Half Life 2: Episode 1

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Half Life 2: Episode 1 review
Rook

Review

It's been a treat

One word: Stunning!


Running Episode One at full detail and resolution will take an upper quality machine, but even with some options turned down for ease of play, the environment, character, everything is near-photorealistic and beautiful. City 17 has been brought to life by the detail of the destruction that has taken place. Litter, rubble, and marks of the resistance adorn the war-torn and blood streaked halls and streets of an oppressed urban battlefield.

Alyx will clearly wear her emotions on her sleeve as you make your way out of the city. The facial expressions of not just Alyx but everyone you run into will pull an emotional heartstring as you fight to help them survive. As mentioned, some visual options may need to be turned off or lowered to avoid video chop, which would affect combat. The game truly does not lose much of its luster however.

Perfection


Audio, musical scoring and voiceovers can make or break a title. With the production value and quality Valve is known for, nothing short of perfect would describe the audio immersion of Episode One. The musical score is synchronized with the action at hand to create a theatrical gameplay experience that the player can easily get lost in. Ambient sounds range from creepy as a mutant zombie shuffles in the darkness, to the cheerfully out of place chirping of birds to the clink of shell casings hitting the war-torn streets and the unique radio chatter of Combine troops as they open fire from the rooftops and repel down the side of the buildings.

Voice acting, as expected, is outstanding. The entire original cast of Half Life 2 has returned for the creation of the Half Life 2: Episodes. The acting talents of Hollywoods? Robert Guillaume as Dr. Eli Vance, Merle Dandridge as Alyx, as well as Mike Shapiro, Lou Gossett Jr., Michelle Forbes, and Robert Culp bring everything together to form a cinematic experience that will reach out and grab you like a good movie.

Painfully disappointing


The most disappointing aspect of Episode One is replayability. Simply put, it is a one shot deal. With a painfully short six hours of gameplay, the action comes to an unexpected end just as you find yourself getting back into the swing of things and anticipating the next area. For advanced players and experienced FPS gamers, Episode One can and will likely be completed in a four to six hour game session. The story will certainly leave you wanting more and sitting in anticipation for Episode Two though.

Despite Episode Ones terribly short duration, the ability to play through the ongoing saga of Dr. Freeman and Alyx makes up for it. The Half Life 2 franchise will live on for many episodes to come as the story continues to unfold and Gordon finds himself in the center of humanities' struggle to reclaim Earth from the Combine military forces.

8.0

fun score

No Pros and Cons at this time