The synthesised trumpets and parps that thing gives off are amazing: terrifying, desk-vibrating and amazing. Valve sound people: gold star awarded. The things I love about Episode One are innumerable. I love the way you're played with by not being given the crowbar until halfway through the game; I love the script's pitch-perfect gags; I love the way the whole thing opens with an hour free of bullets; I love Alyx blasting an Antlion that's about to eviscerate me.
What I'm most pleased with, however, is the fact that this seems to be the last we'll see of City 17 and the Citadel themselves - because I really feel that my over-familiarity with them and their denizens costs me a significant proportion of fun. Good as Valve prove themselves in providing neat new takes on the action we all know and love, I honestly don't feel that they've quite covered up the fact that working your way out of a wrecked Eastern European city is inherently similar to working your way in.
Without a shadow of a doubt Half-Life 2: Episode One contains the best Freeman moments ever conceived, but by necessity it carries too much over from before to be as consistently entertaining as its forbear. Nevertheless, to my knowledge there has never been a game with quite as much snappily delivered warmth, wit and Well, soul.
Episode One is a truly significant footstep taken on the road to gaming nirvana. And who knows, by Episode Three that journey might even be complete. Time Was Frozen, Alyx was in danger, there was a blinding light and the G-Man whisked us away before disappearing.
The colours faded into darkness and we were left alone. But not, it seems, for very long. We begin where we left off; there's a Citadel crumbling around us, a city lying in ruins around it and a damsel that needs relieving from an element of distress. Even though we'd never say that to her face. There aren't too many damsels that pack as much firepower as Ms Vance - and this time round, Valve is promising that she'll have even more kick to her But let's get down to it: what do we know about this episode, once an expansion?
What bedazzling nuggets of previously unheard wonderment did we extract from Valve designer Robin Walker in our cosy tete-a-tete? As you may know, Episode One plans to peremptorily remove Freeman from stasis apparently way before schedule -starting the very instant that Half-Life 2 ended. From here runs four to six hours of densely packed Half-Life wonderment - in typical fashion raising as many questions as it provides answers for, but addressing, in the words of Walker "What exactly happened to the Citadel after that big explosion?
Is Breen dead? And what is the G-Man's involvement in all this? Episode One will therefore see a mad dash through the crumbling vaults and towers of Breen's former administration building, before showcasing its wrecked environs: awash with Antiions that have flooded into the wrecked city, panicked Combine troops and pockets of humans desperate to escape.
Kleiner, meanwhile has hacked into the Citadel's propaganda network and his face replaces the chiselled, furry jaw of Breen on City 17's manifold screens - delivering his own brand of dire warnings and crackpot theories, while on-screen violence between the resistance, enemy troops and the Antiions continues to erupt.
It's at this point, however, that we come across a revelation: there's some new faces in the ascendancy. A third power? The Vortigaunts? Well, Walker has elsewhere confessed to us that the doleful beasts will "play a very important role in what happens in later episodes" rather than initial ones, so a pro-active green energy burst from them is perhaps unlikely.
Who then? It could be an axis of power never seen before. Or, if we move slightly into conjecture, it could be the Combine themselves - pan-dimensional creatures such as that of the monstrous visage that we saw promising Breen a host body in the closing moments of Half-Life 2. Our evidence for suggesting this lies in what Walker tells us next "The Combine aren't happy with Breen's failure to deal with Freeman and the Resistance.
In Episode One, you learn some of the ways in which they're starting to take things into their own hands, none of which is good news for Gordon and Alyx. Voluntarily or extremely involuntarily, the soldiers, zombies and Citadel stalkers are all adapted humans: biological, mechanical and tech-hybrids pumped out by the monolithic Citadel. The only things you see crossing the inter-dimensional divide in Half-Life 2 are the two Combine gunships that come through the portal Breen is attempting to escape through at the game's close.
If the Overseer's true overseers are taking matters into their own spiny hands, you can expect a fair number of creatures making a similar jump in the hours after the close of the original game. What Valve is really priming in this new era of episodic Half-Life though is Alyx.
