After-Life 2

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

1st July 2009

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
After-Life 2 is the story of a player moving through a world which is slowly deconstructing around them. It is a struggle for survival not just literally, but also metaphysically. In a first-person shooter, you (the player) inhabit the body of a character in the story of the game. What happens when the character you’re playing knows they’re being played?

What is the role of the player as they inhabit a character in the story? Is it truly interactive if our actions are predetermined in the story, if the choices are shaped for you by the designer? Are we, as players, just characters in a game? After-Life 2 criticizes and parodies contemporary first-person shooter games in an effort to dynamically force the player to understand their relationship to the game world.

When After-Life 2 begins, you are awakened by a woman in an abandoned building. She does not know who you are, and neither do you. She does not know who she is, either. You get out of the building and journey through an evacuated city, one that is under attack by unknown forces. As you fight through these forces with your mysterious companion, the reality around you begins to distort and deconstruct.

Basic Details
Download Servers
Installation Instructions
  • Copy the After-Life 2 folder into your SourceMods folder.
  • Restart or start Steam.
  • After-Life 2 should now be listed in your Library tab.

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 800 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots may contain spoilers.

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!

14 recommendations, average score: 2.86 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.12 (what's that?)
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Jump to a review
Phillip says Play It!Think TwiceAvoid It!Avoid It!Think TwicePlay It Now!Avoid It!Play It LaterMaybe?Play It LaterThink TwiceThink TwicePersonal FavouriteMaybe?

35 Comments

  1. Phillip says Play It!

    Overview
    Let’s start at the beginning. It’s an interesting concept but not new. I remember discussing it with somebody via Steam Friends a long time ago, and there have been plenty of variations on the theme in literature and film.

    I actually think the mod tries to “do” too many things at once. On the one hand you have the realization of the character within a game and one the other hand you have the chooses affecting the outcome.

    Visually
    Remember, it’s a beta and therefor not going to be perfect. The edges of the streets were missing and parts of the underground rail network also need work but overall I felt it was well done. The latter parts are pretty cool and certainly deserve praise.

    Gameplay
    Well, you get the usual run and gun but you also get choices. Personally I dislike choices but applaud any attempt at introducing them into gameplay. I would have preferred my action but that’s clearly not the point of the mod.

    Details
    Clearly the authors have put a lot of work into the mod and I don’t have any hesitation in recommending you play it. I loved the video they made (available via their website).
    If I had more time I would have read everything I detail but A I don’t and B I’m not that kind of person.

    Conclusion
    I’m not sure that this type of mod is possible. Of course the mod has been made, but that’s not what I mean. The player already knows that he is in a video game and you can never take that knowledge away. Pretending that the playing character doesn’t know just doesn’t cut it for me.

    Hopefully you are reading this AFTER you played it rather than before.

    5 Words Or Less Review
    Worth it for the end

  2. Kodox

    Looks different, and it’s got alyx in it, yehaw.

  3. Mel

    Is there any point to this, so far I got to wandering around down the sub-way getting no where? Such a big download there must something to it.

  4. Martin

    Final release now available Phillip.

  5. Jasper
    Think Twice

    It’s a bit tedious and the end – look at the last few screenshots and number 35 in particular.
    I don’t get the concept.
    A daring release of a Demo (I think) but perhaps a bit premature.
    There is such dearth of HL2 mods at the moment, good or bad.

  6. FINAL RELEASE!

    Final release is now available

  7. J-Man

    I’m currently stuck at “Jackson square”. I tried climbing over the partially bend over fence and that didn’t work.. can anybody help me with this ?

    1. J-Man
      Avoid It!

      Never mind, found the way out. From there the game started to look like it was going to have some potential, but essentially was a BIG disappointment and I was quickly bored, ( especially the “TRON” part of the MOD ) however, the cars on fire in the street looked really clean and good..Other than that, the run and gun was boring and the game has no creativity to it what so ever, what a waist of time creating something of this size ( 669 MB unzipped ) that offer’s the player absolutely NOTHING… my opinion, no offense to anyone. This MOD is definitely not to my liking.

      1. Anonymous

        a *waste* of time, I should say..

  8. Anonymous

    What do I have to do at the end? Or Alyx standing still is the ending?

  9. enablerbr
    Avoid It!

    loop says destroy her. if you open console it says kill her. yet you can’t kill her. I even waited for the big loop timer to run out and nothing.

    i would say nice concept but poor execution.

  10. Gypsy Jim
    Think Twice

    I have no idea whether I finished it or not, but found myself back at the start but with a lot of what I assume to be developers” code splashed all over the place….I’d lost the will to live by this time though, so gave it up.

    Sadly, unless somebody here can convince me to give it another go I don’t honestly think I’ll bother…Combat was minimal, exploration was dire, though some scenes clearly were intricate and had had a lot of work put into them. Story was not only negligible, it might as well not have existed at all.

    I understand that they were trying to put together a different kind of experience, but it just came across as an incoherent mish-mash as far as I can see. Points for effort perhaps, but not for the end result.

    Please convince me I missed something and that it really is some great piece of work……

    I have to give it a Think Twice, sorry chaps.

  11. Pingback: HL2 & HL1 SP Maps & Mods - polska baza map I modyfikacjii single player dla Half-Life 2 & Half-Life 1 » Garść informacji…

  12. Hoyy

    So, at the end what happens? (Per see, like the last picture, other than hearing “destroy destroy destroy”…) ?

    1. Hoyy

      Sorry for “clone” post, the dude up there has it covered.

  13. imadestroyer
    Play It Now!

