Valve had achieved the impossible with Half-Life 2 and created a game that was perhaps more groundbreaking than the original game. But to make it had cost developers five long years of blood, sweat, and tears. It had been a rough and extremely costly ride for Valve and they desperately needed to make money back. Thankfully the Source engine and Half-Life assets were extremely malleable which meant Valve could easily turn around new projects in a short space of time. But the demand for new Half-Life content was extremely high, and Valve knew that fans wouldn’t be willing to wait for another five or more years for a new Half-Life game (rather ironic really). In response, Valve founder Gabe Newell announced a series of expansions to Half-Life 2 that would continue the story and see it through to an explosive conclusion. These three ‘episodes’ would release throughout 2006-2007 and when combined would form a third fully fledged Half-Life game. As history shows though, this didn’t quite go to plan.
Following the destruction of the Citadel’s reactor, Gordon Freeman is recued from the G-Man’s clutches by a group of Vortigaunt’s who return him to Alyx. With the Citadel primed to explode, Alyx and Gordon must delay the explosion and trek through City 17, evacuating the last of the civilians as they go. With the city overrun by headcrabs and the last remaining forces of the Combine, the clock is ticking before City 17 is wiped off the face of the Earth.
Half-Life 2: Episode One presents a slight shift in the way that Half-Life stories are communicated to the player. In the first two games, story is told almost entirely through the environment with only small portions of the game containing dialogue. In Episode One however, the story is almost constantly being delivered to you through Alyx, because you’re rarely ever on your own in this adventure.
In a shift for the series, almost the entire game is played with an A.I companion that brings with it some interesting gameplay alterations. Most notably is combat which now has the ability to be considerably more hectic because of the extra firepower you’re afforded. Alyx is a very intelligent companion who actively engages in combat that protects you as the player which is great. In fact, it allows for the challenge of completing the episode by using just a single bullet (used to shoot a padlock off a locked door), forcing you to rely on your smarts with the Gravity Gun, Crowbar, and of course Alyx to get you through. Whilst this isn’t the way I’d recommend playing the episode, the mere presence of Alyx as a companion throughout the episode gives combat so many more avenues. There’re also more complex puzzles now because you have two people to think about, and this all feels like a natural pacing progression from the base Half-Life 2, as such it gives Episode One this ability to transcend being an expansion or a sequel and instead just feels like a continuation of the game from exactly where it left off.
Following the destruction of the Citadel’s reactor, Gordon Freeman is recued from the G-Man’s clutches by a group of Vortigaunt’s who return him to Alyx. With the Citadel primed to explode, Alyx and Gordon must delay the explosion and trek through City 17, evacuating the last of the civilians as they go. With the city overrun by headcrabs and the last remaining forces of the Combine, the clock is ticking before City 17 is wiped off the face of the Earth.
Half-Life 2: Episode One presents a slight shift in the way that Half-Life stories are communicated to the player. In the first two games, story is told almost entirely through the environment with only small portions of the game containing dialogue. In Episode One however, the story is almost constantly being delivered to you through Alyx, because you’re rarely ever on your own in this adventure.
In a shift for the series, almost the entire game is played with an A.I companion that brings with it some interesting gameplay alterations. Most notably is combat which now has the ability to be considerably more hectic because of the extra firepower you’re afforded. Alyx is a very intelligent companion who actively engages in combat that protects you as the player which is great. In fact, it allows for the challenge of completing the episode by using just a single bullet (used to shoot a padlock off a locked door), forcing you to rely on your smarts with the Gravity Gun, Crowbar, and of course Alyx to get you through. Whilst this isn’t the way I’d recommend playing the episode, the mere presence of Alyx as a companion throughout the episode gives combat so many more avenues. There’re also more complex puzzles now because you have two people to think about, and this all feels like a natural pacing progression from the base Half-Life 2, as such it gives Episode One this ability to transcend being an expansion or a sequel and instead just feels like a continuation of the game from exactly where it left off.
Episode One is decidedly smaller though, both in terms of its level design and runtime. This makes sense given the shorter development time and the episodic format, but it’s worth bearing in mind that you’ll struggle to get even four hours out of Episode One. There are no vehicle missions, no expansive areas to navigate, everything here is tightly designed linear pathways that are stuffed to bursting with enemy combatants. It’s all good stuff, but if you are the type of half-Life player that prefers the more puzzle focused and slower paced open areas then Episode One will not cater to you.
The Source engine was given a bit of an upgrade in the time between games as well with Episode One featuring higher resolution assets, even more smoothly animated character models, and more advanced lighting. Whilst it’s hardly a massive upgrade, it’s enough to make you feel as though you’re getting more than just new story content. There has been a decent level of care and craftsmanship put into Episode One, and Valve want to show that however they can.
There’s really not a lot else to say about Episode One. It’s not as revolutionary or ground-breaking as Half-Life 2 was, but it was never going to be. This is a short but sweet continuation of that same experience, complete with some new mechanics and an improved graphical presentation. It may be short, but what’s here is exceptionally high quality, and the intention always was that Episode Two would follow shortly thereafter. But fans would have to wait longer than promised for the second chapter, little knowing that it would be the last we’d see of Half-Life for almost fifteen years.
The Source engine was given a bit of an upgrade in the time between games as well with Episode One featuring higher resolution assets, even more smoothly animated character models, and more advanced lighting. Whilst it’s hardly a massive upgrade, it’s enough to make you feel as though you’re getting more than just new story content. There has been a decent level of care and craftsmanship put into Episode One, and Valve want to show that however they can.
There’s really not a lot else to say about Episode One. It’s not as revolutionary or ground-breaking as Half-Life 2 was, but it was never going to be. This is a short but sweet continuation of that same experience, complete with some new mechanics and an improved graphical presentation. It may be short, but what’s here is exceptionally high quality, and the intention always was that Episode Two would follow shortly thereafter. But fans would have to wait longer than promised for the second chapter, little knowing that it would be the last we’d see of Half-Life for almost fifteen years.