User Review : Half Life 2: Episode Pack

Ups

• Gravity Gun
• Some puzzles
• The Visuals still look good

Downs

• Horrible story
• Boreing gunplay
• Not the game people say it is

Is Valves Half Life 2 still alive?

Half life 2
I have been a PC gamer for a long, long time, but I never really got into any of valves games until recently. Portal marked my first adventure into the world of valve, and it remains today one of my favorite games ever. After I had beaten portal at least 8 times, I started to try out several other valve games. I went to Team Fortress 2 and found it to be a really good multiplayer FPS. I was starting to love valve, but then I played Half Life 2.

I figured it would be an amazing game because of all the hype it has received, even to this day PC gamers going out and saying it’s the best FPS ever created, its pacing is perfect, it revolutionized the genre etc. With all of this, I had high expectations that the game was going to be amazing. I was extremely disappointed once I started playing it.
The game starts extremely slow, I was literally walking around learning the controls for a good 30 minutes or more. The tasks they give you to help you learn the controls are frustrating and un-inspired. This pans out further into the game when it opens up a little bit, but not much.

The whole game is linear, with very few options on which way to go.
With this linearity, I expected the game to take advantage of it and introduce elements that only linear games can provide. There were very few scripted elements, and the little the game did have were dull and boring. In fact it almost felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again, run and gun. Although I do have to admit the Gravity gun was great fun, but even that got boring and felt limiting after a while. The game could have greatly benefited from much more variety in the weapons. I feel the game could have been a lot more fun if a portal gun was introduced.

The game did help the pacing with some puzzles, and I liked that, but the puzzles always felt easy and over too quickly. They could have been much more inspired and difficult. The lack of cut scenes also ruin the pace for me as the game really expects me to figure out the story and keep track of it with out them, which simply does not work. Any good story based FPS needs cut scenes to tell a good story, and half life 2 is no exception.

I kept thinking as i played through the game that it was going to get better. I really wanted it too, but no, it remained dull, boring, and sad example of what an amazing Story Based FPS should be the whole way through. While I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, I also know a lot of people that do.

Score

8.0

Graphics

The game still looks good maxed out.

8.0

Sound

4.0

Gameplay

Boeing, slow, repetitive, and no cut scenes to tell the story.

4.0

Fun Factor

There are only some parts that can be considered fun.

Overall

4.0

[gorebago]

idk about this one - i just replayed hl2 ep2 last weekend and it felt epic - like a long well-connected story - something you don't see in a lot of games

i like how it incorporates environmental puzzles that you need to solve in order to proceed.

[Blacktric]

"Not the game people say it is"

Not gonna say anything to this and the score...

[GrumpyVeteran]

You're insane.

[Arvynia]

Hi guys,
Im gonna review a game that was bought out 7 years ago and base it off comparisons to games but out recently.

[Raf1k1]

I think the fact that you've left it so long to play the game has you thinking about it from a a different perspective than you would have back in 2004. That's probably why you were expecting things like lots of scripted sequences.

Anyway, you're right that there are very few scripted sequences but Half-Life games have most of their story told via other means such as dialogue between NPCs you happen come across, chatter on radio, newpaper articles and such. There's actually quite a lot there if I remember right.

The game was way ahead of it's time but things have moved on quite a lot since then. If I was to play it again I think I'd have issues with it too.

I hope Episode 3 (or HL3) whenever it's released will be able to convert you and TBH I'd be interested to see what Valve are able to do next time to push the bar.

[ps3bestever]

holllllllyyyy fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck O___________________O

[dinkeldinkse]

I did the same thing with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time(I played Warrior Within and Two Thrones when they came out). Playing it now causes you to see faults that were not seen at the time because the games that fixed them did not exist yet.

[Pandamobile]

4.0
Gameplay Boeing, slow, repetitive, and no cut scenes to tell the story.

You're a terrible gamer.

[TheROsingleB]

1 Bubble. Consider this a troll-review.

Half-Life 2 is not deserving of a 4.0, even by todays standards. The story is all built in-engine, there is no need for FMV cut scenes. This is a much better way to develop a story and keep you involved in the game; other games TODAY should learn from it, though admittedly, more games are using this tactic due to better gaming engines being developed.

[N4PS3G]

grow some balls, then play the game. How old are you by the way?

[mixelon]

Horrible story? Whaaaaaaaaat? I've never seen anyone say anything like that about the HL series, it's considered one of their strong points.

"The lack of cut scenes also ruin the pace for me as the game really expects me to figure out the story and keep track of it with out them, which simply does not work. Any good story based FPS needs cut scenes to tell a good story, and half life 2 is no exception. "

I've read a lot of crazy stuff in reviews and I rarely comment, but that's so far off the mark it's impossible not to say something! WTF! How can you not keep track of the story? Seriously..

[bobrea]

Yea going into a game from years ago and expecting it to be as revolutionary as it was when it was released is a great idea...

[Mista T]

*lack of cut scenes
*cut scenes

lol, this is Half Life, no cut scenes.
Half Life is one of the few games where I actually care about the story. You have to understand what happened in the first HL for you to even get it. It's the whole aura of Gordon Freeman that I like too. How a voiceless character is more interesting than 99% of characters in games.

I'm sorry but this review is dead wrong.