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Half-Life 2: Episode 2, the discussioning

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Posts

  • KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2007
    Well gee, that's what it was missing.

    Kazhiim on
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  • ROFISHROFISH AnehiixiiRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    Wait


    wait shit

    was barney in episode 2? At all?

    Didn't he stay behind in the city? You know, the one that blew up?
    D:

    ROFISH on
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  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    No. At the end of episode 1 he gets on a train leaving before yours, yours was wrecked in the explosion, we can assume

    A: Barney is safe, as his train left way before yours.

    B: His train did wreck, but like you he survived

    C: Hes fucking Barney. I would be surprised if he isnt on the combine homeworld kicking all sorts of ass already.

    The_Scarab on
  • LemmingLemming Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    ROFISH wrote: »
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    Wait


    wait shit

    was barney in episode 2? At all?

    Didn't he stay behind in the city? You know, the one that blew up?
    D:
    No, he was on the train that left just before yours

    Lemming on
  • P10P10 An Idiot With Low IQ Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    ROFISH wrote: »
    Didn't he stay behind in the city? You know, the one that blew up?
    Ep 1 spoiler
    He went out on the trains before you did, so he should be fine. You helped him and a bunch of resistance dudes catch a train out, then you went to find the one you and Alyx took.

    P10 on
    Shameful pursuits and utterly stupid opinions
  • electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    A lot of people seem to really think the advisers don't fit, but honestly all of HL2 has been done on the premise that "there is much worse out there". Given that the couple of times you've encountered advisers, they've almost been killed or have been killed and it makes a lot of sense that if they're "true Combine" they don't really want to show up on the battlefield very often.

    Currently, it looks like they have some gravity manipulation technology or biotechnology built into them but that it can only be applied to a small number of people and things they can focus on. Each time they showed up, something they weren't explicitely messing with did the most damage - the life support explosion in one case, Dog jumping on one in the other.

    electricitylikesme on
  • KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2007
    I swear

    First steps we take onto the borealis

    we better see Barney, chillin' with a parka, stick his hand through a portal into some distant refridgerator to grab a beer, and reach for a sizzling hotdog through a portal on the other side of him

    Sittin' on a throne of advisors

    Kazhiim on
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  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    That... oh god... Im quivering at how awesome that would be.

    Better yet, he looks around for a Crowbar, and cant find one, then makes a portal and the portal leads all the way to black Mesas ruins and he grabs your original one.

    The_Scarab on
  • KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2007
    You see Barney, and time freezes

    the G-Man slowly fades in and starts talking about how it's time for you to go away for a bit

    Barney gets up and just backhands him, apologizes, offers him a beer

    Kazhiim on
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  • P10P10 An Idiot With Low IQ Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Blue Shift was also developed by Gearbox.

    Episode 4 consisting of Adrian Shephard and Barney's crazy adventures CONFIRMED

    P10 on
    Shameful pursuits and utterly stupid opinions
  • KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2007
    Snake in HL2:Ep 4 CONFIRMED

    wut

    also: adrain shepherd wasn't all that special

    Kazhiim on
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  • ZzuluZzulu Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I haven't heard any complaints about the advisors myself. I personally love their concept. Horribly developed creatures that only know their own greed for power and are so far gone in their technological evolution that they have become grub-like creatures without any physical prowess, but instead having these amazing and technologically enhanced mind powers.
    Now that they have gruesome tools for killing the ones you care for, they just became really good bad guys. The combine soldiers of the overwatch are just mindless drones. It is the grubs who you really want to get

    Zzulu on
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  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    A lot of people seem to really think the advisers don't fit, but honestly all of HL2 has been done on the premise that "there is much worse out there". Given that the couple of times you've encountered advisers, they've almost been killed or have been killed and it makes a lot of sense that if they're "true Combine" they don't really want to show up on the battlefield very often.

    Currently, it looks like they have some gravity manipulation technology or biotechnology built into them but that it can only be applied to a small number of people and things they can focus on. Each time they showed up, something they weren't explicitely messing with did the most damage - the life support explosion in one case, Dog jumping on one in the other.

    On the advisors:
    I just assumed that, since they psychically attack you at several points in EP2 and also once in EP1, they're powerful psychokinetics as well, and with concentration they can fling you around like a ragdoll. I would imagine that's the instinctive reaction Valve was going for.

