"...For those so inclined, this is an excellent time for procreation"

"Is Dr. Kliner really telling people to, you know, get it on?"
-Alyx Vance

Good lord, was Episode 1 pretty.

It's speaks well for the game that, just like for Half Life 2, I didn't fiddle with the graphics settings at all...just sat down and played. Nonetheless, the framerate was smooth and the world as utterly immersive as it was when took up the Crowbar and GravGun for the first time. This time, however, my monitor very clearly sported some seriously pretty lighting effects, courtesy of the newly updated HDR-enabled Source Engine. In the words of one very dynamic ferret, "Oh! Shiny!"

The gameplay itself has less of an epic feel, placing itself firmly as an addendum to the events of Half Life 2. The Citadel is about to blow and you and Alyx sorta have to be far away when it does...that's about much it. We're not entirely sure why or how you were saved by the Vortigaunts, or why the G-Man is all "We'll see about that", but, just like our last excursion into City 17, immediate events take priority - Episode 1 just does much less to tie it into the larger context.

Nor is the flow of the game as well executed or as innovative...there are very many "OH GOD THAT WAS AMAZING" moments (the gunship through the roof? the strider in the train yards? classic), but not as well placed or as well tied together - not to say that it's anywhere near "bad". I've played many many many games done worse. Just nothing new to guide the player through...I mean, there was the odd environment puzzle or two, but no new skills to pick up. Your tactics and your methods from Half Life 2 should serve you just fine throughout the game. I played it through on Normal, and was never quite starved for ammo...but neither was I over-loaded. Whenever the game was generous with something, two minutes later a door would blow open and Combine storm in...whom you would then proceed to massacre. Ahh, good times.

A fair game...made pretty darned great by its connection to the original Half Life 2. Keeping in mind that this is more of a "mission pack" than a separate game (as, say, Cataclysm was for Homeworld), Valve has got some great gameplay wrapped in some niiiice lighting effects. All in all, a damned serious blast to return toCity 17.

And it's aaallllll about the Zombines, man. PJs in games...gotta love character development.