Entropy Review: Zero 2

Hi, dear reader, with you zombies, and of course you can’t say on my blogs (and this is not irony), but I am a fan of the universe Half-Life and Portal.
I went through this universe in general everything except three games, and even then for good reasons. I did not go through Half-Life: Decay, because it is not only this is an old game, so it is also co-Opical. I don’t know how to get it to work. I did not go through Half-Life: Alyx, because it is a viar, but I do not have a Viara, but I don’t want to buy it for a couple of games. And I did not come in the same Portal. It’s generally funny, no one wants to play with me. Sometimes people ask me if I want to clutch at Ko-Op on Stream. And I always answer that I would like to go through the Ko-Opical Portal. You can’t even imagine how quickly people are sour when I offer them a portal. After that they quickly turn the conversation and never offer me ko-OP again.
But I went through everything else in this franchise, including Black Crowbar Collective Black.

I could never express in words why I like Half and Portals so. Probably the fact is that You are always drawn into the events of these games. They do not have Katszen, they have no long notes and I haves on computers, everything happens in them before your eyes, in a continuous stream. These games involve you in your process so much that you feel like the main character or heroine. You can often hear the opinion that playing Freeman Gordon, you literally feel like Gordon Freeman, as if you are he. And this is not a joke. Half and portals masterfully put you in the skin of a protagonist, and you will not think for a second that you are you, and the protagonist is a protagonist.
And all this together with very Interesting Lor, And the Half and the portal have a rich ENT, and Unusual gameplay. Half -Life is not just a shooter, but Portal is not just a puzzle.

I could crucify about this universe for a long time, and periodically I will have to crucify, because without a background of previous games it will be difficult to explain some points, but the review is still not about these specific games. I hope that this pair of paragraphs I conveyed the idea why I love this franchise.

Over time, of course, my interest in Half-Life and Portal died out. The reason was simple as a stick: from 2011 to 2020, nothing came out in the HL and Portal universe except Black Mesa: the remake of the first Half, which was not made by Valve.
It did not go out for one simple reason: Valve essentially stopped making games.

Why this happened? The fact is that the valve is rich. They always had without games, have and will have a bunch of dough, and at some point to make a single player of the game, they became uninteresting and unprofitable. And why? Money is already flowing a river. It’s no secret that Valv owns the most famous game store – Steam. And not only the most famous, but also the best. No matter how other shops are puffed there, but they will not surpass Steam.
It is Valv that owns Dota 2, which also brings them a lot of money.

So yes, they don’t need games anymore. Over the past 12 years (just think about this figure), the valve has released 2 games. This Artifact, who was disgusting and dead rather quickly. And that is HL: Alyx, which was good, but only went to the VIAR.

So it is not surprising that over time, from the absence of some new things in this franchise, my interest was lost and my interest. But this does not mean that I fell out of love with these games. In my heart they always find a place. In 2020, I enthusiastically passed Completion of Black Meza, And if you did not know, then BM went out in parts: 14 chapters in 2012 and the remaining 4 chapters in 2020. And it was truly great.

And what was the trailer!

I’m waiting for Alyx to be transferred from Viara to the computer. Yes, this is unlikely, but there are options, and I am sure that sooner or later someone will get a port on a bakery.

Here is such a transfer option, for example.

I’m waiting Opposing Force and Blue Shift remakes (Blue Srift is already slowly coming out with chapters), especially of of my favorite addons in principle.
I’m not waiting for the third Half-Life. Let’s be honest: no one is waiting for him. But if the gap is suddenly done, then I, of course, will pass.

Are I waiting for the third portal? No, I don’t understand why people are waiting for him. The story of the Chell and the Glados was over. The second portal puts a bold point in the history of these two. And here spin-off I would look. About other Aperture Science laboratories, about their other developments, and so that the main character would be another portalganer (Chell was not the only such subject). And no, the comic book about Dr. Ratman is not enough for me, give me the game.

In general, I want to say that I always have time and effort for something new in this universe. I found time for today’s viewing object.

Video version of the review as always somewhere here. Yes, this time not at the beginning of the blog.

I must say that I was never interested in the Half and the portal beyond their official limits. I went only games from Valv, and not from Valv only Black Mesu. And I also read the comic book “The Half and Death of Gordon Froman” (an awesome comic book, by the way, if anyone passed the second half and did not read this comic – read without fail).
For some reason, I could never go beyond this franchise. Unlike the same Deus Ex, where I immediately began to absorb everything just outside the franchise, including fan work and all kinds of fashion. I am always not enough for this franchise. And the Halfs and the portal were always enough for me within this universe itself.