    After the end of EP2, I was physically angry at them, and I better get to fucking kill some in EP3, because I WILL RAIN VENGEANCE DOWN UPON THEM

    Evil Multifarious on
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    I want EP3 now. It's nice to hear they've been developing it since after EP1, though. Knowing Valve, however, it'll still be awhile before we get to play it. But God damn, I just beat EP2, and that was an awesome ride.

    P.S.
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    Dashui on
    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • Ross MillsRoss Mills Mr. California, USARegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Classic Half Life

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    Ross Mills on
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  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    So since I could never get much further in episode 1 than just after the underground due to crashing, could someone give me a spoilered summary of it?

    BahamutZERO on
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  • HardtargetHardtarget There Are Four Lights VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT

    severe ep 2 spoilers
    so I just went through the part where the vaurts are saving Alyx and then the Gman interrupts them and has a little chat with you, HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I love how this all ties into the ep1 story where the vorts broke you free of the Gman's slow time warp so that you could 'freelance' for them instead of for the Gman. god I reaaally want to know what these new rule are the gman has agreed to.. god holy shit, and then you see him sitting at a desk in black mesa. god that makes me want to see valve remake HL1 with the source engine SO BAD

    I fucking LOVE the story in the Half-Life games. there is so much there if you dig into it a bit.

    Hardtarget on
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  • SceptreSceptre Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    On the future of all half life...
    Does anybody else get the unmistakable feeling that we're going to end up returning to Black Mesa at some point? Yea yea, it got blown up... but most of it was underground, and those ruins could be nuts.

    Sceptre on
  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    iirc black mesa got nuked.

    i mean it was pretty deep underground, but not that deep surely?

    also, it was the gman which ordered the nuke, i dont think he would do that unless he could guarantee complete destruction.

    a return to black mesa would be all kinds of awesome but in the meantime blackmesasource.com

    The_Scarab on
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Sceptre wrote: »
    On the future of all half life...
    Does anybody else get the unmistakable feeling that we're going to end up returning to Black Mesa at some point? Yea yea, it got blown up... but most of it was underground, and those ruins could be nuts.
    Funnily enough, Black Mesa got nuked mainly so Valve wouldn't feel pidgeon-holed into doing Half-Life 2 there again.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • SceptreSceptre Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Sceptre wrote: »
    On the future of all half life...
    Does anybody else get the unmistakable feeling that we're going to end up returning to Black Mesa at some point? Yea yea, it got blown up... but most of it was underground, and those ruins could be nuts.
    Funnily enough, Black Mesa got nuked mainly so Valve wouldn't feel pidgeon-holed into doing Half-Life 2 there again.

    But just think of the awesomeness if you had to return, maybe only for one segment, at the very end of Half Life 3. To close all the portals where they first began.

    Sceptre on
  • KungFuKungFu Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    General gameplay discussion, spoilered just in case, but no real plot stuff:
    As I played through the entire game I was just waiting to kill me some Combine.

    When I got towards the end of the game, I felt in my element and just owned the shit out of them. Especially when I was in Silo B and the music started up, I just went to work like a killing machine and every bullet seemed to land. It was a rush.

    Those new blood effects are awesome, made killing Combine so much more special <3

    KungFu on
    Theft 4 Bread
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Episode one summary? Anyone? :(

    BahamutZERO on
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  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Episode 1:

    Start of the game, Combine reactor at the base of the Citadel is going critical. The Combine are overloading it to surge the power to send a message back to the combine homeworld for aid.

    alyx and gordon leg it inside and slow down this process, and also seize all the data they were planning on sending.

    then the rest of the game is them escaping city 17. they make their way to a train station, rescue some survivors and resistance guys, load them on the first train with barney.

    then they get on the second train and leave just as the citadel blows up, destroying it and all of city 17.

    episode 2 starts with you waking up after the explosion.

    The_Scarab on
  • VeritasVeritas Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    M0rph wrote: »
    Veritas wrote: »
    Hmm. I'm a bit stuck but I'm not sure if its a bug or if I'm actually stuck.

