365 Games To Play Before You Die

Previous 5 Games

• #81: Rayman 2: The Great Escape
• #82: Freedom Fighters

• #83: The Orange Box

• #84: Team Fortress 2

• #85: Portal

Full List

#86: Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Platform(s): PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Release: 2007
Developer(s): Valve
Best Quote: 'Prepare for unforeseen consequences.'
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If anyone thought that Episode One was lacklustre then Episode Two should really have woken them up. It's got few lull moments in which you can take a break from the action and follow the story but most of the time it's pure Action-FPS. The game is the best paced out of the series and you always feel like your doing something important.

Episode 2 starts immediately after the previous game finishes and the story continues as Alyx and Gordon make their way to White Forest, a base of operations for the resistance. Along the way they'll encounter the terrifying Hunters (who for me are one of the best enemies in a game for a long time) and get to drive a revamped buggy. The story is just as great as ever and we find out even more about the last desperate attempts of the Combine to keep control.

The game ends with a cliffhanger that will shock fans of the series and it sets up Episode Three  perfectly. Speaking of Episode 3, Valve it's been 2 years now so hurry up and give us some more info on the game. I can only assume that with the establishment of a link to the Portal universe (they're both actually in the same universe) we might see some portal gun action in Ep3 and that's giving the designers some headaches.

86 down 279 to go.