TV shows don’t get this many delays…
To say that Half Life 2 was a great game would be a massive understatement; it was long, deep, had masses of variety and masses of guns.
Mix into this the improvised combat and source engine physics puzzles brought in by the gravity gun and you had a game with a not quite new (Devastation tried it) but well executed level of have-a-go-hero style shooting action. In fact, with the relatively high accuracy of the physics, it was executed about as well as it could have been at the time it was made.
Now, even with the advent of the less than successful PhysX card, the new episodic content stands just as proud as physics based game without it. Some games just feel?too light, ya know?
Story wise, the game starts just where Episode 1 left you (I won’t say where that is, spoilers)?and I can’t really say much else, as it is such a short game it would be hard to venture anywhere story-wise without knocking in a few spoilers.
I bet the last thing you’ll notice though is that the source engine has had a slight graphical update, it isn’t mind blowing, but you’ll certainly notice the outdoor areas have better lighting and better distance rendering than ever before. You’ll probably also notice that indoor areas are also a bit better lit than they have been in previous instalments.
The game-play is the same old brilliant Half Life game-play; physics puzzles, physics kills, zombie kills, improvisation, running like the dickens etc., but I guarantee you will still get the same goddamn kick out of it every time!
It’s actually wonderfully simple though; dispensers and health packs are scattered around with a just-in-time attitude, which makes those desperate runs all the more desperate. Ammo arrives just when you could do with it; just when you need the edge on that last hunter, or need to stop that one last combine with a plasma rifle welding your brain together.
There’s no leaning, no prone, no double jumping, no cartwheels or double flips; it’s just move, jump, sprint, crouch and shoot. It’s that simple, but the kills are satisfying enough to make this all the game needs to succeed, and the gratification gained from unloading on a combine against all the odds and surviving does nothing but reinforce this fact.
The environments are also far more interesting than those in Episode One (where half the game is spent in the Citadel), including plenty of fresh outdoors, claustrophobic shafts, an entire Ant-lion nest and a small series of buildings which feel just like Ravenholm (arguably one of the best levels seen in a game in recent years).
The new lighting effects add even more beauty to this, making you gape across the white forest in awe.
You can even crap yourself as a portal storm rushes towards you, visible right from its point of origin, tearing up the landscape, it’s truly terrifying, truly epic and truly Half-Life.
Half Life 2: Episode Two is a must for any Half-Life fan
Now, we can’t disregard the presence of our good friend Alyx Vance throughout all this, who makes another starring appearance accompanied by her badly disguised love for Gordon.
This badly disguised affection for our protagonist, Mr. Freeman, is one of her more charming character traits and will often send you physically chuckling, wincing or shaking your head in dismay.
But you know what? It’s entirely up to you what to do about this, Freeman has no voice, no visible face, and it is in these moments you take up that position, adding extra depth and imagination, filling in the blanks and responding for him.
As per Episode One, Alyx is also your primary puzzle solver at the start; unlocking doors, disabling forcefields and such like, as well as dropping subtle hints as to where to go next.
The Vortigaunts also finally make a proper appearance after a brief cameo in Episode One and they are positively brimming with personality. Their strange manner of speech and infinite wisdom are ultimately charming and incredibly believable.
That’s nothing like the best part though.
The best part is that they kick ass in combat, serious ass! They’re able to fire bolts of energy that Star Wars can only dream of, and their fist-slamming is something to be envied by the Street-Fighter cast.
The intense battles against super tough enemies also make a brilliant return, including a battle with two, yes that’s TWO Ant-lion Guardians! I’ll let you work out how long this will take, how many times you’ll die, along with their average car throwing distance and your number of sweat beads released during this fight?suffice to say?all those numbers are rather large.
Then there’s the newest vehicle, the Mustang-esque buggy (very different to Half-Life 2’s go-kart), it’s pretty lucky this thing looks damn neat because you’ll be spending a lot of time in it. So be prepared to get those driving fingers out and have a hot hand on that ‘use’ button to bail when necessary as a strider rips along the road, accompanied by a multitude of hunters ready to liberate your spleen.
Ah, the newest enemy in the Half Life universe, the Hunter.
Hunters are sort of miniature Striders, but they’re super fast and super quiet. I can promise you many a jump scare when being stalked around a small area by one?(or three). They’re also a complete bastard to kill, frankly ? the best way to take them out is using the buggy (mainly for the end of the game) or the plasma rifle energy balls (which are in short supply). Other than that, they have an eye based weakness to the crossbow and there’s an achievement for killing them with their own flachette needles.
How I managed that one I don’t know.
The major staple of combat is still the weaponry lurking around in conveniently placed, conveniently labelled supply crates – I’ll never know how people knew to put dispensers in the middle of nowhere. The weapons are still the same however and no new ones have been added (show me the crowbar!).
This annoys me as you still don’t get to use the sniper weapon.
I know! How about this, Alyx goes out, fights zombies, gets poisoned by black widow headcrabs, electrocuted, stabbed, slashed, crushed, irradiated and damn near killed, and I’ll stay on the sniper rifle and ?support? her. There, that’s Episode Three sorted.
The game is also pretty polished, the only exceptions being the regular stuttering upon reloading after death and changes in lighting after a game loads an area (usually for the better though). The thing that really wound me up though (as I had to reload twice) is that there are two physics glitches in the train yard when being chased by the helicopter; one of them is that you can get caught in the buggy if a Barnacle catches you on its tongue and you try and leave the vehicle, the second (which can result in death) is that the buggy can clip and get jammed in the fence that you have to break down to proceed.
The game is also pretty fair, there’s just enough ammo to go around and plenty of improvisation (didn’t notice any toilets, sadly) to be done if you happen to run out.
And there’s always the element of frantic weapon switching when cornered to consider as well, nothing is worse than running out of ammo or
having to reload when cornered by a toxic headcrab. This is by no means a bad point, it adds to the thrill, intensity and limited elements of survival horror contained within this beautiful game.
Despite being short (5 or 6 hours), Half Life 2: Episode Two is a must for any Half-Life fan, does plenty to move the enigmatic story along and sets the sights long and hard for Episode Three. Our faith in Valve is once again justified and we can move forward, happily waiting for Episode Three, with only the fear that this episodic content system will drag on infinitely with no discernable conclusion. Hopefully not.
The Bad: doesn’t finish much off; graphics still a little dated
Silver Y Award