Strong level design and some unforgettable battles make up for short length and a formula that is growing a bit stale.
However, the three years since Half-Life 2 have seen some excellent releases, so much that the “wow” factor is pretty much gone from the game. Some of the slower parts of the game stick out more because the formula isn’t new anymore. Episode 2's biggest shorcoming is that it is still too short, and the four or five hours that are here have too much downtime without action. Still, the game is more than solid, enough that the strong level design and a few unforgettable battles make up for the short length and a formula that is growing a bit stale.
Perhaps the most significant luster that Episode 2 has lost is the series’s status as a showcase for cutting edge graphics. Episode 2 is still a very good looking game, with a lot of subtle improvements to the visuals, like volumetric blood that spurts out of zombies and headcrabs when you shoot them. The character models and facial animations are still tops in the business, and the game still features some excellent vistas and set pieces, like a gigantic abandoned rail yard and a view of a demolished City 17. The game’s new enemy (The Hunters) look fantastic, and they are animated impressively. However, the Source Engine is starting to show its age, and other games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Bioshock have raised the graphics bar enough to where visuals are no longer a major selling point for it. Episode 2 takes place largely in outdoor wilderness areas, but it doesn’t portray them very well. The grass, in particular, is an ugly flat texture that looks like something out of the year 2002, and the trees are not anything special. When you have entire areas covered in trees and grass, the visuals fail to impress. These issues aside though, it is still a very nice looking game.
The gameplay in Episode 2 is familiar territory, which is a double-edged sword. It follows the old Half-Life formula tightly, almost to a fault. Once again, you start off the episode with just the gravity gun, and it takes you a while to get some decent weapons. Once again, the opening moments of the game are filled with a long story sequence that tells you where you need to go next. Gameplay alternates between shooting/action sequences and environmentally-based puzzles (with quite a few physics puzzles, once again). Occasionally, long 10-15-minute scripted sequences that act like cut scenes play out the game’s rather thin story.
Everything in the game is tightly scripted and refined as if it were a science. Level design for the combat-based areas is almost perfect. It is fun to explore areas, but you never get lost. There is never any confusion or question about what you are supposed to do. The variety of activities that you do is great once again, so that you are never doing the same thing for more than about 15 minutes. Sometimes you are driving. Sometimes you are defending. Sometimes you are exploring. Very few developers excel at level design like what Valve has produced since Half-Life 2.
As a mentioned previously, Episode 2 doesn't depart from the basic design of the previous installments. The game’s familiar feeling can be good or bad though, depending upon how much you have loved them. On one hand, the act of firing guns to kill enemies and the adrenaline rush that you get from destroying a gunship are still top notch experiences. On the other hand, if you have played Half-Life 2 and Episode 1, the “surprises” in the action are totally predictable. Zombies play possum and attack you if you get close. Completion of goals like pushing buttons and opening doors triggers Combine ambushes or drop ships. Havok physics isn’t new anymore, and that means the numerous physics puzzles are less of an interesting novelty, and more like a contrived annoyance. Half-Life’s glorified story-telling technique of having characters converse in front of you while you stand there stone silent has its merits, but it can be annoying when you just want to skip through it. The formula has been successful, but it is also getting a bit stale in a few areas.
Episode 2 is worth playing, especially for three for four wonderful climaxes in the action that take the game’s combat to a new peak. Early in the game, you fight an epic swarm of Ant Lions in an underground cavern where you may find yourself clinging to your last 10 points of health while you frantically blast away at ant lions with the shotgun. The game’s final battle is simply indescribable. It is probably the most intense battle that I have ever experienced in a first person shooter. It would have been nice to have more of these, since there is so much down time and the game is short, but what is here is good stuff.
Whether or not you want to buy Episode 2 depends mostly upon whether you find it worthwhile to spend $30 on a game chapter that lasts about 4-5 hours and has little replayability, unless you enable commentary mode (which is great to listen to, once again). You can also acquire Episode 2 as part of the Orange Box, but the big package isn’t worth buying just for one or two parts. This game is significantly below par in the value department, but it is still a good game. If you have been eagerly awaiting this chapter since the end of Episode 1, then you will not be disappointed in this offering. My recommendation, if you are not interested in the Orange Box, is to grab it off of Steam when it reaches $20.