Half-Life 2: Episode Two

On one particular level, there's an npc model on the ground that is half on one floor, and the other half is no-clipped thru to the floor below. It's a visual mess that's survived all these years. I hope it gets fixed for the anniversary update.

If you own Half-Life 2: Episode 1 or 2 separately, then you can still find them under the tools section of your library!

I couldnt even finish the game because of alyx being a little b and standing up in the gawd damn car and then when i leave and come back she despawns like brudda PLEASEE LET ME FINISH THE GAME ITS SO GOOODDDD

the ending has genuinely fucked with me ever since I played the orange box on my xbox 360, combat section are beautifully made and everything about it is amazing, also idk why but I had a weird bug for all valve games where I just didnt get acheivements for a bit, its fixed now but still masterpeice of a game that stays with you and makes you carry the weight of the ending and of the overall story.

It is very fun to play I very much recomend.

so i played through this and had a pretty solid time! going through and kicking ass as a silent scientist with a crowbar. and personally its a pretty solid sequel...But what the FUCK is the ending my guy!? i can see why people want half life 3 so bad like you cant just end it off on THAT then dip and not touch half life for 17 years
Gabe when i catch you its gonna be TRAGIC.

never made a review but since in 5 days it's gonna be the 20th anniversary of half life 2 might as well just thumbs up and go back to playing

The last battle was really frustrating, but I liked it overall. They're a lot more stingy with ammo in some sections compared to the base game, so you really can't go crazy with weapons all the time.

having played all of the half-life games i can say without a doubt that this one is probably the best half-life game of all, its soo good in fact that besides its relatively shorter campaign you cant even tell that this game was supposed to be an expansion to half-life 2 when it was released or as the kids say today dlc.

An Absolute MUST!!!!
The story continues... From episode one. This game has been played so many times by me when growing up this is something of a pinacle of gaming I believe and feel a bit offended when someone does not know what these gaming series are. This is just absolute blast playing. This is about a story of Gorden Freeman and he is on the brink of destruction that he worked for a company called Black Mesa and it is your job to stop the turmoil that is happening around him in a experiment that went wrong facing numerous amount of enemies along the way with the help of your friends Alex Vance and many other along the way. These games were made ahead of their time during the release of it and still surprise me when I do replay them again. This is something of a master piece in it self. This is most definitely replayable. Just for the fact that this has been out for so long I would strongly recommend on a bundle sale that I have seen for these games before.

Awesome game with new enemy types and wide open levels to explore, albeit with a painful ending, wish I could experience it for the first time again; get it if you somehow haven't already - it's worth every cent!

it fucking sucks it wont let me fucking play under the radar chapter 5 i cant even make it out the fucking garage

Absolute great game!! wonderful game play, such a unique game very good and challengeing. Great desgin and amazing graphics! a must play!!

just as good as the rest of course however has the most sad clifhanger and you guys still havent made hl2 ep3 or lets say hl3 however i still do love this and i really do hope this gets continued in the future

Game Review: Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Score: 1/10 - Liberal Themes Masked in Sci-Fi Garb

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 may be hailed as a groundbreaking first-person shooter, but behind the cinematic storytelling and tight gameplay lies an unabashed display of political messaging. Sure, the game presents itself as a gritty sci-fi epic, but scratch the surface, and you’ll find yourself knee-deep in ideologies it can’t help but hammer home.

The anti-establishment tone? Not exactly subtle. The game's constant rebellion against the Combine—a dystopian government—is practically a blueprint for liberal resistance fantasies. Gordon Freeman, a “scientist” hero wielding a crowbar, leads a revolution against a monolithic authority that spies, restricts freedom, and suppresses free will. Sound familiar? It’s as though the game’s writers were on a mission to convince players that “science” and rebellion are all you need to take down the “big bad authority.” If I was playing the game blindfolded - I would guess this game is about sending United States troops to fight overseas wars that are unrelated to us.

And let’s not forget Alyx Vance, Freeman’s hyper-capable ally. A female character who’s witty, brave, and unfazed in the face of danger? A clear attempt to check the “strong female character” box—another overt nod to progressive representation. She’s basically the game’s face for equality, independence, and defying stereotypes, often delivering biting commentary that could have come straight from a social justice handbook.

As for the environment, it’s practically a liberal environmental message in disguise. The alien-controlled wasteland shows Earth in shambles, drained of resources by powerful rulers who ignore sustainability—almost like a commentary on climate change and corporate greed. A little heavy-handed, perhaps?

And the player base? Don’t expect much relief there. In any multiplayer forums or communities, good luck sharing a dissenting opinion without being swarmed. It seems that every fan of the series has bought into the “overthrow the system” narrative, ready to lecture you on why Freeman’s brand of rebellion is the right way to save humanity.

