Half-Life 2 Episode 2
By Ian Wilson
Monday. Nov 19, 4:02 PM
Have HEV Suit, will travel.

The wait is finally over. After some delays and a whole lot of speculation, we all got reacquainted with a scientist and his pension for whacking things with a crowbar. The last time we were with Freeman and Alyx, they were on a train as it raced out of City 17 while the Citadel came apart behind them. All was going to plan, when suddenly there was a huge explosion of energy. The last thing we saw was the broken frame of a car as it hurtled to where Gordon and Ayx stood on the back of the train car. This set the stage for Episode 2 and of course mountains of theories across cyberspace.

Episode 2 opens with Gordon making his way out of the wreckage of the train and meeting up with Alyx again. Of course, Gordon is once again without his weapons (where does he put them all anyway?) and forced to rely on the gravity gun and Alyx's pistol. Portal storms have become a major threat in this game, as every time one hits, things fall in ruin. Gordon and Alyx learn that they must make it to White Forest to help Dr. Vance and Dr. Kleiner destroy the Super Portal being formed over the ruins of the Citadel. We are also introduced to a new scientist, Dr. Magnuson, who we have actually met before. I won't tell you who he is, but let's just say his voice should be familiar and that Gordon messed with him in the first game.

New allies aren't the only new thing that Episode 2 offers, though: there are also new enemies to tangle with. The ant-lions are back once again, but this time you get to see how they live beneath the earth's surface. Here we meet their larval grubs (I made it my mission to whack, stomp, and shoot every one that I saw) and the workers. The workers take almost twice as much damage as normal ant-lions and shoot acid pellets (think Bullsquid) which they use to make tunnels. Then there are the Hunters (referred to as Mini-Striders by most people) that like to hunt in packs. Most importantly, there are enemies with great power and control whom we have encountered in the last game: the Advisors.

Along with the new comes familiar faces and aliens. You meet up with some Vortigaunts not too far in, who display fighting abilities that would have made them very deadly in Half-Life when they were fighting against Gordon. The G-Man also makes several appearances, watching Gordon as he has in the past. Though it's not exactly the same as the buggy from the last game, Gordon gets a new set of wheels that handles just the same but looks much cooler.

Episode 2 adds some graphical tweaks that make the experience all the more pleasing to the eye. The effects are subtle, though, and you won't really notice them unless you have just recently played the first episode. Things like better light and shadow casting from the flashlight, motion blur, tweaks to Alyx's model, etc. There are also minor changes to the game mechanics, the most notable one being that Gordon's flashlight is not slaved to the suit power and recharges VERY quickly.

As much as things change, much more remains the same. We don't get any new weapons or abilities, and the majority of the enemies are ones that we've fought already. I would have liked a new set of weapons, or at least a few new ones. I can't really complain too much though, as this game is great and really carries the story along. Though since it's so hard to stop playing, many will find it pretty short. Having things split up into episodes so that it's released quicker is a double edged sword. Sure, we get to play things sooner, but then we still have to wait the same amount of time to play all the way through the game as we would if we had gotten it all at once. In many ways, this makes anticipation for the next episode grow even more… but at the same time, many people just want to play the whole thing already.

Controversy over episodic game release aside, Episode 2 is great and only reaffirms Half-Life as one of the best games around. Right now would be a good time to get it as well, as you can have Half-Life 2 Episode 1, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 all in the same bundle. Or, if you never played any of the Half-Life games, you could buy ALL of them for just $100. It may sound like a lot, but you get about 12 games total. There should be no reason not to play through these titles, unless of course you don't like First-Person Shooters. Well, I'm going to go back to playing now, this time with the commentary on.

Ian Wilson

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