*SPOILERS*To anyone who has beaten Episode Two...

Ok, well first, great length for an episode, took me about 10 hours to beat, fun chapters, some new HUD enhancments and such. But god, the ending was a shock. *Spoiler Warning* (do not continue to read if you have not beaten Episode Two)

I remember the flash from the two combine (REAL Combine)and then getting held back against the wall. Eli gathered enough strength to grab a pipe and whack the Advisor across the face a couple times, but the only result was the Advisor's grasp of death. "I love you Alyx" he said disturbingly calmly. "Dont look!" The next thing you know the Combine is sucking out Eli's, well...I think you get the point. I was next, but DOG jumped on the second combine and tore him apart, the result was simply a big worm on the ground. And the credits rolled with Alyx holding her father and saying: "Dad, please...how could you die...dont leave me" (Roll Credits) Well, what did everyone else think? I thought it was a decent ending but also very, very disturbing, besides, the fact the Eli dies isnt very good. :| But other than that, it was interesting to see the Borealis with the Aperture Labs logo (The labs that Portal takes place in) While Kleiner talks about their relation to Black Mesa. Also how Eli mentioned the G-Man and such.

Note: I didnt intend to spoil anything for anyone, notice the *SPOILERS* warning in the title. ;)

Yes indeed, Episode Three will be GREAT. I also loved the strider parts, and when the three are all invading at once, the music that was playing was perfect. Lots of awesome moments in Episode Two. I hope they extend Episode Three to at least 15 hours. That way it will feel like a fitting end to Half Life. Just beat Portal as well *SPOILERS*I kind of felt bad for killing her, you know what I'm talking about if you have beaten it. And, OMG there WAS cake! ;) -I also liked the song at the end during the credits. Oh, and Team Fortess two is the best! This package is so much better than Halo 3 (like there was ever any doubt :) )

Episode 2 was pretty amazing, dare i say better than HL2 itself!?!:shock:

I remember Valve stating that an important character in HL2 would die in Ep2 and after the teaser trailer everyone was like "omg Alyx is the person to die!" but i didn't think they'd kill her off since they put so much effort into her character in Ep1. However after that hunter burtally attacked her i was thinking "damn maybe she is the one that dies" since it would of made such an emotional impact on the player as she is the most developed character in the game in terms of personality etc.

Ofcourse as the game progressed i realised it wouldnt be Alyx that dies, as i progressed i started thinking of who it would be and suddenly it dawned on me. What about Barney? as i'm sure most of you will have noticed you don't see or hear his name mentioned once in the game, atleast i dont think you do. I figured perhaps we'll come across his body or encounter him and watch him die in a fight or something, but nope it never happened.

Then the fight between Dog and that strider happened and woah what a fight it was, Dog kicked that striders arse. But after the fight you see Dog lying there motionless for awhile and i thought, "yup this must be the character they'd kill off" but once again i was proved wrong when Dog awoke and was alright. So by this time i was thinking about who Valve had chosen and then the combine infiltrate White Forest base and i thought maybe its Dr Kleiner who is killed. And again i was proven wrong so i gave up thinking about who would be killed and settled on the fact Valve were just speculating to get the fans attention.

Now at White Forest i noticed that the moments between Alyx, Eli and Gordon were very personal and emotional. Eli making the little suggestions that he approves of Gordon should Gordon and Alyx go further than friends and the loving/caring moments Eli and Alyx shared aswell. Thats when i realised who it was that died and when it happened i found myself stunned. The way in which Eli was killed and the dialogue during it really made an emotional impact, never before in a game have i felt myself moved by the death of a character. It truly was one of the best scripted death scene in a game i have ever witnessed, it made the player feel genuine remorse, shock and panic at seeing it.

On a side note i have to say i'm frustrated now that we'll probably have to wait another year for Episode3 to continue/finish the storyline. That being said Valve may release Episode3 sooner than we expect if they don't have any other games on the drawing board at the moment.

Also i think i may have figured out something about the G-Man from Episode2 and Portal concerning who/what he is.

My reasoning as to why the G-Man is an android is because he acts like one through body language and speech aswell as the fact he doesn't age between HL and HL2 or so it seems. Also he is pretty submissive to his employers, carrying out what they ask of him and using "subjects" like Gordon to complete various tasks that his employers have given him. As for his powers it may be a combination of things, being an adroid and considering the portal technology Aperture had/has its possible he uses a variation of it. Another thing is in Portal at the start if you look at the "bed" in the relaxation chamber you'll notice it looks more like some stasis/life support bed than a normal one. Could this be what he uses to keep his "subjects" in stasis for so long without them ageing?