That’s why Entropy: Zero I somehow passed me by. This is a fan work, so I did not pay attention to it.
I already got into my field of vision Entropy: Zero 2. And she began to persistently knock in my infpol. Increasingly, I heard about the second entropy only good things. Like, the game is excellent, and this is The same Half-Life 3. I was skeptical of this, but I still took the game on streams. And God, she Really so good, As they say about her, and yes, in a sense, this Half-Life 2 Episode 3. Very specific, but in general, yes, it will pull on the third episode.
I expected that it would be a video game fan fiction, and it turned out to be so canonical that if the second entropy came out as part of Orange Box, I would not have led an eyebrow, it fits well into this video playing universe.

Honestly, I wanted to make an view of entropy a kind of story, but it does not glue in my single line, so let’s go according to the classic: I will tell you what Pros this game. And she has many pluses, almost the whole game is a continuous plus. I think so we can consider every aspect of the game.

But first a little general information.
So, the main developer of the game is a dude named Bradman, In the world Johnny Richardson.

He made the game not alone, he has his own small team. They released the first entropy in 2017, the second entropy was released in 2022. And if the first entropy did not find much popularity (more on that later), then the second entropy made a noise in certain circles, received super -positive reviews, became memeen – again in narrow circles, and received a reward “Best Mod of the Year” According to Moddb.

A good question, however, why this game is considered a mod? This is not a mod. This A full -fledged game, With new locations, with new events, new heroes. Where did the concept of “mod” do not understand from this game.

Well, download entropy that the first one, that the second can be in Steam. And attention! Both games are free. To install them, you will need the presence of the second HL and episodes in the library, but the entropy itself is not worth a penny.

And I sincerely hope that if the third entropy comes out, then Bradman will make it paid. I want to give him and his team money, since they did the work of a fiery.

What Klast Games? The main character Eiden Walker serves as a combine. He serves for a reason, he lost his daughter, and the Alliance promised him to find her in return for the right service. At the same time, the main character is a unique, and it is his DNA that is taken to create a super -soldier of the alliance.

He moves forward in search of Judith Mossman in order to prevent her from capturing her and to the rebels The ship is Borey, On board which is a powerful technology of teleportation, capable of turning the entire course of the war between the alliance and the Earth. The path to the goal is not a short, and besides, the main character is constantly interfering with his clone, who is going to kill Judith Mossman and go against the alliance. And it is the idea that the alliance is wrong, the clone and trying to convey to the main character. Ultimately, the main character will cope with all the tasks, but will appear before the difficult choice: to stay on the side of the Alliance or go against them. And this information is more than enough for us so far.

Plus one: unity of universes.

Finally, at least sufficient attention was https://nongambancasinos.co.uk/review/lucki-casino/ paid here both the Half-Life universe and the Portal universe.

The fact is that the events of Half-Life and Portal events take place in the same universe. However, Valv These two universes connected each other quite late.
Judge for yourself: in the period from the 98th to 2006th, the Half-Life universe has already managed to grow to a huge scale. The first part came out, three addons to it, the second part and the first episode.

And after 2006, only 4 games came out in the HL universe and the portal: the first portal, the second episode of the second HL, the second portal and Alyx.

And due to the fact that The portal was introduced into the HL universe relatively late, The connection of these series of games is felt weakly and fragmented.
In the first portal, we see the energy balls that were used in the alliance rifles, and according to some inscriptions we guess that the Aperture Science competed with Black Mesa.

In the second portal, we will learn a little more about the conflict of AS and BM, and we also see the pier where the ship Borea left for the ship.

And at the very end of the second episode, we learn about this very ship of Borea, owned by Aperture Science.

And this ship becomes local McGaffin. Why everyone should have chased in the third Half-Life.
The fact is that the ship has a very powerful technology capable of Change the course of the war.
Here it would be possible to begin to crucify about what exactly the Aperture Science did, but we will lose time, so briefly: they are very strong succeeded in teleportation technology. Yes, Black Mesa was also engaged in teleports, but their portal devices were long, bulky and unstable, they could have been out of the system because of any garbage. While AS created a compact and instant device that does not make mistakes.
At the end of the second portal, we see that the teleport can be put at least on the moon, the main thing is to aim well.

