We first saw the world through the eyes of Gordan Freeman, the silent scientist and protagonist of the Half-Life series, almost ten years ago. The right man in the wrong place, saving a world housing a dimensional rift, the result of human experiments gone wrong, from which an alien race was invading. In Half-Life 2 Gordon was awoken from stasis in the oppressive City 17 following an invasion of another alien race which resulted in the Seven Day War and the subsequent enslavement of the earths population.
Last episode left of with Freeman and his friend and ally Alex escaping on a train from a City 17 in ruins, the alien citadel about to explode. However the fight for humanity was far from over. This latest episode starts us off right where Episode One finished off and drags along not only the storyline, but also the series’ trademark quality gameplay.
A Strider and her 'children'.
Episode Two is full to the brim with ‘moments’, all of which are entirely memorable. From being suddenly ambushed in an abandoned house to the previously unseen style of action that is tearing around in a beat up old car as you protect a missile silo from a group of invading War of the Worlds-esque Striders, each is as memorable as the next. However at the same time they can be sorted through differently by each individual player. Many games will transport you from significance to significance, using as a guide threads woven of disposable enemies and generic set pieces. Rather than provide cannon fodder and clumsily added puzzle sections to artificially lengthen the game, every thing feels as if it were carefully thought out before insertion into Episode Two. All killer no filler as the saying goes. Thus lending every second of the game tremendous amount of gravitas, and further propelling the overall story.
At almost all times within Episode Two you feel as if you’re part of something bigger, not only as a result of short conversational sequences played out in front of you – although being able to stop and listen to a couple of scientists discuss something as inconsequential as getting ready for a rocket launch does add to this feeling - but also as you take part in each task. There is not a moment in the game where you question the motivation behind what you're doing. It all feels incredibly relevant and every task has its purpose. Thankfully there are also no moments that take you out of the gameworld to read lengthy pieces of text or to solve puzzles that don’t feel natural. Even without these the game allows you to grasp the full scope of the universe.
Half-Life didn’t invent the idea of storytelling within a gameplay engine, but it definitely fine tuned this narrative method. Here in Episode Two it further sharpens the blade with which whittles the FPS genre into a vehicle for highly involved story exposition. While most games borrow and steal their methods of story telling from cinema, using clumsily cut in cut scenes to flesh out their worlds, Half-Life’s method of letting all the action unfold around you as you’re still able to play truly lives up to the interactive entertainment label. In this episode there seems to be more scenarios that move the story along, while still allowing for action to take place, and coupled with great dialogue – even better than in the previous games – you really feel as though you’re involved in an interactive piece of fiction. That’s not to say that the game’s story rivals that of some of the best literature out there but rather, it is at the top, or at least very close to it when it comes to storytelling in videogames.
Episode Two holds some truly breathtaking scenery.
The game is not simply about continuing on the Half-Life narrative but also its action. Many of the enemies you loved to hate are back again including, slow yet persistent zombies, Combine soldiers, the loping Striders, and antlions. Here in Episode Two there are a couple of new additions to the menagerie of foes within the Half-Life universe. The most notable is the Hunter, a tripedal killing machine. Galloping around you, they tend to appear in groups rather than as single one off foes, often outflanking you as a group or constantly on your tail when only one is still standing.
The AI in Episode Two feels improved, with enemies using cover incredibly effectively or tossing grenades or other explosives to flush you out of hiding. It’s also incredible to fight alongside Alex, other humans and Vortigaunts, or to take part in the multifactional battle against Combine soldiers, Zombies, and antlions simultaneously as they massacre each other and attempt to exact the same violence upon you and your race. The addition of a Strider Busting Bomb weapon also adds some new gameplay resulting in some incredible fun as you attempt to launch these stickybomb like devices at the towering enemies in order to explode them with a single shot, transforming the once fearsome enemy into a scattered mess of its former glory.
Half-Life 2’s characters have always been one of its an incredibly strong elements, and there’s no exception here. Almost no other game succeeds so well at conjuring up a sense of emotional connection to the artificial individuals as does this one. Valve has imbued each character with an amazingly believable personality, each with their own, characteristics, motivations, and charm. Alyx is back again and although you don’t spend as much time with her as you did in Episode 1 her character continues to grow.
Environments within Episode Two are like nothing we’ve seen in a Half-Life title to date. There are still a great deal of corridors in the game, and Freeman has voyaged outdoors on numerous occasions, but here the environments seem larger and less constraining. Not only do they allow for you and your enemies to fight it out in more interesting ways but they also look even better than what we’ve seen previously.
'Shut up and kiss me'.
The art design behind the game is incredibly strong. Combine forces ooze an organic meets robotic otherworldliness that elicits a discomfort that you can’t quite put your finger on, especially the Advisors who we’ve seen only briefly before but have more of a showing here. The types of impressive set pieces for which Valve has become well known are laid out in spades. There’s collapsing bridges, barn houses that splinter and collapse under Striders fire, and of course the ever present vista of a dying City 17, Combine portal forming above. All of this adds to both the awe that you feel and the sense that you’re taking part in a world that is alive, a near perfect simulacra rather than invented reality.
Just as in its previous offerings Valve have included a developer commentary mode. It’s a great travel through the levels impenetrable to damage learning about the design choices that were made, not only on a technical programming level but in terms of the overarching drama of the game.
Half-Life 2 Episode Two is an incredibly polished package especially when you consider that the game can be purchased by itself at the budget price of US$29.95 off Steam, or as part of the Orange Box. It manages to combine some of the best action and storytelling that has been presented in the Half-Life universe, and indeed gaming in general. There are moments that rival, and often times surpass, the original’s in terms of their impressiveness. If you've played through the previous two installments then this is a must, if you haven't, then it's worth it to get up to speed so that you can fully appreciate what Episode Two is doing.
) in order to get the full experience, but tbh it isn't necessary.
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