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Great Graphics, Confusing Story and Annoying Play!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: June 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First off, it is an unbelievabley awe inspiring game. The graphics are incredible and the detail is great. But you are once again forced to move quickly and not able to stop and smell the roses (so to speak). Meaning, you are running for your life most of the time.

The beginning is great as you try and destroy the core, with Alyx in toe and not leading, I figured this might be a bonus, it turned into an aggravation.

There are no new weapons and yes the gravity gun is neat, but it is not fun at all, and sometimes is aggravating and complicated to use.

Now comes the aggravating part. You end up trying to escape the city and ride a train that crashes and then end up trying to get to the surface while trying to fight in the dark. This is the MOST ANNOYING AND RETARDED PART OF THE GAME! If I wanted a game fighting in the dark I would have kept that Doom 3 crap. This is annoying of a whole new level. The combine guards that are zombies spawn grenades which really start to take damage and a flashlight that was never fixed...(we can teleport but not invent a longer battery for a flashlight), Alyx's comments on the flashlight only make me want to punch someone at Valve for that.

Couple all of that with the fact of Alyx constantly getting in the way, and at some points it pushes you out of the way so she can hit her marks. It is quite frustrating.

The controls are very touchy and you have to be at a certain spot or you will fall in, or get stuck or electricuted. I literally had to walk away from the game as it was frustrating.

Alyx seems at times to be a hinderance and an annoyance and makes the game very troublesome and aggravating.

Now, add the fact that this game ends a bit prematurely and at 20 bucks I felt cheated.

Valve is on the right track, but seemed to have missed the ball after Half Life 2 was such a success.

1) Why they put a good deal of the game in the dark is beyond me! It was a serious mistake and valve should fire whoever thought of that.

2) Alyx is fun and at times annoying and sometimes gets in your way.

3) The AI was developed by someone with a 3rd grade IQ. They get in your way worse than the clowns that made Call of Duty.

4) I know 20 bucks is kind of cheap, but 4 hours of play time is not cool.

I will end up buying part 2 because there is nothing else out there. But seriously, when do the creators take more time to see if customers like their product before they box it up and ship it out? When do they care more about the name and product more than putting big dollar's in their pocket.

The money is there, and you will get it Valve, just give us a better product for our buck.

Very unsatisfying

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: June 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well personally I was very disappointed with Episode 1. I found it quite boring and unsatisfying. We learned practically nothing new about what was happening. Some of you are saying "old questions were answered and new questions were raised". Oh yeah, What old questions were answered? The only thing I learned was that those creatures in the citadel with the pin-legs were not aliens as I originally assumed but human resistors who had been "changed" by the Combine. We still have no idea who the combine is, where they come from, whats under the masks. In this installment we see no new enemies - except the unimaginative "Zombines". We dont see any of the other bug-like creatures we saw in the Citadel during HL2. We have no new weapons and for half the game have only the Gravity Gun. In fact the first half of the game really got on my nerves, it felt like I was playing Doom3 again. Running around in the pitch black shining your torch on enemies so Alyx can shoot them. The whole thing lasts a measly 4 hours and the end is even more sudden and unsatisfying than the end of HL2. Not impressed.

Good game but it is short and Steam is very annoying

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: June 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I exspected a good game and I got a good game. What ruined the moment is that the game ended way too soon and the Steam setup which is like a spyware on my pc. I did not like the fact I had to wait several hours to do the episode one download when I already went to the store and bought the game itself.
I know steam is paranoid about theft, but this system of theirs is idiotic.
Still a good game despite the obvious flaws.

An excellent addition to the half life story!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. Giving this game one star because your steam doesnt work for you is a bit harsh. How can you review a game without having played it?? Anyway, my steam works fine and I have never had any problems with it.

I though the game was fantastic and very engaging. The graphics were perfect, and so was the gameplay. All six hours it took to complete the game are filled with great battles or cool puzzle solving. Never a dull moment here!

It is definaltely worth the price tag!

Good, but short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Half Life 2 was astonishing in terms of graphics, gameplay, and overall ingenuity. It mix of fighting and puzzles made it a game with no equal. Episode One delivers more of the same. You'll fight through some familiar looking places, and see more of the city. You'll continue to fight the carbine and mess around with the gravity gun. Episode One continues flawlessly where HL2 left off. I bet youre wondering why I only gave the game 3 stars if this game is so great. Well, to be honest with you....

I took me all of 2 hours to beat this game

The game is good, but by all means way too short. According to Steam, it takes the average person 3 hours to beat the game, the majority of those people play on medium difficulty. This is not enough content for a game. I would have been much happier if they boxed up episodes one, two, and three (2 and 3 have yet to be released) and put it into one good expansion instead of 3 short teasers. Basically this is valve's idea of makign you pay 60 bucks over the course of 3 short expansions rather than your traditional 20-50 dollars for a larger expansion.