From which I conclude that there was a more powerful and more accurate technology of teleport on board Borea, allowing to break through the teleport at least another galaxy.

I understand that it is already more or less pronounced in the end of the second episode, but I wanted to emphasize that we have already seen how easy and just the portal gun puts the portal on another planet, imagine what distances can overcome its stronger option.
With the help of this technology, the Alliance could instantly call his troops anywhere in the universe and win any war. Including the war on earth.

And Entropy: Zero 2 rather boldly tied its entire plot on this ship. Moreover, Bradman and his team went at risk and won. They decided to show the ship not just some kind of dish on which AS transported technology. No, in Entropy: Zero 2 Borea appears before us real powerful artifact. The portal device located on it is so powerful that the ship itself seemed to a living creature. A real damned ghost ship, only working not on magic, but on technology.

And the whole plot the main character goes to this ship. Yes, he has a globally like others completely goals. Stop and capture Judith Mossman, and then stop your clone. But The end point is the ship. He calls the main character. The closer to Aiden to the ship, the more often the ship breaks into this world right in front of the protagonist’s eyes, up to the point that our bad cop will throw into other spaces, and closer to the end of the game will completely throw it onto the ship itself.

Moreover, Aiden will be bad from the influence of the ship, this is clearly not the level of pressure of the anomaly that an ordinary person can endure. Eiden is simply not a man, but even he is hard.

And we still get on the ship at one of the endings, and, you know, at that moment I felt satisfaction.
The ship is implemented as I imagined it: an ordinary large vessel, but anomalies embraced by a powerful field and thereby causing awe.

For some reason, I am sure that Valv would show Borey just as a ship with a technology hidden in the bowels of the ship. But I like Bradman’s variation more,. The idea to make from Borea The mysterious monolith of the local Really unusual.
Well, on board the bore is worth. However, let’s discuss the endings later.

Not rich in a single ship. The second entropy, in addition to the beautiful, in my opinion, the implementation of Borea, very organically shows us the unity of the universes HL and the portal. We get into Other laboratories Aperture Science. And you thought that they had only one lab, which with a smoothie?

We again see test chambers with cubes, the very elevators-platforms, the same doors, red buttons and retractable walls.

At the same time, the laboratories are not felt by carcassing of the Gladosa premises. These are clearly other laboratories, but the same company.

We see turrets from the portal, and the rebels, such bastards, reprogrammed them and tastefully painted them. Bastards.

I experienced a special delight here. This is Portalovskaya mystery.

These pieces are charged with energy seats, and riddles had to be solved in the portal so that the ball fell into the outlet. And exactly the same balls of the alliance rifles at Half-Life shoot the same balls. And when at this moment Aiden needs to shoot a Halflifa rifle in Portalovskaya Riddle. I already felt warmth in my heart. Bradman implemented an idea that seemed to lay on the surface.

If you think that only the events of HL and Portal were taken into account, then no. There are enemies and chips from Opposing Force. When I first saw cave drones from of of of.

Yes, I have never seen the Opposing Force considered a canon, part of the HL universe.

And a little later we will come across pink portals from the same of.

Just think about the valve Opposing Force – not a canon. And for Bradman – canon.

From Black Mesa, only zombies were taken here in HEV coasts.

From HL: Alyx clearly plugged the idea of ​​a huge zombie coated with biohazard rubbish,

and drawings of vortigons.

And it’s very cool. Entropy: Zero 2 simply took and combined all the work on Half-Life and Portal into one. Finally, we see, although in fan work, that all these games do not exist separately from each other. Finally, this is a single universe.

Plus the second. This is really a game for the opposite side.

In Entropy: Zero 2, we play for combines, that is, on the side of those whom Gordon Freeman exterminated.

And this is not the first time we play for the opposite side. One single time it was in Half-Life, and it happened in the Half-Life addon: Opposing Force. And here we need a little information about this addon. I just need it, believe me.

I have already said earlier that I like Opposing Force. Yes, I love him even more than the first Half-Life. Armament in OF is much cooler than Freemann. There is a sniper, there is a machine gun, there are 4 types of live weapons and there is a local portal gun, which is not at all the same as the Aperture Science.

