I am playing episode 1 right now in Orange Box, wanted to re-play HL2 and E1 before I played Ep2. Right now im about 85% of the way through Ep1 without firing a single bullet (except the ONE you have to fire at the start)... Its actually pretty easy... So I look forward to this gnome challenge I hear about...

Jeez, I wondered what that achievement was, since I saw no gnomes in White Forest. That's a pretty clever and difficult achievement, and, if we're being honest, not one I'm ever going to do.

Ummmmmmm... No thanks

I don't remember seeing the gnome when playing through the game.

There were gnomes in Resistance: Fall of Man... must be a 'next gen' 'must have' feature now.

I just bought a 360 for Halo 3 and I'm a total noob as far as my gamerscore is considered, so I'm stuck wishing that the Orange Box PC achievements would reflect on my Live account.

Despite this, I'm so glad I'm playing TF2 with dedicated servers....

Orange box should have been allowed to bend the rule on achievment points for your gamer card. Taking that gnome through the whole game would probably be a 100-200 point achievment that will likey net you something like 20 with a 1000 points spread out over 5 games. Complaining aside, if it wasn't for the more than common lag in TF 2, Orange Box would be my purchase of the year. Mass Effect and Rock Band are still coming though.

The cynic in me thinks travellocity had a say in this....

@Mrmoo2002: Gnomes are the classic video game easter egg. They've been around since way before Travelocity's "Roaming Gnome" dealy.

Ah, so that's why it keeps popping up on Youtube.

Wow.. Wow.. seriously..

I don't think I could ever do that.

Damnit, I thought that knome was towards the end of the game, as most of the other achievements were in the right order. Ugh, so this is what I have to look forward too, along with those godforsaken grubs.

That was so funny though, at the end. "Farewell, brave traveller! May I never, ever set eyes on your stupid fucking face again." Golden.

That little bastard won't stay in my Charger! =< I really hate him, I honestly do, I keep gunning the jumps (forgetting he's there) and I see this little gnome fly off in some direction and think to myself, "Oh ffs, not again..."

I'm at the helicopter fight with the gnome, it was a bitch evading the chopper and driving, trust me. he falls out if you try to drive with him, so I had to jump out and gravity gun him most of the way.

A gnome in the episode... must be Half-Life 2: Home Movies edition.

Anyone know if achievements unlock in developer commentary mode? Just out of curiosity.

There's a gnome at the start? I found my gnome when I already had the car on my way to White Forest. It's next to/near the Rocket Launcher cache. So I think this guy did it the really, really hard way!

carrying a gnome around the world somehow reminds me of the movie "le fabuleux destin d'amélie pulain" / "amelie from montmatre"

There were Gnomes in Psi-Ops also. Its good to see the little guys get some attention. I can't wait to get HL2:Ep 2 so I can do senseless things also.

@Thorn: You're shitting me, right? That'd be an easy place to move the gnome from... I gotta check this out.

I got my Gnome from the very beginning of the game. I KNEW there'd be SOMETHING special if I kept him. I seriously did not even look at the achievement list before hand. But I'd forgotten about him after the bug fight with the tunnels and accidentally left him behind. So, now I gotta do it over again.

Wow Thorn, I'll have to check that out. I never saw him there. That would be much easier.

@Thorn:

WHAT?!?! *dies*

Man, if only i didn't have like 5 new games to buy and play this season, i totally buy the orange box and start Half Life 2 from the beginning.

I can't believe I was the only one that found the gnome at the cache! I remember it really clearly, because I pulled him out with the grav gun and walked over to the car... and Alyx seemed to be giving me this weird look, like "WTF are you doing with that gnome?" Which actually made me laugh. :)

@Thorn: I call serious shenanigans. I just went and looked for it in and around the rocket cache and there was no such garden gnome.

False alarm people, unless Thorn can remember exactly where it is and tell us.

Heh, I got on Episode 2 for a couple minutes before class today, and instantly found the gnome. I thought it was strange....so well detailed for an unimportant piece of the game...haha.

@Roadkill: Absolutely swear on my life it was there. I'm at work so I can't check now, but I will when I get home. However, I recall that it was underneath the cache, underneath the house, under some floor-boards. And not in the cache where you actually DO go under the house/floorboards... definitely was the rocket launcher cache. Cross my heart and all of that!

@Thorn: But see, the rocket cache is in a metal/cement building; there are no floor-boards besides the one you use to blast up to the second level!

I would LOVE for what you say to be true, but it's just not happening right now. Maybe you are remembering the wrong building? Anyways, if you can come back here with any sort of proof good for you, otherwise I'm not going on a wild goose chase.

