Half Life 2: Episode One Review
There was no reason for us to stay in city 17 anymore. We got all the way to the Citadel, tried to root out the Combine soldiers, and it didn’t work out. Alyx was my biggest helper, but there was still something that prevented us. Maybe he was a mysterious man, the reason for all this, or he wanted to fix something, and we didn’t give him the opportunity? I look back and see that I made Black Mesa and then City 17 hell. Am I really doing a favor, or is it getting worse when I’m trying to fix what I’ve ruined? I have a lot of question marks in my head, and I’m trapped in ruins.
It’s not that easy
Grandmaster Half-Life continues with Episode one, branching out its story and taking us swimming in pools of adrenaline. It’s been 7 years since the First Half-Life. By this time, by playing his mods, multiplayer games and expansions, we had become familiar with his understanding of quality in FPS. Along with Half-Life 2, the graphical derivative within the understanding of quality has changed further and brought us to what we can now call “state-of-the-art” points. The rules of physics, the animations had been completely as they should have been. Our hero in the first game, Gordon Freeman, was back again, and now he had come out of Black Mesa and into the city 17. And there were many dangers waiting for us here. Although the first one as a story was more at the forefront, Half-Life 2 had gone too far visually and brought the action to the forefront. We had to be prepared for anything at any time, and the work we thought we had finished was actually very interrupted.
The producers had previously announced Episode One as Aftermath, and it would be about our escape after blowing up the Citadel, the main building in city 17. However, a strategy change was later made and it was decided that the game would be presented in sections. After Episode one, Episode two would be released at the end of this year and Episode Three next year. Maybe even after that, a story might be waiting for us, the producers might be laying the groundwork for a different story they’re thinking about later. Of course, as we don’t want it to be, maybe after these 3 episodes, The Half-Life concept can be closed, all of them are a mystery for now, but we are facing Episode one, and there will definitely be 2 more sequels.
As a story, we continue where he stayed in Half-Life 2. The Citadel, which we think we blew up, is actually still in place. Actually, what happened happened to us. As we saw in the beginning, Alyx is saved from the explosion by various creatures and finds himself with us. By the way, there are also breezes from G-man, but again we can’t understand what he wants to do, even let’s say it now, we won’t understand it throughout the game. We’re in a dent, and the smart robot Dog is getting us out of here. After Alyx’s intimate hug, our Adventure Continues from here. Our primary goal is to escape city 17, but until we do, we choose land in the mind. There is Action Everywhere at any moment and we will often get in trouble. In fact, we have to re-enter the Citadel in the first place.
Tech paradise
Previously, a small map called The Lost Coast was published, introducing only graphic technology. Here, we could test the High Dynamic Range system to the fullest. And the results we saw were just perfect. The physics engine, which was already very good, was further improved, bringing the light and shading effects extremely close to the reality.
From the reflections on the explosion and object, all the games of light in the transitions from darkness to light were revealed. Here, the producers have indicated that this technology on The Lost Coast will be applied to The Next Half-Lives. And we collect the first fruit from Episode One. All the technology is here, and the graphics look incredible. If we have a solid graphics card, feel free to turn on all the features, or you may be missing out on a really visual feast. Physics, which are already realistic enough, also protects itself here. Using the Gravity Gun, which we used from the beginning and are also familiar with from the first production, will be the biggest example in this regard.
Our brave lady, Alyx, accompanies us from the beginning to the end of the game and never leaves our side. In some cases, there are only places where we hang out for a while so that it can pass through various places or activate certain objects, but usually we are all together. He will support us with firepower in the hottest collisions, which is really very solid. As an artificial intelligence, it is well developed and acts extremely smart. However, it is useful to keep an eye on him, when we neglect him too much, he can be attacked by creatures and die. The AI quality isn’t bad for Combine soldiers either. They come at us looking out for each other and can think of taking cover in difficult situations.
We don’t see any noticeable changes in weapons and creatures. But for some reason, the number of zombies is too high, and for a while we only have to deal with zombies. In fact, there are places where we fight zombie combines, zombies. In addition, the classic headcrab and antlions will come at us. The producers have kept the action level at the most extreme, and in some cases we may even have to think too fast and use our reflexes. The conflict places are extremely many, sometimes with the introduction of music that brings us to the gas, we can feel ourselves in an action movie. Classic Half-Life puzzles are also, of course, in place, but they are not very difficult to solve, they usually consist of opening something closed or physics puzzles, which are extremely small in number, usually the action is full throttle.
By the end of the game, we will have soldiers following us to help us again. I can also say that you will enter into quite difficult conflicts with them. The story was left incredibly up in the air for us to wonder about, and the sequels were trusted. So, unfortunately, the queue continues, and in a way, our enthusiasm remains in our course. Most of the characters we know in Half-Life 2 also appear in Episode One, but they appear almost only once during the game, and then we never hear from them again, or even know what the dog’s fate will be. Moreover, Dr. Bren’s still alive. We haven’t been able to reach Alyx’s father, Eli, and Judith, who sold us out, is still alive. As the question marks grow, we want more and more sequel productions to come.
Continue…
After finishing Episode one, he sees a video about Episode Two and we are a little aware of what is waiting for us, but nothing is certain. Because this is the world of Half-Life, and we can expect various surprises at any moment. It was a really good sequel with its curiosity, action and gameplay style typical of Half-Life. Every feature is admirable, making it an immersive episode one with question marks on our heads. Finally, let’s remind you that Episode two will be released to the markets at the end of this year, while Episode Three will probably be ready in 2007.
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