So looking forwards to Half Life 2 Episode 2

[Ghost]

Hello all,

This isn't really news but it is one of things I am so looking forwards too and its also why I hated that September went so slowly.

In a couple of hours from now the game will be released on STEAM, allowing those who preloaded the game to finally play it.
Unfortunate I don't have any online payment options so I will have to wait until the boxed versions.

This is a bit of an annoyance to me, the boxed version (The Orange Box) was supposed to come out this Friday but now it has been postponed to next week Friday.

I really am going to have to resist visiting Wikipedia in the coming week as I ruined the upcoming Metroid Prime 3 Corruption this way (I couldn't help it, Nintendo made us European fans for two months extra!) and I really want to enjoy Half Life 2 Episode 2 as it is intended.

Dammit, one more week.

[Harrison]

You could always take the other route and play it before official release. ;)

So as not to ruin it for you, all I will say is that it is much better than the first episode. Much longer and finally letter you leave the city behind and explore the outside. The new enemies are also much smarter and you can no longer just hide or take cover as they can track you and even work out where you are heading and get there before you, which can be quite a surprise.

You will definitely like Episode 2 once you finally get to play it.

[Tiago]

How many half life 2 versions exists?
I played some months ago Half life 2... i thing it was normal version. You now talk about episode 2.... there was an episode 1, or that was the normal game?
the one i played was not as expansion pack, was the intire normal game. So that one the episode 2 is an expansion or new game ?

[Ghost]

Hello Tiago,

Well there is Half Life 2, the official sequel to Half Life 1, game of the year 1998.
After that Valve started to make episodes (fancy names for expansions but the difference compared to Opposing Force and Blue Shift for HL1 is that you play Gordon Freeman in the Episodes).
Episode 1 was released last year (sadly a couple of weeks after my mom's passing :( ), and today Half Life 2 Episode 2 is released on STEAM.

There is also going to be a boxed version called the Orange Box that includes HL2, HL2 Episode 1, Half Life 2 Episode 2, Portal (a puzzle game) and Team Fortress 2.
This was supposed to be released two days after Episode 2 on STEAM but someone screwed up and seeing as Electronic Arts is the distributer I blame them.

Okay you probably have the question; why would people who have Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 Episode 1 buy a boxed version that also includes the two games they already have.

Well there was to be a Black Box edition too that only included Episode 2 and Portal but for some reason (probably to make more money) that one got cancelled and now you have to pay the full price for a package that might include two games you already have.

Valve claims to compensate this by allowing you to give away the activation codes for Half Life 2 and Episode 1 to friends who can download the games from STEAM for free.

Hope that clears things up


Hello Harrison,

It would probably be best if I contacted you privately, there might be snooping Valve eyes around.

[Tiago]

Ok, so the game i played was Half life 2 ("no episode")

so now i can play
Half life 2 episode 1
Half life 2 episode 2

Is there a sequel in game story? Do i need to play episode 1 to understand episode 2?

[Ghost]

Hello Tiago,

Yes there is, the actions of Half Life 2 directly influence the events in Episode 1 and so on.

[Tiago]

Ok, so i better play episode 1 before 2.

[Ghost]

In your case I would suggest that you get the Orange Box, then you have all the games.

[toomanymikes]

To any interested PS3 or 360 users the Orange box will be released for them on
PS3 - November 16, 2007
360 - October 19, 2007
Looks like another PS3 game thats been delayed over the 360 version. Not that I could care really - warhawk will keep me going until the 19th Nov!

[Sharingan]

Let's hope the console versions won't be crappy ports, as we've seen so often.

And Ghost, I can relate to ruining a game's experience by looking them up through sites like Wikipedia and IGN. It's funny how the eyes can catch the biggest spoilers even when you're quickly skimming over the text looking for the information you DO want to see.

Other places you might want to avoid are message boards relating to the game. Never know when some asshole thinks it's funny to post a topic named 'AERIS DIES! HAHAHAHA!', or something to that effect (I'm assuming that everyone has already played FFVII by now :thumbs: )

[v85rawdeal]

Who's Aeris? And how did he/she/it die?

[Demon Cleaner]

This is Aerith Gainsborough (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerith_Gainsborough).

[Harrison]

Tiago, you definitely need to play the HL2 episodes in order as the follow on the story from the original HL2 game. A third episode is due next year too.

[Tiago]

Tiago, you definitely need to play the HL2 episodes in order as the follow on the story from the original HL2 game. A third episode is due next year too.

