Half-Life 2: Episode 2 – Consumer Guide

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

Parents need not be overly concerned; while not intended for children, the game is not gratuitously violent or profane; it's mostly on par with any PG-13 action movie. Parents may even find the story and characters substantive enough to enjoy the game with their kids.

PC gamers may purchase the game either standalone or as part of the five-game Orange Box compilation; XBox 360 gamers do not have the luxury of purchasing it standalone, but the Orange Box is a phenomenal value with Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2, Portal, and Team Fortress all for $60. An added incentive for PC gamers is that if you already own Half-Life 2 and/or Episode 1 and you purchase Orange Box, you can give a free copy of the game to a friend via Steam.

Episode 2 is a must-have for first-person shooter fans and fans of Half-Life. It has everything that is great about the genre and the series, and very little of what is not. It's especially a visually excellent game that will look great on a high-definition TV or a high-end gaming PC.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing gamers may miss out on some useful positional audio cues such as enemy chatter and gun fire, but as with all Steam games, closed captioning is available. Subtitles are available for all dialogue, and are distinguished between characters with italicized font.