As for who the G-Man's employers are, well i have a feeling we probably already have heard them mentioned somewhere throughout the game series. Or they could possibly be an as of yet unknown faction that is involved in the HalfLife universe, this is the most likely explanation.

However i do agree with you that there is so much depth to the HalfLife2 storyline and Valve has a habit of answering a few questions players have about the games plot, while also throwing in a bunch of new ones by revealing certain information. A big one from Episode2 is why Eli and Alyx haven't mentioned the G-Man since they encountered him or why no one has questioned Gordon about his visual appearance. And by this i mean the fact that Gordon was in his mid to late twenties in HalfLife and around 20 years later in HalfLife2 he hasn't aged while everyone else has.

So many question, not enough answers and so long to wait for the next installment of the HL2 series. Now i know what a drug addict feels like lol

[spoiler] One thing that bothers me is they said that Gordons story wraps up in episode three and there is still so much we don't know. I also want to see more into the Gman wanting Alyx. He wants Gordon to protect her. Will she be chambered in the time stasis like Gordon and Shephard? The tie in with Portal was interesting and the back story to AS is very funny. Portal shower curtains FTW. The ship has me concerned. What horror is on that ship that Eli didn't get to tell us about and wants us to destroy? No preview either. Valve left us hanging and I doubt they will tell us anything for a while. [/spoiler]

However i dont think Valve will go with the Adrian Shepherd choice as its been awhile since OpposingForce was released and we've heard no information about Adrian Shepherd yet. Where as with the Portal character there is rumour she will appear in Episode 3.

As for Episode 3 i hope they make it longer, 8-10 hours, so there is time for the plot to be revealed and come to a conclusion without it feeling rushed. Because there is so many questions to be answered still concerning the HalfLife2 story.

There is an article up on CVG about an interview with Gabe Newell (i made a topic about it) where he stated after Episode3 is released Valve are going to leave it to the fans to decide how Valve should continue releasing their games, IE continue episodic release or full game releases. And i'm sure at some point in the interview he hinted that there will be more games released set in the HalfLife universe after Episode 3. So perhaps we wont see the last of Gordon Freeman in Episode 3, perhaps it'll be the conclusion of his fight to rid Earth of the combine. I just hate the waiting period now between games, having played Episode 2 i really want an Episode 3 ASAP lol...even a video would be good for me!

Definately, they should release a video soon. But I really hope, since its the final chapter in the Half Life universe (or maybe just this fight like you said) that they focus just on this, just one game, so we can get Episode Three in a shorter timespan than it took for Episode Two.

My reasoning as to why the G-Man is an android is because he acts like one through body language and speech aswell as the fact he doesn't age between HL and HL2 or so it seems.

1005

Also, he appears to have some degree of control over electronics (appearing on computer monitors, etc.)...and in Half-Life Source, he definitely doesn't seem human if you attack him (almost as if he was made out of ceramics).

Then again, that doesn't exactly explain how the Gman is able to enter the 'vortessence', which I guess is some kind of mental realm. Perhaps the 'android' part of the Gman is just a host body for another entity?

The ship has me concerned. What horror is on that ship that Eli didn't get to tell us about and wants us to destroy? No preview either. Valve left us hanging and I doubt they will tell us anything for a while.

EndersAres

Lots of stalkers, in the original design. It definitely looks like they've changed things, though. The Borealis is now tied to Aperture Science labs, which can only mean one thing - there's portal technology on board. Of course, that also means that just about any interdimensional being could be on board that ship...and the Combine will be there, too, according to Mossman's message.

I was stunned by the ending. Absolutely brilliant, in a rather depressing way (although I knew something very bad was going to happen as soon as that rocket launched - they couldn't end the episode on a happy note!).

Anyway, they finally gave us some info on the Gman, which was great - he's responsible for the resonance cascade! That could make him an employee of Aperture Science labs - those two labs were rivals in the race to master portal technology, so it would make sense that he sabotaged their lab (and detonated the nuke that wiped out Black Mesa).
...then again, he's specifically called an 'interdimensional beureaucrat'...and he seems to deal in mercenaries/host bodies...so I'm not too sure.

Also, what was the purpose of the Gman's message? He could have delivered it in person, but instead he chose to compel Alyx to say it. I don't think that the Gman was involved in Eli's death - why deliver a message to a guy if he knows that the guy will die before anything happens?
I'm guessing that it was a warning - avoid the Borealis at all costs. It might cause another resonance cascade, it might bring something worse, it might be the Gman's lair...but whatever's on board, the Gman didn't want Eli to tamper with it. Or maybe he did...I dunno. :P

Clever use of the Borealis, too, although it was disappointing that the Antlion King didn't make an appearance.

