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by Dream Cast 09/13/2017, 9:26pm PDT |
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Half-Life 2 gets a lot of praise for communicating to the player which way he needs to go through subtle environmental details. Most of this praise rings hollow to me, because most Half-Life 2 locations are a little room or a hallway with one entrance and one exit, with maybe some boards or barrels to break in front of the exit so the player feels like he's doing something. I think the one real breakout exception is Highway 17.
It's wider than the airboat canal, more natural in shape, but the openness makes points of interest stand out. Every manmade structure feels like a landmark, every group of buildings a little surprise to unwrap. And as surprises go, a bite-sized platforming challenge, or a firefight with the (actually rather smart on the rare occasion they're given alternate paths to flank down) soldiers are hardly the most objectionable.
The Lambda symbols are VERY easy to spot. The buggy is more of a convenience than a liability. You're outdoors, the sun is shining, the level designers are telling little stories with graffiti or a boathouse or a tire swing. It feels like you're finally getting to the MEAT of the game. Not a single sealed lab full of talky scientists in sight!
I admit, I could've done without the crane game. The helicopter fights are okay, though I wish they were more organic. I like the practical nature of the puzzles, using the gravity gun to fling roadblocks out of your way, cutting the electricity to downed lines, searching wrecked cars for car batteries to power a gate. No arbitrary see-saw ramps because Gordon lacks the upper body strength to do a single pull-up, no filling baskets with floating barrels because of course there would be see-saws in the water too.
The underside of the rail bridge has to be the most memorable location in the whole game. Can you believe some people hated it? At least they had an emotional reaction.
I think Episode 2 is by far the best Half-Life 2 product, and the reason is because so much of it plays like a better Highway 17. |
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