Half-Life 2: Episode Two is the second installment in the Half-Life 2 episodic trilogy. Continuing the plot of Half-Life 2 and Episode One, Episode Two consists of seven chapters telling the story of Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance's journey to a large Resistance base called White Forest. After the destruction of the Citadel, the Combine are working to open a massive superportal to call for reinforcements. An integral part of the plot is the transmission packet which the Combine sacrificed the Citadel to send, and which Alyx and Gordon stole a copy of before making their escape. It contains information relating to the location of the Combine homeworld and allows the creation of the superportal to be controlled from the 'other side'. This information has to be delivered to White Forest so that the Resistance can use it to shut down the superportal and prevent another Combine invasion.

The opening segments are arguably the weakest, where you're running around underground caves fighting Antlions and other disgusting bugs. After you finally meet up with some freedom fighters, which gives way to a defense sequence involving turrets and then you're accompanied by one of the friendly alien Vortigaunts for more bug killing and traditional Half-Life puzzle-solving. From here, you'll start to really get into the good stuff that made Valve's classic first-person shooter franchise so great. With a good mix of gunplay, puzzles, and new but somewhat familiar cinematic moments, you'll feel right at home with Episode Two!


Two new forms of Antlion are present. The first is the glow-in-the-dark antlion grub, which is immobile, unable to attack, and is functionally a minor health pickup. The second is the Worker Antlion whose body carries strong acids; in addition to a ranged spit attack, this property makes them deadly to be near when their bodies explode on death. You will also encounter Hunters - a bioengineered Combine shock troop. Like Striders, Hunters can absorb massive amounts of damage, which makes them difficult to take down. Meanwhile, they're armed with explosive plasma darts that can knock down your health and armor in a hurry. Hold up in a house and Hunters will smash through the windows. Try and take them up close and they'll simply charge your arse down. After the relatively disappointing gun fights of the last episode, the Hunters are a very welcome addition to the Half-Life universe.

There are no new weapons (except The Magnusson bombs) with this release, but it doesn't even matter... the weapons that are there work, and are fun to use. You'll start off with your signature weapon, the Gravity Gun, a device that lets you grab, move, and throw objects at high speeds. Before you get too far, though, you'll quickly be reunited with the many great weapons of Half-Life 2. The Magnusson bombs a.k.a. Strider Buster (named after their annoying creator) are one of the most effective anti-strider weapons in the human arsenal. After you have taken aim, you must fire the device at the Strider. The Magnusson Bomb will then stick to the strider. You must then take out a ranged weapon of your choice (such as the Pistol) and shoot the Magnusson Bomb, which is attached to the Strider. Once the Magnusson Device is hit by the projectile of a ranged weapon, the device will explode, completely destroying the Strider. Using a Strider Buster is fairly simple, but the effects are particularly brilliant to watch., with Strider guts flying everywhere and whiffs of yellow smoke pouring out.

What keeps Episode Two interesting is what happens between the action. Aside from the intro sequences, there are plenty of scripted events scattered throughout, some expanding on the strange Combine psychic creatures from Episode One (called 'advisors'), others introducing old friends. Also, your questions are finally getting answered, and Freeman continues to grow closer towards Alyx. That in effect means you will grow closer with her, and when a game can invoke any emotions at all, it's a damn good game.

Overall, Episode Two was not amongst the longest FPS of last year, but it was without doubt one of the best shooters I had the pleasure of playing. It's impossible not to recommend this game!

It is also worth noting that Episode 2 isn't a stand-alone release, but instead comes bundled with Half Life 2, Episode 1 and two new titles - Team Fortress 2 and Portal.

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System Requirements:
Minimum: 1.7 GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, DirectX 8 level Graphics Card, Windows Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection
Recommended: Pentium 4 CPU (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM, DirectX 9 level Graphics Card, Windows Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection