While this is the best in the series....It's too SHORT.

User Rating: 9.7 | Half-Life 2: Episode One PC
Graphics – While the graphics in this game are pretty much the same as Half-Life 2. Although I did notice that most of the items and things have a little more detail. I couldn’t believe it when I saw a strider for the first time in this game. The way it moved so smoothly, and sleekly was very nice. The movements even better then its predecessor, and I was amazed when I first saw that.

Gameplay – The gameplay is pretty much the same as its predecessor also. Although I did notice that the AI is a lot better. The AI in this game show emotions. At one point I forgot I was playing a game…But then it ended and I felt like I needed yet another video game. The interactivity is so nice, I love the fact that nearly everything is able to be picked up. Although I did notice one flaw in all of this, the AI are always getting in your way! I swear, if I counted all of the times that I got stuck in a door because of one of them, it would go well over 25.

Sound – The sound/music is really nice. Everything you do has a sound to go with it. Whether it be closing a door to opening one, or just walking to running. There is something different for everything. But the thing I did not like is that I need mood music. The only time you hear any music is in tight/tense situations. I would really like to see music almost all of the time in Episode Two.

Story – The story is fantastic! But what’s that? It’s too short! It only offers about 5 – 6 hours of gameplay. I would have preferred to wait for Episode Two, and have them merge the two games. But despite the short story, the story of the game is nice. The thing about the core blowing up kept me glued to this game. At first I thought for sure I would go in there, and the core would blow up. The whole time it kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

Overall – Well even though the story was short, and the AI were sometimes buggy. I give this game a 9.7. I bought this game about one week after it came out, and I thought for sure this game wouldn’t be all that great. But boy was I wrong. I have beaten it twice since then, and I will continue to play and beat it countless more times.

I hope this helped you decide whether or not you’re going to get this game. Or maybe you just felt like reading someone else’s opinion on the game. But I hope this helped for whatever reason you read it.