Half-Life 2: Episode 2 = Three games in one

Swishiee

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Sort of. So here's the deal. When you buy Half-Life 2: Episode 2, you will get the main single player game (obviously). But, it also comes with two more games. Number one is Portal. This is a first person puzzle game where you use a gun that makes portals to get through obsticles. To see what I mean, click the link below.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11883&type=mov

Now the other game is one that everyone has been waiting years upon years for. A game that has been in production since before Source and Half-Life 2. A game that was supposed to come out around 1999 or 2000. You may have already guessed it (if you're a follower of Valve). TEAM FORTRESS 2. For those who don't remember the original Team Fortress, it's a game with different job classes, such as sniper, medic, engineer, etc., but it had different modes of play, like the VIP, capture the flag, etc. TF2 has been in hiding for years upon years, and some even thought it went the way of Duke Nukem Forever (the developer says it's coming out at some point, but that's it). But after Valve being so quiet on it lately, even in quite a few interviews, they're finally giving it to us. Trailer below.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11897&type=mov

Also, the games are coming for PS3 and the 360. Both of the console version will also include Half-Life 2: Episode 1 as well as Episode 2 and the other two games. Still no release date, but Valve is saying they want it out before the new year. Holy crap yessssssss.
 
Dude, TF2! I gave up hope on that years ago.
 
HL2's portal tech is better than the portals in Prey, I can't wait to play episode 2.
 
Sharpe said:
I'm buying that purely for TF2. I wont even touch the 1 player or portal thingy game. TFC was the best!
The pictures of TF2 that I saw looked like shit. They weren't using the HL2 engine, so unless that was changed in the last week or so I'm not impressed with TF2.
 
How could you not have an orgasm over Portal? The possibilitys of the game are amazing, you could drop a box thats next to a gun right on top of it with just two shots! ...Is there MP in Portal? O.O
 
lol i like the style for TF2. It sets it apart from all the other Arena shooters out there. I think it's a genius way to market a game who's niche is pretty much saturated right now.
 
Bajaratt said:
HL2's portal tech is better than the portals in Prey, I can't wait to play episode 2.

indeed (i hope they include the fireplace scene with natali portman ^^)
 
Wow that's great, now I'm stoked for this lol
 
Bajaratt said:
The pictures of TF2 that I saw looked like shit. They weren't using the HL2 engine, so unless that was changed in the last week or so I'm not impressed with TF2.

It should look like it did in the trailer I posted. Of course those are images from a fully beefed up computer, or it could be an FMV, but it's not live Valve to make an FMV for a trailer for a game (in fact, I don't remember any pre-rendered scene from Valve at all). If they don't look like the imges in the trailer I posted, you're probably seeing old TF2 images, when it was being developed for the original Half-Life engine. This is on Source for sure.

tf2.jpg
 
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wow.. awesome.. that's worth money now :P I just hope the story in Episode 2 is better than Episode 1 (in terms of the money it costs to get) XD I still haven't bought episode 1 cause it doesn't seem worth it for so little playing (I played through the entire thing at my friend's house so ya..)
 
Swishiee said:
It should look like it did in the trailer I posted. Of course those are images from a fully beefed up computer, or it could be an FMV, but it's not live Valve to make an FMV for a trailer for a game (in fact, I don't remember any pre-rendered scene from Valve at all). If they don't look like the imges in the trailer I posted, you're probably seeing old TF2 images, when it was being developed for the original Half-Life engine. This is on Source for sure.

tf2.jpg
Yeah, I asked my friend who showed me the pictures and he said they were from 2001, so they were very old. The new art style looks good.
 
That's good. Because Half-Life 2: Episode One was about one third of a game in one. "Oh, wow, this is pretty - uh. . . done?"
 
Aden Nak said:
That's good. Because Half-Life 2: Episode One was about one third of a game in one. "Oh, wow, this is pretty - uh. . . done?"
That's the whole point of episodic style of releasing. They release the first chunk of the game for a much lower price and then they work on the next chunk. While it's annoying that you don't get the whole game, but it leaves the developers able to upgrade the games and further test them before the release; since they can modify things in between the episodes.
 
Portal for the mother fuckin' win

I'll be getting HL2:e2 just for Portal.
 
Tagrineth said:
Portal for the mother fuckin' win

I'll be getting HL2:e2 just for Portal.
Yeah, I'll play the other games too, but portal will be just too much fun to pass up.
 
If only Portal has a multiplayer mode, with puzzles designed for it. That'd rock so much.

But anyway, theres some pretty nifty details on the TF2 models. For example, the Pyro's flame thrower: Gasoline Pump Handle "trigger," house-hold propane tank lighting the pilot. The Scout's backpack strap mimics The Flash's lightning bolt logo as it crosses his shirt.

Theres a problem though, it was recently(2 weeks~) announced that Episode 2 has been delayed, because of it's multiplatform release. Way to go Sony with your shitty production line.
 
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Bajaratt said:
That's the whole point of episodic style of releasing. They release the first chunk of the game for a much lower price and then they work on the next chunk. While it's annoying that you don't get the whole game, but it leaves the developers able to upgrade the games and further test them before the release; since they can modify things in between the episodes.

Yeah, I just feel that for $20, there wasn't enough game there. If the average title is between $40 and $60 dollars, HL2:E1 should have been anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of a full length game. It wasn't. It was, at best 1/5. And maybe that's nit picking. But if we allow gaming companies to lock in a screwjob pricing scheme now, we're going to be paying for it forever.

So either the episodes themselves need to be longer, or the price for episodes needs to be shorter. Alternatively, they can bundle up three games and sell it as a package, but that also worries me. Becuase it gives consumers less choice. Suppose someone doesn't play online, or doesn't want the extras. Now they have to pay $20 not for more content on the game they want, but for things they will never use. And if the argument is that HL2:E2 is $20 and the rest is freebie, that takes us back to the original point that the episodes aren't long enough to justify their price tag.
 
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