I found myself banned from literally over 173 chatrooms for wanting to discuss why Gordan Freeman is such a liberal.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 may have some revolutionary tech and gameplay, but if you’re not looking for political messaging around every corner, this one is hard to recommend.

My stance on this one is the same as it is with the others, It's good, it's worth getting.

Playability / Enjoyability 9/10
Graphics / Sound 7/10
Wokeness / ESG Score 0/10
Story / Writing 9/10
Replayability 3/10

This is my favourite Half Life 2 game. Unlike Episode 1, this actually moves the story forward, has excellent new enemy types to battle, well rounded NPCs, top notch voice acting, a great story and an end battle that is pure adrenaline fuelled. Alyx continues to be a useful and helpful companion that you want along for the ride, and the game has more action than puzzles, which I preferred. Only downer is that it ends on a cliff hanger and Valve decided not to make Episode 3.

youll win the strider raid eventually, it took me one game to panic and shit my pants when one strider get near the silo rocket

this is so fun but to all the new players just know that you will never have full health

A bit better than episode one still not as good as the base game. Leaves us on quite a note. Runs great on deck.

Finally played episodes 1 & 2 after the original 2nd HL. Fun expansions. Great lore.

Soon on the 20th anniversary of Half Life 2; Will a new sequel be made?
Lord Gaben , I left the comment section open for you to answer

this game is fun and the second best in the half life trilogy but you will experience immense pain if you try to do the gnome achievement and also will hate the hunter helicopters for the rest of your life:D

Like its counterparts before it (Half Life, Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 Episode One) this episode of Half Life 2 is just awesome. It is filled with great moments, great story and characters/npcs. The amounts of times I find myself replaying these games is beyond count. The soundtrack goes so hard as usual, from the creepy eerie sounds to the great action tracks that go so well with everything else that makes Half Life 2 so amazing. 10/10 ofc

I say this is an improvement over episode 1 even if the length is only 1 extra hour. It's nice to explore some new locations instead of the same old City 17. I feel like the half-Life 2 episodes would have benefited more as being their own game. But still I can't wait for episode 3 to come out.

...wait what do you mean this came out in 2007?

I played through all of the half life games to understand what I was missing out on, and what the big deal was on wanting a half life 3...I wish i let myself stay in the dark TBH, instead I have this void now that needs to be filled just like the rest of you miserable lot.

(good games though, cant believe they're almost 20 years old)

It starts with one thing
I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away

It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, didn't even know
I wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me

Will eventually be a memory of a time when
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me in the end
You kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

After playing through the game on Hard, whilst simultaniously getting the little rocket man achievement,

All I can say is that the game is fun, I was too focussed on keeping that damn gnome in my car.

Besides trying to carry the gnome through the whole game and the most diabolical cliff hanger in history, I'd say valve did excellent with this one. But seriously, they need to add like a gnome storage basket on that car, I spent way too much time picking up that gnome off the road when it fell out for the hundredth time.

Really nothing I can state here except to play it if you can. Again, as with my reviews for HL2 and Episode One, definitely recommend!

Little Rocket Man was both a source of frustration as he bounced out of the car for the umpteenth time and great sense of achievement when he was finally safely locked away in his rocket. The cliffhanger still unresolved after 17 years is not as satisfying, though.

Adds a lot of new features and mechanics, at least compared to the first episode. It still doesn't wrap up Half-Life's story line, but this is Valve we're talking about. You can also mount it in Garry's Mod and use it for custom maps, so that's cool.

Now in here the game becomes omg so much harder specialy in the end. Still enjoyable and still cool looking. Ill keep the score at max coz all main game in episodes in all are nice so 10\10 in general

Thanks to the fun vehicle sections, all new areas and incredible final battle, this is leaps and bounds better than Episode One. Though, it’s gutting to play through this knowing there’s no follow up, especially when there’s still loose ends

Im almost reaching the the end of this game and i am very sad. As a newbie of pc gaming this series really shaped pc games for me and holds a special place in my heart and all i have left is alyx and now my only hope now is if the leaks are true and it really is half life 3 but only time will tell.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☑ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☑ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

---{ Author }---
☑ https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template

Very good story game

It's everything the other two has. I'll say this much about the grapchics, and move on.

I likey the music, it is nicey to listeney to it-ey.

The gameplay doesn't change much from the previous one, though i enjoy it a bit more due to the lenght being more than the previous. Other than that, same thing.

Half life 2 bugs will be everywhere. Not gameplay altering, but still.

The story is definitely better than episode 1, since episode 1 was just "oh no we need to escape," and i like the improvement. But the cliffhanger at the end that has been there since 2007 is definitely not nice.

Half life 2 requirements, i don't expect anything more.

%100 completing it is a lot easier than what people say, in my opinion. For get some grub, follow a tutorial and make sure you have every last one of them. For Neighborhood Watch, save after each strider and you're good. And for the most iconic of them all, getting the gnome to the end of the game, is a lot easier than what people say. First of all, don't put the gnome in the car. It WILL fall unless you find THE spot. Just launch it, drive there, repeat. And you're done.

