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hl2: episode 2 preview
article: hl2: episode 2 preview
Hot on the heels of my preview for Portal comes a brief glimpse at the next chapter in the Half-Life 2 saga, Episode 2. As with the Portal preview, I hope to avoid any and all spoilers, but I will give a good overview of what to expect when you decrypt the Episode 2 files and begin your journey.

I must warn you though. I may reference events that have happened in Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 throughout this preview. If you have not yet played these titles, you should play them, but you should also avoid reading the entirety of the “Story" section that will immediately follow this opening. I will not use spoiler tags as I may have to spoiler an entire section of this preview. Consider yourselves sufficiently warned. Without further ado, let's get this ball rolling.

Story
This is always a touchy subject here when talking about the story for a title that isn't even released yet. What I can safely say, is that Episode 2 picks up right where Episode 1 left off. Forget what you saw in the video at the end of Episode 1. The preview for Episode 2 that you saw at the end of Episode 1's completion was nothing more than a snapshot in time of where Episode 2's progress was.

As with all projects, things changed over time and much of what you saw simply doesn't happen anymore. Yes, there is still a wrecked train, but that much should be evident given the climatic ending to Episode 1. As for whether or not other sections of the game are altered, I'll let you find that out for yourself.

You obviously reprise your role as Gordon Freeman on an adventure that takes you beyond City 17 to new locales found throughout the outlaying countryside. Naturally, a forested environment plays a huge role, with multiple outposts and stops to be found along your journey. You will also encounter other, varied locations including the underground Antlion tunnels. This should not come as any surprise given their appearance in the trailers.

The full cast of characters does make a return from Episode 1, including one additional. Dr. Magnusson, another surviving scientist from the Black Mesa incident. This pompous loud mouth plays a rather prominent role in this Episode. It's just a shame that Valve has not yet implemented a “punch friendly" ability in these titles. Perhaps in Episode 3 we will see that welcome addition.

I will say that the plot of Portal intertwines with Episodes 2 and 3 in a very significant way. I won't say any more beyond that, but you will have to play through both Episode 2 and Portal to see where things begin to come full circle. Where will your journey ultimately take you? That's for you to find out. I think enough has already been spoiled here as it is.

Gameplay
If you've played any of the previous Half-Life titles, the gameplay elements remain largely unchanged. Is this a good or a bad thing? For the most part, it's a fantastic thing, as you are instantly familiar with what you can and cannot do, so the learning curve for seasoned veterans will be relatively short. For newcomers, there is nothing to worry about. Weapons are still introduced gradually throughout the title with there almost always being a teaching element to go along with the more obscure weapons, such as the gravity gun for those who have not used it before.


You, as Gordon, will jump, crawl, and blast your way through a number of locations in Episode 2. Physics puzzles do make a few appearances, but this should be expected if you've played either of the previous two titles. The action in Episode 2 seems to be kicked up to an “11", assuming you thought the action in Episode 1 was already cranked up to “10."

The usual suspects do appear again for your weapon selection, with the inclusion of the Strider Buster. I cannot comment much on this new weapon, other than you will wish there were more Striders to fight in this title, just for the almost sadistic joy you will receive from using this weapon.

All of the action is broken up by in-game interactive cut scenes. There are no CGI or pre-rendered videos, and I hope there never will be. The amount of immersion added into actively walking around characters as they talk to one another or to you really sets this series off from a good number of others. There is but one exception to this though. If you start a new game in Episode 2, you will see a video created from the events of Episode 1. Everything in the video uses in-game assets, but it is a video in its purest form. Certainly, this is a departure from the norm for Valve, but it players a good refresher on just what went down in the period immediately before Episode 2 begins.