Here it is, the final part of the longest chapter in the game, "Surface Tension,"

I think the end of "Surface Tension" is... objectively one of the worst moments of the game, from an emotional standpoint, specifically because of two thing that happen one after another, in quick succession. First is this, making it to the security checkpoint with that guard so he can open the door:

And there's nothing you can do. The door only stays open long enough for you to see the alien teleport in, then it locks shut. You can't go back to help. You can't even see what's happening. But you can hear it well enough to imagine.

But you can't go back to help.

It's not like we haven't seen a lot of people die right in front of us. But this is... different, somehow? All the other deaths we see that are impossible to prevent were like... you walk into a room, and someone dies. Not... not like this, where you two were working together. Not like this where you've already survived together for a little while. Not like this where he was helping you, where you couldn't have made it without him, and then you can't even claim witness to his death, a sealed door between you.

Not like this, where the death was so... pointless. From a gameplay perspective, I mean. Almost all the other plot related, unpreventable deaths in the game are there to teach you something, a new game mechanic. That scientist, grabbed by the ichthyosaur, to show you what was in the water. That guard shot by the assassin, to show you what you were up against. The scientist taken out by the sniper to show you what to watch for. But this? We already know aliens teleport in, and we've fought the big ones before. There's nothing new about this death. It's just...

I guess it serves as another "don't get too cocky, people are dying" reminder, of sorts. And it really does contribute a lot to the story.

It still messes me up a little every time, though.

And of course, it's followed up by something almost as bad. You find this radio,

"Echo-3-Juliet, this is Echo-5-Romeo. I need you to tie a tourniquet a hand's length above the wound. Get one out of your IFAK now."

(Labored breathing) "...IFAK's gone."

"Say again?"

(Weaker breathing) "My IFAK's gone... I'm... uhh...--"

"Okay, you're gonna need to find another pack and get a tourniquet out of it. . . . Are you still there?-- Echo-3-Juliet, can you hear me?"

And that's it. He doesn't respond.

I think one thing I haven't said yet, in all my gushing over the graphics, is just how good the voice acting is in this game. You can feel the pain in his voice. The exhaust. That maybe, some part of this marine, on the verge of consciousness, knows that this is it. That he's done for. That he knew, as soon as he made the call on the radio, that it was hopeless. And the response- "are you still there? Can you hear me?" -the desperation, followed by the sort of gut-wrenching realization that any more words would be pointless.

Overhearing this moment, this call for help, knowing it's already too late... even from the marines. This hurts.

And if you look around, just next to where you find this radio,

This spot was a medical station. They had set up here to try to save who they could. But all you find here are corpses and a few headcrabs. It's too late for the marines.

It's too late for everyone.

Of course, they can't leave you wallowing in this depressive slump for too long, so almost immediately, you're thrust right back into the action, with...

Another Mr. Big Blue Flamethrower Hands!

So then commences a chase through the parking garage where you have to run around parked cars and Big Blue just plows straight through them.

But eventually you make it back outside, jump on a trampoline up to some sort of little tactical nest, and overhear one of the best radio calls ever

Forget about Freeman! About time! Don't you people realize I'm not the enemy here?

Also, another fun little thing- there's also a second person you can kind of hear talking in the background? Something about Freeman, then "so let's get going, alright?" If I heard it correctly. It's hard to understand.

But if I remember correctly (because it's been a while since I played Opposing Force), that voice belongs to Adrian Shephard! Because in Opposing Force and Blue Shift, there are a number of times where you, as the protagonist, don't actually say anything, but it's implied that Adrian or Barney did respond with words somehow. And in Opposing Force, you only hear the dialogue in the subtitles, there, while standing right behind the guy saying them, while no one else is in the immediate vicinity! So I always like to think that's Shephard talking in the background.

But anyway. Cooper is lying dead in the nest when we get there, so we might as well use this handy little air strike map...

And blow up Big Blue!

And that's more or less the end of "Surface Tension!" I'll just leave you with one more shot of the awesome apocalyptic sky before we get on to the next chapter...