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A great game all on its own, Half Life 2: Episode 2 is unbelievably phenomenal! It is the second of a series of stand-alone episodes of Half Life 2 recently released by Orange Box. Virtually unsurpassed, stunning, and emotionally engaging best describe Episode 2’s five-hour experience.

The game consists of seven chapters that extend over 7 to 8 environments. It has the same traditional gameplay where the player shoot bad guys, avoid enemy fire and solve puzzles. However, in this episode, a slight change was made. The player, while killing enemies, can do other things like collecting. Episode 2 extends the award-winning Half-Life adventures with a few additions. A new particle system, cinematic display of physics, more dynamic shadows and lighting are some of them. Visual fidelity has also increased but polygon counts and texture resolutions have not.

Episode 2 offers many moments that will make the player smile or laugh. There’s the puzzle in the car garage with a pivoted platform and a box of grenades, or hurling a set of grenades through a door left ajar - only to have the set of grenades ricocheting back to you and the door slamming closed. Not all players will experience them unless they happen to stumble upon them.

Though considered as the weakest of the Orange Box, Episode 2 was very well done and very well paced. It’s also one of the more polished than most games released recently. It stands out among the Half Life series, anyway you look at it, therefore given an overall rating of 9.8.