Half-Life 2 – Episode 2 Review (PC and 360)

Age rating: 15+ (PEGI)

What is it?

First person shooter set in the Half-Life universe.

Is it fun?

Yes.

Is it worth the money?

PC – £26.28 via steam, Xbox 360 £26.99 (inc. p+p)
Not on its own, but as part of the Orange Box. Yes, yes, hell yes.

Why?

I absolutely love the Half-Life games. I’ve completed everyone so far (including Blue Shift) and enjoyed every minute. So it’s hardly surprising that I also love this latest episode of Half-Life fun from Valve. It’s liner. It only has a couple of new enemies to blat. There’s the same puzzles to solve with the gravity gun but on a much grander scale. Gordon’s mate Barney Calhoun is notable by his absence and finally you’ll complete the whole shabang in about 6 hours. But what a great way to spend 6 hours.

You can actually feel the love and attention that Valve has (typically) lavished on this game. It has pacing, intelligent, properly scripted dialogue and believable characters. Take for example Alyx. Ever since she appeared in Half-Life 2 you actually care about her survival. I wonder if anything “romantic” will happen before the end of Episode 3, as she seems to have a soft spot for old Mr Freeman. The fact that I’m wondering this speaks volumes for Valve’s realisation of Alyx.

As far as the different versions are concerned, they are the same. I’ve completed Episode 2 on both the PC and the Xbox 360 and I haven’t noticed any differences at all. Apart from Alyx refusing to get out of the car on the 360, even though she was crucial for the next cut scene. The result, cut scene didn’t finish, so I couldn’t progress. Reload. Bah. Also I did play though the game on the Xbox 360 with a garden gnome in tow. I’m not mental honest! It’s so I could get the little rocket man achievement. Yes, you have to play though 85% of the game escorting a gnome. And yes, this made the driving sections even more of a git trying to keep the damn thing in the car. But isn’t this the kind of thing that achievements were invented for, and not awarded just for completing the game and such like? It certainly made me want to play the 360 version after finishing it on the PC.

In Summary

It’s another 6 hours incredibly polished, well scripted Half-Life 2 action. Lovely.

Screenshots

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