I mean heck after finishing it I woke up with a big smile on my face that was there for a pretty long time so..
    Now for the level design. There’s no need to say this, but I will say it anywayz.. It’s amazing. And there’s only a few maps/mods out there that can really be described as such. Architecture well thought out and prolly inspired by a real place, nothing is out of place or overlooked, nothing is for nothing, everything has an actual real meaning and purpose for being there in the first place, at least that’s how it felt to me. Like the loading areas for goods, it actually reminded me of a real place that I know! The attention to detail is, again, amazing and it has that believable feel to it right from the first room(s). Like in the radio room there’s a bed, book next to it, then suitcase and boots. Next is the kitchen, there’s a lil gas thingy next to the fkn oven, and a boiler, and a dining table, I mean c`mon! 😀
    I also need to mention this as I haven’t read it in any of the reviews (why so few? oh it was released only 4 days ago!) so far but I have seen it in a few other mods, and that is: the view of what is yet to come. I really love this aspect, it’s what drove me faster and further, like I was a kid at an amusement park and while being on a fun ride I kept noticing new, interesting, alluring rides and went running from one to the next. That, of course, while going “don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” at the chopper or “oh, no.. you’re not throwin that nade at me!” at some combine.
    I did have one complaint, tho. At some point I went “wow a ggun..” I mean it was bad weapon placement for a non Gordon Freeman character and it also made the upcoming part really predictable if a saw blade was given as well. Also, the sudden change of enemies and atmosphere (which could’ve been better hinted by some music or better environmental sounds or both, instead of just plain DARKER and murkier) made it look like the 2 sections were pasted together. But as I finished the zombie areas and got outside again, overlooking a previous combine area, it kind of made sense again, and for the nth time proved a really smart way of using the space, in this case, for an alternate area with an alternate feel to it. I honestly could’ve done without it and since I rarely play maps I was expecting a short sudden end around a lot of corners.
    Pleasantly surprised to enter another open area to meet up with combine again and a joy to have found the airboat, which to all our disappointment we didn’t get to ride it much.
    To be continued? Yes, please!
    I pondered a lot on whether to give it a PF or a PIN but I just can’t overlook the tiny fps and lighting and of course AI issues, which, like I said before, can all be overlooked in a run and gun play through but as a tester and a perfectionist I fall, for now, into the PIN category like most and beg of the mapper to continue working on it, giving it a proper ending and releasing this lil gem. It’s got really nice examples that mappers (and I mean mappers, not modders) should follow and I’m sure I haven’t mentioned them all. It’s a fine and memorable contribution to the sp maps and mods vault, for mappers and gamers of all sorts.

    1. Ade

      Loving my new recommendation image, PP, thanks!
      I wanted to add that the panoramic image confused me and I was actually looking for crates on top of that roof. I’m guessing you add those custom crates to all panoramas?

      1. Yes, because some people steal them and don’t credit me, so I add those to help identify PP.

  15. Play It Now!

    I haven’t played a source mod in a few months and this was a good map to return with. Had lots of fun running through it a couple of times and totally hope it’s to be continued.

  16. Personal Favourite

    This was a highly enjoyable map with a really nice visual look to it. I especially liked being so high up and the surprise I got when I thought the map was going to end. Highly recommended and I will definitely play it again

  17. Personal Favourite

    What can I say that hasnt already been said? The maps are well designed with lots of detail…beautiful open areas in many places which takes away some of the linerarity, but not too much so the player never gets lost. As Phillip mentions “it is fun exploring and looking for areas I wasn’t supposed to get to.” In other words, there doesnt seem to be invisible walls here. It seems that if a player can figure out a different way to get from A to B…then the player just found a different way to get from A to B.

    Visually pleasing with some “wow” moments, and just as important is the pleasing audio ambience which really brings it to life.

    I dont see maps of this quality very often. I havent had a chance to go through it a second time, but I am guessing there may be some secrets I missed. As I just mentioned, there are defenatly routing exploits to be had. This kind of map has replay value all over it.

    At the end [spoiler] where your in the airboat and it says “to be continued?”, I say “YES, OF COURSE! Don’t end the game when we just got to the best part, a vehicle section!”[/spoiler]

    All in all a fanatstic map which I highly recommend. 🙂

  18. Personal Favourite

    “TO BE CONTINUED?”

    Arg! Of all the amazing maps to be shorter than I expected, this one… oh how this should be continued!

    The pacing was excellent, and the venues were all just wonderful. All the fights were quite brief, including the helicopter battle, I think one of those extra-durable helicopters that some modders are fond of might have been good there, or perhaps a gunship, to make me haul up and use the extra ammo.