Heres the break down

Whats Good
-Highly Intellegent A.I.s
-Beautifully designed areas
-Challenging
-More of what you would expect of the Half Life series

Whats Bad
>>>>>>INCREDIBLY SHORT GAMEPLAY<<<<<
-No new weapons
-Requires internet acess to play

I preorded this game and did not find out about its lack of longevity until I experienced it first hand, but you don't have to make that same mistake. Its an enjoyable game, but it just is just too short

of Steam and Sheep

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: June 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After HL2, I thought I would never be writing another review of a Valve game again. A call from a friend changed all that. He is not very computer savvy and needed help with the "STEAM MACHINE" installation. I had helped him before with HL2. After that traumatizing experience I thought we had both sworn off Valve forever.

Well here he was again! His excuse - PC games are being introduced far and few in-between. He didn't want to wait until Xmas for a new shooter to play. This is quite a good point and one that I have a feeling Valve was quick to recognize.

It took a couple hours but I managed to get things installed and running. We played the game for a couple more hours. Let me say up front, I did not see the game to completion. My friend said it took him another 2.5-3 hours at most to finish it.

Here is what I saw and my thoughts:
1. Two hours of installation effort for 5 hours of fun?
2. $20 a pop for this and each subsequent HL2 chapter?
3. Installation - are you kidding? In this post 911 era, our government would be proud of how Steam can intrude at will on our privacy and have us volunteer to let them do it.
4. Basically a good game with a mundane story. Graphics are great but that's the highlight - a 3.5 stars before subtracting for Steam. HL2 and this chapter are not in the same league as HL1, Deus Ex 1, System Shock 2, Jedi Knight (any), Far Cry, Max Payne 1, etc. etc. Frankly, Doom 3 and Quake 4 are just as good and a lot less trouble to install.

Summary:
You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time. Apparently, Valve has found it's niche with the later. In their most audacious move yet, they have forgone releasing another full game or expansion pack for $40 and are instead releasing short portions called chapters of HL2 at $20 a pop! They are doing this and forcing you to get steamed for each. Yet, there are folks here giving this abortion 4-5 stars! PT Barnum would have been proud!

As to my friend - the first time was a mistake, the 2nd time is shame on you but if there's a 3rd time, he's mutton stew.

Wow...this is it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: June 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I admit, I was disappointed with the ending of Half Life 2. I felt that I spent the game running around with no idea of who or what I was fighting, and certainly knowning nothing of what had happened since Half Life. The ending of the Half Life 2 seemed inconclusive at best. Well, I can say that Episode 1 was everything I hoped for.

Episode 1 is, quite simply, brilliant. If my first paragraph doesn't give it away, storyline is the most important aspect of a FPS to me. And Episode 1 delivers. Not only do you learn a little more about the Combine and what's happened while you were away, but you also get to see alot of development in Alyx Vance's character. Wait a minute; a FPS character with a sense of humor that's actually funny? That's right. And of course, the voice acting was great, as usual.

In addition to storyline, this game is incredibly beautiful and realistic. Amazing visual effects everywhere you look, and a physics engine that makes you feel like you're really there. The enviroments you journey through are some of the best I can remember. I was particularly impressed with a trip through the tunnels near the citadel. I don't want to give anything away, but that was probably the most fun I've had in a computer game since System Shock 2 scared me out of my wits. Additionally, There are several cut scene sequences that left me with my mouth hanging open. The final scene...unbelievable.

I think I've made it pretty clear that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Episode 1. I would recommend it to anyone. It's breathtaking in every respect. Buy it. Buy it now. But make sure you have five consecutive hours to devote to it, because you're not going to want to stop once you start.

What the hell?!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: November 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this disc expecting to play the game but the only thing on this freakin disc is that idiotic Steam software. You have to install and download the game from the internet. Hey Valve you moron, not everyone has broadband access! What the hell is the point in releasing a game on disc when you have to download it off the freakin internet?!!!!! How about putting the god darn game on the disc and have a choice of upgrading if you want to. This game took 20 hours to install!!!!! I will never ever buy a Steam game again, this includes Sin episodes which has the same problems. To all customers who don't have broadband, do not I repeat do not buy this game unless you like waiting 24 hours to install it.

One Third Of A Great Conclusion To One Of The Greatest Games Ever

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Half Life 2: Episode 1 is really only the beginning of the completion of Half Life 2. It begins immediately where HL2 cuts off, but ends after only a few hours. Three episodes have been announced by Valve, and if the second and third are as brief as the first, they'll constitute, roughly, the same amount of game time as Half Life 2.

