| Date Posted: | Friday 30th June, 2006 | Author: | Alfreido | |||||||||||||
| Subject: | Game Review | Views: | 2214 | |||||||||||||
| Comments: | 2 Make a comment |
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Gameplay The core gameplay of Half-Life 2: Episode One has not changed from that of Half-Life 2. You are now trying to escape City 17 before the Citadel overloads and explodes in a huge burst of energy which, as Dr. Kleiner would say, have widespread repurcussions. You still have access to your many amounts of weapons and you're still fighting Combine troops and the Headcrab Zombies, which are now inside the city thanks to your efforts in the Citadel. For the first part of the game, you actually don't use any weapns apart from the Gravity Gun. An event at the start of the game supercharges your Gravity Gun once again and you have that extreme power that you had before the end of Half-Life 2, allowing you to throw away your enemies and toss them around. When it wears off though, you are stuck with using the Gravity Gun to pick up objects and hurl them at your enemy until you find yourself a decent weapon. As soon as you get your weapon though, tuck yourself in for a long night or day, because you won't be getting off the computer. I might add, thankfully the gravity puzzles are few in this game. It's not that I don't like the physics engine that Half-Life 2 has, nor that I don't like using my head, it's just that in Half-Life 2, they were really finnicky and sometimes hard to do with a mouse and keyboard. One of the great things about this episode is that apart from a bit of a lull at the start, you are pretty much thrust into action straight away, and rarely do you ever get a breather. Because of the short span of this game (if you're skilled enough, you can easily finish this game in 4 hours, it'd be about 8 hours tops for the casual gamers), there is really no time to dilly-dally. Valve have basically crushed all the fun stuff of Half-Life 2 into a nice, small package which is fun for a little while but is over too quickly and just leaves you hanging for more. The only other problem with the game is that Half-Life 2: Aftermath promised to expose the player to new areas, with new enemies to face and new weapons to use. Unfortunately, Episode One is still based entirely in City 17, and you've pretty much seen it all now, and there is only a few new enemies to face. One of the things that you do receive when you finish the game though is a tasty teaser trailer of what will be happening in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and I can tell you that you will definately be going through new terrain in the next episode. It's just a shame we couldn't have a bit of that now. And so the wait begins again... Graphics One of the things that has definately improved with the new Episode. Those who had Half-Life 2 were able to download a tech demo of a level for Half-Life 2 called The Lost Coast. The level was enriched with HDR (High Dynamic Range) Lighting, which allowed for a level of realism which even kicked Half-Life 2 square in the nads. Episode One has now used that lighting and the game looks so much better now. If you want a more detailed description of what HDR lighting is, have a look at the Valve Developer Wiki, but for those who don't care, basically HDR just makes the lighting SO much better. The game has also been optimized so it runs a lot smoother. However, if Half-Life 2 didn't run on your computer, it certainly won't run now with the added HDR lighting. However, Half-Life 2 was released nearly 2 years ago, so you have no excuse to not having at least a small upgrade since then. The game's artistic work is still fantastic. The Citadel with the swirly cloud looks simply amazing when you see it for the first time, as you can see to the left, and the whole city has been thrown into chaos and destruction, and it really shows. However, there is simply nothing REALLY new. Something which you can look at and go "Wow! Never seen that before." It's something we have to wait for the second Episode, which is a shame, but at least you are still treated to some awesome visuals. Sound Nothing much has really changed for the sound. It is still Half-Life 2 all over. There is some new tracks in the soundtrack, but for the most part, the music takes a back seat. It's good this way because it helps you immerse yourself in the game, but there's nothing like a bit of techno making your heart thump while you're being onslaughted by a team of Combine and an army of headcrabs and zombies. The voice work is still well done and most of the great sound effects from Half-Life 2 are still here, including the memorable wailing headcrabs which scared the shit out of you in Ravenholm in Half-Life 2. They still scare the shit out of you... Closing Thoughts Episode One is just like a drug in a way (not that I or Gamestah condone the use of drugs). It gives you pure bliss for a good few hours but then leaves you with a bad after-effect. That after-effect is waiting... knowing that you have to wait another 6 months for the next episode of pure Half-Life 2 entertainment to be released. It's even worse when you are given a trailer of what to expect next episode, and if that trailer pans out, Episode Two is going to be something magical. That being said, the cheap price tag makes up for the small amount of hours you get out of this game. Because of the game being split into episodes, you don't have to pay as much as a full game for each episode. I can see though when you add it up, it costs a lot more than a full game. Also, don't expect Half-Life 3 any time soon. In a recent interview, Valve released information that these expansion episodes are Half-Life 3 in their book, so you better enjoy these episodes while they are coming out.
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Comments
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meo Esports Commentator 4 comments |
cool | |
| Posted at Friday 30th June, 2006 - 5:12:00 pm | ||
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shift_ Esports Commentator 35 comments |
nice review, i had finished HL2 then my pc got a virus and i have to restart all over again :< | |
| Posted at Saturday 1st July, 2006 - 10:37:20 pm | ||
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