Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007)

Wow, I understand all the clamoring for HL3 now. Episode 2 doesn't really end on a cliffhanger, rather it just doesn't have an ending lol, just a shocking moment to close out the game.

Episode 2 brought back a lot of the excitement I felt like Episode 1 was missing. It expanded the story in interesting ways, had varied environments, and great set pieces. My only real desire (other than it getting a sequel) was some new weapon types to spice the combat up a bit. Considering they take all your guns at the start it felt like a good opportunity to give you some new stuff along the way but no such luck.

Regardless this was an awesome first blind playthrough of all of HL2, can't wait for Half-Life Alyx (although I get the vibe that's a prequel considering no Freeman)

4.5 / 5 Stars

After the first episode, I had mixed thoughts, and I can say the same about the second, except that it got worse. It got worse not because the game was made worse, but because they showed the same thing, literally the same thing but more. I was expecting a real "razeb" (destruction), but I received only "akhui" (amazement) from how "nichak" (nothing) it was.

In short, they added a couple of gameplay "plyukh" (bonuses), showed cool dialogues and interesting characters with locations, the base of renegades looks just "shikarno" (great), and the "vortigaunts" are also "akhuenni" (awesome), especially the one who is a partner in the first quarter of the game, he is just a machine, he "khuyachit" (beats up) everyone so hard that even I can't, he's a one-shot one-kill. But this is not the point.

The main problem is that, in my opinion, the episode should not have existed at all. They were obligated to release the FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD EPISODES as a separate HALF-LIFE, or at least cut all three for the finale of the second. As a result, we got a "lyutyi tsirk" (fierce circus) for 20 years with constant delays, closures, and the like. At least they got on the new rails thanks to Lost Coast, where they added cool developer comments that explain many technical aspects of the game, like how Valve invented HDR, which is funny.

But, fuck... THREE YEARS have passed since the release of Two, WHAT THE FUCK, JUST WHAT THE FUCK HAVEN'T THEY ADDED ANYTHING TECHNICALLY NEW, THE PICTURE HASN'T GOTTEN ANY BETTER, GODDAMMIT.

Overall, I would give the episode a 7 out of 10. The main problem is that it should not have existed in the first place. Valve should have released the first, second, and third episodes as a separate Half-Life, or at least condensed all three for the finale of the second. Instead, we got a "fierce circus" for 20 years with constant delays and closures. And technically, nothing new was added, even though it's been 3 years since the release of Two.

Another great addition to the franchise! Episode 2 stands out for me as having one of the most tense plot lines in the Half-Life game series. Immediately we are hooked back into the world when Alyx nearly dies, and the ending is a fantastic cliffhanger that is all the more shocking because, up until then, all the major characters have just about avoided a gruesome death. I loved how the Advisors returned to Ted Backman’s signature use of phallocentric imagery to enhance the creepiness of his designs. The brilliance of not having the ending being a full cut scene, but enabling Gordon to look around added to the immersion and horror. This game also had a nice link to the Portal series, with Aperture Science being explicitly mentioned.

My only slight frustrating was when you had to take down the striders with the Magnusson device, and I ended up dying more here than at any other point during a Half-Life game. However, I was playing on the Steam Deck at the time, so this might be more about the relative difficulty of that part of the game using a joystick.

STORY-DRIVEN FPS - Gordon and Alyx must deliver an important data packet to the Resistance, as they face intensified opposition from the Combine.

PROS:

++ Story progressed. Progressed the story much more than Episode One did.

++ Ending. Great (but sad) ending with the death of Eli Vance.

++ Addition of Hunters. The new enemy type (Hunters) was a great addition and made enemy encounters more dynamic and forced me to be mobile in combat.

++ Final level. The last combat scenario with the Striders and the Hunters was a fun final battle.

++ The Vortigaunts. Vortigaunts provided great humour with their dialogue and the battle against the Antlions with them was quite exhilarating.

CONS:

-- Cliffhanger. We potentially will never see the conclusion to this story. There's nothing worse than a cliffhanger that receives no continuation.

You could probably finish this game in about 6 hours, but, wow does it ever pack a lot into that short period. Antlions, Hunters, the Combine, vehicle travel, sticky bombs, shooting, puzzle solving and your very pleasant partner Alyx Vance

Half-Life games are linear and yet this one felt more open to me. Maybe it's because the environments felt more expansive, but I felt more freedom as far as where I wanted to go

The Hunters are one of the most impressive of the new enemies that you will encounter. They can really make your life miserable as they are really resilient. They are mechanical, yet express emotion. You'll definitely know when you've pissed one off

The gravity gun is still present, loads of fun and plays a key role in the absolutely hectic final fight

It's filled with diverse gameplay, a fun continuance of the story and the brilliant level design that Valve is known for

Terrific!!

