Half-Life 2 Episode 2 Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Katana314]

I'm not sure if it's customary to make topics for certain games in this forum, but I thought I might...only because this is one of the most awesome FPSes to come out in a while. Granted, a little short, but actually still longer than some full-length games coughHalo3cough.

Feel free to talk about the rest of the Orange Box as well.

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Why is this one of the most awesome fps experiences to date exactly? I was terribly disappointed with episode 1. For it's length it wasn't worth the cost at all, it gave almost no new things to work with except combine zombies and it's liniearity was even more obvious then with hl2.
If you want a completely free new hl2 experience I suggest you download the Minerva Mod, best sp hl2 mod I've played so far with excellent level design and with it's own story.

Rant aside, I'm still a bit confused on the box thing. Am I forced to buy everything AGAIN or can I buy episode 2 seperately besides steam ( no creditcard )? Although I understand it's cheaper for Valve to release it all in one package, I do feel screwed with their "just give it to a friend then" explanation. It's not like they are short on cashflow atm.

 

[J.theYellow]

$45 is still a damn good deal for three new games.

HL2Ep2 is a triumph; what they threw at you in the first level made me glad to see my first Zombines when they came later. I'm also far more likely to want to utterly destroy any flying buglike object that comes anywhere near my person.

 

[Katana314]

Dirty Ape, even a lot of Valve fans sort of agree with you on Episode 1. Main problem was, they kept introducing more elements to the game, but never gave you any chance to have real fun with them. Combat was too sparse, and the game wasn't as intense as HL2. However, check out the Metacritic comparison of Episodes 1 and 2...
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/halflife2episodeone?q=Half-Life (87)
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/halflife2episode2?q=Half-Life (92)
I have to agree with the reviews; Episode 2's major graphical changes, highly increased combat areas, extra length, and finally REVEALING a few things about the HL plot make it well worth it.

Valve's individual games are a bit too small to sell on their own, and they realize that everyone has one or two games in the pack they don't care about, or even just one or two they DO care about. So they priced the package at about 2 of their new-release games ($30 + $20 or so)

HL2 and Episode 1 are basically extras; when you look at the pricing, $50 is still a good deal if it was just the three new games. I suppose if you just want one game though, it's not as good a deal.

 

[superbleeder12]

I absolutely loved Portal.
Team Fortress seems alright, just not my type of thing really.
And the half life 2 games are always fun. Especially with the advent of achievements for the 360. Though I'll admit, they dont really feel like much, with only 5-15 point values tacked on to them. but many are entertaining.

This is an awesome pack that I'm still going through, re-playing the original and episode 1.