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- Mar 18, 2003
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Half-life 2: Episode 1 is the first in a scheduled trilogy of Half-life episodes and again places the player in the shoes of Gordon Freeman as he deals with the repercussions of his actions at the top of the Citadel. The state of the world has changed following the detonation of the teleport reactor, and much of Episode 1 is something of an introduction into the events that are soon to follow in subsequent episodes. As such we return to the Combine riddled, alien infested warzone of City-17, that has clearly seen better days, and the bowels of the now crumbling Citadel, for a 4-5 hour, densely packed and altogether tighter experience.[br]
Kicking off at the foot of the damaged spire we open into what is arguably one of the best introductory sequences since the original Half-life (ignoring the scene-to-scene cop out before hand to smooth things over, but there we are). Never ? or at least not to my gaming knowledge ? has there been such a scene in a game filled with the amount of warmth and humour that this has. The characters interact with a kind of emotion and intensity rarely witnessed in a video game, and there's a real sense of a relationship that has existed long before the player arrived in the world. Little touches such as Alyx bridging the gap between her father and herself as she reaches out to touch the monitor; or Dog sweeping Alyx up in his arms in the moment really take the game to a whole new tier. The dialogue is sharp and human and greatly aided by the fantastic voice work of Merle Dandridge, Robert Guillaume and Mike Shapiro to name a few.[br]
From here we learn of the impending doom that follows the Citadel's imminent meltdown, and Gordon and Alyx embark on a journey to stabilize the core and evacuate the City. It's a 4-5 hour adventure that you undertake with Alyx, the key player in Episode 1. She spends almost the entire game with the player, no longer weaving in and out at certain points but instead going the whole hurdle. Usually this kind of thing is met with frowns and a prominent thumbs down ? escorting useless NPC's from one map to the other has never been fun, and it's never really been pulled off. Valve, however, have decided to tackle this problem head on, and have emerged with arguably one of the best NPC companions to date. Alyx's AI has been vastly improved, and she proves a capable combat partner who aids, rather than hinders. She now has the ability to utilize a variety of combat skills, such as being able to duck zombie swipes and land a kick to their head, as well as provide constant support for Gordon. She's as flexible as they come.[br]
Due to her inclusion many of the gameplay scenarios in Episode 1 are built with NPC cooperation strictly in mind. One scene in particular has them working their way upward through an underground car park sprawling with antlions that have tunneled into the city using a series of 'burrows'. In order to stop the infestation the player is required to use the gravity gun to block them, whilst Alyx provides covering fire against the antlions. It all works very smoothly, greatly increasing the immersion and furthering the idea of the game being quite literally a 'team effort'. [br]
As you might have guessed, the signature Gravity gun of the Half-life arsenal returns, and is more prominent than ever. Valve have clearly honed their creation to the point of being able to make the utmost of its presence within the game world. It was there in Half-life 2, but it never really reached the point of being truly woven into the game design. Here, it is put to far more use, and you'll be engaging in all kinds of gameplay with it in your hands. From combat to puzzle solving, you will literally come to rely upon the nifty gadget. Two entire chapters are spent with it as your sole weapon, allowing Valve to create what I'd argue are the two finest chapters they have ever created. Here, they showcase what can be done from the first person perspective without a weapon that you click and spews bullets, which is clearly what Valve persistently try to do.[br]
It's with this in mind that Valve have opted not to include any actual new weapons. Some might groan at this, but Valve have already nailed the majority of the weapons, and a variation of some kind would merely be superficial and not add anything of any real interest to the game as a whole. It's a break from the clich? mold that too many shooters seem to apply. Going further with this we're given the weapons themselves in almost reverse order, starting with the shotgun and pistol we gradually work our way backwards through the weaponry. It's a great way of diversifying what would otherwise be fairly standard, but something tells me knocking up a new layout in the next Episode isn't going to payoff in the same way, so I'll guess that Valve will equip us with the entire arsenal early in the game.[br]
