Which Episode did you like better? (spoiler thread)

[Ennui]

Well? Which and why?

I'm all about Episode 2. It was longer, more interesting, and I loved the outdoor setting... I was more than sick of C17 after HL2 was over. The ending of Episode 1 was a bit more epic but a lot of shit happened in Episode 2, and I am seriously sad about our favorite peg-leg's death.

 

[McGooTheWise]

I picked Episode 2 for it's story content, because Ep1 didn't really tell much, but EP1 will be a little more fun for me to go back and play because in ep2 I was worried from the beginning.

Spoiler

The way I had to watch alyx get tossed about by a hunter, and not be able to do anything kinda made me feel helpless. Then Eli get's stabbed in the back of the head with a giant phallus shaped tentacle... How degrading, disgusting, and saddening at the same time. D:

Valve, seriously, if you have anything like that in the next game, let it be where the player must step in half way through the attack, or it will feel too much like a game. I mean, I do like to feel like I'm not in control of the story, but stuff like that will just get lame if you do it too much.

But i will like redoing EP1 better because it felt more homey, and like everything wasn't going to shit. It felt like we were really showing them whose boss, but Ep2 I just felt really weak, and hopeless.

 

[tibetanpunk]

Dude, I thought that the ending of this game (episode 2) was entirely epic...The battle with the striders was the most epic thing...The physics of the houses blowing up was flawless...The hunters were tough as hell, AI was much, much improved...
The whole lead up and then the rocket launch...Man, prettiest graphics I think I have ever seen.
Valve have taken their cinematic physics to a whole other level with this game...Seriously...I don't think even a game like Crysis can compete with it..
Source is a superior graphics engine...Totally freaking amazing!
Most tragic ending ever...Sigh...

 

[Advisor]

Episode 2.

It was longer, had brilliant dialouge and character interaction, a rich atmosphere and it had much more diverse and interesting environments.

 

[Kon]

the environments were great and refreshing.
in episode 3, id love to goto the snowy mountains we saw in episode 2, or something snowy.

 

[giant384]

the environments were great and refreshing.
in episode 3, id love to goto the snowy mountains we saw in episode 2, or something snowy.

im pretty sure you will considering thats where mossman is and the Borealis.

 

[Ennui]

Damn, talk about a landslide.

 

[TwwIX]

EP2 without a doubt.
In fact,i enjoyed it more then the actual game tbh.
EP1 was a let down for me.

 

[Avoidist]

I really loved the physics puzzle. I looked at the bridge for a bit, jumped over and noticed it moving, then something in my head snaps and this alarm goes off saying "No way! That's too good."

If I had one problem it would seem that some of the plot progression and dialogue near the start seemed a bit forced, but then again I already had a clear picture of what was going to happen in my mind for the game before I played it that had points a little bit more spaced out.

 

[Zeus]

Episode 2, ep1 didn't even come close.

 

[[Matt]]

Episode 1 whilst enjoyable now feels more like a minor prologue for the events in episode 2.

 

[Someone]

Episode 2 for me also, and also not even close.

To me, the puzzles were much more entertaining, the battles felt..umm "right" for lack of a better word, the characters were had more to say and when they said it you wanted to make sure you listened.

 

[Lobster]

You know its funny, just after Episode 1 came out it was the same result against Half-Life 2, a testament to the improving nature of the series, hopefully Episode 3 will continue the trend.

 

[Absinthe]

Episode 2. Can there be any question?

From the moment I saw the giant portal in the distance, I knew Valve was stepping it up a notch. The environments were better, the dialogue and scripted sequences were ace, we found out a ****load more about our favorite G-Man, and it truly felt more momentous in its happenings. Watching Alyx get skewered and bearing witness to Eli's demise had an emotional pull few games can offer.

The only thing that marred the experience, was the vehicle/strider segment towards the end. Maybe it's because of the way vehicles are handled or because the environments felt so cluttered, but I found myself often getting irritated by crashing into another tree or rock. All the while hunters are plugging flechettes into you and the vehicles. Blargh.

 

[Ennui]

Yeah I agree with that, I was getting frustrated as hell, particularly because the Hunters would sidestep nimbly and I would careen into either the Strider's legs or some random tree/rock. The final battle was beyond epic, though... once I got into the groove I was really kicking some Strider ass.

 

[Black Op]

In terms of storyline and characterizations, EP2 by far. Dr. Magnusson was great, and it was obvious VALVe tried to give more character to the rebels, who previous were bascially generic friendly NPCs. The fact the storyline advanced more with plot revelations also helps. As for gameplay between the two episodes, I haven't made up my mind quite yet.

