After getting my new comp - I spent the past week blowing through all the Half-Life 2 games (HL2, Episode 1, Episode 2). Now - I've played HL2 and Episode 1 before - but Episode 2 was a new experience for me.

WOW.

I cannot believe how well they've tooled this 3 year old engine. On my spiffy new comp it looked utterly amazing - and played amazingly as well. The action - plot - humor - characterization - all awesome.

But ... probably the cruelest cliffhanger ending since Halo 2.

Every episode Is a total cliffhanger, they do that on purpose to get more people buy the next episode. I hate that a bit as it ruins the storytelling, as many things have to be told in just a few minutes.

I just love the stuff on the end when Eli tells you that he has something very important to say, and a minute later he dies. Reminds me of the X-files :)

By the way, the engine is one of the greatest I ever have seen, but it seems that only the makers of Half Life know how to use it best. If someone played Vampire the Masquerade-Bloodlines, its on the same engine, and it looks three times uglier.