Half-Life 2: Episode Two

 PC
User Score
9.2

Universal acclaim- based on 2923 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,691 out of 2923
  2. Mixed: 141 out of 2923
  3. Negative: 91 out of 2923

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  1. JesusC.
    Nov 5, 2007
    4
    Really quite saddened by how this game turned out. The latter portion was incredibly boring, and the story seemed to drag. This was quite the shame as Episode 1 was very entertaining.
  2. PhilipB.
    Feb 27, 2008
    0
    Game won't run. Keep getting 'You do not have permissions to run HL2' and can't get it to work at all. All in all the experience has left me annoyed and out of pocket. A complete waste of time and money.
  3. HowardP.
    Oct 13, 2007
    4
    Too short, battles were not balanced.
  4. OmarC.
    Oct 13, 2007
    2
    Awfully short for the waiting time. Nothing new, and incredebly noobfriendly.
  5. PeterW.
    Oct 16, 2007
    1
    Way,way too short.
  6. AaronL.
    Oct 16, 2007
    3
    While the game itself is great the few levels and very short episode was very disapointing for the cost I would have expected a few more levels.
  7. jonathan
    Nov 9, 2007
    3
    Half life 2 episode 2, is half a game, it is no good bringing out a block buster such as half life 2 and then the excellent episode 1, just to be followed by half games to drag out the story for as long as possible !! Sequels are bad enough, with those you can get away with 3 or 4 , but this episode thing, with what we have been given in the 2nd episode, compared to episode 1 or theHalf life 2 episode 2, is half a game, it is no good bringing out a block buster such as half life 2 and then the excellent episode 1, just to be followed by half games to drag out the story for as long as possible !! Sequels are bad enough, with those you can get away with 3 or 4 , but this episode thing, with what we have been given in the 2nd episode, compared to episode 1 or the oriignal half life 2, it seems that we are getting less and less with each stage and just how many half games/episodes are there going to be. The battle with the stalkers would have made a brilliant half way stage and quite frankly I was gutted to have only about 5 minutes after that left and that was it....Robbed, where was the reward for such a battle (another year wait for more half life ?) !! Half a game , Half a score I'm afraid. I played half life 2 and ep1 many , many times over. No need to play ep2 again really, not much to see ! Just decided it earns a 3 not a 5 !! Valve....Reinvent and bring us a Revelation for ep3 !… Expand
  8. jamescpublic
    Oct 20, 2007
    4
    I thought the game was too short for the money that it cost to purchase and the time since episode 1. The game "Portal" that was bundled with Episode 2 was much more thought out and compelling.
    The storyline did not progress very far and few plot "milestones" were achieved.
    The gameplay was not that much different than Episode 1 and I am not sure I understand why this game took so    I thought the game was too short for the money that it cost to purchase and the time since episode 1. The game "Portal" that was bundled with Episode 2 was much more thought out and compelling.
    The storyline did not progress very far and few plot "milestones" were achieved.