    I kept thinking to myself, “I’m lost, this shouldn’t be the way to go” but every time, it turned out that was the right direction. No cutting back into your own footsteps was needed, being able to visually note where you’d been before was quite nice.

    Needs three things:

    Gman appearance (gotta have me one of those)
    More play (just because it’s toooo short!)
    and even more play! (continue, you must!!)

  19. Since I already scored it, let me throw a little more of my “two cents”.

    -I went through it again. As I said there are route exploits to be had. I couldnt find any that short-cut much of the map, or do the player much good…but it is still nice they exist.

    -I didnt really find any secrets

    -If the author extends the game, I am hoping he makes the airboat section good and long, like Water Hazard was. Sadley, about 99% of vehicle sections in SP mods consist of about 30 seconds of drive time, which baffles me.

    1. Sadley, about 99% of vehicle sections in SP mods consist of about 30 seconds of drive time, which baffles me.

      I am told it’s because unlike other sections where you walk, vehicles sections are passed in moments, meaning a few hours of work gone in seconds.

      From a player’s point of view it’s frustrating but from a modder’s point of view I can see why they wouldn’t want us to just rush past their work.

      1. Hmm, that makes sense. Well hopefully the author of this mod wont mind putting some time in for at least a few miles of driving! 😀

  20. Play It Now!

    I thoroughly enjoyed this entire map. had just about all I could ask for, well done. This is very close to a PF for me I’m just waiting on the continuation.

    Great Job !!!

  21. Kyo
    Play It Now!

    Without a doubt, this is one of the best looking HL2 mods in a long time. There are so many great little details with a nice, even coat of polish across the whole map. I enjoyed this interesting take on an industrial theme, set on rooftops elevated to an almost surreal height over the forest below.

    Nevertheless, my overall impression is similar to Aazell’s. The reason it doesn’t get a PF is the combat is just adequate compared to the lush visuals. I feel there are a couple reasons for this. The first reason is that the enemies are just there when I arrive, as if they were standing around all day waiting for me. I wanted to see more scripted sequences – Combine on patrol, rallying their troops, Zombies banging against walls, and so on. The efficient radio message at the start establishes the pretense that the Combine are raiding this place, but that sense of urgency did not translate into enemy actions or feverish, escape-oriented combat. The second reason is that the encounters felt too similar. Boss confrontations aside, you kill a half-dozen guys (either Combine Solders or plain Zombies) and move on. I kept wondering when the stakes would be raised. For example, the sudden arrival of additional enemy waves, more enemy variety, having to stand my ground and fight back, a bump in the music or an audio stinger to highlight big action moments, and so on. It doesn’t happen. When you enter a room, what you see is what you get in terms of enemies. No surprises.

    That said, the enemies that do exist are placed well. There’s nothing technically wrong with the combat and the difficulty is balanced. I liked the ongoing Combine Sniper bit and felt the cover provided was very natural. I liked how the Zombies tended to hang around in the blind spots beside doorways, so while you’re focused on the pretty room ahead and the obvious Zombies inside, you get this sneaky Zombie who smacks you for not being careful. Despite one of the boss encounters being a typical find-the-rockets deal, the layout of the playable space was very interesting.

    In conclusion, it’s a fun mod, looks spectacular and it’s easily something you need to play right now. Just don’t go in expecting combat as amazing as the visuals. 🙂

    1. Ade

      “When you enter a room, what you see is what you get in terms of enemies. No surprises.”
      You mean you weren’t surprised by the hunters?

      1. He did say “Boss confrontations aside,..”

      2. Kyo

        I was confused by them more than I was surprised. I see a Rebel yelling for me to come over there, then some glass breaks, the Rebel stops moving, and I turn to my right to see a Hunter. I can’t say I expected it, so it was surprising in that respect, but the set up was awkward.

  22. Play It Now!

    Loved it, and wish it had been continued as it was so short. Brilliant design.

  23. Play It Now!

    a rather large single map. Perfectly done, everyone should play it… absolutely recommended!

  24. Play It Later

    Good map, I particularly enjoyed all the outdoor views and combat set-ups. The sewers with the zombies were the only part where it started to drag a little bit. Took me 20 minutes.

  25. Ok, I have posted twice already…but I did say I would continue to explore this excellent map for exploits. Well, this map is packed with suprises, if one cares to look.

    Routing exploits (to me) come in 3 ways…(1)- finding shortcuts from one to point to the next (2)- finding a shortcut to get a weapon or powerup, (3)- using an area to kill the enemy far before your supposed to.