Episode Two was the pinnacle of the Half-Life series as far as I am concerned. It combined all the best aspects of the previous games as well as had the best story. It sadly ended on a cliffhanger that never may be resolved but at could have been worse as at least it left us wanting more as opposed to wishing for it to end. There isn’t much to speak of in the innovation department as it only introduced one new game play mechanic which was the sticky bombs for the final mission and a new enemy in the hunters. The graphics, voice acting and physics were all as good as before. The driving segments are back and brought back some variation.

Performance was fantastic which wasn’t surprising given the game’s age. Little gripes aside Episode Two was by far the most enjoyable game of the series for me and that’s saying something given my praise of previous games. Hopefully one day it gets the sequel it deserves but in the mean time enjoy what it does give you.

As before, I will not try to write anything fanciful about this game (series) since it's been thoroughly dissected and analysed. My two cents is that they are fantastic games that live up to the hype in terms of gameplay (except that final fight).

Story-wise, I wasn't as moved. Yes, it's got A+ environmental storytelling and worldbuilding, but I don't feel that invested in Gordon's story. Even after the cliffhanger at the end of Episode Two I'm fine.

Wow, what the hell is going on with the Strider fight?

Feels like a ridiculous difficulty spike. I could forgive this if those sticky balls were fun to use, but they are not. You need to run around the map to special locations to get them, shooting them is inherently inaccurate, and hunters will shoot them down even when they are stuck to a strider. 😤

What do you think? Is he the asshole?

i wouldn't be who i am today without those equally anxiety-inducing and exciting final (? i think? i have no memory of anything after this, and let's be real, can u blame me) moments of riding around shooting striders in the face. something about the sheer scale of the fight... the aliens felt huge to my younger eyes, and they towered over gordon, and over everything else in the game. the very real sense of continously yo-yo-ing failure vs. triumph as you rush your ass across the area with sticky bombs and try to save your comrades, that balance where you think you're doing well and suddenly the alarms are blaring louder than ever. everything works together to make one of the most remarkable experiences with a game i've had so far, and a lovely memory to this day.

i don't think i'd give this game the same review if i replayed it today. it was a moment in time kind of thing. if you're somehow still unspoiled for this one, try to keep it that way.

Beat on Hard around 2008 with my initial playthrough of the entire Half Life 2 package. Beat in Hard again in 2020. I think this expansion is even better than the base game in how well crafted it is. Same wonderful core gameplay with great new challenges in the way of new enemies and puzzles. A few of the puzzles feel more like minigames and it is amazing how they were implemented using the game's core mechanics. The wave based strider battle at the end is the pinnacle of mini game design.

It was still slightly annoying to have an AI partner getting in the way for much of the game but it was far less noticeable. As usual there were more supplies than I needed and I did use the gravity gun quite a lot. My most memorable moment was near the end of the game when I killed 2 out of 3 hunters in the same motion running them down in the car, followed by jumping out and shooting the 3rd as it was moving away from me. Blasted it with double shotgun blasts, then switched to magnum to shoot 4 or 5 shots and then finish it off with a crossbow shot at long range. Then flawlessly kill the strider with the gravity gun sticky bomb pistol shot combo. It took a bit of save scumming to get used to using the gravity gun to stick those bombs though.

This review will be, more or less, a review of the whole Half Life 2 experience, as well as specifically this episode.

My general thoughts about Half Life 2 are that it is clearly a masterpiece (for 2004). Probably the most advanced game of that early 2000s era (in terms of visuals, gameplay and general scope). It is obvious why people love it. That being said, playing it for the first time in 2020, I found the storyline a bit simplistic and obviously it is just a little rough around the edges when compared to modern games. I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The gameplay was consistently fun and the epic set pieces still feel epic.

Episode One was starting to feel a bit more intriguing. I felt like Valve was starting to feel confident to really start unearthing the lore a bit. The visuals were notably a little more polished and I could feel the magic creeping in that I remember from the Valve games I played as kid (mostly the two Portal games).

And that brings us to Episode Two. At this point, the visuals are starting to hold up pretty well against modern gaming. They’ve still aged, but at this point you can overlook the unpolished areas effortlessly. The story was starting to get so good. Characters were facing dilemmas and tragedies. There were holy shit moments (which I hadn’t really had in the franchise until now). The new enemies and locations were consistently interesting. And the lore of Portal starts to fold in to the main storyline!!

The gameplay was as fine as ever as well. Valve are generally good at guiding players to figure out puzzles naturally, but in this game it flows so seamlessly. The mechanics and creativity behind Half Life 2 are just really operating perfectly by this point.

Basically I adored this last chapter. And I can absolutely see now why people are salivating for more. They basically made their Empire Strikes Back and then left the franchise on the backburner.

So now, after all this time putting off the franchise, I can finally say it: where the fuck is Half Life 3??