Valve keeps it coming and it hasn't failed so far, instead, it couldn't get any better...

User Rating: 9.5 | Half-Life 2: Episode Two PC
"Doctor Freeeeeemannn" - Government-Man(G-Man)

"Listen carefully, my dear. When you see your father relay these words: Prepare for unforeseen consequences." - G-man

"So... uh... is he your boyfriend?" - Griggs.

It is Half-life 2 Episode 2 already, and that train part... So ya, after the explosion of the citadel, Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance's train was blown off it's rails and for some reason it ended up on the bridge thus breaking it. Alyx Vance helps you to get out of the train by actually using the Gravity Gun herself and pulling off the door for you. You get your Gravity Gun before you get your Crow-bar which is odd though I thought that it was some kind of a tradition of Half-life to get your Crowbar first since the Crowbar kind of trademarks Half-life series. Just like Half-life 2 Episode 1, Episode 2 starts out fairly quickly without any tutorials to help you around, so my intro ends here.

I am going to make my review a fairly different way than my previous ones since I am not really sure which way I am going to do it. Practically, it is going to fairly look like Game-Spot's ones but meh. This time it is going in to detail and not into stuff like Good/Bad.


Valve practically amazes me in a way that they don't keep you boring throughout all of their Half-life series, there is always something new and in some cases something rather unexpected that you didn't see in the previous games. With each game Valve releases, they add a new cliff-hanger that is going to lead on to the next installment, in this case the cliff-hanger that was shown in Half-life 2 Episode 1 wasn't resolved in the following game and is probably going to be done in Half-life 2 Episode 3(Video, Borealis). Not only that, but Valve makes the endings of their games even more shocking each time they release a game, sadly enough, I won't get to spoil it for you hah. Valve also puts some minor details to game's story just to keep you interested, for example - you find out more about Striders. The only problem with the game's story though is that when Valve makes it too interesting, people can't wait for the next game, in this case which is Half-life 2 Episode 3... pretty painful heh.

It is a similar story with Episode 2's gameplay, but a bit different. Throughout all 3 games, ranging from the original Half-life 2 all the way to Episode 2, Valve has had the same engine(With improvements with each game), same weapons, just two more enemies, and in most places - the same tactics and strategies against same monsters in each game. The only thing that Valve has been noticably changed throughout all the games is the environment you play in. Half-life 2 offered practically everything ranging from open fields to claustraphobic closed up rooms, Episode 1 mainly offered puzzles and lots of rooms ranging from big to tiny and with different lighting ranging from some light to absolutely none. Episode 1 had some outdoors but mainly rooms with more Antlions/Zombies and less Combine, refreshing. Episode 2 this time offers beautiful outdoors and scary but big caverns with this time probably balanced number of Combine and Zombies/Antlions. Valve has proven that different environments is the only thing you need just to keep you playing without stopping, even with the same weapons and such, it's amazing. You get a new companion that you have had actually to fight with in the original Half-life, but he perfectly replaces Alyx, and gah he scared me once for no apparent reason. The Antlion part in the caves may get a bit annoying to some people(it did annoy me a bit), but it's not that big of a factor - it added a new flavor to the game.

In previous games, AI was not such of a great thing in Half-life 2. Valve has worked it out and in Episode 2, AI is sometimes smarter than you are... I still remember that Acid Antlion that was hiding behind corners anytime I tried to get close to him... failed, I was killed right after I started the game... odd. Even thought Half-life 2 was a bit easy for newcomers... Episode 2 is dam hard even for experienced players if they play it the first time. You did have to beat one Antlion Guard with a AR-2 Stationary guard helping you in Half-life 2. Well, in Episode 2 you will have to beat TWO Antlion Guards with no help... and I forgot to mention some normal Antlions aiding them, very nice... And how could I forget? Valve has added lots of new puzzles that are more challenging than ever just to make this game even more entertaining. The AI has had a major impovement, and the new enemy Valve has added is brilliant.

The Sound is still one of the best in Half-life 2. The Sound feels different this time even with the same enemies, the environment you play in affects the sound too. It is hard to explain, but it is awesome to hear a Strider very far away approaching, and the new enemy you're going to face sounds better than ever. Voice acting is still the best as well, with more amusing lines than ever, Valve has added some new temporary characters that made it even more entertaining to fight lengthy battles. If you really want to know of what comedy Valve is capable of go play Portal. Some sounds in Episode 2 just stop you from playing just because they're too terrifying, I think this is one of the new improvements in Episode 2... I have never seen a game with that many aspects - Funny, Terrifying and Beautiful, Go Valve... And yes, Soundtracks are still outstanding, while I think about it in the last minute before hitting Submit - I put it in the end meh.

Graphically, Half-life 2 improves with every episode. But since the engine is still the same through-out all the game, it may cause some problems. In most aspects, Episode 2 not only dominates the previous games, it adds more stuff. Episode 2 contains numerous scripted events that are beautiful and entertaining, and you get to see two of them already right from the start of the game - a very good start ... There are some downfalls though, the game doesn't look as dark as it should be. It went a little bit on the cartoony side... it is not mainly a bad thing but in the next game Valve better improve their engine. Compare Episode 2 to Gears of War, it would've been awesome if Half-life 2 looked that way but again, it's not a bad thing... maybe I am wrong, but meh worth a try. :) If you want to see to what cartoony level Valve can go to go play Team Fortress 2 heh.

Overall, this game is surprisingly Perfect. Sequels usually are worse than the originals, but Episode 2 just broke the record. Gameplay this is time outstanding, Story is still perfect, Sound is the best and Graphically it will soon need improvement but still really impressive with all these scripted events like the Portal Storm. You should play this game if you're a fan of FPS, but if you haven't played Half-life 2 and Episode 1, I recommend you to play them first because they're just as good or better. Half-life 2 I still consider the best FPS, so... go ahead buy and play it.

SCORE: GAMEPLAY: 9.5 STORY: 10 GRAPHICS: 9

OVERALL: 9.5.