-----------------------------------------------------

I do reccomend. It is nice. It is Half-Life.

same as Episode 1, this expansion is short. however the story presented here is exceptional, all the way to finale. the ending tho, where is Episode 3 Valve?

This game is so good that ive beaten it 7 times on hard mode without ever getting bored, Id like to install mods but dont know how because theres no workshop,if anyone can tell me itd be greatly appreciated, but the game in its vanilla form is still very interesting

It starts with
One thing, I don't know why
Doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time

All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away

It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Tryin' to hold on, di-didn't even know
I wasted it all just to watch you go

I kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually
Be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how I tried so hard

In spite of the way you were mockin' me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised that it got so far
Things aren't the way they were before

You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me in the end
You kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually
Be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter

I've put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there's only one thing you should know
I've put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there's only one thing you should know

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter

Half-Life 2: Episode Two is similarly to Episode 1 the further continuation of Half-Life's story. Episode 2 is superior to Episode 1 in almost every way. The story not only picks up pace, but also gets a lot more exciting with a clear goal in mind.

This game has a lot more creative objectives. It genuinely features a lot more creativity in general. There are a lot of new enemies, new surroundings, like the mine, cave and the forest. From the beginning of the game you have a clear goal, and i think the game really drew a huge benefit from this. There is again a vehicle sequence in this game, but you can clearly feel that the developers learned from their earlier vehicle levels because this time it just feels much better. Your car receives meaningful upgrades and it just doesn't feel like driving down a boring piece of road anymore.

There are more creative maps, like the aforementioned mine, or taking down the autoguns in the junkyard. I really liked the last battle, in which you had to use the Magnusson Device to take out the striders. It felt great because it was truly exciting and made me feel anxious at times. Making the player feel a particular emotion is great, especially in a setting like this.

I only would have wished that they implemented perhaps a handful of new weapons. The game would have benefited greatly from more weapons, because those are still the same old weapons from Half-Life 2.

I don't have much more to say here. Half-Life 2: Episode Two is Half-Life at its peak, and if you are thinking about picking this one up you have likely also played or plan on playing Episode 1. I advise you to go for it.

Final Score: 9/10

it freakin half life. if you like sci fi or FPS or puzzle like gameplay you will love this game! get any half life game there all freaking fun and epic and amazing.

I love the different vibe this one has compared to the other Half Life 2 games, has some of my favorite moments in the entire series. Not that horrible gnome achievement though, One Free Bullet is a breeze compared to that. Still love this game.

Much more fun than the first episode. Paling around with Alyx is always a blast, and the one liners that Gordan spouts off every now and then is always a blast. I swear, the banter between Alyx and Gordan is always a treat. The jokes they share, the one-liners, the lore-driven dialogue. Man, playing Episode 2 is a treat. It's a shame we'll never get a third episode since Valve doesn't care about Half Life anymore, but at least we were able to get the games we did get.

Alright, I definitely get why people are upset Half-Life 3 never happened now. That's what you leave people on?!

Beyond that though, Episode 2 is a returned to form. I wasn't a fan of the level design of Episode 1 since I feel like it didn't really take any notes from Half-Life 2's spectacular level design. Episode 2, though, does and does so really well, to a point where it's very fun to play. It's unfortunate it's so short, because I quite enjoyed my time with it.

I think Alyx is still lovable in this one, the little bits of worldbuilding we get are great, and the levels are paced greatly. I don't have much more to say since the game was really only about 5 hours or so. If you like Half-Life 2's pacing and level design, Episode Two will give you some more of that so long as you power through Episode One.

Just... Good lord, that last Strider fight. Good luck with that.

Score: 85

An absolute classic that I finally got to play and enjoy.

Just played through the whole series and it's been a masterpiece
Love the characters, and where the story is going, especially the ending

Half life (or the source engine in general) is one of the few game series that has bugs that are very fun to exploit

like no regular player will find Accelerated back hopping but its there if you seek it out or know to use it.
no regular player will turn on r_drawclipbrushes and break the game boundaries to go out of bounds but you can if you know how

Its just so freeing to have a game that lets you experiment and trust the player rather than the constant hand holding common in alot of AAA games today.

Great additional content. Beat in one sitting. Highly recommend.

An absolute classic that I finally got to play and enjoy. There is just something magical and flowing about the Source Engine and HL2:E2 continues to prove that around every turn. Aside from some frustrations with the gnome achievement (I wish the car had a trunk), the game played well and it's HL2, so you know what to expect. I can't wait for Episode 3!

...what do you mean, it's been 17 years with no resolution after an absolute sudden cliffhanger of an ending? That is probably the biggest disappointment about this and the HL series as a whole. Still, the actual game is fun and I adore this series, but...well, maybe one day. Hope dies last!