I eagerly anticipated the release of this sequel
and jumped to get it when it was released via Steam. First impressions didn’t
disappoint either, the world is even more beautiful and polished than in the
original. The characters are more lifelike and you really feel drawn into the
dialog between them. Alyx is back and the hinted relationship between the two
of you grows further. Dog also makes an appearance but his character resembles
more of a petulant child (all be it a funny one) than an animal.
The story line basically picks right off from where we were left in the original, milliseconds
from incineration at the top of the Citadel. Unfortunately no answers are given
as to how you escaped the fireball, infact, many more questions are posed. The
G-Man makes an appearance but he is somewhat subdued
and you get the feeling that he has been cut out of the picture by the aliens. Naturally he is not happy about this.
When you and Alyx get into the Citadel you have
several encounters with Stalkers. These are not so much battles as further
hints of what is to come with Alyx showing an emotional side when she
tells you about the origin of these deformed creatures. VALVe managed to
pull this off really well and left you really feeling for Alyx's character.
There also is a rather odd and unexplained encounter in the Citadel which you are
reminded of throughout the game. These hints point to a not previously seen Alien (or perhaps he
was in the shadows all this time) watching over everything, controlling
everything from a dark secret lair somewhere deep in the next episode. While
this is interesting and keeps the game fresh, it cant distract from the
complete lack of any new content. The characters are the same, the weapons are
the same, the locations are the same, the textures are the same. Do not misunderstand me, the level design is still excellent, better infact, in places than the original Half Life 2, it would have been nicer to see some new prefabs / textures and ideas.
Sadly, after playing the game through, it feels as if Valve just took everything they had already and made this
episode a glorified map pack which I completed in a four hour sitting. Don’t
get me wrong, the animation, flow and storyline are all superbly done, I just
wish we had actually got some answers rather than just more questions.
Overall - 7/10
It’s hard to dislike a game that looks as beautiful as one based on the source engine and it is made harder by the real development of the inter-character bond between the player and Alyx. I would definitely say it is worth playing, but it is disappointing that it is brief, has no real new content and ends so suddenly. I just hope VALVe dont leave it much longer before they release episode 2.
I eagerly anticipated the release of this sequel
and jumped to get it when it was released via Steam. First impressions didn’t
disappoint either, the world is even more beautiful and polished than in the
original. The characters are more lifelike and you really feel drawn into the
dialog between them. Alyx is back and the hinted relationship between the two
of you grows further. Dog also makes an appearance but his character resembles
more of a petulant child (all be it a funny one) than an animal.
Unfortunately no answers are given
as to how you escaped the fireball, infact, many more questions are posed. The
G-Man makes an appearance but he is somewhat subdued
and you get the feeling that he has been cut out of the picture by the aliens. Naturally he is not happy about this.