I try to find it in local store, but there was only HL1 .... 19 euros.

Have to find HL2ep1 and HL2ep2 somewhere

[Harrison]

If you already own HL2 then you can buy and download the episodes directly online using Steam. If you don't own HL2 then I highly recommend you buy the Orange Box once it is available as it will contain all of them plus more.

[Ghost]

Darn it, despite that I tried to prevent it I have seen a couple of spoilers
But these last couple of days are so annoying and with little else to do it really gnaws at my patience.

Curse you Valve and EA, next time, release the Internet and the boxed version at the same time, or with little delay and not a week later.

[Ghost]

Well it seems that one of the stores where I usually buy my games finally has the Orange Box so I will check out the other store tomorrow to see if they have it.
Otherwise, though luck.

[Ghost]

Hello all,

Woohoo, I finally got Half Life 2 Episode 2 today, okay also Darwinia from a friend of Finland for my birthday, and Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, both two games I am really happy with, but I wanted to finish Half Life 2 Episode 2 first as I was so damn curious about the storyline.

(I will try to make this as spoiler free as possible)

Well in general I can say it is one sweet ride.
Of course Valve pulled our leg again here and there and the game is nothing like those gameplay movies they have been showing since the release of Episode 1.
Episode 2 feels a lot more action packed then Episode One and there are definitely moments that you feel that you are dead meat.
One of the new opponents is also a real asshole and you will learn to hate it with a passion.

Unfortunate I also have experienced a few negatives.
The first is probably my crappy old video card's problem, during certain interactive segments my machine starts to studder, and I need to reload in the active sequence in order to make it pace normally again.
I bet this will probably solved with either new patches or a whole new video card (Valve did recommend a dual core for this).

The second is more regarding gameplay itself, in the previews Valve told us that there would be sand box like areas, andthough the start and the end would be linear how you would go from A to B was up to you.

Unfortunate this only happens once, and you are to busy going from a set of certain buildings to really enjoy the degree of freedom in this section.


I haven't ran Portal yet, and with the problems I had with Episode 2, I fear that Portal will probably be only half playable so I am probably better off if I wait with that one.


Well, though my Birthday is next week it really felt like a Birthday today, three games at once with possibly another one coming tomorrow.
As these couple of months had been exceptional boring this is really a relief.

[Harrison]

I only played HL2:EP2 on a single core CPU and can confirm it plays smoothly with my 7800GT graphics card, so it is most likely your graphics card causing the issues. What card do you have? I can also confirm the HL2 runs perfectly well on the older Radeon 9800 Pro cards at 1024x768 as that is what I had when it came out.

The one criticism of EP2 is that it was more linear than promised, but the original HL2 was very linear and no one complained much about that. When a game is story driven as HL is you can't make it too open and non-linear because the player could then end up bypassing some of the story completely and trigger an event past their current progression within the game.


One of the new opponents is also a real asshole and you will learn to hate it with a passion.Their AI is definitely a surprise compared to what we are used to. It is great how they can track you and even work out where you are heading so they can flank you and give you a nice surprise when you reach your destination, only to discover they are already there waiting for you. No longer is it safe to hide behind a wall and wait, as they will be moving around behind you while you sit there.

[Ghost]

Hello Harrison.

Its most probably my video card, I tested Portal yesterday and my fears of it not running weren't justified.
I currently use a NVIDIA GEfore 6800 LE, but as you know I am planning to buy a new PC soon so this problem shouldn't bother me for long.

For the rest the game actually runs pretty well, its just these movie segments during which the game starts to act difficult, I had it with the Gman scene and the endscene.


Well I guess those movies really got me excited, I thought that the game would be a lot like that, loads of small battles between the resistance and the Combine during which the player can help the resistance to victory.
Such scenes of course do happen but later in the game.


Those 'things' really give you a run for your money, they're quick, powerful and they can take a lot of beating, and they have a tendency to jump out of the way of your car.
I hope we might get to see some weapon like the Strider Buster but then for them.

[Harrison]

I would definitely say your graphics card is the problem. The 6800 LE is actually a cut down version of the 6800 card, with less pipelines and a slower main core.

When you do get a new system make sure the graphics card is at least a 8800 GTS or better. That way you will guarantee you can play all current games at their best, and all future games for at least another year.

[Ghost]

Hi Harrison,

Well I am all ears for your future suggestions ;)