Now, where the hell had Barney wandered off to? Is he with Mossman? Or has he gone undercover once more?

Also, what was the purpose of the Gman's message? He could have delivered it in person, but instead he chose to compel Alyx to say it.Planeforger

This also has me interested. Eli said Gordon said the same thing before the Black Mesa incident. The concept art for Ep3 has me wondering that maybe the ship can open a portal to the combine home-world. Possibly one way. They do have the key code of course. It could be even a portal weapon. Starting to think that Gordon might not make it back this time. Also Gabe did say last year on Hl2.net that they would eventually think up something with Shephard. Can't wait for more. Why is the Gman trying to stop the combine? Who paid him too? This has been brought up before that Gordons work goes to the highest bidder.

Random Thought: Did anyone else feel bad for killing GlaDus at the end of portal? I mean, there *was* cake, it wasnt a lie, she invited your best friend, the companion cube. Oh well, at least the song was pretty. ;)

Oh, also, did anyone else remember when she spliced in a random sound byte of you recording your name during the boss fightand said: "That you! Thats how dumb you sound!" I laughed so hard at that one...

Is episode 3 supposed to be the last of the episodes? If so then they reallly should make it really long and and end things right. Also is the portal gun gonna be usable in it? Thatwould be for some interesting fighting if u can pop portals under convenants feet :PMorphic

Your a Halo player/fan i take it? because there is no Covenant in the HalfLife games, only combine mate :P!

And to answer your question about Episode3, i think it is meant to finish the HL2 story and any other HalfLife games after it will be about a new story, or they might not. It's hard to tell rumour from fact concerning Episode3 at the moment since there has been no real announcements about it other than it will be developed after Episode2.

Myrkan i did feel sorta badkilling GlaDus as she was one of the funniest and strange characters i've seen in a game lol. Her random comments and insults through the escape section and final battle of the game were really funny, especially when she would threaten to kill you then try to be your friend straight after lol.

Episode 2 was pretty amazing, dare i say better than HL2 itself!?!:shock:1005

[QUOTE="Morphic"]Is episode 3 supposed to be the last of the episodes? If so then they reallly should make it really long and and end things right. Also is the portal gun gonna be usable in it? Thatwould be for some interesting fighting if u can pop portals under convenants feet :P1005

Your a Halo player/fan i take it? because there is no Covenant in the HalfLife games, only combine mate :P!

And to answer your question about Episode3, i think it is meant to finish the HL2 story and any other HalfLife games after it will be about a new story, or they might not. It's hard to tell rumour from fact concerning Episode3 at the moment since there has been no real announcements about it other than it will be developed after Episode2.

Myrkan i did feel sorta badkilling GlaDus as she was one of the funniest and strange characters i've seen in a game lol. Her random comments and insults through the escape section and final battle of the game were really funny, especially when she would threaten to kill you then try to be your friend straight after lol.

lol combine, covenant, so many C names! :P

I just finished EP2, and damn it owns! I never cared to finish ep1 though, did anything significant hapen in ep1?

I just finished EP2, and damn it owns! I never cared to finish ep1 though, did anything significant hapen in ep1?

kort-nilsen

Nothing that you didn't see in the intro to Episode 2.
Barney and other rebels evacuated the city on trains, Alyx and Gordon didn't get out of the blast radius in time. That's about it.

Yeah i had a feeling something bad was gonna happen. Can't wait to for episode 3 and see how everything (Who/what the G-man is and what he wants, the borealis and events in portal, how it all ends, etc.) come together.

*SPOILERS*I kind of felt bad for killing her, you know what I'm talking about if you have beaten it. And, OMG there WAS cake! ;)

Myrkan

if you listen to the end song then you know she's still alive (not sure if that makes me happy or angry)

My theory is that the G-Man is perhaps an android since his speech is disjointed like GlaDus's and he always refers to the fact he is working for someone but refers to them only as his employers. The speech problem and the way he acts and mentions his employers makes me think he is an android employed by some as of yet unknown faction involved in the HalfLife universe.1005

Well since that test had armed turrets I would think that it was for military androids, and the G-man is more sneaky and underhanded. My theory is that he is an alien (thus the odd speech pattern) working for a third party not yet revealed. The powers he exibitsseem beyond even the Combine, let alone human/aperture.

The powers he exibitsseem beyond even the Combine, let alone human/aperture.

capthavic

Then again, we've always joked/guessed that the Gman's briefcase was some kind of portal device...