Enemies are more interesting than in the same HL1. Yes, and Edrian Shepard himself is the most comprehensive character, I like him more than Freeman from the first HL. Edrian – young corporal (22 years old). He flew in the Hecu team to clean the disaster that happened in Black Mez after cascading resonance. But in the end, he fell under the close Jimen, and, like Freeman, began to involuntarily pass an interview for the role of the Savior of planet Earth.

Ultimately, he seemed to be an interview, but it seems not. Jimen considered Edian too dangerous and placed in the eternal stasis until better times.

Spoiler: He will never return from there, And not because Jimen is an evil uncle, but because Valv did not like the. Yes, this addon did not do Valve, but Gearbox under Valve’s supervision. And Gaben did not go the result at all.
And therefore, Edrian has never been mentioned anywhere in the subsequent parts of the Half, enemies and weapons from the Opposing Force never appeared anywhere, and the events of this addon were deleted forever from the canon and forgotten.

And one more problem of Opposing Force: although they tried to tell about the game for the opposing side, They didn’t succeed, The idea was not trampled. Edrian is a positive character, he does not shoot at civilian, only at monsters from Xen, he collaborates with scientists, he fights with the enemies of Freiman, with the same black operatives. He is the same hit by the circumstances, and he is not a bad person.

While Entropy this idea dared to completely and completely. No compromises, even in the face of the explosion of the citadel.

We play for a bad guy, and the game warns about it at the very beginning.

Someone might have thought that the main character would overcome during the plot, begin to doubt the alliance, go over to the side of the rebels, and in general he is an antihero. No. He will be a bad guy from the beginning to the very end.

From the very beginning of the game to the end: the alliance – our allies, advisers are our bosses, and the rebels are our enemies.

And only in one of the endings the main character can decide to send an alliance to hell. But before this ending, he is devoted to the Alliance and its ideals.

And you very easily accept the rules of the game. Everything is logical. I go to the armored personnel carrier because I’m a combine. Straiers, hunters and Manyhaki are my allies because I am a combine.

I control the combine combine detachment because I’m a combine. This idea here received maximum development.

This game is best felt for the opposite side assaults. Aiden has a very high title, and all the combines that we find on the way can move under our control. And together with improvised detachments, we will storm the object behind the object, giving commands to occupy a position, or to attack.

These assaults will not. Firstly, the AI ​​here is stupid, and our comrades are not particularly well coordinated by their attacks. Well, what can I do, AI here is straight from the second half.
Secondly, the rebels are now far from chlorkers, they have new technical strands and new weapons.
But in general, the assaults are felt here. Yes, I have already long felt such excitement when conducting a battle and a total cleaning of the territory.

Moreover, the closer the end of the game, the Caves become denser and simpler. And the most cool: they become such, not because the closer the end of the game, the more difficult the battles. No, we will constantly hear on the radio how the rebels gather all their forces, throw everything that they have to protect Judith Mossman, and we will still feel like this despair of the rebels, their desire to prevent us from researching this woman.

And again I have not felt this confrontation in the game for a long time. Yes, even in HL itself, I did not fully see the alliance with all my might tried to crush Freeman and prevent him from getting away to the citadel.
And for the alliance it is felt. Although it can, in principle, in principle, the game proceeds differently.

Yes, and what about the fact that we have already seen some assaults? Only from Freeman. This capture Mossman produces Our detachment.

And on YouTube, someone has already synchronized the video from both sides. That is, Bradman and his team confused and recreated this assault, but already from the opposite side.

It is here that we see that the alliance is not just the blanks that Freeman has swept away from his path. No, this is real Powerful combat force, not stopping at all. And a major role was played by the fact that the combines detachments had a charismatic leader who leads them into battle. And we move on to the next plus of games.

Plus the third. The main character.

Bradman and the team made a very unusual decision relative to the protagonist Aiden Walker.
Firstly, Aiden is talking. And it seems like the second main character in the Portal series and HL who says. The first is Alix from Half-Life Alyx.
And he is just awesome. Sam Pirson did an excellent job in the field of voice acting. He perfectly plays all the necessary emotions: tension, pain, laughter, threat, admiration, anger, bewilderment, fatigue. And he is very well intonated by sentences. And this despite the fact that the filter is also imposed on his voice so that it sounds like a combine soldier.
Secondly, yes, he does not just say he has his own character, and A very bright character. Aiden is very sarcastic and ironic, he is a clear cynic, while he is not averse to soaking a joke. And he jokes a lot of jokes.