GH Review: Half Life 2 : Episode 2

WhO_KnOwS

Read The Review Here
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Half Life games are quite possibly amongst the most revered PC titles of the recent years. And how could they not be? Both the original and its sequel pushed forward the boundaries of FPS story-telling, making players experience the story first hand, not through directed cinematics. That was not all they did however! With great AI, graphics engines that were amongst the prettiest of the generation and some of the most memorable scenes in gaming the two defined what PC gaming was all about. As if all of this wasn’t enough, Valve decided to push the boundaries in content delivery as well, bringing forward Steam and inevitably episodic games. HL2 Episode 1 was not amongst the longest games of last year, but it was without doubt one of the best shooters we had the pleasure of playing. Valve are also well known for learning from their mistakes, so let’s see what Episode 2 has in store for us!

bug77

Is the review saying that if you want Ep2 you must but HL2 and Ep1 again? (Maybe they figured the price is for Ep2, Portal and TF and then went and bundled HL2 and Ep1 as free extras?)

OmegaRED

Don't forget the 360 gamers couldn't play Ep2 without Ep1 and Half Life 2. I think the big package may have been due in part to enticing the console crowd into purchasing the series.

ptsigas

well atleast i can marvel at the screenshots- well hopefully it works...

i have had this problem for over a year now- sound hitching and stalling...oh man (game stalls..) it is very annoying! i was lucky enough to enjoy hl 2 and ep1 (both bought versions) without ANY problems for the couple of months i owned them...then it all went down the crapper.

updated drivers, os, beyond system requirements (oblivion runs at 55fps with 4AA and performance AAA) - plus maxed out details! what gives- fear runs amazing, bioshock ran incredibly fast.

now here i have half life...and it stalls...ANY source game i have does not work- i have tried the big fix that the majog dude figured out or whatever their names were..this blows

valve- stick hl on cryteks engine just do it- apparently there is some flaw or memory leak in source for many players- also something to do with vram...well i have 2 1900's and they run great with everything else- but source games (dark messiah cant get passed menu)- all set to lowest crappiest graphics possiblE!@!


anyways congrats to valve for the release- i hope it turns out-

im waiting for crysis (i know that wont mess up!)

calidan

What are your computer specs? I had that same problem but ever since I've upgraded it doesn't happen anymore.

ptsigas

amd athlon X2 4400 @2.60ghz

asus a8r32 mvp deluxe socket 939

OCZ 2gb 4000

2- 1900 radeons (not overclocked at all)

xtreme gamer creative soundcard

system is virus free - xp is sp 2 and fully patched - all drivers are up to date.

i tried game without crossfire- doesnt help- i tried with all low settings doesnt help- all settings in catalyst - off- doesnt help.

i tried older drivers- doesnt help

i tried all of the guideliness from tweakguides- doesnt help

basically the game is fragged to hell.

all other games i have (unless it is source) runs amazing- bioshock, oblivio, fear +exp, condemned, and a whole lot more!



so it is annoying- very annoying. amazing game- best fps story (for me!) - and i cant enjoy like some people-

game on. thanks for any insight or advice!

ptsigas

oh and hard drive is defragged twice a week. all clean up is done every 3 days.

i also tried the -heapsize 512000 (i know it is another number i just put this for example)- that helped a little bit but the game still messes up.

even the -dx70 or 80- same crap.

OmegaRED

I finished Episode 2 last night and am on board with those who think it was the best in the Half Life series. If only there had been a teaser for the next episode... I can't shake the feeling that it will be 2009 before we get to play the final installment.

BoroVC

I'm gonna probably gonna finish Ep2 tonite and I have to agree this is definately the best installment of the series so far. The cinematics are awsome and the graphics are lush and varied. Ran smooth on my aging system too!

topbob

Honestly I thought Eps 2 has better game play then even HL2, I thought it was as good as the original, which is saying a lot, because I loves me my Half-Life 1. The story and character dev in this episode was superb, Valve is still improving their ability to do amazing character and story work you normally would only see in good TV series you like. Its all about character development. Killed me when I saw the HUGEEEEE cliff hanger at the end, apart of me died that moment knowing I wouldn't be able to go
[SPOILER]



on that ship, which if any long time HL fans would know, came out of the original HL2, but Valve took it out of the final game, you can still find the level of it in the leaked HL2 pre-alpha, which I still have
[/SPOILER]

thomasabarnes

I just finished Episode 2 last night, as well! I really like this game. I was wondering why I didnt see a thread for Episode Two comments. I really loved the graphics in EP2.

