Really good character elements and some interesting new HL2 scenarios; too bad it was so short.

User Rating: 8.5 | Half-Life 2: Episode One PC
By BambooStudios | Review Date:
Ok, so here I am downloading Episode 2 more than a year after this game; I can't wait so I'm writing this review to help pass the time. If you played Half Life 2 and enjoyed it then you will love this game. If you never played Half Life 2 and you picked up this game then you will probably decide that you need to play Half Life 2 first. You'll realize this game (episode 1) relies heavily on the strength of it's story, which (imho) is pretty good. The graphics in this game are a visual feast and not something you want to just dive into without getting into the story first. That said, Episode one can stand alone and if you haven't played Half Life 2 before you can still enjoy the game, though probably not as much. The game is also short and leaves you hanging... kind of like the season finale for a prime-time television action/drama; Episode 1 leaves you wanting more.
It's pretty much just more Half Life 2 and it's considerably shorter but the character development goes deeper and in many ways makes the game more interesting. By the time you finish Episode 1 you will probably be wanting an Episode 2 pretty badly. I've been waiting for over a year and now that the Orange Box is out I can finally see what happens next. If you don't have any Half Life 2 games then pick this (Episode 1) up as part of the Orange Box; you will want to play the original HL2 before it and Episode 2 when you're done for sure.

Oh, and if you've never seen or played Half Life 2 before then you should know that this game is technically the same in almost every way:
Excellent graphics, very modest hardware demands, widescreen supporting, single player first person shooter. Episode 1 doesn't require Half Life 2 to play, it's not an expansion.

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