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| This little drawing explains how to kill a Strider |
Platform: PC
Time played: 90 minutes
Session fun rating: 10/10
I finished Half-Life 2 Episode 2 and what a crazy ride it's been! This game is really amazing and lasts as long as many full priced first person shooter campaigns. Today, I defended the White Forest missile base like no other. I first cleaned out the interior, packed with hunters and Combine but that wasn't even the beginning of it.
The last chunk of the game is an amazing sequence where I had to defend the base from Striders and hunters in a large open area. All I had was my car, a radar, a bunch of guns and an explosive device that I had to launch at Striders then shoot at to blow them up. The explosive devices respawn in nearby buildings and one of them could be attached to the car for transport.
There were a few things that were very dangerous. First, the Striders themselves pack a punch and are not afraid to shoot at Dr. Freeman. Second, they are usually accompanied by at least two hunters, if not more. Hunters also hurt a lot, move quickly and are difficult to take down. Last but not least, if I didn't take out the Striders fast enough, they would reach the base and destroy it, resulting in a game over.
My strategy was to try to run over one or two hunters with the car, get out (because I'm being shot at) and fight off the last hunters in a pack with guns, grenades and rockets. I would then move the car back to the Strider, get off, grab the explosive device and blow the fucker up as soon as I could. Then I would move on to the next Strider.
At the end of the sequence, there was a rush of three or four Striders coming from all sides. The music kicked in and the adrenaline started flowing. This was one of the most exciting moments in a first person shooter I've played. Being a hero, Gordon Freeman saves the day once again and allows the scientists to launch the missile which took out an important Combine installation. We also discovered that the next chapter in the Half-Life story will involve getting to a mysterious ship that seems to contain important information for the survival of humanity. Just as Gordon and Alyx prepare to board a helicopter to head over there, they are attacked and Alyx's father is killed... Roll credits.
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| Half-Life 3 please. |
