Episode 2

[Ryom]

No topic yet? Let's fix that...

Game time says I beat it in 3.6 hours. That's not very long, and I spent a lot of time poking around in the woods. Alyx didn't seem quite as good a companion this time around, and the constant fawning from all the characters is wearing thin. That's pretty much it for the negatives.

Anyone using the motion blur? I think it looks fantastic, great addition. Helps hide vsynch tearing a little, and fast pans look so much smoother and realistic, doubly so if you are capped at 60fps by your LCD (always are with current LCD and display connection tech). The environment looks great, the high resolution model and actor textures are very welcome.

Oh, and it appears it isn't crediting me many of the achievements I should have...

[g00seberry]

3.6 hours ?? Bloody hell, you should slow down lol. I've got 3.2 hours and i've only just ...... (Spoiler! Highlight to read....)
Killed the 2 angry big bug things after nicking the energy from their eggs or whatnot

:D

I'm enjoying it, think it's been great so far. I had low expectations after Episode 1 which i thought was useless, so it's easily exceeded them.

[Dem Pyros]

I'm just a bit after that eZ'

It's great so far, absolutely loving it :D

[<<UK>>Wolf]

Stcuk on a bridge where i get to get a car across wich is impossible as the middle part has vanished on me and i see a few floating cars in midair bah

[Abram]

<>Wolf wrote: Stcuk on a bridge where i get to get a car across wich is impossible as the middle part has vanished on me and i see a few floating cars in midair bah

Really? hm it the bridge really GONE or is it just not visible? Go back a save point or two.

Let's see some screens!

[Dem Pyros]

<>Wolf wrote: Stcuk on a bridge where i get to get a car across wich is impossible as the middle part has vanished on me and i see a few floating cars in midair bah

That took me a while to say "if this was real......how would I do it?"

But seriously folks, please don't give away the answers to any of the puzzles. That's half the fun :D

[Frag Maniac]

No topic yet? Let's fix that...

Game time says I beat it in 3.6 hours. That's not very long, and I spent a lot of time poking around in the woods. Alyx didn't seem quite as good a companion this time around, and the constant fawning from all the characters is wearing thin. That's pretty much it for the negatives.

Anyone using the motion blur? I think it looks fantastic, great addition. Helps hide vsynch tearing a little, and fast pans look so much smoother and realistic, doubly so if you are capped at 60fps by your LCD (always are with current LCD and display connection tech). The environment looks great, the high resolution model and actor textures are very welcome.

Oh, and it appears it isn't crediting me many of the achievements I should have...

It's not realistic or fair to go by the actual play time mentioned in the game stats. Heck I can beat Prey on Cherokee in just over 6.5 hrs actual game time without any death walking, done it twice now (Takes a lot of quick saving a replaying some segments though). It doesn't account for reloading saves, replaying some segments (are you playing on the hardest difficulty?), cutscenes, level loading, etc. You can probably figure about double what the game time says for real time. The one review I've read so far (Eurogamer, 90% rating) says about 7 hrs or 50% longer than Episode 1.

My only beef so far is them adding HL2, which all of us buying the expansions already have, and jacking up the price to that of a full length installment. I've seen it advertised at Circuit City for $38 and it's sold out, but my inclination is I'd rather not pay more than $25-$30 for an expansion.

That being said, I do like that they kept the system spec low and I hear the ending is spectacular. I may just have to break down and give it a go at $38. The inclusion of Portals may justify that amount. There's also a limited number of new titles I can play anymore now that shader 3 is becoming a requirement.

[tk421]

My only beef so far is them adding HL2, which all of us buying the expansions already have, and jacking up the price to that of a full length installment. I've seen it advertised at Circuit City for $38 and it's sold out, but my inclination is I'd rather not pay more than $25-$30 for an expansion.

That being said, I do like that they kept the system spec low and I hear the ending is spectacular. I may just have to break down and give it a go at $38. The inclusion of Portals may justify that amount. There's also a limited number of new titles I can play anymore now that shader 3 is becoming a requirement.

steam packages are a PITA. and the "steam gifts" are a crock too - i mean, seriously - what gamer that is interested in EP 2 doesnt already have HL2, EP1, HL, CS, and the like? and 50$ for 2 games i want, and 2 i already have? or 30$ each for the 2 i want?

they could have made it easier and just made them 20$ a piece a la carte. i dont currently have 50$ to drop on a game, much less 60$.

however, i am glad that i can finish the story without a major upgrade. i just ran thru EP1 last weekend on my laptop - so i am sure my gaming box can still handle it. ya, i know it's upgrade time (i am 2 generations behind) but rent and feeding family has to come first.

[MobsterOO7]

steam packages are a PITA. and the "steam gifts" are a crock too - i mean, seriously - what gamer that is interested in EP 2 doesnt already have HL2, EP1, HL, CS, and the like? and 50$ for 2 games i want, and 2 i already have? or 30$ each for the 2 i want?

they could have made it easier and just made them 20$ a piece a la carte. i dont currently have 50$ to drop on a game, much less 60$.

