A Classic Nugget of Gaming
User Rating: 9 | Half-Life 2: Episode One PC
Half-Life 2 is (to me) the greatest game ever. The gameplay was immersive, characters complete, and combat balanced and challenging. Episode 1 delivers more of the same, and in some cases is better than the original. The scripted sequences were authentic and convincing, but got to be lengthy in a quite short 4-5 hour game. Overall, HL2 Ep 1 felt more like a Bonus Chapter from HL2 than an expansion, as most of the action was similar to what was included in the original HL2.
I agree that Valve shouldn't quit developing with Half-Life 2 technology while it's still up to the standard of current and new games, but delivering 5 hours at a time isn't the right way to go about it. Episode 1 was near perfect while it lasted, but it was way too short. Even two more chapters would have made the Episode as near to perfect as an expansion can be.
