A solid FPS experience once again. Just don't expect the bar to be raised like HL2 did back then.
There isn't all that much to say about this game after having reviewed HL2 because the games are so similar. The continuation of HL2 - but split into a third portion - pretty much sums up what Episode 1 is and with it, there is much criticism to be made from me. The story starts off from the moment the citadel is being destoyed. After being teleported away from the explosions you caused there (in the previous game), you find yourself just outside of the citadel under some rocks. With Dog and Alyx's help, you recover your gravity gun. The party is then informed that the breakdown of the citadel could cause the entire destruction of City 17 much to the irony of the revolution you wanted. With a new mission to stabilise the core, Gordon (yourself) and Alyx go back into the fortress once again.
The gameplay is directly derived from HL2 and would feel very familiar from after HL2. However the episodic structure of the game has somewhat affected the pacing and overall experience in a negative way. Because of the familiarity and the time since HL2, that 'Wow' factor has diminished quite a bit. The finale is underwhelming of what is to be expected of HL, but is fitting for the initial 3rd of a full game. Some weapons are missing like that alien-squishy-ball thing and the overall pacing and structure of the game does not encourage the use of the variety of weapons you do have (like the crossbow and magnum). Every enemy has been seen before except for the flying alien ship (which is the biggest highlight of the game imo). And the overall open-air areas are very much stifled in contrast to HL2 and it exerts very linear experience throughout. But that is where HL2 excels at - the action and exhilaration that is borne out of that linearity.
The visuals are solid but the art-direction is as compelling as ever. The game silky smooth at super high resolutions, locking closely at 59-60 fps on my machine. The striking bloom effects seem to have been upped alot, but does not look excessive at any time. The sound is also solid. Explosions retain their 'deaf-ear' effect and distant exlosions have the familiar lagging boom sound. The audio came out punctually in 6-channels and the music is varied well according the setting and pace (from heart pumping beats, to eery atmosphere in the dark).
All the negativity i've come to say is not to be taken as what the game is all about. Rather, they are the reasons why this episode does not stack up to the experience i had with HL2. Ignoring HL2, Episode 1 is excellent. Overall, the game is excellent value in the compilation but you shouldn't expect a full-fledged game. It doesn't do much new but helps extend the now-familiar HL2 gameplay, which would be great for some, but may be disappointing for those who expected the series to keep on going up and up.