 

[Nitre]

Ep2 did it for me just because of the sheer emotion at the end, as well as at the beginning.

Spoiler

I was shitting myself thinking that Alyx might die. It sucked being unable to help Eli . I think the way that dog leaps onto the advisor and starts knocking the shit out of it made it slightly less sad. Made me angry how they just barged in after the successful destruction of the portal. It does leave VALVe with a hell of a starting point for ep.3, which is good.

 

[Zeus]

Ep2 did it for me just because of the sheer emotion at the end, as well as at the beginning.

Spoiler

I was shitting myself thinking that Alyx might die. It sucked being unable to help Eli . I think the way that dog leaps onto the advisor and starts knocking the shit out of it made it slightly less sad. Made me angry how they just barged in after the successful destruction of the portal. It does leave VALVe with a hell of a starting point for ep.3, which is good.

Spoiler

Unfortunately the stupid previews ruined the whole Alyx thing for me (they showed the clip of alyx and the vortigaunt talking) But yeah I felt bad about Eli, I just closed the portal and was about to ride off into the sunset in the chopper when out of nowhere...

 

[DEATH eVADER]

There was a much more stronger connection in Ep2 to HL1, then there was with Ep1. I think it helped that there was a new location too.

 

[Gunner]

Without a doubt ep2. It's just so much better in every way. It almost felt like HL3.

 

[kupocake]

Episode Two. Because it was released yesterday.

But seriously, Ep 2 wins outright because there wasn't a single 'Valve, WTF?' moment that completely killed the game for me to match up to the Exit 17 escort mission. And there was probably more story crammed in there than the entire series before then.

 

[Asuka]

Episode Two by far.

 

[Asus]

I think EP2 nailed the whole package a ton better. Although if I want some solid close combat EP1 is definitely worth a repeat play through.

 

[theholygod]

Spoiler

Unfortunately the stupid previews ruined the whole Alyx thing for me (they showed the clip of alyx and the vortigaunt talking) But yeah I felt bad about Eli, I just closed the portal and was about to ride off into the sunset in the chopper when out of nowhere...

Speaking of previews, i actually found the previews to be VERY different to the final product.

Gman never once said "someones not supposed to be here", alyx never fell off a bridge.

I think valve did a great job of teasing the fanbase, but never giving anything away.

 

[leib10]

I think Episode Two was better in every single way imaginable.

For some reason though, I thought the in-game dialogue was a bit weaker at times.

 

[Ennui]

I thought the dialogue this time around was phenomenal :O

The entire time playing I was in awe of how we tend to take Valve's quality for granted, but that no other videogames (except a rare couple) evoke that sort of emotional character response.

 

[Absinthe]

There were only a few times when I felt awkward after a line was delivered. But then that usually had more to do with the subject material rather than the delivery, ie. Doing our "part". Eli's an old coot, and that's the kind of thing an old coot would say. So the embarrassment was entirely empathized.

 

[Gray Fox]

I thought Ep2 was better in every possible way. There was much more story, and it was more interesting. You just found out more stuff. It had a lot more variety. Looked better. And had so much WOW holy shit moments. In fact if I had to describe Ep 2 by one sentance, it would be: Wow holy shit, that just didn't happen.
Usually there are like 1 or maybe 2 moments in game that you really go wow, but Ep2 was a ****ing thrill ride from beginning till the end.

 

[Fishlore]

I'm playing Ep1 for the first time now and haven't played Ep 2 yet obviously. I'll vote for 2 because it couldn't possibly be worse than 1.

I didn't like the beginning of 1 because I felt like I was simply along for the ride and I was watching what was going on without actually doing much. The middle of 1 for lack of a better term is simply a dark corridor crawl with a few minor exceptions like the ant lion dens you have to block. I'm now at the point where I have to fend off the zombies while I wait for the lift to arrive. I can't wait for 1 to end so I can get to the good episode (I hope). Hopefully 1 gets better after the lift.

 

[Ap2000]

Episode 1 had more often story stuff going on (can't say it's a fact, but that's the feeling I got from it), but Episode two... damn, there was some shocked sh1t in it. So my votes goes for E2.

 

[Nitre]

It's going to be really hard for me to replay HL2 and ep1 if i want to, because after ep2, they would just pale in comparison.

 

[DreamThrall]

Episode 2 by far. Call me sentimental, but I actually got all choked up at the end. The last battle was definitely some of the best action I've played by far.