Lovely Alyx. After you've fought the Combine and other enemies with her at your side, you won't want to go into battle without her. Whereas Alyx's former appearances were by-and-large plot-driven and reserved for periods of relative inaction, she's now in the thick of it and by your side for pretty much the entire span of the episode.
This more active feeling of combat camaraderie isn't simply reserved for the sexy be-hoodied one either - Barney will be there to help out with the street-fighting, while Dog makes an appearance at the start - in Walker's words, showing up "long enough to be very useful".
In terms of enemies, the previously unassailable Stalkers seen manning the Citadel in HL2 will make a confirmed reappearance. What's more, Alyx isn't the only character to have learned new tricks, with enemies both old and new packed with a fair number of surprises.
Overall in Episode One. As for the supporting cast. Walker adds: "The people Gordon met in Half-Life 2 are facing new challenges, and the resulting events won't leave them untouched.
That sounds pretty personal. Could we be on the brink of seeing the first death of a main Half-Life cast member? Don't rule it out But away from such pontificating, why the sudden shift in gears to the episodic format?
Won't the move to shorter four-to-six hour bursts of Freeman action piss off gamers more used to their videogame violence in more substantial chunks? We're pretty sure players will appreciate being able to return to the Half-Life 2 universe more often, even if each of these experiences is shorter than the average traditional game. What with Episode Two in simultaneous development perhaps, the cynic within us suggests, formerly being the second half of Aftermath , the first two Steam deliveries can be expected to appear in relatively quick succession - at least in terms of the usual turnaround it takes for a Half-Life game to appear.
We had absolutely none of those things when we started out on Half-Life. As a result, we've been able to spend all of our time focusing on delivering a densely packed experience throughout each episode. Slightly barmy fisherman aside, the two biggest introductions in the free Lost Coast download are also set to take a starring role.
High Dynamic Range lighting, last seen making an Orthodox church look very pretty, will use and abuse the smoky, particle-filled air that signals both the Citadel and City 17's demise, so you can guarantee that the sun will be the haziest of recent times. Second, the developer commentary nodules that allowed you to listen to Valve's art bods prattle on about the scenery you're lacing with bullet-holes will also make a grand reappearance.
What's more, they're far more tightly packed this time if you're feeling inquisitive, are pat larly nerdy or are simply playing through for the fifth time. Half-Life 2 is, was, and for a long time will be the greatest shooter available on PC - and despite its short stature clearly a cross that we'll have to learn to bear as episodic content becomes more and more prevalent , Episode One remains firmly ensconced at the top of our Chock-A-Block-style hype machine.
There's a huge amount that Valve is keeping back, preferring you to discover it on your own terms rather than in the oily words of a journalist like me, but we're undeniably on the verge of the most densely packed and well-thought out Half-Life experience to date. At Half-Life 2's close, the G-Man told you he'd received some interesting offers for your services and that ordinarily, he wouldn't contemplate them, adding "these are extraordinary times".
A lot is due to change in the Half-Life universe and Valve can't wait to tell you about it. Have allegiances shifted, or is it business as usual? Time will tell. Wake up Mr Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes. Half-Life 2: Episode One is a complete expansion that doesn't require a second part of the original game. The events within the plot are related to the fact that this is a direct continuation of the second part, but the game was developed independently of the gameplay and graphics of the original.
The game offers full interaction with Alix artificial intelligence. For example, you will save your partner more than once by the fact that during the absence of a gravity gun, for example, we will illuminate enemies with a flashlight so that the heroine can shoot at them.
AI is also developed towards mental interaction: Vance will comment on our actions, determine our intentions, and give the correct rhythm of the game.
The developers left only the artificial intelligence of the enemies, which did not become smarter, but now they know the map better and move at you on any suspicion. Shooting physics and general bullet ballistics have also been improved.. Many players admit that the first episode was a cult achievement for the development studio, because Half-Life is the first story picture to such a success.. The site administration is not responsible for the content of the materials on the resource.
If you are the copyright holder and want to completely or partially remove your material from our site, then write to the administration with links to the relevant documents. Your property was freely available and that is why it was published on our website. The site is non-commercial and we are not able to check all user posts. Version: v build First person shooter - Half-Life 2: Episode One - this is the continuation of the first part of the second original part of the game, which became practically the best-selling sequel in history.
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