As good as episode 1 with more variety and new challenging enemies.
- Alyx
- More challenging than its predecessors
- Good enemy AI
- Good physics
- Great story driven game
- Great lighting
- Superb animations
- Superb facial expressions and lip sync
- Superb voice over, sound track and sound effects
What you may not like:
- Still very much linear
- Short ending
- Low-resolution textures
- Low max resolution (1280x1024)
- Very short game (4-6 hours)
Story - The run to White Forest.
After successfully escaping City 17, your train sustained heavy damage and you are forced to continue on foot.
As you may recall, your goal is to deliver the sensitive information that you have collected from the Citadel to White Forest, the Resistance's main base of operations.
One good thing about Episode 2 is that you continue your adventure with the sweet company of Alyx. The flirting will continue and though you won't be as close to her as in episode 1, she will still contribute greatly in making Episode 2 successful.
Vortigaunts (our friendly aliens) are a lot more involved in this expansion. They are fun to interact with and in combat, they can really hold their own in the few segments where they fight by your side.
The Gman will also actively participate in the story plot.
Valve seems to have a bad habit of cutting their endings short, and unfortunately, it won't be different in this expansion. It does, on the other hand, close the episode in a very strong fashion.
All in all, the story is very rich and eventful.
Game - Finally, challenging fights.
The major element to note in this expansion is the addition of new enemies.
The most notables are:
Hunters
They look like armored gorillas. They are fearsome as they can move rapidly, follow you inside buildings and are very hard to dodge when they charge. Their main weapons are explosive fléchettes. If they don't directly hit you, they will stick to the closest surface and self-explode a few seconds later, forcing you to always be on the move.
Acidlions
They look like crabs shooting acid at you. Those antlion workers are very smart. They usually take full advantage of the level design as they can jump from one place to another. Their strategy is to try to get a shot at you and then flee to get cover.
Enemy AI
The general enemy AI seems to be better even though a bit unrealistic at times. For instance, in the original version, you could pretty much sneak up to the Cumbine soldiers. Now it is nearly impossible, as they always know where you are. The pathing of the zombies is a bit funny as well as they have the tendency to sometimes head in the opposite direction.
Vehicles
You will be able to drive the "Hotrod", a modified muscle car that will be used in a few segments of the game. One of those segments is really questionable though. See, during the whole game, there is a definite setting of urgency in reaching White Forest as quickly as possible. Why are we asked to drive and explore some specific locations that don't bring anything to the story? That segment really felt out of place.
Other than that, the game is full of pleasing story segments, satisfying action and trivial puzzle solving that made also Episode 1 so enjoyable.
Technology
Half-Life 2's graphics engine was revolutionary when it first came out in 2004. Today, it still leads on some aspects (physics, shadows, facial expressions and lighting) but it lacks on what is now considered "standard" in terms of graphics expectations.
HL2:Episode 2 limits you to a very low max resolution of 1280x1024. Nowadays, games are expected to provide at least a resolution of 1680×1050.
Though the overall visuals are very rich in detail, the actual textures are a bit blurry and the level architecture is a bit blockier than what we can find on the market today.
On the other hand, the actual characters (like Alyx) look extremely good and their costume also change a bit as the story unfolds, which is a nice touch.
There is no other eye candy, like weather or destructive environment.
Conclusion - A great sequel.
Episode 2 is a great sequel to Episode 1.
As if Alyx wasn't reason enough to play this sequel, Episode 2 delivers more variety in terms of levels, enemies and gameplay than its predecessors.
You will enjoy the great ending of Episode and will be left with an empty feeling... until episode 3 comes around.
Considering Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2 should really have been just 1 game (-) but is part of the Orange Box (+), I give it an 8.4/10.
If I had to rate Episode 1 and 2 as one expansion, they would get 9.4/10.