And those Hunters are a pain in the Butt!!!!!!!!!!!

They have got to make another game for this series because the ending sucked!!!

I'm gonna install Half Life and play all these Half Life games! These games are really very good stuff!!!

EDIT:

Oh, by the way, HL2 EP2 can be purchased by itself over Steam, that is for U.S. residents. I think the Orange Box release date for those in Europe is Oct. 19th.

Anyway EP2 is well worth playing IMO!!

Zardon

HL2 EP2 is available on steam to people in europe as a standalone title too. and it was all released in europe on steam at the same time.

its only those who want the retail store pack who have to wait.

MIG-31

First of all a very good review indeed.

Secondly i went ahead and bought E2 a couple of days ago.I have only just finished the game within the last 15 minutes.

As im an avid half life fan,i have to say this was bar far the best installment of the series.Im now intrigued how this is going to end.

thomasabarnes

Ah, Ok Zardon. I was reading somewhere that European residents were complaining that they had to wait for the release of EP2. It wasnt clear to me if they meant retail or purchase over steam. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

BTW Zardon, Bitc*ing new avatar and Sig pic you have! hehe

Cya all around.

BWX

Sounds like a pretty good game, although longer would have been better. I cannot believe the sound stuttering is still there either- Oh well, I guess that is a given for HL2 series. I'll probably buy it anyway.

H82LUZ

system is virus free - xp is sp 2 and fully patched - all drivers are up to date.


Did you try the new Direct X update most of the guys that have this issue, it is because they don`t update Direct X too.

ptsigas

well i will give the new direct x update a try..

i have a feeling though it wont help much

ill try it in about 10 min- and give feedback

my problem still persists- over a year strong now..i mean i did get to the point where i dont care about any half life or source crap (but i still rate as HL (and ALL games included) as 10/10 for me!!! my FAVOURITE FPS EVER!!!))

even though i cant play it...its pretty much the same as saying "i just DREAM to own a Maybach 62/s but i cant afford it- but i still rate it as number one.."

common Valve...do something- anything! gazoo help me man!! what sucks the worst is some players who dont care about HL at all can play and do - and bash it

anyways game on- BTW COD4 amazing- timeshift- wow fragging great!

Erroneus

\o/

Max details in everything, 16QSAA, 16AF and 1650x1080, game runs smoooth, nice job Valve

Took me 8 hours to finish and now i have to go through it again, this time with commentaries on and look a bit more around to find all the fun stuff

I spotted g-man twice, on the bridge and off course at the big monitor in white forest.

Hopefully EP3 will be ready for xmas 08

BWX

I don't have the stuttering problem, although the flashlight sometimes cuts my framerate by 50 to 80%.

edit
I should note that I uninstalled STEAM completely after backing up my games on a separate partition, then defragged drive, then reinstalled STEAM on freshly defragged drive, then reinstalled my old games via copy/paste of backup folder (directions on STEAM website). Then downloaded Ep2, then defragged again, then played the game. I think all the defragging really helps.

ptsigas

all of the methods help...but it should not exist- really- companies that cheap out dont deserve the money- i dont care. if i make you a drink and urinate in it...will you want to buy it from me? and dont give me this piracy caused this..nope- i bought the two games- fair and square- waht a waste of
$100- i cant trust to buy them anymore..i cant...too much of a risk. - even crysis - ill see how it goes..or ill try to get the demo...we should be able to atleast return games- for money back- i dont know HOW t ocrak and rip and copy games and all of that illegal business...i think that demos should be more optimized...if the demo is- and i dont have to troubleshoot for 9 weeks..then ill buy the game if i enjoy it. COD 4- amazing- flat out buy no worries...timeshift- bam- buying- oblivion bought it- engine rocks!

jericho pc- demo- crap- not optimized...not wasting money- no way- good luck - looks great but doesnt run too well...i have been troubleshooting for over a week now..nothing- even running it via win 64- not anything- havent tried crossfire off yet so ill give her a try now..but otherwise- im disappointed i love barkers work. game on guys

Zardon

im a bit confused, what two games from steam cost you $100?

nehinbin

My friend beat this game within 3 hours. He went crazy after purchasing the Orange Box.