    Here is just a few I found, at the beggining!
    [spoiler] After grabbing the grenades and killing the sniper, there is a door you need to knock the padlock off of to advance. Well, you dont really need to do that at all (although there is health in there). Instead, get on top of the roof of that building by jumping on one of the the little pointy tin smoke stacks nearby, then jump onto the roof. From there you will see a brick building with windows (that the grenade box is up against). Jump to the second window…it’s a long jump…you wont get into the window, but you will grab the crossbow sitting on the table inside! Now you have the crossbow early![/spoiler]

    Also:

    [spoiler]Get back on that roof, and jump on the fence area ahead…this will draw out combine. Double back to the grenade box (you’ll find the way) and stay there. Then start tossing grenades all over the place..in the windows, all of them. Over the fences too…you have unlimited supply at that grenade box. After a long time you’ll end up killing a bunch of Combine, from the relative saftey of the grenade box![/spoiler]

    And Im just getting started! I knew this had replay value! 🙂

  26. I agree with most people here: great mod, play it now!

  27. Personal Favourite

    Nice map and good action with difficulty set to hard. Well thought out placement of opponents as well.

  28. Play It Later

    Pros: This map is absolutely beautiful! The aesthetics are fantastic, being in an old outpost in a mountainous area. There is a lot of attention to detail too. The gameplay is fun! I love it! This is really worth downloading!

    Cons: [spoiler]The ending[/spoiler] is one of the laziest I have ever seen in any map. Well, if the creator had to put this in before a deadline, sure, it had to get done quickly. If there’s a sequel to this, I really hope it’s made better.

  29. Play It Now!

    This map is in the style of that base in the middle of the forest in HL2: EP2. The White Forest and that base are my favourite areas in the Half-Life series. Station 51 captures the feeling of them perfectly, making you feel like you’re pretty high above the forest in a (kind of) abandoned base. There’s fights with zombies and Combine, but mostly Combine. It is linear in some places but has some wide open areas, which might not suit your tastes but I didn’t mind. There are some parts requiring you to find a hidden passage but they were pretty easy and I found all of them instantly. I had a lot of fun with this map.

  30. Pingback: Station 51 | Jelly's Half-Life Mod Reviews

  31. Play It Now!

    Station 51 is just my kind of mod – the action is intense, the levels ooze claustrophobic atmosphere and the gameplay is highly dynamic. Overall, the level design is good, in some places excellent.

    What bothered me most were the random hordes of enemies that arrived from occasionally. They should have been more evenly spread and could have done with some more scripting. Other than that a very good map!

  32. Play It Later

    A great map that deserves all the love it’s getting. The environments are lovely and well-put-together, though they suffer from lack of real-world practicality, if that bothers you.

    From my perspective, there are only so many ways you can fight Combine soldiers before it starts to get boring. There were fights with zombies, a helicopter, a gunship, and hunters, but plain Combine soldiers were the bread and butter of this mod, and they mostly just mobbed you, rather than doing anything interesting.

    As mentioned, the airboat bit felt a bit short, too:

    You really just drove the airboat from the end of one map to the beginning of the next. Parts of the following section felt as though they were set up for the airboat: the environments were all large enough to accommodate it, and there were several areas that looked like ramps for jumping it. Also, the areas were filled with so many Combine soldiers and zombies that it felt as though you were supposed to be running over them/past them with the airboat. Perhaps that section was intended to be a vehicle section, but was changed into an on-foot section late in development?

  33. Personal Favourite

    Okay, since joining this fantastic site I’ve been slowly going through the maps here in this group and seeing what’s what. Some corkers and some bummers. Then today I (finally) come across Station 51. Wow.

    IMHO – this is something that could have been part of the official games. It’s so well made with such beautifully designed mapping. There’s nothing annoying here or fiddly in the process of advancing onwards, exploring, fighting, etc. It’s gorgeous!!

    IF .. umm… If I had to pick one thing it was the rocket ammo supply on top of the shipping crates during the chopper scene. And then the combine appear just before you’re done! That was a nasty trick lol but the bummer was the rocket ammo supply on top of the container. But, it didn’t stop me completing that part so why am I moaning about it!!

    The settings and various scenes are all awesome. Loved it from the wide-open start and it keeps on that momentum in both that look and design along with the playability. This is a (almost!) perfect map for me. It’s not cramped, dark, unbalanced nor does it contain silly obstacles or stupidly annoying puzzles..

    This is my first PF here. Ace work Sam Combs!!!

    Highly HIGHLY recommended – I’m keeping this installed and will play it again!!
    10/10 (even with my moan above!) 🙂

  34. Personal Favourite

    Nice visual, awesome map design, fun combats!

  35. Play It Now!

    Have not played the new updated version. I can’t imagine it getting any better. It look great. Plays great. Stop reading this and download it already. When you see that first combine, tell’em Phillip sent you.

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