The New Stuff:

-The visuals have been greatly improved, although you'll only really notice if you have a machine able to run Episode 1 at it's highest settings. Added HDR lighting is the most noticable improvement in the games appearence, and the level designers use it to its potential. You'll have a lot of fun with dark, underground settings, filled with zombies, that will have your heart racing and your eyes pinched.

-There are two new enemies, but they don't really change the play, just add some color and freshen things up a bit.

-The story of Half Life continues with a short but sweet piece of the puzzle. With a trailor for Episode 2 after the credits, you'll be much more satisfied than you were at the end of HL2.

-New "situations" are all through the game. Half Life 2 excelled at using physics and simple but unique game ideas to give players a feeling of amazement and wonder at not only the world around them, but what they were capable of. This same formula continues in Episode 1 with new areas and events.

The Old Stuff And Rough Stuff:

-No new weapons are available to you in Episode 1. The balance is still perfect, but with the short game time, even some of the old weapons provided aren't really utilized. New weapons would have been nice, but they aren't needed and they may not fit in the game.

-Episode 1 is as buggy a game as valve has ever released. My computer ran perfectly fine all the way through Half Life 2, but Episode 1 crashed numerous times for various reasons. Most bugs had fixes, but some less computer savvy gamers may get too frustrated.

The Bottom Line?

If you've played Half Life 2, you probably enjoyed it and hated having it end. Episode 1 feels like you had only just paused your game for a bit and were coming back to finish it. You'll be right back in the same sweet spot of gaming you were while playing Half Life 2, and you'll love all 4 hours of it.

Feels like it's missing something...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Half-Life 2: Episode One is a long-awaited followup to the critically acclaimed Half-Life 2 in 2004. While it is a good game, it's not without it's imperfections.

For one thing, it's short. About 3-4 hours worth. About as long as Half-Life: Blue Shift, if not shorter or longer. The game lacks any new weapons, all the trusty defaults (save for the antlion pheropods) return, however, placement of some of these is silly. Like for instance, you don't get the crowbar until late in the game. Before then, you have to rely on the gravity gun to break crates, or just shoot them.

Alyx Vance in this game is actually a very likable character. As opposed to Half-Life 2 where you didn't have the punch of really feeling for a character, you really feel for her in HL2: Ep1. That and the fact she tags along with you from start to finish, with only occasional moments where you wing solo. And most of the time, it's because of a puzzle you have to solve. Thankfully Valve improved the A.I. in HL2: Ep1, she's not stupid, will not run into fire or do other stupid things, she's actually smart and you're not playing "protect the character 24/7 because the A.I. is as smart as a can of beans", she can protect herself with ease.

There are many new locations to visit, mostly areas that have gone through hell in a handbasket, but it evokes the mood with an orange hue all around the outside areas, clearly showing that something's gone wrong. That's a plus. There is a new enemy, a zombie combine soldier, or as Alyx quips, a "Zombine". These pains-in-the-neck are about as annoying as those fast zombies in HL2, except these suckers go all kamikaze on you by occasionally equipping grenades, which can be a real pain.

Once you're done, you can go through it again with a developer commentary, straight from the Lost Coast level that was released last year to test the high dynamic range rendering. The commentary shows some interesting points about the game. It also works as a wonderful cheat: you're invulnerable when you hear commentary.

And there's two multiplayer elements, but both feel like they're lacking. One is Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, a multiplayer component. Sadly there are no new elements since Half-Life 2's release, not even new maps from Episode One, or even player models that people would want to play. Come on, admit it, you'd wanna be able to play as Gordon Freeman or Dr. Breen as much as anybody else...

The other is Half-Life Deathmatch: Source. After Valve porting Half-Life to the Source engine with little flair, HLDM:S is a similar affair, where 1998 graphics and models are converted to the new game engine. It looks a bit tacky, and it's fun on occasion, the only problem is nobody plays this, and there's a few bugs. It's as if Valve went "Okay, let's take this out! It's done! Who cares if some things aren't implemented, it's done!"

Episode One is a welcomed addition if you're a fan of the series. The only problem it has is its short length and partially disappointing multiplayer. And one more thing: this uses Steam, so if you're part of that anti-Steam crusade, good luck getting this to work. And try to get the Half-Life 2: Episode Two trailer from the Steam media section, the trailer that's included with the game is a little out of date and isn't as long, but it brings up just as many future plot points as the later trailer.

Here's hoping Half-Life 2: Episode Two will exceed expectations. And I predict it will, with a fantastic setting for that game, the long-awaited Team Fortress 2 and Portal, from the guys that gave you the game Narbacular Drop, made by members of Digipen who now work at Valve.

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