Vanguard

Unlike "Half-Life 2" and "Half-Life 2: Episode One," "Half-Life 2: Episode Two" is a completely new addition to the world of "Half-Life." It is the third and final "Half-Life 2" game featured in "The Orange Box."

CONCEPT - Advancing from the cliff-hanger ending of "Episode One," which continued from the cliffhanger ending of "Half-Life 2," "Episode Two" begins with Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance making their way to the base of operations for a resistance group in White Forest to deliver an important transmission device.
The game really only features two types of environments -- a forest and an underground mine -- but players will never really feel like they are constantly walking around the same place and seeing the same things. This is largely due to how the developers at Valve varied the gameplay in the forest by including strong action sequences, stunning car chases and some puzzle elements. "Episode Two" features all the weapons that were in the first two installments but also includes a new bomb that can be used with the Gravity Gun. There are also new enemy called the Hunters, which are basically mini-Striders.

GRAPHICS - "Episode Two" runs on an enhanced version of the Source engine that powered "Half-Life 2." This engine allows for better dynamic lighting, better textures, huge draw distances and deep, realistic foliage which will be noticeable to players while in the forest areas. Basically, it looks like "Episode One," only better.

AUDIO - More great dialogue and more great sound effects are also notable is that, as in "Episode One," this game features Developer Commentary that can be enabled once a chapter has been completed. Once enabled, "commentary nodes" will be placed in certain parts of the game. If the player selects the node, an audio track that features commentary by the developers will start playing over the game's soundtrack.

PLAYABILITY - "Episode Two" is possibly the most challenging game in "The Orange Box," and because of the difficulty, the payoff of finishing it is outstanding. The controls and options are just as great and, fortunately, the load times are less noticeable.

ACHIEVEMENTS - This game features the least amount of entertaining achievements, as most of them will be unlocked just by beating the game. The others are mostly tedious, searching-everywhere-so-that-I-don't-miss-one collection achievements.

OVERALL - "Half-Life 2: Episode Two" is a fantastic addition to "The Orange Box." Personally, I think it's better than "Episode One," but lacks the quantity of memorable moments that "Half-Life 2" had, although its two most memorable moments (both at the end of the game) are truly breathtaking.

Article Tools