Episode 1 and 2 are second and third parts of the story of Half-life 2. Valve, in their infinite wisdom, thought it would be faster to put out little installments of the game instead of making Half-Life 3.
Episodes 1 and 2 are expansions released in what has been coined "episodic content". To, possibly, over-simplify this, the designers are breaking down the expansions (and in the case of Sam and Max, to go on a slight tangent, a full game) into smaller packages that can be released in less time for less money (for the consumer). Eventually, the episodes may, together,form one normal sized expansion (maybe larger). In the case of HL2, they continue the story from where HL2 ended.
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