Also, for EP2, I didn't read ANY reviews, previews, spoilers or any thing about the content AT ALL, and while it was hard being tempted, it was totally worth everything being a surprise. I recommend to everyone to try doing that for EP3

 

[The Mild Gatsby]

Episode Two. VALVe really pulled out all the stops.

It had that sort of "epic Half-Life adventure feeling" that I really felt was missing from Episode One. Most importantly, it was actually challenging. Very challenging in places. Episode Two also has more story, more PLOT than all the previous installments combined, beautiful environments, and overwhelming attention to detail ("Under the Radar" makes "Highway 17" look sloppy). It's going to be difficult for Episode Three to top this.

It also might have had something to do with the release date. I had completely forgotten about videogames. All videogames. Churning out college essay after college essay, I accidently logged onto Steam as I blearily browsed my desktop on a rainy Thursday night, only to see that, "oh, that's been released."

That was cool.

 

[theotherguy]

Episode 1. It was a much more polished game.

I think Valve tried to implement too many ideas and failed to a very large extent. (Radar on the car= very lame, strider battle was more of a mini game, defend against antlions was another annoying minigame, not enough individual exploration, pretty bad writing with regards to magnusson, etc.)

But it was still very very good. It just didn't have the impact of episode 1 for me.

 

[The Mild Gatsby]

*disagrees with the above poster*

*begins mixing tar and chasing chickens*

 

[Oppressor]

It's going to be really hard for me to replay HL2 and ep1 if i want to, because after ep2, they would just pale in comparison.

The games will never feel lame. VALVe improves in all ways whenever a new game in the Half-Life series is released, but that doesn't mean the older games are dull. Actually, playing them all in a row a whole weekend would be fantastic. At this point I can't even imagine how great Episode Three will become. All I can say is that we should never doubt VALVe. They improve everything when they release new games in this series. All hail Episode Two!

 

[Dynasty]

The last fight in EP2 was EPIC. Truly one of the most intense, heart thumping, adrenalin flowing fights ive ever had. 3 striders in the alarm zone, and me running around popping each one off and trying to dodge the hunters.

When those striders destroy the buildings, i was in awe at the awesome realism.

Oh, and when the rocket takes off and leaves that smoke cloud, im gonna have to replay that whole last section due to me just gaping in awe at that cloud as it went up and slowly disperses. One of the best effects ive seen in any game to date.

In some ways it falls short, but in others it excels. I must admit the antlion defence was lame, felt like a last minute throw in, and far too much time was spent underground at the start.

Other than that, better than any other HL game, even if the ending took me completely by surprise as i thought i had hours left to play.

 

[Absinthe]

Episode 1. It was a much more polished game.

I think Valve tried to implement too many ideas and failed to a very large extent. (Radar on the car= very lame, strider battle was more of a mini game, defend against antlions was another annoying minigame, not enough individual exploration, pretty bad writing with regards to magnusson, etc.)

But it was still very very good. It just didn't have the impact of episode 1 for me.

What was so bad about Magnusson?

 

[theotherguy]

What was so bad about Magnusson?

poorly written, a one dimensional character, randomly thrown in with no explanation of why he's there or how he got there in the first place.

As for the last fight, it was hardly "epic"

Words I would use to describe it are "extremely difficult", "incredibly annoying" and "not fun".

The trailers made out that battle to be a huge free-for all between the rebels and combine. I was expecting gunships, combine soldiers, rebels, striders, hunters, and zombies at that stage. It was supposed to be a big battle where you felt worthless and your only goal was to survive it.

Instead, we got a simple minigame, where you are practically the only person on the battlefield (besides the mindless rebels that sit in one location to dispense you health), against striders and hunters, using that stupid, pointless magnusson device to destroy them. You had a goal, a quota of striders to fill.

This is not valve at all. This is a travesty of Half-life, this final minigame of a battle.

 

[Asknoone]

poorly written, a one dimensional character, randomly thrown in with no explanation of why he's there or how he got there in the first place.

Get the hell out. He was arguably one of the best additions, and wonderfully written. His presence was also explained in the beginning.

That said, I also agree about the final battle. I'm clearly in the minority in thinking it was somewhat underwhelming; I loved the Magnusson Device, and I understand why they took out the soldiers (Zombies were never shown in this battle, and would look totally out of place), but Valve are so good at multi-tiered, variation gameplay that I was very surprised they simply didn't layer in an onslaught of troops when the Striders were being deployed (so you wouldn't have to worry about them reaching the base).

They fight was fun, but not the epic stand off I thought it would be.

*disagrees with the above poster*

*begins mixing tar and chasing chickens*