    I'm at the part where you kill the 2 Ant lion guardians, they're dead and I need to move forward. I'm assuming you need to make it up to the top of the canyon by way of the elevator looking thing. I figured the Vort would power it up or something but he doesn't move away from the antlion pulse thing. Am I suppose to do something here or is he stuck?
    You need to climb up the ladder nearby and unjam the lift so it can head back down to pick Alyx and the Vort up.
    Yeah thats part of the problem I cant get to it. He's still at the Ant Lion Pulse thing unmoving. Think it might be glitched then. I even made a stack of cars to get over it but no can do :/

    Veritas on
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Episode one summary? Anyone? :(
    Some Vortigaunts rescue Alyx from the citadel, and then rescue gordon from the Gman (who looks pissed and says "We'll see about that!" D0g finds Gordon under some rubble and Alyx and Gordon check in with Eli and Kliener. Kliener says there's no possible way to get out of range of the Citadel before it's reactor goes critical so Alyx decides the only way to make it is to reinfiltrate the citadel and manually stabalize the core.

    D0g chucks you into the citadel where you start looking for the core. You find some weird aliens (the ones Breen was talking to in HL2) in some strange pods but before you can find out more the one closest to you psychicly attacks both you and Alyx and then it takes off. You move on and find the core where you manage to stabalize the it. While you were doing this, Alyx finds two big chunks of information: 1. The Combine were intentionally overloading the reactor to try and send a message back to the combine homeworld. Something so important that they're willing to sacrafice the Citadel to send it. Additionally, the Combine intercepted a message from Dr. Mossman who looks like she's in an artic area and says she has located the project; but they get attacked by the Combine.

    Alyx copies the packet and the message to her interface device, which sets off a bunch of alrarms. Gordon and Alyx try to leave on a Stalker train, but it derails and they have to make it out of Zombie infested underground to reach the surface. On the surface, Dr. Kliener is using the Breencast system to warn everyone to get the hell out of dodge. The combine relocate Alyx and Gordon and persue, until they meet up with some of the remaining citizens, lead by Barney. The resistance is trying to use the trains to escape the city, but the combine are laying down the hurt. Alyx comes up with the idea to have herself and Gordon lead the Combine away from the escape party by taking a different route.

    After meeting back up at the train, Gordon helps escort the remaining citizens to the train. They leave with Barny while Alyx and Gordon stay behind for a reason I forgot. A strider attacks, seperating Alyx and Gordon. After gordon takes down the Strider, he and Alyx leave on the train. As they go, they see the Citadel about to go up. The Combine alien pods are launched out of the Citadel, and fly by the train, doing their psychic attacks. Finally, the Citadel goes up and the blast reaches the train. To be continued DUN DUN DUN!!!

    Undead Scottsman on
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Just beat it. Disappointing ending.

    Ep.2 ending spoilers
    Pretty meh at the details revealed in this one. The only interesting part was the Borealis. The first half of the game is a giant fetch quest and it only gets good when you start to fight the combine. It actually felt shorter than episode 1 : / Now to wait for Episode 3 so I can have fun with artic warfare and ice.

    Pharezon on
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  • AngryAngry The glory I had witnessed was just a sleight of handRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    so i thought hl2 was ok, i disliked ep1 very much, but ep 2 was a lot of fun to play through. i just didn't like the ending much.
    how is that the advisors just mosey on in and no one notices? they aren't exactly stealthy. rent tried to say that the strider attack was a decoy, but wtf, how would a base on alert not notice two giant flying pigs hovering around the base.

    Angry on
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Sepah wrote: »
    Half-Life 2 went through a number of forms, and had a lot of content that was planned but never implemented, as they went a whole other direction.
    One such sequence was the ship, the Borealis, controlled by the Resistance. Gordon ended up on it at one point.

    Big spoilers, beat the game first
    Just finished, and damn, what a bittersweet victory. You feel amazingly badass when you destroy the last wave of Striders with the music pumping, then you walk back into the base and the Resistance are cheering for you. That whole ending sequence though, when you go outside to watch the Superportal get denied, I felt really tense, and was looking around the sky, especially after Dog left. Those Advisors terrify me.

    And then... Eli. :(

    An amazing game, from beginning to end. Hahahaha... during the sequence to retrieve the extract, I thought of Pharezon
    and how much he must hate the reason he had to do that entire mission

    Oh my god. YES

    Pharezon on
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  • tyrannustyrannus i am not fat Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    tyrannus on
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    Pharezon on
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  • tyrannustyrannus i am not fat Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    it wasn't halo2 style. it left you with a strong emotion. bioshock's evil ending was just lame, and the good ending was trying too hard

    tyrannus on
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    it wasn't halo2 style. it left you with a strong emotion. bioshock's evil ending was just lame, and the good ending was trying too hard

    Ending spoilers
    It pissed me off that, that was all.

