Half-Life 2: Episode 2 - hands-on

We’ve all been horribly misled about Episode Two. We ended Episode One steaming out of City 17 on a train as the Citadel exploded, but it crashed and we heard Alyx cry out. The next thing we saw was her dangling from a smashed bridge in the Episode Two trailer, then her limp body being carried by a Vortigaunt. And OK, the savvy among us probably realized she wasn’t dead, but it was pretty clear she’d been badly hurt in the crash and would be out of action for most of the episode.

Utterly untrue. First, we should just say that if you don’t want to know anything about what’s in Episode Two, you shouldn’t be reading a preview of Episode Two. Still reading? Good. Alyx’s jeans are a little scuffed at the knees after the crash, but that’s about the extent of the damage. She helps you out of the train wreck (using the gravity gun! Brilliant!), and you spend almost the entire episode with her at your side. In fact, she sticks with you more than ever, hopping in and out of your vehicle and fighting alongside you in the kind of climactic battles she used to sit out of.