Have you ever turned on the radio to catch the end of a familiar song but you just can't find the downbeat and, as a result, the song sounds disjointed, even alien, to your ears? I can't help but feel that similar circumstances plagued my time with Half-Life 2: Episode One, as I seemingly wandered through the game without ever finding its pulse.
I'm not quite sure what to blame it on. I had minor problems getting the game running properly on my machine (a number of attempts to get it to run in proper widescreen mode at a resolution that played nice with both the computer and my eyes), which meant that the opening scene got off to a bit of a stutter. I also averaged no more than half a chapter a day, which certainly didn't help matters. Regardless, a third of the way through Urban Flight (that's a much better name than Chapter Four, but no one seems to recognize what I'm talking about when I refer to the 'proper' chapter names) I was feeling damn weary of the game, and considering that apparently everyone else who has played it has complained bitterly that it's far too short, I have no recourse but to say that I just couldn't find the game's beat.
It's not for want of trying - I kept at it but, the drudgery of meandering through Episode One's dimly lit corridors, just waiting for the next scripted scare wore terribly thin on me. I grew to loathe the flashlight and I found myself disappointed that Alyx wasn't by my side more, and that the times she was accompanying me later on in the game, she was much less distant and uninvolved than in earlier chapters.
I missed the outdoors of Half-Life 2, I missed being immersed in the culture of City 17, and I really missed some new interactions with the citizens. I felt like socking one of my squad members when I heard him recycle the same line from Half-Life 2: "Will this war ever end?" I wanted to yell "It's ending as we speak - worry instead about getting out of this forsaken city!" but, of course stabbing the E button produced only cold silence.
I haven't played through with the commentary on yet - I plan to do that in a few weeks or so, when a second playthrough will be a bit fresher. I doubt, given the overbearing nature of commentary, that I'll find the rhythm I presumably missed the first time around, but one can always hope!
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#1 Metal Monkey Jun 23, 2006 02:08pm
Huh, well I had a completely different experience than you. I actually had more fun playing through this than I did all of HL2.
I was glad that they got rid of the overlong vehicle sections for this episode in favor for more urban combat. Thats where I had the most fun in HL2. The fanboat and buggy sections in HL2 just felt drawn out, how many times did I have to drive to a generic shoreview house and take out some Combine just to be hit with another load time a few minutes later? And the fanboat became tedious aswell, every section was just "Drive from Point A to Point B" After 3 or 4 times of this I was tired of it. I wanted to get back to the city and fight some more. If it wasn't for Nova Prospekt, I would have stopped playing all together.
With Episode 1, it gave me a much more focused experienced. No more meandering around in the countryside for no reason. I was doing something, I had a concrete mission. And I had a completely different reaction to Alyx too. Most of the time I'd let her do the brunt of the work, while I jerked around with the Gravity Gun. She never uninvolved in my game, especially in the Hospital section. Not only was she up there kicking ass along with me, but on quite a few occasions, she saved me from a zombie I missed.
The only part I complained about was the slight escort mission at the end, but soon after I was rewarded by one of the most exhilarating "Boss" fights I've played in a FPS.
When the ending credits rolled, I was satisfied. I didn't fell cheated or anything. It was only $20, and I got $20 worth of a game.
#2 Dublyner Jun 23, 2006 06:23pm
I'm going to have to agree wholeheartedly with MM here.
I found the game's leave of pastoral exploration in favor of more urban combat exciting and addictive.
I'm no fan of monotonous corridors and hallways, but I felt that the map gave enough changeups to keep me entertained. The dune buggy and waterboat sequences in HL2 were fun, and I wouldn't mind more of that, but on a smaller scale.
EP2's setting, among the Vortigaunts and Antlions in a rural cave/forest environment, makes the likelyhood of another vehicle sequence pretty high.
I didn't feel cheated for my money, but then again I pay $9 to see shitty movies, so maybe I have no sense of value.