    Pharezon on
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  • StasisStasis Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Sort of ending spoilers:
    So where's the secret Dog level where you get to tear an Advisor's brain out with your bare claws and then throw it at another one so hard it explodes?

    Because that's really what I want to do right now.

    Stasis on
  • tyrannustyrannus i am not fat Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    it wasn't halo2 style. it left you with a strong emotion. bioshock's evil ending was just lame, and the good ending was trying too hard

    Ending spoilers
    It pissed me off that, that was all.

    ending spoilers
    That what, despite you holding off a huge strider advance that you were powerless to prevent it?

    or angry's point about them sneaking behind and taking you by suprise?

    tyrannus on
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    it wasn't halo2 style. it left you with a strong emotion. bioshock's evil ending was just lame, and the good ending was trying too hard

    Ending spoilers
    It pissed me off that, that was all.

    ending spoilers
    That what, despite you holding off a huge strider advance that you were powerless to prevent it?

    or angry's point about them sneaking behind and taking you by suprise?

    ending spoilers
    I wanted Eli to explain the g-man interaction with him and everything but nooooo valve has to kill him off. It ended really abruptly and was hoping there was an episode 3 teaser after the credits to tide me over but no. NO.

    Pharezon on
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  • tyrannustyrannus i am not fat Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Rentilius wrote: »
    disappointing? it beat the shit outta bioshock's.

    If you enjoy halo 2 style endings sure

    it wasn't halo2 style. it left you with a strong emotion. bioshock's evil ending was just lame, and the good ending was trying too hard

    Ending spoilers
    It pissed me off that, that was all.

    ending spoilers
    That what, despite you holding off a huge strider advance that you were powerless to prevent it?

    or angry's point about them sneaking behind and taking you by suprise?

    ending spoilers
    I wanted Eli to explain the g-man interaction with him and everything but nooooo valve has to kill him off. It ended really abruptly and was hoping there was an episode 3 teaser after the credits to tide me over but no. NO.

    oh you
    ending spoilers
    that's WHY they(Valve) killed him off :(

    tyrannus on
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    The_Scarab wrote: »
    That... oh god... Im quivering at how awesome that would be.

    Better yet, he looks around for a Crowbar, and cant find one, then makes a portal and the portal leads all the way to black Mesas ruins and he grabs your original one.



    From earlier tonight...


    :lol:
    With the portals, there IS a possibility that we can go back to Aperture and Black Mesa. That never hit me before.

    I always wondered how all the Black Mesa folk got from.. well, Black Mesa to Europe.

    Anyone identified what country HL2 takes place in yet? To have a sea and those beautiful mountains...

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • The_ScarabThe_Scarab Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    iirc its in Ukraine.

    The_Scarab on
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Angry wrote: »
    so i thought hl2 was ok, i disliked ep1 very much, but ep 2 was a lot of fun to play through. i just didn't like the ending much.
    how is that the advisors just mosey on in and no one notices? they aren't exactly stealthy. rent tried to say that the strider attack was a decoy, but wtf, how would a base on alert not notice two giant flying pigs hovering around the base.

    endgame spoilers
    Well.. most everyone was inside for the missile launch. And they had just fended off an insane attack. And.. mind takers. Yeah.

    Spolier part two, Re: Bitch
    It makes complete and utter sense that the Advisors have absolutely no impact on Dog. He's not a human, he's an AI. He's mechanical. And so far we've seen absolutely 0 tech of the Combine's that doesn't have some organic parts.

    Portal spoilers
    This might mean GlaDOS has some future role to play.



    I am SO dying for Black Mesa source. I'm about 90% convinced that Valve is helping them, to make it as good as possible. The re-introduction of Magnusson is important, to get the character established. I just think that Black Mesa is going to grow even more important as time goes on, especially now that the citadels are disrupted. After all, there are only 3 places with the tech that the Combine needs...
    Black Mesa's Lambda Facility
    Aperture Science's AI core
    The Borealis.

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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