Half-Life 2: Episode 1

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Half-Life 2 Episode 1

• Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

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Game Information

• Developed by Valve Corporation
• Game is a first-person shooter centered around a
  sci-fi story
• Available in stores or through Steam for 19.99

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System Requirements

• Minimum
• 1.2 GHz Processor
• 256MB RAM
• DirectX 7 level graphics card
• Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
• Mouse Keyboard
• Internet Connection (Steam only)
• DVD-ROM (Retail only)

• Recommended
• 2.4 GHz Processor
• 512MB RAM
• DirectX 9 level graphics card
• Windows 2000/XP
• Mouse Keyboard
• Internet Connection (Steam only)
• DVD-ROM (Retail Only)

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Installation

• The game comes on one DVD if purchased retail, or
  downloads if purchased via Steam
• Half-Life 2 is not required in order to install
• A 25 character alphanumeric install key is
  included with the retail version

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Quick Overview

• Player has an arsenal of weapons
• Player is given objectives
• Player must fight many enemies in order to
  complete the objectives
• Player must also solve puzzles in order to
  complete objectives
• An NPC fights along side the player throughout
  the game
• The story unfolds as the game progresses

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Players role

• The player plays as Gordon Freeman, a theoretical
  physicist from the Black Mesa research facility.
• Freeman is forcefully employed by a mysterious
  man known only as G-Man.
• Freeman is the hero of the game by helping
  humankind, but since G-Man is using him, the big
  picture is still unknown.
• In Episode 1, G-Mans control over you is
  disrupted by a group of friendly aliens.
• The aliens prevent G-Man from putting you in
  stasis and keep you on Earth to continue helping
  humankind

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Storyline (Background)

• Following the accident and survival at Black
  Mesa, Gordon is forced to work for G-Man and is
  put in stasis.
• After several years, G-Man wakes Gordon to City
  17, a city under the control of Combine forces.
• Earth was surrendered to the Combine by a man
  named Dr. Breen, who was given power in exchange.
• Gordon joins the resistance against the Combine,
  where he meets Alyx Vance, the daughter of a
  former Black Mesa employee.
• With the help of Alyx, Gorden eventually makes
  his way to the Citadel at the heart of City 17.
• There he stops Dr. Breen from escaping, and
  destroys the main reactor of the Citadel.
• The resulting explosion is about to consume Alyx
  and Gordon when G-Man appears to take Gordon back
  into stasis.

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Storyline (Episode 1)

• Episode 1 begins with Alyx being saved by a group
  of friendly aliens.
• These same allies prevent G-Man from keeping you
  in stasis.
• G-Man appears to not be in control of you, and is
  quite angered by it.
• You awake buried in a pile of rubble at the base
  of the Citadel, where Dog, Alyxs pet robot, digs
  you out.
• You quickly learn that your prior actions have
  put the Citadels core in a critical state, and
  it will explode taking the entire city with it.
• It is now up to you and Alyx to re-enter the
  Citadel to temporarily slow the cores
  destabilization, and then evacuate and flee the
  city.
• Upon stabilizing the core, you and Alyx stumble
  across a data packet containing a transmission
  that the Combine are trying to send out.
• Stealing the data packet draws much Combine
  attention to you and Alyx as you make your way
  out of the city.

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User Interface
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Game Play

• Kill or be killed
• Linear progression
• Some situations involve multiple approaches (some
  better than others)
• Sometimes a puzzle must be solved in order to
  progress

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Scoring

• There is no scoring in Half Life per se.
• The only benefit to killing enemies and
  completing objectives is self satisfaction and
  unfolding the story.

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Artwork

• Immersive environments
• Extreme attention to detail
• Realistic looking characters
• Intimidating enemies
• Impressive weapon effects

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Sound and Music

• Environmental sounds intensify the situation.
• Weapon sounds feel right.
• Enemies are uniquely identifiable by their sounds
  even from a great distance.
• Characters are made more personable by excellent
  voice acting
• Music is used to introduce new areas or intense
  situations.

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Special Features

• A commentary mode is available which allows the
  player to listen to information about the design
  and development of certain key points of the game
• The game plays as normal, but little dialog
  balloon icons can be seen in certain places
• The user places the crosshair over top of the
  icon and clicks to start an audio track of
  commentary

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Manual

• The game comes with a quick reference card
• The card shows the default mapping of the
  controls
• It also explains what each menu option does
• The Steam version has this card available in PDF
  form

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Bugs

• The first time playing through the game, there
  was one part where Alyx was stuck and could not
  follow me.
• Upon completing that area by myself, she appeared
  by my side for the next.
• This bug did not occur the second time playing
  through.

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Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Unraveling more of the story that is Half-Life
• Co-op action with an AI NPC
• Killing enemies
• Solving puzzles
• Developer commentary

• Cons
• Episode 1 is too short

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Comparison

• Episode 1 may be a run and gun FPS just like any
  other, but it is far from the being the same.
• Co-op play with an NPC throughout the entire game
  sets Episode 1 apart from most FPS
• The gravity gun makes for highly interactive
  environments, creative means of killing, and
  great puzzle solving
• The level of detail that goes into each and every
  scene surpasses any other FPS

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Audience

• The game is rated Mature due to Blood Gore,
  Intense Violence, and Language.
• This rating is probably a bit overboard since
  most of everything killed is an alien and not a
  human being.
• The only reason it should be rated as M (17) is
  that the storyline may be too complex for someone
  of a younger age

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Design Mistakes

• There were no design mistakes in my honest
  opinion.
• The co-op play could have been a design mistake
  if implemented another way.
• Since Alyxs AI is good, she can take care of
  herself.
• She does not lead, so there is no unnecessary
  nagging.
• If the above were not the case, players would
  have become extremely frustrated trying to keep
  her alive and having her nag constantly.

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Summary

• Episode 1 is a must buy, although any new players
  are encouraged to play the preceding installments
  of the Half-Life series first.
• The only weakness of this game is the total
  playing time, which clocks in at only about 4-6
  hours.
• This game could be improved by extending the
  total game play time, and maybe adding a new
  weapon.

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Game Trailer