The ending to Half-Life 2 baffled many, and gamers were left with one of the biggest cliff-hangers in recent history. Gordon seemed saved, but what happened to Alyx? And is Gordon really “safe?” What happened to the rest of the city?

Episode One starts right where Half-Life 2 left off, but with a twist. The G-Man’s plans are interfered with, and we find our heroes Gordon and Alyx transported to the base of the collapsing Citadel. In typical HL fashion, Episode One takes you through many environments and cinematic moments. It’s quite a ride.

My biggest complaint with Episode One is its slow start. You must venture back inside the crumbling Citadel right from the beginning, which in my opinion had the least attractive environs. Not only that but you are limited to your Gravity Gun for a good amount of time, which seemed fun at first, but it didn’t take long for my trigger finger to start to itch - I needed a real weapon. By the time I took the train out of the Citadel I felt things were picking up.

When you get into the meat of the game, Episode One is pretty much an extension of HL2. The weapons and enemies are exactly the same, but the story is all new and the events take place in different parts of City 17 than you see in HL2. Although, since the game takes place entirely within City 17, the environments look very similar to those found in HL2. Places like parking garages, street tunnels, apartment buildings, and a train station make up the main bulk of Episode One.

Alyx hangs out for most of the journey this time, and she’s really nice to have around. I’m pretty sure she can’t die, and she never runs out of ammo. She’s also intelligent and doesn’t really get in the way. And since you have the light-source, she actually needs your help when navigating dark areas. She also won’t shoot what she can’t see, so you can use the flashlight as sort of an attack command.

Episode One also had its share of what I like to call “Half-Life moments.” Where most games use scripted events to highlight an intense moment, Half-Life has done a great job of creating moments that seem scripted but are totally dynamic. A couple examples include a one-on-one with a Strider in a crate-filled train station, or the persistent Combine attacks while escorting groups of rebels. The appearance of the enemies is scripted, of course, but what they do is not, so the fights play out dynamically and are more believable.

Episode One doesn’t really introduce new story; it really just follows Gordon and Alyx as they try to escape City 17. But with the Citadel collapsing the city is in a new state of freedom. The Combine doesn’t have the iron grip they used to have on the population. Episode One almost seemed a little too short to introduce a lot of new story anyway.

With Episode One came an Episode Two teaser showing off new enemies and new environments outside City 17. With this in mind, it seems Episode Two will be the chapter to introduce new story and maybe answer some questions. If this is the case, Episode One may just be to bridge the gap between HL2 and Episode Two.

I was afraid I wasn’t going to enjoy Episode One when I was spending my first hour or so in the Citadel, but I should have had more faith. I knew deep down it would get better, which is why I pressed on. I was right, and it got really good. Episode One is a lot of fun, and it leads right into an even better looking episode.

Gameplay: 9.0
It starts a little slow, but quickly ramps up. There are many intense Half-Life moments throughout, and the scenery and problem solving is never the same.

Graphics: 9.3 
Episode One looks just as beautiful as Half-Life 2 and runs amazingly well. Details like debris constantly falling from the tower, or the way bloom is used to illustrate Gordon’s eyes adjusting to lighting changes, are just a couple examples of Episode One’s graphical quality.

Sound: 9.0
The sound effects are fantastic, as usual, and the soundtrack is great. I still love to hear the Combine radio go off when they die.

Difficulty: Easy/Hard
The difficulty is totally up to you, but even easy gets a little tough in the last chapter.

Concept: 8.0 
I kind of like the idea of small episodes like this instead of a full-blown sequel right away. They’re a little like the Battlefield 2 booster packs, but instead of providing multiplayer content they extend the single-player campaign.

Overall: 8.8
Episode One was an extremely entertaining play. It starts slow, but stick with it and you’ll be rewarded with some great Half-Life gameplay. Episode One is also pretty short, but it’s one hell of a ride. Fans of Half-Life should check it out, and for anyone interested in following Gordon in his adventures it is a must. Skip this and you may be lost later on.