The Orange Box: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (Xbox 360)
Half-Life’s episodic content has definitely pushed forward the concept of designing large story-lines in nice, digestible chunks so as to allow major revelations and plot twists to sink in, while at the same time allowing for further development of the franchise itself, including graphic updates and added functionality.
This has definitely worked well for Valve and while the new installment in the Half-Life saga, the aptly named Episode 2, may not be a huge leap forward in either storytelling or gameplay, it is an outstanding stepping stone for what appears to be a rather explosive finale.
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 opens as Gordon and Alyx are recovering from the train crash they suffered after escaping the explosion of the Citadel that took out most of City 17. However, the portal that the Citadel was maintaining for the Combine overlords remains open but unstable, sending out intermittent massive energy bursts.
Alyx knows that her father and others are safely tucked away at White Forest, a rebel/scientist compound miles outside the city, and she has in-hand the data from the Citadel that is of the utmost importance. Thus, the duo must work their way through antlion dens and past advancing Combine forces in order to stop the alien oppressors for good.
Episode 2 doesn’t really add many new gameplay features from either Half-Life 2 or Episode 1, though it does emphasize, through limited ammo and unique level design, the gravity gun as a weapon, rather than just a puzzle-solving tool.
For example, one battle has the player nearly without any ammo and squared off against two large antlion guardians. Thankfully, there are plenty of explosive barrels and other heavy debris in the area, encouraging the player to use these as projectiles to be launched against the foes. There’s also a point toward the end that Gordon will get to use “sticky bombs,” which are hurled at the body of a Strider with the gravity gun and then shot at with any weapon. Their effects are…explosive, to say the least.
The Combine Hunter makes his debut in Episode 2. Essentially mini-Striders, these robotic beasts often hunt in packs and can fire rounds of piercing explosive electrodes. Worst of all, they move remarkably quickly and can squeeze through doorways and into hallways, always providing the player with a sense of impending doom.
There is significant use of a make-shift rebel car in the last half of the game that encourages plowing through zombies and Combine forces when you can, and also plays a major factor in the last level of Episode 2. Those on the 360 may find the car’s controls to be a bit lacking, while the PC’s are spot-on, but it is still quite playable nonetheless. You’re also aided by Alyx much more frequently, as well as the friendly Vortigaunts during certain sections, though often you’ll need to forge ahead to open the path for your companions.
However, most of the rest is a pretty straight-forward affair. The story telling is fantastic, but things still end up rather predictably linear. While linearity for first-person shooters is not necessarily a bad thing, in terms of the Half-Life series, it is starting to show its age.
On several occassions, you’ll be instructed to get into a room, and the only way into it is to drop down from a broken roof or trap door, with no obvious way out, at which point one can fully expect an ambush or some attack that will result in an exit materializing…only because this has happened so many times before in past Half-Life offerings.
The only place where the game offered something really new was the final battle, which is a twist on various elements previously seen in the series, and provides for something rather different and ultimately quite thrilling.
The game does feature a lot more “natural” and outdoor environments, now that City 17 is destroyed, with small collections of buildings nestled among forests and deserted roads, so there is some need for altered tactics in certain areas. Even in the wide open field of battle, the level design still manages to reign you down a fixed path, though there are plenty of minor side activities that you can perform along the way that lead to achievements (both 360 and PC) to unlock.
Episode 2’s strength is in the story-telling, and as with most of the rest of the Half-Life series, all is done through in-game dialog and scenes without ever cutting to CGI. While this does lead to some of the linearity problems — you have to wait in a locked room while a scene plays out and can only move on when a character leads you into the next section — it still helps to make the game feel immensely immersive.
The plot in Episode 2 doesn’t make any significant advances in the story (though certainly there are groundbreaking events within the context of this episode), but instead does an excellent job of setting up what likely will occur in Episode 3, as well as reconnecting events back to Black Mesa and the first Half-Life game.
The game’s graphics and music also help to drive the story, and voice work of all the major actors are all superb. It’s also about the right length for an episodic title: about 6 to 8 hours depending on how much you like to explore, and while there’s no added difficulty levels, completing the game unlocks additional developer commentary to get a better feel for how Valve approaches its craft.
While Episode 2 may not be the developer’s best work to date and really doesn’t offer up much new in gameplay variety, it is still is a challenging shooter and a thoroughly enjoyable romp that does a great job at keeping the Half-Life story going in anticipation of the final episode.
Primotech Rating: 
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today on Permanent Link to The Orange Box: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (Xbox 360)Here’s a quick excerptThe Orange Box: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (Xbox 360) October 13th, 2007 [ Ep2a] Half-Life’s episodic content has definitely pushed forward the concept of designing large story-lines in nice, digestible chunks so as to allow major revelations and plot twists to sink in, while at the same time allowing for further development of the franchise [...]