First HL2:Episode 1 review is in from PC Gameplay (no spoilers)

[SFLUFAN]

From our friends over at HLFallout:

Took them about 4 hours or so to complete the episode but they called it "a great add-on with lots of action and atmosphere" with some "nice humour" throughout the game. In all they called it "some of the coolest 4 hours" they ever played. Answers a few questions but raises new ones (like we didn't know that would happen!)

Final score: 84/100 (the length was the main reason they didn't give it a higher score)

 

[bigburpco]

Sigh. Looks like people don't exactly endorse episodic gaming, do they?

 

[^Ben]

I don't think they should grade eposodic on a normal expectation for length. Valve have been claiming its a 4-6 hour experience and that's exactly what they got.

If the game was $50 and claimed to be an epic experience ecompassing 20 hours than they should be marked down for that.

 

[kinggi]

4 hours is pretty damn short even for episodic gaming unfortunately. Especially after over a year of development....Anyway when everything is done we should have like a 40 hour game so that is sweet. But yeah this may not be the most enjoyable experience playing for 4 hours then waiting for another year. Dont care what valve says about release dates, we all know they take forever.

 

[Epsi]

It's taken them about 12-18 months to do Episode One, Episode Two has been in production roughly as long, and it's 18 months until Christmas 2007 for them to get Episode 3 out, so it looks like it'll all be out in the timescale they say.

 

[BlackMesaDude]

sigh 4 hours ? then it will be exactly as sin episodes.. i beat that in about 3 hours maybe a little more but still its DAMN SHORT for an episode. and after thoose 3 hours u maybe want to play 1-2 more times then the big wait 6-8 months before another 3-4 hours of gameplay

 

[Asuka]

Idiots. I dont get how people still can talk about the length, seriouly pisses me off.

sigh 4 hours ? then it will be exactly as sin episodes.. i beat that in about 3 hours maybe a little more but still its DAMN SHORT for an episode. and after thoose 3 hours u maybe want to play 1-2 more times then the big wait 6-8 months before another 3-4 hours of gameplay

There's no way you beat it in 3 hours without rushing through the game. I can beat it in 3 but i looked for secrets, explored the world, made all the calls on the phone booths, tried to find interesting things to do and i did find a lot. Your proving to everyone you rushed through the game, you can only blame one person for that. Took me 7 hours to beat sin and i bearly died on hard. So learn how to play games before you say something stupid like that.

 

[^Ben]

BMD has always had sand in his vagina.

 

[PvtRyan]

What part of "episode != expansion pack" did they not get?

But remember this is the same mag that gave HL2 a 90. It's a respectable magazine that usually undergrades games. None of the "OMGOMGOMG shiny marble, 99/100!!" that some magazines tend to give.

 

[Zeus]

Sin Episodes took me like 6 hours, (but I died alot), I'd say Sin Episodes was a very good length for an episodic game. And guys, episodic gaming is a new thing, so we have to give the media time to adjust, they're used to expansion packs, not episodic content, and I think it's going to be a while before they realize that these "episodes" are not half-assed expansion packs.

 

[Asuka]

Sin Episodes took me like 6 hours, (but I died alot), I'd say Sin Episodes was a very good length for an episodic game. And guys, episodic gaming is a new thing, so we have to give the media time to adjust, they're used to expansion packs, not episodic content, and I think it's going to be a while before they realize that these "episodes" are not half-assed expansion packs.

They are the media they should know before we even do. Its their JOB. Its false info when they write shit like this.

 

[A True Canadian]

The fact that there was only a 6 point drop from their rating of Half-Life 2 and Episode 1, isn't that much to get concerned about. It sounds like the quality is still there, but just in a smaller, more condensed package.

The fact that Episode 1 is going into release with relatively little hype should hopefully make the gaming experience all the more better because expectations aren't as high. I know I'm not as hyped for this as I usually am for games that I intend to buy, so it'll be interesting to see how that effects the experience.

 

[Asknoone]

sigh 4 hours ? then it will be exactly as sin episodes.. i beat that in about 3 hours maybe a little more but still its DAMN SHORT for an episode. and after thoose 3 hours u maybe want to play 1-2 more times then the big wait 6-8 months before another 3-4 hours of gameplay

Who honestly cares when:

"some of the coolest 4 hours" they ever played.)

It depends how fast you race through. Most people have been clocking in at 5 hours...I mean, Sin Emergance was a real letdown. With it's joke of a story and meh gameplay, it's no suprise some people were a little skeptical about the future of Episodic gaming.
But considering Episode 1 looks mighty awesome, and the swaying factor for me is the story (because ultimately, that's what episodic content should be about)...plus the insane gameplay...

