Product Description
The
Half-Life 2: Episode Pack offers both of the new games created by Valve
to expand the award-winning and best-selling action game franchise of
all time. And, as an added bonus, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is also
included for online play. Half-Life® 2: Episode One returns you, as Dr.
Gordon Freeman, to face the immediate repercussions of your actions in
City 17 and the Citadel. Rejoin Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, to once
again aid the human resistance in their desperate battle against the
totalitarian alien menace of the Combine. In Episode Two, you must
battle and race against Combine forces as you traverse the White Forest
to deliver a crucial information packet stolen from the Citadel to an
enclave of fellow resistance scientists.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales
Rank: #1850 in Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Model:
27100
- Released on: 2008-04-08
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP
- Format:
DVD-ROM
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .53" h x 5.75" w
x 7.75" l, .30 pounds
Features
- Battle new
alien foes.
- Drive new vehicles through new locations beyond
City 17.
- Discover more about the award-winning story of
Half-Life.
- Over 15 hours of award-winning single player gaming.
- Battle online with Half-Life 2: Deathmatch – included for no
additional charge.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
An
amazing value featuring two new episodes in the award-winning and
best-selling
Half-Life franchise, the
Half-Life 2: Episode
Pack offers players both of the new games created by Valve as well
as the added bonus of online multiplayer functionality via the included
Half-Life
2: Deathmatch. Pick up the
Half-Life story right where you
left off as you journey back to City 17 with Dr. Gordon Freeman and Alyx
Vance and play your way all the way up to the most current release in
the series
Half-Life 2: Episode Pack.
Alyx takes on the
locals in Episode One.
View larger. |
Gravity Gun at work in
Episode Two.
View larger. |
Fight to the end in
Deathmatch.
View larger. |
Half-Life
2: Episode One
This is the first in a series of new
adventures created by Valve that extends the
Half-Life 2 single
player experience. Stepping into the hazard suit of Dr. Gordon Freeman,
you face the immediate repercussions of your actions in City 17 and the
Citadel. Rejoin Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, to once again aid the
human resistance in their desperate battle against the totalitarian
alien menace of the Combine.
Episode One exposes Alyx's combat
skills and knowledge of City 17 as the player battles side-by-side with
her in this 4-6 hour adventure of greater density and detail than
non-episodic releases. The intense gameplay delivered in
Episode One
is made possible only by Source, Valve’s proprietary engine technology,
which has been enhanced with new rendering technology and advanced
artificial intelligence to deliver new levels of graphics and character
interaction.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
This is the
second game in Valve’s trilogy of new releases in the
Half-Life
adventure. As Dr. Gordon Freeman, you were last seen exiting City 17
with Alyx Vance as the Citadel erupted amidst a storm of unknown
proportions. In
Episode Two, you must battle and race against
Combine forces as you traverse the White Forest to deliver a crucial
information packet stolen from the Citadel to an enclave of fellow
resistance scientists.
Episode Two extends the award-winning
Half-Life
gameplay with unique weapons, vehicles, and newly-spawned creatures.
Half-Life
2: Deathmatch
Expand your
Half-Life experience as you
take your game online in deathmatch and team deathmatch modes.
System
Requirements:
|
| Minimum Specifications: | Recommended
Specifications: |
| OS: | Windows Vista/XP/2000 |
| Processor: | 1.7 Ghz Processor | Pentium 4
Processor (3.0 Ghz or better) |
| RAM: | 512 MB RAM | 1 GB RAM |
| Video
Card: | DirectX 8 level Graphics card | DirectX 9 level Graphics card |
| Other: | DVD-ROM Drive/Mouse/Keyboard/Internet
Connection |
Customer Reviews
Successfully expands the experience!
If you've played Half-Life 2,
then you've probably at the very least heard of HL2: Episode One and
Two by now. Its pretty hard to finish Half-Life 2 and not want more, and
thankfully Valve has supplied us with two short but exciting extensions
to the Half-Life universe without making everyone wait 5+ years for a
Half-Life 3.
