Electronic Arts Half-Life 2: Episode Pack – PC

Two games for ten bucks, I couldn’t resist! After all, the original Half-lie, and Half-Life 2, were both awesome! If you don’t already have “Steam”(HL developer Valve’s online gaming service) installed on your computer, you will need to install it to play these stand alone expansions to HL2. Steam membership is free – they make their money by selling games, retail or via direct download. Game installation was a snap, I simply logged on to Steam and added the dvd key from the Episode pack sleeve, then downloaded both episodes at once – didn’t even insert the dvd. It took about twenty minutes on a medium speed dsl connection, and both games were up-to-date and ready to play.

Like other reviewers, I found Episode 1 to be a little bit anti-climactic after the totally amazing HL2. Good, but not great. Game play was excellent, no weird things like getting stuck on a wall or any of that. When Valve releases a game, it’s the real deal – they won’t release anything buggy. Having Alyx as an almost constant companion is good, she often offers helpful tips, as well as being an indispensable ally during intense firefights. At the risk of sounding RPG-ish, it would be nice to be able to respond to her comments (and comments from other NPC’s). One thing I’d really like to see in future HL episodes is a journal you can open, to refresh yourself on your current objective (and whether you’ve achieved it yet). Episode 1 ends with quite a bang, very good setup for Episode 2.

Episode 2 starts you out in the boondocks, the “Freeman” waking up weaponless in a sinking train car (the train trestle collapsed over a stream), waiting for Alyx to get the door open. There’s plenty of action early in the game, and the pace ramps up nicely as the game goes on. Outdoor scenes, underground mines and caves, a little of everything. A few new “Combine” enemies, and lots of action. I have a tendency to want to fully explore an area before moving on, this game won’t always let you do that – there are times when you have to blast right through. Outdoor scenery was magnificent. The “Source” game engine still does an awesome job.

Okay, so I gave it a “4”. 3-1/2 for episode 1, 4-1/2+ for episode 2. This rating is based totally on enjoyment and game play. If I were rating on value, it would be a 5 – great gaming for $10!

If you’ve played Half-Life 2, then you’ve probably at the very least heard of HL2: Episode One and Two by now. Its pretty hard to finish Half-Life 2 and not want more, and thankfully Valve has supplied us with two short but exciting extensions to the Half-Life universe without making everyone wait 5+ years for a Half-Life 3.

In case you’ve never played Half-Life 2, these episodes take place right where the original leaves off, and it would be advisable to purchase the original game first so you know what’s going on. The best way to do that is through the Orange Box available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, since you get these two episodes as well as the original and two other great games in the set for a good price.

And one more thing before I begin; I am not taking Steam into account on these reviews. I don’t particularly relish the idea of having an internet program that locks the games I’m supposed to own in the closet and ultimately tells me whether or not I can play them or how many computers I can play them on, but I haven’t had any major problems with Steam yet. It’s something you should be aware of though if you’re buying any PC versions of Half-Life games; you are required to “activate” them online at installation or you aren’t able to play. It also appears that, for this particular set, the games must be fully downloaded from Steam when you insert this disc, rather than installing from there and simply patching, which would be much faster. If the idea of Steam bothers you, get a console version of the Orange Box if that’s available to you.

Now, onto the episodes themselves… they’re fantastic! Episode One picks up right at the “OMG what happens next!?” ending of the original and lays the foundation for an interesting new story arc. This episode features some slightly improved graphics and great facial animation, and manages to retain most of the orignal flavor of the original with some excellent story-telling scenes and action. The entire voice cast (of the characters still alive) makes a return too.

Unfortunately, while great, I didn’t feel that Episode One lived up to it’s predecessor. It was short and way too easy. There was also a point in the game where you are required to escort groups of citizens across a hot zone to a train station. I found this to be the worst part of the game since it required you to backtrack several times (something the original never required) and escort 2 or 3 citizens at a time. Plus, the boss battle at the end was just like a certain battle toward the end of the original HL2, except you’re only fighting one (instead of like 5 at once) and there’s plenty of cover (also unlike earlier), so I found it to be a real breeze and a poor choice for a final boss fight. I loved the character development Alyx underwent in this episode however, and I love the little details the game presents, like Alyx squinting and covering her eyes with her hand if you shine your flashlight in her face. Things like that go a long way to add a realistic feel to the experience.

I hate to use the term “epic,” but it’s really the only way to describe the next episode. Ep. 2 is a departure from the previous HL2 games as it doesn’t take place in City 17 at all. You’ll visit lots of places you’ve not seen before, like an antlion den, a mine, and a forest. I’ve heard some people complain that this episode doesn’t contain the feel of the previous installments, but I found the change welcome and exciting. At the beginning of this episode and throughout, this episode further develops your female sidekick Alyx as a character and gets you more attached to her. IMHO, Alyx is the best female lead character I’ve ever seen in a video game. By this point in the series, I actually CARED what happened to her, so when she went though a couple of terrible experiences, I felt sorrow, anger, remorse, etc. Pretty amazing that somebody can make you care for something that doesn’t really exist! The ending was amazing too; it’ll really make you want to get Ep. 3 the day it comes out.

So in other words, if you played HL2 and enjoyed it, these episodes are successful at extending the excitement. You’ll really be missing out on a great gaming experience if you pass these games by.