I miss the Black Box. :cry:

[skeeder]

I beat it in about 4 hours. Its not bad....nothing unexpected except at the end.

[infernus]

[quote]

steam packages are a PITA. and the "steam gifts" are a crock too - i mean, seriously - what gamer that is interested in EP 2 doesnt already have HL2, EP1, HL, CS, and the like? and 50$ for 2 games i want, and 2 i already have? or 30$ each for the 2 i want?

they could have made it easier and just made them 20$ a piece a la carte. i dont currently have 50$ to drop on a game, much less 60$.

I miss the Black Box. :cry:

frsrs. I didn't even know it disappeared until it was almost release time. >_>

The game looks amazing so far. Incredibly thankful that the Source engine allows my 3yo PC to play this and look fairly good at it too. The gamepad support is pretty neat, since I've got a 360 gaming receiver that I ought to use more.

[Dem Pyros]

Note to everyone.

If you just want episode 2, you can guy it alone on steam for 30 bucks.

If you want team fortress 2 and portal, you can buy those for 30 dollars and 20 dollars each (respectively).

So you could buy the orange box for 50 and also get half life 2 and ep1 was a bonus, which you can give you to your friend if you want him to get into gaming.

Or, you can choose to not get the orange box and buy the games separately, spending a meager 80 dollars.

Your choice.

[Ascii_Aficionado]

And yet again I'm let down by another company, Sure.. I enjoyed the Final Battle in E2 *and yes I did get mad a few times, kept running out of ammo*
but the ending was simply "wow this sucks, what a waste of time and money".


------------ SPOILER ALERT ---------

The entire Cave map was retarded and felt like a Dark Messiah ripoff *could be the other way around though*, And as a cheap way to lengthen the already short map they have that stupid achievement to "whack" every grub and if you were like me you were impatient and used far too much ammo "whacking" them

[pdusen]

And yet again I'm let down by another company, Sure.. I enjoyed the Final Battle in E2 *and yes I did get mad a few times, kept running out of ammo*
but the ending was simply "wow this sucks, what a waste of time and money".


------------ SPOILER ALERT ---------

The entire Cave map was retarded and felt like a Dark Messiah ripoff *could be the other way around though*, And as a cheap way to lengthen the already short map they have that stupid achievement to "whack" every grub and if you were like me you were impatient and used far too much ammo "whacking" them

You sure do complain a lot. Did Valve kill your father?

[Ascii_Aficionado]

Post more then I'll consider you being worth a reply.

GGKTHXBB

[Frag Maniac]

If you just want episode 2, you can guy it alone on steam for 30 bucks.

If you want team fortress 2 and portal, you can buy those for 30 dollars and 20 dollars each (respectively).

I was going to get Orange Box PC at Circuit City for $38 but they had none in stock. Then I called Fry's and they had it for $37. I came to the conclusion $37 is acceptable for Episode 2 and Portal even if I don't play Team Fortress 2.

And guys, PLEASE, keep track of the actual time spent in front of your PC when you talk finishing times. The game times mentioned don't reflect that.

(EDITED)
OK, just finished Episode 2 and Portal. Though I do feel average game time is probably more than 3.5 hrs, it's certainly not what I expected for the price they're charging. When it ended I was shocked it was already over, especially considering the last level isn't really playable. It actually feels shorter than Episode 1 to me.

That being said the gameplay is awesome and the outdoor environs spectacular. Portal was equally amazing to play and very challenging both mentally and physically. In fact I've yet to play the bonus material. I wonder if Valve will ever incorporate portals into a shooter game like Prey did.

Hopefully Episode 3 will pick up where 2 left off, I so wanted to fly that chopper.

[Gecko]

Just finished Ep2 as well - loved it. A bit short, but the ending was surprising, I enjoyed that part.

SPOILER-->

The big battle with the striders was awesome, I haven't had that much fun in a V8 muscle car since....nevermind.

Like Frag said, I want to fly that chopper...you know that's where it is headed. Hop in the chopper with Alex and fly to the Arctic to bust up that Flock of Seagulls ship and save that Dr. Whatshername...

[skeeder]

hilarous review.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2541-Zero-Punctuation-The-Orange-Box

Beat portal today...it was worth it. Overall I'm very pleased with this purchase...totally worth the $44.95 (preorder ftw)

[Frag Maniac]

That review was kicks Skeeder. He nailed everything but the fact that they upped the price when he spoke about their including HL2 and Episode 1, though he did say they were included "needlessly" so I guess that's another way of saying the same thing.

My fave part was the kitty Strider. LOL I also like that he ended by implying Portal was actually the most worthwhile part of the package, though a bit short.

[JosephJEHancock]

In my opinion, Portal IS the best singleplayer part of the package, if you assume that most have played Half Life 2 already. I loved Portal, and it had a bigger effect on me than the Episodes. That said, I really did enjoy Episode 2, but it was too short, and they explained bugger all. Either they need more than just a third episode, or a full game sized episode 3 to satisfactorily explain it.