nokori3byo
Newbie
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2006
- Messages
- 705
- Reaction score
- 53
Yes, I finally got around to buying a 360 on which to play Ep. 2. Can you imagine...waiting over a month and a half to sink my teeth into the long-awaited epic?
Well, since I'd previously had no experience using a 360 controller--seriously, I haven't owned a console since the arly 90s--I started by playing through Portal. I thought that getting to know the ropes in a non-combat situation might be easier, despite the fact that the controls aren't quite the same. And let me just say Portal rocked my world. I was seriously starting to wonder if the long-awaited Ep. 2 would be a disapointment by comparison.
To the White Forest:
The game began auspiciously enough with a well-executed introductory sequence. Nothing too taxing in the way of combat, but the wrenching scene of Alyx being wounded ratcheted up the emotional tension (always a key element in HL games) in a pleasingly edgy way. If early contact with the new antlion workers left me a little underawed, that was soon set straight by the excellent set piece of the antlion defense with Griggs and Sheckley.
This Vortal Coil
The sequence which opens the chapter provides just the right amount of tension to keep things interesting while not requiring many tedious quick saves. And humor is always a welcome addition to any game, as far as I'm concerned. As soon as I'd teamed up with my Vortigaunt pal, I awoke to the unwelcome reality that my experiences in the antlion caves up to that point had been a mere appetizer. What followed did not disappoint. I enjoyed TVC's hitherto unseen slimy cave textures and, with the exception of the last third of the Guardian sequence (which got a bit old after a while), I found the whole chapter to be solid in terms gameplay, atmosphere and cinematics. The G-Man sequence was a series highlight.
Freeman Pontifex
Better that they had called it "Run of the Mill," as that is what it is both literally and figuratively. FP mercilessly rehashes elements of previous HL2 games, with its most inspired moment coming in the form of the zombie swarming inside the old warehouse. I liked the forklift puzzle as well. Not that it's much of a puzzle. Come to think of it, Ep. 2 is quite light on puzzles--though perhaps it just felt that way after playing Portal. To make a long story short, I took a break from playing to go to bed a this point, with my expectations for the game slightly lowered.
And yet...
Riding Shotgun
...once you get past FP, everything else is pure sex. Honestly, from the moment I stepped into that retooled hotrod, I had not a moment of disillusionment with the rest of the game. Early encounters with the Hunters proved that Valve could still introduce new tricks to push gameplay to exciting new levels. Everthing from the Advisor encounter to the chopper battle was tight, economical and full of excitement.
Under the Radar
Another triumph. Loved the opening sequence with the autogun, despite the fact that it left me with 8 health which I would not recoup until our arrival at White Lodge. Speaking of which, what did I miss here? White Lodge posed no difficulty at all on Normal. Will have to try it on Hard next time (Yeah...I know, I know). In hindsight it was cool to see how they reintigrated puzzle solving and exploration into the search for weapons caches. Ingenious touch on someone's part.
Our Mutual Friend
The Citizen Kane of game levels and the reason I now regard EP 2 as the finest game I've ever played. I even enjoyed the gratuitous breech sequence, which added little to the narrative but had decent gameplay and a nice echo of the Uplink demo of HL1. I thought the Strider battle was quite simply the most amazing setpiece I'd ever played through.
T Minus 1
Holy sh*t. Just when I thought the best game ever made couldn't get any better. I going to show this level, in its entirety, to a friend of mine just to show her what a computer game can achieve in this day and age. Now that I think about it, Roger Ebert should be tied down and forced to watch it, as well.
So, to summarize: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 like ten Christmases viewed through and orgazmo-scope. Thank you, Valve!!!
Well, since I'd previously had no experience using a 360 controller--seriously, I haven't owned a console since the arly 90s--I started by playing through Portal. I thought that getting to know the ropes in a non-combat situation might be easier, despite the fact that the controls aren't quite the same. And let me just say Portal rocked my world. I was seriously starting to wonder if the long-awaited Ep. 2 would be a disapointment by comparison.
To the White Forest:
The game began auspiciously enough with a well-executed introductory sequence. Nothing too taxing in the way of combat, but the wrenching scene of Alyx being wounded ratcheted up the emotional tension (always a key element in HL games) in a pleasingly edgy way. If early contact with the new antlion workers left me a little underawed, that was soon set straight by the excellent set piece of the antlion defense with Griggs and Sheckley.
This Vortal Coil
The sequence which opens the chapter provides just the right amount of tension to keep things interesting while not requiring many tedious quick saves. And humor is always a welcome addition to any game, as far as I'm concerned. As soon as I'd teamed up with my Vortigaunt pal, I awoke to the unwelcome reality that my experiences in the antlion caves up to that point had been a mere appetizer. What followed did not disappoint. I enjoyed TVC's hitherto unseen slimy cave textures and, with the exception of the last third of the Guardian sequence (which got a bit old after a while), I found the whole chapter to be solid in terms gameplay, atmosphere and cinematics. The G-Man sequence was a series highlight.
Freeman Pontifex
Better that they had called it "Run of the Mill," as that is what it is both literally and figuratively. FP mercilessly rehashes elements of previous HL2 games, with its most inspired moment coming in the form of the zombie swarming inside the old warehouse. I liked the forklift puzzle as well. Not that it's much of a puzzle. Come to think of it, Ep. 2 is quite light on puzzles--though perhaps it just felt that way after playing Portal. To make a long story short, I took a break from playing to go to bed a this point, with my expectations for the game slightly lowered.
And yet...
Riding Shotgun
...once you get past FP, everything else is pure sex. Honestly, from the moment I stepped into that retooled hotrod, I had not a moment of disillusionment with the rest of the game. Early encounters with the Hunters proved that Valve could still introduce new tricks to push gameplay to exciting new levels. Everthing from the Advisor encounter to the chopper battle was tight, economical and full of excitement.
Under the Radar
Another triumph. Loved the opening sequence with the autogun, despite the fact that it left me with 8 health which I would not recoup until our arrival at White Lodge. Speaking of which, what did I miss here? White Lodge posed no difficulty at all on Normal. Will have to try it on Hard next time (Yeah...I know, I know). In hindsight it was cool to see how they reintigrated puzzle solving and exploration into the search for weapons caches. Ingenious touch on someone's part.
Our Mutual Friend
The Citizen Kane of game levels and the reason I now regard EP 2 as the finest game I've ever played. I even enjoyed the gratuitous breech sequence, which added little to the narrative but had decent gameplay and a nice echo of the Uplink demo of HL1. I thought the Strider battle was quite simply the most amazing setpiece I'd ever played through.
T Minus 1
Holy sh*t. Just when I thought the best game ever made couldn't get any better. I going to show this level, in its entirety, to a friend of mine just to show her what a computer game can achieve in this day and age. Now that I think about it, Roger Ebert should be tied down and forced to watch it, as well.
So, to summarize: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 like ten Christmases viewed through and orgazmo-scope. Thank you, Valve!!!