In case you've never played Half-Life 2, these
episodes take place right where the original leaves off, and it would be
advisable to purchase the original game first so you know what's going
on. The best way to do that is through the Orange Box available for PC,
Xbox 360 and PS3, since you get these two episodes as well as the
original and two other great games in the set for a good price.
And
one more thing before I begin; I am not taking Steam into account on
these reviews. I don't particularly relish the idea of having an
internet program that locks the games I'm supposed to own in the closet
and ultimately tells me whether or not I can play them or how many
computers I can play them on, but I haven't had any major problems with
Steam yet. It's something you should be aware of though if you're buying
any PC versions of Half-Life games; you are required to "activate" them
online at installation or you aren't able to play. It also appears
that, for this particular set, the games must be fully downloaded from
Steam when you insert this disc, rather than installing from there and
simply patching, which would be much faster. If the idea of Steam
bothers you, get a console version of the Orange Box if that's available
to you.
Now, onto the episodes themselves... they're fantastic!
Episode One picks up right at the "OMG what happens next!?" ending of
the original and lays the foundation for an interesting new story arc.
This episode features some slightly improved graphics and great facial
animation, and manages to retain most of the orignal flavor of the
original with some excellent story-telling scenes and action. The entire
voice cast (of the characters still alive) makes a return too.
Unfortunately,
while great, I didn't feel that Episode One lived up to it's
predecessor. It was short and way too easy. There was also a point in
the game where you are required to escort groups of citizens across a
hot zone to a train station. I found this to be the worst part of the
game since it required you to backtrack several times (something the
original never required) and escort 2 or 3 citizens at a time. Plus, the
boss battle at the end was just like a certain battle toward the end of
the original HL2, except you're only fighting one (instead of like 5 at
once) and there's plenty of cover (also unlike earlier), so I found it
to be a real breeze and a poor choice for a final boss fight. I loved
the character development Alyx underwent in this episode however, and I
love the little details the game presents, like Alyx squinting and
covering her eyes with her hand if you shine your flashlight in her
face. Things like that go a long way to add a realistic feel to the
experience.
I hate to use the term "epic," but it's really the
only way to describe the next episode. Ep. 2 is a departure from the
previous HL2 games as it doesn't take place in City 17 at all. You'll
visit lots of places you've not seen before, like an antlion den, a
mine, and a forest. I've heard some people complain that this episode
doesn't contain the feel of the previous installments, but I found the
change welcome and exciting. At the beginning of this episode and
throughout, this episode further develops your female sidekick Alyx as a
character and gets you more attached to her. IMHO, Alyx is the best
female lead character I've ever seen in a video game. By this point in
the series, I actually CARED what happened to her, so when she went
though a couple of terrible experiences, I felt sorrow, anger, remorse,
etc. Pretty amazing that somebody can make you care for something that
doesn't really exist! The ending was amazing too; it'll really make you
want to get Ep. 3 the day it comes out.
So in other words, if you
played HL2 and enjoyed it, these episodes are successful at extending
the excitement. You'll really be missing out on a great gaming
experience if you pass these games by.
Requires
broadband...
That's about it...it requires
broadband and I didn't know it...(it wasn't listed as needed). Anyway,
to their defense, they DID list the system requirements.
Just not
broadband. Now I can't run it...so that's that.
Amazing. Gaming Excellence
Being the sequel to an FPS
classic that won over 50 game of the year awards let's admit it,
Half-Life 2 had some huge shoes to fill. In my opinion, Half-Life 2 is
the most underrated FPS out there. What I mean is, despite huge critic
praise and the winning of massive amounts of awards, including 38 game
of the year awards, I run into people all of the time who STILL haven't
played this game!!! And I'm talking FPS fans like me! Here it is, three
years later and I still run into them. I don't get it. You could play
this game now and it still has solid enough technology to keep up with
the newest games in today's market. You won't believe this came out
three years ago when you play it!The physics are incredible, the
graphics are top-notch and the levels are a blast!
Take my word
for it. This is probably in my top 5 favorite FPS games of all time.
This is a marker for FPS games and for all games in general. THIS IS NOT
A GAME TO BE MISSED!! YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME TO PLAY IT! YOU WON'T
REGRET IT!
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