Southernmost Combine is an alternate epilogue to Half Life 2 Episode 2, in which Gordon Freeman is sent back in time to the 1980´s to stop a Combine recon deployment happening in the southernmost land of the world. There are a few deviations in gameplay mechanics (more tactical and slow paced, no gravity gun, inventory) but it´s still Gordon fighting the combine and rebels helping him to achieve it. This is a small episode consisting of a variated set of scenaries with unique art made ex-profeso to bring Source to the look of the southamerican region in the 1980´s.
Unique project with quality design, interesting gameplay, nice art and really many interactive things and features.
Yes, there are some bugs
but the number of advantages outweighs all the few disadvantages;
Great!
A lot of fun to play, with a lot of interesting new locales to explore and mechanics to play with, and new content all round. The Tarantino movie quotes were fun to start off with but got old fast. That one indestructible boss battle could probably use some more signposting as well. My biggest gripe with the mod is that there are so many unanswered questions regarding the narrative and the player's actions within it. How have the Combine's time machinations affected the timeline, and what do Gordon's actions do to alleviate them? Can we really be expected to believe that disrupting Combine operations in one South American city will somehow weaken the Combine's grip on Earth when they now have the power of time travel?
Argument
The story begins in a small town in a good setting and immediately they send us to board a train where our adventure begins, without more than that, the trigger is someone who sends us to a train with no more information than that.
Maps
The mapping is excellent except for some other specific failure, environmentally it is a 10, the tetric atmosphere of the beginning added to the dirt of the facilities makes you believe it, this section is done with great detail and the truth is appreciated
Allies
They are few and do not have much relevance at the playable level, they do not follow us or anything but they do serve to advance the story since we are the protagonist (clearly)
Enemies
The number of enemies and their difficulty are very well leveled, the places where the combats are fought are very well set (as I said, a 10 in mapping) with many objects that will react to the shooting that we free. In addition to the above, we also have the option of going stealthily to an area that provides us with the greatest advantage (such as the place that looks like a bar / kitchen where good rock and roll is heard).
One defect is that the Elite appear only at the end, at the end when what we prioritize is escape, I would have liked to face them much more.
Things to emphasize:
*The Combine who is leaning back in his chair watching the security cameras has the door nailed down with a board.
*When entering the club and when leaving his turn, does he take it out so that the next one who takes his place will nail it again?
*The escape of the laser is unlikely.
*I love how they make the most of the use of machinery, the train, crane, etc.
*I would have liked to be more in the town where we started the story because the truth is that it is very well done
Excellent map, great models reflecting Argentina!
Nice
greate
It's not... It's not shutting down!
Not great, not terrible...excellent!
Southernmost Combine, by Luciano Gallo, also known as Gambini, is one of those Hl2 mods that takes us somewhere else in the imagined world of Half-life, specifically to Argentina, it also takes us to a different time, the year of 1987, I'm not too sure that the time travel plot was necessary to be honest, I feel like it could very well have worked in the more modern Half-life 2 setting of 202X or whatever it is, but that doesn't detract from the story at all.
The story takes us through a variety of *beautiful* environments and refreshing settings, I took my time to fully immerse myself in these places, and even with the opressive presence of our extra-dimensional malefactors, it was still enjoyable to just be in these places, to look through people's work spaces and homes, trying to imagine what their lives are like.
The mod is not only a sight-seeing tour, there's plenty of Half-life 2 fun to go around, nothing *too* out of the ordinary, which I would not consider a negative, but for anyone who's looking for wild innovation in their combat encounters, maybe they won't find it here. There is some creative use of heavy machinery for puzzle solving, especially during a certain escape sequence, so there is that to look forward to.
I think my favorite location was the trainyard full of zombies, next to the gas station, that was an enjoyable sequence with a nice vibe to it, it felt like there were things happening in this place before I got there, and things that were going to continue happening after I left, the Combine will eventually send more goons to secure that area again, and the battle between the troopers and the zombies will keep on going until either the Combine's logistics crumble or the zombies are all dead. Always nice to feel like you're in the middle of a bigger world, that doesn't revolve around you.
Speaking of which, I really loved the details in Southernmost Combine, this is a mod that has entire rooms fully rendered and modeled, that don't play a part in the game's progression at all, but you can still explore them and observe the story being implied through its objects and occasional notes, the exploration is its own reward.
Southernmost Combine is what I would consider a modern classic among Half-life 2 maps, and a must play for anyone looking for something refreshing and high quality.
An amazing mod. I loved it.
Very nice! Excellent level design that feels natural to navigate, but not too easy. Only gripe was that boxes were only interactable when there was a box puzzle. Interactibility should not change throughout the game.
Voice acting was also bad and this game could've benefited heavily from having your American friend do a quick proof-read to fix all the obvious grammatical errors that break immersion a bit. I did enjoy the comedically placed voice clips. Those janitor guys were SO pumped about that tesla gun!
Combat was tough and engaging, but sometimes features swarms of clumped enemies as cannon fodder, which either made it really easy to mow them down, or really hard if you find yourself in the middle of a cluster. Favors long-range shooting in wide open maps which wasn't great since the best sniping weapon you get is a pistol. I found some crossbow bolts but never found a crossbow...
Far too often I found myself in a stealth position, sneaking up on Combine soldiers. But I was never able to do anything with those moments of advance intel until they randomly spotted me. Felt like even though I had time to think, I wasn't really able to formulate a plan because it was just a clump of enemies without much environmental help. Less brains and more brawn in combat, but I didn't really have much choice. While there were nice ideas like attacking from the kitchen in the cafe at the end vs suiciding yourself down the middle, the end result was bumbling and unsatisfying. Enemies unable to shoot me through a half-closed window, but I can pick them off while they randomly shuffle around? Is this how the designer intended this to play out? It's what I was "encouraged" to do, so I guess this is my reward? An easy win? Would've liked more clever encounters, but I did like the potential in almost every encounter.
The atmosphere was incredible and well done. I didn't really get an 80s vibe (felt forced at times), but the stylistic mesh with Combine technology was superb. It felt like a world of its own, but with the same thematic elements that makes HL2 hit so hard.
Slow pacing that sometimes gave off a horror vibe is not something I expected, but in a good way. I would've preferred more combat, but the overall pacing was excellent and downtime rarely overstayed its welcome.
Felt like the stakes were high with prolonged sections of low health often with big encounters immediately transitioning into another before you're able to recover. While these cheap shots felt unfair, I was often able to navigate them without dying, a testament to the encounter design.
The game on its own is an 8/10, but I'm giving it a 9/10 because the mod felt fresh. It felt relevant. It felt like it could be an actual cut scene from HL2. However, it definitely needs some polishing and tweaked story elements to make it canon. Great work. Love seeing new quality content for this game 18 years after release.