Still quite linear in design ? which is by no means a negative trait ? Valve have allowed themselves to craft a cinematic and polished experience. The gameplay shifts in variety without fail scene after scene, and Episode 1 is much more the idea that a first person shooter can be more than a meager shooting gallery. Whether it be deflecting falling debris on a descending elevator; using your flashlight to enable Alyx to shoot in the darkness; blocking antlion mounds; defending against hordes of zombies whilst awaiting a lift to the surface or weaving in and out of the street as Alyx provides covering fire with a sniper rifle, you will always be doing something different and what truly elevates the game above the rest.[br]
Unfortunately, it's not all plain sailing. Whilst much has been done to ensure the familiar environments have been spruced up in terms of art and atmosphere, as the game progresses the deja-vu begins to set in. The opening Citadel chapters are fairly unique in terms of aesthetics, and the gameplay and atmosphere more than make up for the return, but as the game gradually shifts into City-17 there's a sense of been there, done that. You will traverse familiar streets in the ash-choked ruins and encounter many of the kinds of encounters you found in Half-life 2, and then, just as the deja-vu is feeling a little too much, Valve go ahead and deliver an even greater letdown for a final chapter. With Alyx being something of a stand out in terms of NPC AI, it's something of a letdown to be wedged into a repetitive escort mission, that repeats itself a good five times, and replicating enemy placements as it goes on. If there's one thing Half-life has avoided thus far, it's the ?Dang, I really I am playing a video game? feeling that so many seem to evoke. Well, they do it here. It really is no fun escorting useless NPC's from one map to the other, and suffice to say I frowned throughout the entire thing. And gave it a thumbs down. Prominently.[br]
It almost makes up for it, though, but falls short in taking Alyx out of the final encounter with a Strider. Whilst it's a fairly entertaining battle, it's not nearly the ?Well, we did it Gordon.? that Alyx describes as the train pulls out of the C17 station. This might sound like a minor ? if a tad ridiculous ? niggle, but as the Episode advertises itself as a cooperative adventure, it'd have been fairly full circle if you had to actually work with Alyx to overcome the final obstacle. [br]
Overall though, Episode 1 is a solid, carefully tuned and polished experience that takes the Half-life 2 gameplay formula and makes it considerably better. The Episodic nature of the game has clearly allowed Valve to hone the majority of the pace to perfection, and despite a few hitches toward the end it remains overall quite consistent. There's an underlying theme of quality > quantity, and it shows.[br]
8.5/10
Kicking off at the foot of the damaged spire we open into what is arguably one of the best introductory sequences since the original Half-life (ignoring the scene-to-scene cop out before hand to smooth things over, but there we are). Never ? or at least not to my gaming knowledge ? has there been such a scene in a game filled with the amount of warmth and humour that this has. The characters interact with a kind of emotion and intensity rarely witnessed in a video game, and there's a real sense of a relationship that has existed long before the player arrived in the world. Little touches such as Alyx bridging the gap between her father and herself as she reaches out to touch the monitor; or Dog sweeping Alyx up in his arms in the moment really take the game to a whole new tier. The dialogue is sharp and human and greatly aided by the fantastic voice work of Merle Dandridge, Robert Guillaume and Mike Shapiro to name a few.[br]
From here we learn of the impending doom that follows the Citadel's imminent meltdown, and Gordon and Alyx embark on a journey to stabilize the core and evacuate the City. It's a 4-5 hour adventure that you undertake with Alyx, the key player in Episode 1. She spends almost the entire game with the player, no longer weaving in and out at certain points but instead going the whole hurdle. Usually this kind of thing is met with frowns and a prominent thumbs down ? escorting useless NPC's from one map to the other has never been fun, and it's never really been pulled off. Valve, however, have decided to tackle this problem head on, and have emerged with arguably one of the best NPC companions to date. Alyx's AI has been vastly improved, and she proves a capable combat partner who aids, rather than hinders. She now has the ability to utilize a variety of combat skills, such as being able to duck zombie swipes and land a kick to their head, as well as provide constant support for Gordon. She's as flexible as they come.[br]