Some games I've played lasted me around 10-12 hours. Alot of those games were pretty meh, and dragged. I'm expecting to play an Episode, and an awesome episode at that.

 

[CodeFire]

Who honestly cares when:



It depends how fast you race through. Most people have been clocking in at 5 hours...I mean, Sin Emergance was a real letdown. With it's joke of a story and meh gameplay, it's no suprise some people were a little skeptical about the future of Episodic gaming.
But considering Episode 1 looks mighty awesome, and the swaying factor for me is the story (because ultimately, that's what episodic content should be about)...plus the insane gameplay...

Some games I've played lasted me around 10-12 hours. Alot of those games were pretty meh, and dragged. I'm expecting to play an Episode, and an awesome episode at that.

THATS the way we should think samon, I wish more ppl would think like this

 

[Mr.Magnetichead]

sigh 4 hours ? then it will be exactly as sin episodes.. i beat that in about 3 hours maybe a little more

Maybe you should turn off god mode.

 

[hot564231]

Maybe you should turn off god mode.

QFT

I never found SiN great on story, it never was, but it had great fights on hard, but the patch dumb's it down now, which sucks imo

but took me a good 5 hours to beat, on hard and I died alot

Still Fun to play thought, but i will expect Ep1 will be nothing but great as HL has alway's been

 

[stemot]

I like SiN so much that even after `d finished the Pro-Visiion release, I bought the game at retail.
Whatever your view on the story (although people saying around here that others don`t "get" episodic gaming after the review for Aftermath, then expecting a full story for SiN is kind of daft) the combat is great, with some real nice ragdolls.

I`ll be buying Aftermath/Ep1 as soon as retail is packed and shipped as iv`e got it pre-ordered.

 

[BlackMesaDude]

Maybe you should turn off god mode.

Lol what god mode ? i even had the difficulty at the middle and ive been playing fps games many years now and emergence was 100% linear you new exactly almost what was going to happen all the time to the end so dont talk crap about god mode (have you seen me cheat or whats the problem) im not the only one that beat it real quick so the whole world are cheaters now ?? go crawl back to your dark cave and the world will be a better place without your cheater accusing posts stfu ok np ?

 

[Asknoone]

Take it to pms.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

I played all versions of Half-life.All old version and all new versions.They are
old good except the graphic in older versions like Half-Life 1,Half-Life Opposing Force......blabla...but I dont mind the graphic quality.....plot of the
game is much more important !!!
I heard the Half-Life 2 Episode 1 is great.So I was wondering if anyone
of you can tell me where can I download it,or buy it?
My MSN adress is: [email protected]

Thanks in advance

 

[Asknoone]

Half-life 2: Episode 1 is released on Thursday over Steam, you can preload and preorder through there - or wait until release in the stores.

 

[S.T.A.R.S.]

Thank you!

 

[Asuka]

Lol what god mode ? i even had the difficulty at the middle and ive been playing fps games many years now and emergence was 100% linear you new exactly almost what was going to happen all the time to the end so dont talk crap about god mode (have you seen me cheat or whats the problem) im not the only one that beat it real quick so the whole world are cheaters now ?? go crawl back to your dark cave and the world will be a better place without your cheater accusing posts stfu ok np ?

Im sure he meant the GODMODE thing as a joke. And it doesn't matter how good you are it still means your rushed the game. I know it takes for a fact if played correctly 6-7 hours to beat. 3-4 hours means you rushed the game. Its that simple. Iv been playing FPS for 7-8+ years NONE stop and it took me 6/half or so hours to beat. Bearly died found a good amount of secrets and explored every corner finding a lot of interesting things.

The day you understand this the day you will start to have more and more fun playing these games.

 

[Laff]

Honestly I think us Half Life fanatics will take much longer going through the game. Not only did I play HL2 several times through, I took my time looking for every little detail. Not only going through every nook and cranney, but spending my time replaying levels looking for G-Man. Breen is no surprise to us...why? Because we noclipped after we took down the reactor and saw the energy orb simply lower. From what I hear 5-6 hours is the average playtime. and that fits quite well with the 4-7 hours Valve is promising.

 

[Przemek]

I'm also that type of player - I never rush through games (Quake 4 was different, it was all about rush and took me ~6 hours to beat). I examine each location, looking for health & ammo, looking around for secrets (don't matter there may be none in a game) and I always play with the physics - no bottle is left unbroken
So I have no fear for Ep1's lenght.

 

[el Chi]

I don't think they should grade eposodic on a normal expectation for length. Valve have been claiming its a 4-6 hour experience and that's exactly what they got.

Precisely.
That's basically the gametime I expect and if, at the end of it all, I feel like I want more, that shows that Valve have done a good job making a tantalising game, not that they simply cut things short. Plus, Ep2's already in the works and will be with us in (I believe) a few months, no?