@Roadkill: Grr, it's there damnit, I remember finding it so clearly! It's going to be about 3 - 4 hours until I get home, check back in about 5 hours and I'll see if I can find it and get a screenshot or something. Perhaps you're right and I AM thinking about the wrong building, but I am 99% sure it's the rocket launcher cache where I found him. But I swear, absolutely swear that one of those stupid little gnomes is around there somewhere! I vow proof shall be forthcoming. :) And while I'm at it, I'll complete the achievement, since I didn't the first time around. ;)

@Thorn: I'll check back here in the morning, and I hope to hear good news! Good luck to you.

@Roadkill: I'm tempted to believe he's honest, or at least him being genuine in believing he's telling the truth. Any common troll or rumormonger would have stopped posting after his/her first one or two posts.

@Mokai: Me too, I'm giving the benefit of the doubt in this case. Mostly because it'd be really neat if you did find another place for the gnome.

1. Go to rocket cache.
2. ?????
3. Profit!

This is so funny, I did the exact same thing. Or is that sad?

I thought David the Gnome was under a table? I've been watching my husband play Half-Life and I think I saw him get David from under a table at the beginning of the game. :) David makes a handy weapon too.

@Chintz: Nope. Which potentially means 3 playthroughs - once for fun, once for commentary and once for achievements.

Amélie approves :)

I did start Half-Life 2 from the beginning, because I want to play the HL2 episodes in sequence. The game is as great now as it was a few years ago, and the 360 version is very well-done.

I have been playing for hours, and still can't get enough of this brilliant game. Even after Fear, Bioshock and Halo 3, Half-Life 2 still stands as one of the greatest video games of all time.

@tk.: Great movie !

@tk.: well actually the whole roving gnome meme started wayyyy before Amélie but that movie definitely skyrocketed the idea to popularity.
i remember way back in 96 me and my friends where going to steal one of the gnomes from this CRAZY old lady who lived in the neighborhood (you know the type, gravel lawn, stone deer, birdbaths, fake flamingos.) It totally would have worked had all that shit not been CEMENTED into the ground. I guess someone had the same idea before us... or they just had wayyy too much time on their hands.

PS. Amélie still is one of my favorite movies tho

Hi all... long time lurker, first time poster. Love the site =)

I found the gnome too, and IIRC it's on the very first, er, stage. You remember when you go into a building, and Alyx needs to use the console, but it isn't working so she jumps up in the loft-area above it, and declares she somehow 'fixes' it by dropping to you the power cord that you plug in with your gravity gun? Well IIRC it's there -- to the left of the console is a bed, and it's under the bed. Good luck...

Errr... I thought I posted this, but apparently Kotaku deleted my comment?

Anyway, I found the gnome on my first play through. IIRC it's on the first stage, where you enter the small building where Alyx wants to use console, but it's broken, so she crawls into the small space above and 'fixes' it by really throwing down the power cable which you plug in. To the left of the console is a bed, and it's under the bed. Again, if I recall correctly...

is somewhat a spooiler that you can read the achievements text even if you have not done the achievement, so i was aware there exist one for the gnome.
i found it before reading the achievement, but it was to no use to me, so i played a bit with it, and forget it.

anyway i still think all garden gnomes sould be replaced by sentry turrets, waaaay more usefull :D

So, they don't just like LOST, no, they also liked Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (great movie, btw). Anyway - gotta grab that as soon as I catch my paycheck...

The gnome can actually be found under one of the plywood bunk beds in the first level when alex is on the communicator (after the first tunnel of zombies)

Just loaded the game up to find it myself, its there.

I find it hard to believe they'd put more gnomes in the game later on, that seems like it would defeat the purpose....

@Roadkill: Ugh. Complete false alarm and total idiocy on my part. I went to the cache and checked, couldn't find anything. I had a clear memory of finding it underneath something. I went back to the start to find the one under the bed, and horribly enough, it 'matched' my memory. So, yeah. I'm a total moron. Sorry about that! >_<;;

@Chintz:
In Portal they didn't. (PC ver)

I did it, it isn't as hard as it looks. You also just pretty much have to ditch the car and run the whole way since there is no way to keep the gnome in the car. O, i also got a lot of kills with it since it is easier to just shoot it @ combine than drop it then shoot. But I do agree with the fact it should be worth more or give u something more prominent since it was one of the hardest achievements I've gotten next to collecting all the skulls.

Wow, is that Rien Poortvliet's David de Kabouter?

I finished this about a month ago...It really isn't that bad. You get quite a few places where you can leave the gnome, most of which save you a huge amount of effort. Only bad part was the level where you get the car, and the helicopter chase. The car level I had to redo, as I was foolish enough to leave it in a spot (where you begin the level) where I was unable to retrieve it. Evidently I had to launch it onto the road ahead...but the level isn't that bad. The helicopter chase was a nightmare. Needs quite a bit of launching the gnome ahead, hopping in the car, driving up a bit, and repeating. But It felt reallly good when I was done =D