Ravenholm

Overview

Ravenholm was a town on the outskirts of City 17 that Gordon Freeman must travel through Half-Life 2. It was bombarded with headcrab shells by the Combine, and is therefore filled with headcrab zombies. The only survivor is Father Grigori, a local priest turned quite insane by his plight to save the souls of the zombified town members.

Ravenholm offers players a different kind of challenge when compared to the rest of City 17, since none of the enemies have projectile weapons.  This does not mean that Ravenholm is without danger however given that the player will find himself trapped in confined quarters with numerous zombies and nowhere near enough ammunition to combat the zombie hordes in a conventional way.  Given that players enter Ravenholm shortly after receiving the Gravity Gun, the city has numerous physics based traps and weapons that Gordon can operate.  Explosive barrels, saw blades, and other deadly traps litter the city and there are numerous opportunities for Freeman to play with his newest weapon.  Sawblades are perhaps the best way to deal with the zombified populace of Ravenholm given that they can be flung through numerous headcrab zombies with a single shot from the Gravity Gun.  Only the larger zombies are immune to this tactic and require siginificantly more damage to bring down.  Ravenholm also shows the debut of the fast zombies which are terrifying both because of their speed and their ability to appear from seemingly  anywhere. 

Destruction

Due to Ravenholm's proximity to City 17 and the Combine Citadel's eventual destruction, it is likely that Ravenholm would have suffered extensive and lasting damage after the events of Half-Life 2: Episode One.