    I don’t really agree with a few of the criticisms of this mod. Of course it’s creative. One look at the screenshots will tell you that. I didn’t get bored at all during the “Tron” part. In fact, I was intrigued by the trippy-ness of it all. Playing through it the second time, I found an alternate path, so linear it is not. I thought the voice acting was top notch, and the chiptune-y music fit the mod really well. Little touches, like Alyx’s Aperture Science hoodie and the super nerdy gamer graffiti added to the enjoyment for me (but probably not so much for someone who doesn’t get the references.)

    That’s not to say that I thought the mod was perfect. It was fairly well executed, but I believe it could’ve done more. There could’ve been more combat, I think. The transitions between loading times often left me feeling disoriented. The ending was a bit confusing and I had no idea if I was done or not. I played through it twice to make sure and I can’t help but feel like there’s an actual ending that I missed out on. Maybe there is?

    All in all, it was worth playing for the surrealism of it all. The idea of a game world falling apart while the characters react to it is a pretty intriguing concept and I would like to see the author expand upon it in a sequel.

    Was I supposed to be able to pick up the crowbar at the beginning?

    1. Anonymous

      opinion’s vary..

  14. Anon-00027
    Avoid It!

    Offshore, StriderMountian, Eye of the Storm, Mission Improbable and the list goes on, have Creativity to them and have MUCH more excitement than this map/mod has. I “Also”thought it to was a waste of time and thought to myself “this map/mod is just boring”. This map/mod didn’t offer much..It’s just one big Mod with a “boring environment”and game play with no point to it !
    (The “TRON” part was stupid)
    My opinion, no offense.. lol !

  15. Anonymous

    Me too, didn’t like this MOD at all, something about it just didn’t do anything for me what so ever..Mission Improbable was bad to the bone.. Offshore had unbelievable mapping/environment + game play to it..

  16. Jeff
    Play It Later

    I liked the oddness of it, but didn’t like not being able to pick up weapons or open chests. I’m all for avant garde, but when I see a familiar interface, I expect it to work. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to pick up the crowbar, but I start to wonder of the mod is broke, which is different that “realizing it’s all a game”. You might like it, you might hate it… but that will say more about you than the creators.

  17. Jeff

    by the way, there are three endings. Find them in the black box.

  18. Anon-00028
    Maybe?

    I would not care if it has multiple ending’s or not, just looking at the screen shot’s convinces me not to waste my time with this one… ( It looks to be boring )

    1. Hoyy

      You really hate this mod, “Anonymous”. What post is this, 5th? 6th?

      1. Anonymous

        lol, you pay attention well..hoyy, you worried about it or something ? or have a prob. with it ? lol..

  19. Hoyy
    Play It Later

    Well, I got through the end now with no guns […] The final part presents the credits, but after going seeing it the error of “memory could not be read” comes by.. 🙁

    1. J-Man

      Any answers?

  20. desertalienz
    Think Twice

    Didn’t like it at all either. At first had such high expectations, especially with the size of the file. Such little action you would run from one load point to another in seconds. Looked like a bunch of mish mosh to me. Such good maps and very LITTLE combat. Seems like a waste to me… And why put a crow bar there if you can’t pick it up?!? If there were more fire fights and the ending was different, woulda/coulda been a good mod.. Very diasppointing.. All’s I can say is “NEXT!”.

  21. cyle gage

    Hi all, thanks for playing/reviewing my mod. If you’d like to know more about it, I wrote a long behind-the-scenes/thoughts/intentions essay on my site: http://cylegage.com/me/2009/07/after-thought-2/

    Thanks again!

  22. Think Twice

    I was heavily dissapointed from this mod, the idea was simply great but how it was made was not very good. Too boring wandering, not much innovativity, poor ending and so on. The only good things in this mod was the music and the voices.

  23. Personal Favourite

    I don’t think it gets any better them this for a game worth your play, the game play is pretty darn original, and it really inspired me to see just what you can do without even writing a bit of code. This is well worth your play if you appreciate witty humor, and understand the gaming community fairly well, it draws quite a few chuckles, and gasps of enjoyment. I give it a personal favorite, this certainly will be played again on my PC…

  24. I DLed this from the first and second mirrors (the 3rd doesn’t work) and all I get are a zillion files.

    Is it no longer packaged as a mod?

    1. Without downloading and double checking, I would say that you need to create a folder in your SourceMods folder and copy all the files into that. I’ll download it again and check for you, although it would be simple to try. The name of the folder doesn’t matter I don’t think. I’ll probably upload it with it’s own folder if that’s the case.

      BTW, the third link worked for me.

      1. It’s just the first mod I’ve run across that looks like a zillion files within the zip. All the others have shown files and sub-folders.

        Extracting it put everything in the right place. And the 3rd mirror worked the 3rd time I tried. I hope it’s worth 2 hours of downloading… (40 minutes x 3 DLs)

  25. Maybe?

    The voice acting was fine, but the volume for the male characters was low. I had to turn my speakers up to hear them, then the extremely brief combat encounters were extremely loud. Alyx’s voice volume was fine, though.

    I didn’t have a problem with the exploration, though it was brief and not really interesting. The maze at the end was a little frustrating (I found my way “out” after going back to the G-Man).

    I really dislike weapons or ammo used as props. If you show me the crowbar I want to pick it up. If you show me a grenade crate I want to grab some.

    The end was definitely frustrating (I got the same one as in the screen shots). I was willing to shoot Alyx just to get the voice loop to shut up, so I did but it didn’t.

  26. s.anchev

    I’ve got an “engine error : props at index zero” with this mod, however it turns on HL2 : EP 2, even with the Steam updates, it SHOULD work!!!

    What can I do? I want so much to play it! Have I to do the modification on the game settings of the mods, like the other mods?

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