Half-Life 2 Episode One

When you're making one of the most successful games of all times, people will have really great expectations from a sequel. Half-Life 2 was a great game and even if some gamers accused Valve for not providing a better title than the one released in 1999, it screamed for some closure to the main story.

In the original Half-Life the producers took a new approach for an FPS at that time. Seven years ago, a character with no voice that is defining the story while playing was a new thing for the game world. Now Valve is trying to impose a new trend with its highly refined episodic content. Surely they're not the first ones to try but I have to say that I enjoyed Half-Life 2 Episode One even if I am completely against the idea of ripping people off with the argument that is in the "interest of the gamer"

But enough with the personal feelings, we should talk about what I believe to be the best part of the Half-Life games so far. I often thought, since I finished this really short game, if it's worth it to pay for three short games as they were one large one. I can't really decide if I hate the game for what it's standing for or if I love it for what it is; an almost flawless game.

Story:
The first part didn't have what you might call a first grade script. If we were to analyze it we could easily discover that it didn't even qualify for B rated movie. The story was so corny and it lacked a reality check, but it did a great job because the main character didn't have even one line. The player had the ultimate liberty in substituting his dialogs.

I'm sure it wasn't there intention but it worked so good that the situation continued in the next two games.

Half-Life 2 had a more serious plot and a lot more substance but it didn't fulfill the need of the player for the story and now we know why. The entire script was designed to develop in four separate games. If Half-Life 2 left any player with a bitter taste it was because it finished in a way it was not supposed to. That's why, the game will leave most of you wanting more like an addict.

The story is getting much more complicated right from the start because it appears that the Administrator, the brain in the suit and the obvious puppeteer, is separated from you for a reason I'm sure will find out in the last Episode. The fight begins right at the foot of the Citadel after a miraculous fall but not running away from the Citadel as you might expect but in the opposite direction, right in the heart of it to stop the main reactor from a provoked explosion. I think it's enough to say that it's not going to be a walk in the park and Gordon will have to defeat an entire army but this time he's not alone as we've gotten use to. He's accompanied by the more-lovely-by-the-version Alyx Vance who will fulfill a more active role than just being a pretty appearance.

Concept:
The combination of straight person shooter and a medium difficulty puzzle will always find supporters and this time I'm one of them. I think this version of Half-Life has made the best transition between gameplay and seamlessly integrated puzzle-like adventures.

There were some problems solving Half-Life 2, mostly based on the brilliant
developed physics system but I have to hand it to Valve; all those delays were worth the wait.

Gameplay:
There aren't many people alive that own a computer and don't know what Half-life is about. It is like the father of modern first person shooter games and we are still using it to compare some of today's appearances. After seven years, there are still some mentions made about the revolutionary AI system. Most games don't even get remembered for so long. The most important and I think the only feature is the addition of a permanent sidekick in the embodiment of Alyx Vance. She's tough, funny and she has a gun with infinite ammo. I have no problem with ordinary compromises like a huge resistance to bullets and infinite bullets with any pockets for them but still, other games try to offer some explanations for this.

Anyway there isn't much to talk about because it does fit in the usual pattern: run, shoot, dodge and then run some more. What I believe is worth mentioning is the new level design which is much more detailed and well organized. My favorite part is this huge level that runs completely in the dark and when I say dark I mean no other light source but the flashlight on your suit (and now if I come to think about it I don't have a clue of where exactly it's positioned). This is where the extraordinary AI comes in. For Alyx to hit her targets you have to shine the light in their eyes. She runs and asks for cover whenever she's loading and she has a great sense of humor. I think this is the first time I laughed in the whole franchise.

As I was saying earlier, the puzzles are a lot more fun to figure out and there were some moments when I stopped not knowing what to do next. I am sorry the game was so short because I didn't get to experiment more with the creativity of Valve's thinking. I can't conclude the gameplay chapter without mentioning Dog, the robot companion of Alyx and even if his role is quite small and heavily scripted as usual, I just loved his part. The animations were awesome and I certainly hope seeing him again.

Video:
This is one of the best looking games to date. I know the title says Half-Life 2 Episode One, but I feel like it's a completely new engine. I heard that Valve is constantly upgrading the Source engine but this is ridiculous. Everything is made with a higher resolution and yet it runs smoother than its predecessor. Turn on anisotropic and antialiasing filters and any gamer will be in for a treat.

The crowning jewel of this version of Source has got to be the HDRI technology (High Dynamic Range Imaging) which now is at its finest. This technology has completely transformed the game we all knew into something that's going to make anyone say "?this is not the Half-Life I remember, this is beautiful"

Sound:
There weren't any problems in this department in any of the anterior games and there aren't any now. There aren't any new guns to worry about but I did notice a much bigger frequency of music. I can't quite place it in a musical genre but the closest comparison would be Unreal Tournament 2004. It's very dynamic but not all the time and there isn't any way you can predict when it starts and when it's over.

Multiplayer:
Inexistent. I'm starting to see more and more games without multiplayer. I don't know if it's a bad thing but I'm not sure I like it. I'm not ready to give the world to the MMO's.

Conclusion:
I may not like this episodic content but I do love what they have done with Episode One. I am pretty sure that if this game would have had the normal duration of an average FPS and not just six hours it would have made a great candidate for the Game of the Year. Instead I will just declare it the Episode of the Year.

System Requirements:

Minimum:
1.2 GHz Processor
256MB RAM
DirectX 8 Level Graphics Card

Recommended:
2.4 GHz Processor
512MB RAM
DirectX 9 Level Graphics Card

Size: 2.310 GB

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