    The gameplay was not that much different than Episode 1 and I am not sure I understand why this game took so long to produce because it had the feel of an expansion pack.    … Expand
  9. DannyM.
    Oct 26, 2007
    0
    Overpriced, over hyped, too short and is obviously a part of a larger, mythical game, called "half-life 2.5", which is made up of all three "episodic" releases. Seriously, $30 for a small expansion with 5 hours game-play is a lot when you think of the price of the original. If they know something, it's how to milk. They're gonna milk this one dry, Valve.
  10. DannyG
    Jul 14, 2008
    1
    I hated this esp was way to sort all this is about is the girl dying and brining her to life and her dad dying and thats it...was nothing based from the explosion or anything just stupid sinceless sht i didn't care about.
  11. HelpU
    Jul 19, 2009
    2
    This is the original advertising campaign. "Half Life 2: Adventures of Gordan Freeman and the Crappy Unnecessary Character: Part 2" By now, if you actually enjoyed Half Life 2 up to this point, we can throw just about anything at you. How about? The same puzzles. How about? One new Enemy with slightly updated AI. How about? A storyline that actually requires you to study and worship Half This is the original advertising campaign. "Half Life 2: Adventures of Gordan Freeman and the Crappy Unnecessary Character: Part 2" By now, if you actually enjoyed Half Life 2 up to this point, we can throw just about anything at you. How about? The same puzzles. How about? One new Enemy with slightly updated AI. How about? A storyline that actually requires you to study and worship Half Life to sort of understand. How about? More awkward situations to the point of unrealism. How about? The final, not boss, Bosses be very overly complicated to defeat and leaves room for hours of frustration. Now we know how much our fans like the same old formulas. So, get this, we actually make it into a package deal. With one, count them, one good game in the package deal. Its called Portal or something....us valve teammembers are against games that make you think but we'll let this one slide. We can't call it something generic like "Valve Fanboy Package" we'll make it the "Orange Box" which is like the mating call for all Valve fanboys. I hope you come to enjoy our repackaging of Half Life 2 as much we enjoy half a**ing everything.… Expand
  12. SamG.
    Oct 13, 2007
    3
    The 3 is only because I'm a Half-Life junkie. It's not worth the price of the orange box. Here are my main gripes with the game: The wide open spaces that you can travel about in this game are just that - wide open spaces with nothing in them. There's a goal to reach and not too many paths to reach it. It's like being in an amusement park that covers one square mile The 3 is only because I'm a Half-Life junkie. It's not worth the price of the orange box. Here are my main gripes with the game: The wide open spaces that you can travel about in this game are just that - wide open spaces with nothing in them. There's a goal to reach and not too many paths to reach it. It's like being in an amusement park that covers one square mile and has a single ride. To make matters worse, much of the open space is traversed while driving. Valve has made no improvements to the driving experience since HL one. This means that the vehicle drives like a pickup truck on ice with an on/off switch on the gas and brake. The driving is also monotonous. You get to drive through a few boxes, stop for some supplies, and run into an enemy or two. Over and over. My other problem is with the gravity gun. Every puzzle and enemy can be beaten with only the gravity gun. Pick up a piece of debris and chuck it at a bad guy. Move an object out of your way. Repeat about a thousand times. You can let Alex do almost all of the shooting with her limitless supply of ammo and good aim. The achievements are also a bit lame. Kill a bunch of grubs and get a prize. Beat a few hunters and get a prize. Whoopee. I'm not going to play back through to get the ones I missed. The game is fun once through, but I think the linear game-play limits this to a once-through title. I'm almost at the end of the game and I see this as not much more than added levels to HL 2. The actual fighting can be fun and the weapons are cool, if you choose to use them. Alex ruins the game in many places since you can just let her do the shooting and launch a tire or two to help out when she gets overwhelmed. The same can be done with most of the companions that help throughout the game. I paid full price for the orange box just for this game. I wish I would've waited until someone else beat it and bought their copy at a reduced price. this isn't worth $50.… Expand
  13. Taishaun
    Jan 5, 2015
    4
    I played a total of seven hours into this and completed it, But two of those hours was dealing with crashing/freezing at main menu and in the middle of gaming , subtitle glitches, Character model glitches, texture glitches and many more. This Episode does have good Levels and memorable moments and a good set off for Half-Life 3, But the Glitches destroyed this for me.
  14. DuckTearPopper
    Feb 15, 2020
    0
    Valve will never make Half-Life 3 which is why I give this game a 0. The game itself is meh.
  15. kndr
    May 15, 2021
    4
    Just like ep1 this brings nothing new to the table, it is too same and short.
  16. Nathanimations
    Sep 4, 2022
    1
    Userscore too high. Userscore too high. Userscore too high. Userscore too high.
  17. Fazbear_Dude
    Feb 19, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (sorry for my bad english lol) Definitly the worst half-life game from all, i couldn't tell wich part is my favourite from HL2 because the whole game feels amazing, like you're the protagonist of a movie, but i can completely tell that my favourite part of chapter 2 is when i finished it, everything revolves around Alyx, it feels like she is the protagonist this time, she is the important one while the player is a side character, even gman talks about her, it's like she's the choosen one or something like that, imagine playing a game, but now you're the npc, i mean of course i had moments where the things were fun, it's a valve game, even the worst has it's good moments, but as i said, the history of this one was very dissapointing… Expand

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best PC Game of 2007
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2007
17
#17 Most Shared PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. IGN
    94
    Any way you look at it, Episode Two stands out, even among the Half-Life series, as something special. It may be shorter than the original, but it's a burly experience packed into roughly six hours or so that offers up all the diversity, level design, and thoughtful gameplay we've known while making sure to propel the story forward and leave us wanting more.
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  2. Computer and Video Games
    90
    More great story blended with improved AI and better firefights. It's starting to retread old ground though.
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  3. PC Gamer UK
    93
    Episode Two is the most sumptuous chapter of the Half-Life saga, and by a country mile. It's as if Valve's tech and art teams are trying to outdo each other: the Source engine has had a striking technical overhaul that renders textures, materials and curves uncannily well, and the artists clearly relish having a fresh palette to work with.
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