Due to her inclusion many of the gameplay scenarios in Episode 1 are built with NPC cooperation strictly in mind. One scene in particular has them working their way upward through an underground car park sprawling with antlions that have tunneled into the city using a series of 'burrows'. In order to stop the infestation the player is required to use the gravity gun to block them, whilst Alyx provides covering fire against the antlions. It all works very smoothly, greatly increasing the immersion and furthering the idea of the game being quite literally a 'team effort'. [br]
As you might have guessed, the signature Gravity gun of the Half-life arsenal returns, and is more prominent than ever. Valve have clearly honed their creation to the point of being able to make the utmost of its presence within the game world. It was there in Half-life 2, but it never really reached the point of being truly woven into the game design. Here, it is put to far more use, and you'll be engaging in all kinds of gameplay with it in your hands. From combat to puzzle solving, you will literally come to rely upon the nifty gadget. Two entire chapters are spent with it as your sole weapon, allowing Valve to create what I'd argue are the two finest chapters they have ever created. Here, they showcase what can be done from the first person perspective without a weapon that you click and spews bullets, which is clearly what Valve persistently try to do.[br]
It's with this in mind that Valve have opted not to include any actual new weapons. Some might groan at this, but Valve have already nailed the majority of the weapons, and a variation of some kind would merely be superficial and not add anything of any real interest to the game as a whole. It's a break from the clich? mold that too many shooters seem to apply. Going further with this we're given the weapons themselves in almost reverse order, starting with the shotgun and pistol we gradually work our way backwards through the weaponry. It's a great way of diversifying what would otherwise be fairly standard, but something tells me knocking up a new layout in the next Episode isn't going to payoff in the same way, so I'll guess that Valve will equip us with the entire arsenal early in the game.[br]
Still quite linear in design ? which is by no means a negative trait ? Valve have allowed themselves to craft a cinematic and polished experience. The gameplay shifts in variety without fail scene after scene, and Episode 1 is much more the idea that a first person shooter can be more than a meager shooting gallery. Whether it be deflecting falling debris on a descending elevator; using your flashlight to enable Alyx to shoot in the darkness; blocking antlion mounds; defending against hordes of zombies whilst awaiting a lift to the surface or weaving in and out of the street as Alyx provides covering fire with a sniper rifle, you will always be doing something different and what truly elevates the game above the rest.[br]
Unfortunately, it's not all plain sailing. Whilst much has been done to ensure the familiar environments have been spruced up in terms of art and atmosphere, as the game progresses the deja-vu begins to set in. The opening Citadel chapters are fairly unique in terms of aesthetics, and the gameplay and atmosphere more than make up for the return, but as the game gradually shifts into City-17 there's a sense of been there, done that. You will traverse familiar streets in the ash-choked ruins and encounter many of the kinds of encounters you found in Half-life 2, and then, just as the deja-vu is feeling a little too much, Valve go ahead and deliver an even greater letdown for a final chapter. With Alyx being something of a stand out in terms of NPC AI, it's something of a letdown to be wedged into a repetitive escort mission, that repeats itself a good five times, and replicating enemy placements as it goes on. If there's one thing Half-life has avoided thus far, it's the ?Dang, I really I am playing a video game? feeling that so many seem to evoke. Well, they do it here. It really is no fun escorting useless NPC's from one map to the other, and suffice to say I frowned throughout the entire thing. And gave it a thumbs down. Prominently.[br]
It almost makes up for it, though, but falls short in taking Alyx out of the final encounter with a Strider. Whilst it's a fairly entertaining battle, it's not nearly the ?Well, we did it Gordon.? that Alyx describes as the train pulls out of the C17 station. This might sound like a minor ? if a tad ridiculous ? niggle, but as the Episode advertises itself as a cooperative adventure, it'd have been fairly full circle if you had to actually work with Alyx to overcome the final obstacle. [br]
Overall though, Episode 1 is a solid, carefully tuned and polished experience that takes the Half-life 2 gameplay formula and makes it considerably better. The Episodic nature of the game has clearly allowed Valve to hone the majority of the pace to perfection, and despite a few hitches toward the end it remains overall quite consistent. There's an underlying theme of quality > quantity, and it shows.[br]
8.5/10
