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HALF-LIFE IS ONE GAME title that doesn't require much of an introduction. It would be difficult to have any sort of first-person shooter game discussion without mentioning Half-Life or Half-Life 2. Half-Life 2 has sold more than four million copies worldwide according to the official website. This year, we are ecstatic to be able to get our hands on the next installment of the game via the Valve and Steam networks; officially titled Half Life 2: Episode One.
Valve and Steam have been busy. With the recent release of SiN: Episode One and now Episode One, we can safely assume that downloading or buying the expansions in episodic bursts will keep the punters happy. We know that there's more goodness coming our way.
Marketing each episode as stand-alone product would probably help, too, although you really wouldn't want to miss playing either of the previous Half-Life games before attempting to play Episode One. That would be like eating dessert before the main course. The official website looks nifty, too, and right now, we really want the loading bar to hurry up and finish already.
Being of the first-person shooter variety, Episode One is fast-moving. Picking up where Half-Life 2 left off, familiar characters Gordon and Alyx return in Episode One. With an explosion of monumental proportions, you and Alyx (you get to play Gordon, of course) are trying to escape an exploding reactor. First mission: get out of the citadel before the self-destruct sequence timer runs out.
Next on the agenda: find some weapons. Gordon gets lucky in Episode One (and we don't mean with Alyx). He gets to use a very nice piece of weaponry, the gravity gun. This can be a very powerful weapon with the ability to push and pull people around. But don't start drooling just yet, as this ability is only temporary. The special power wears off eventually and the gun returns to its normal state where you can use it to pick up objects. There are also many other types of weapons to pick up during the game but the gravity gun seems to be the pièce de résistance. It also comes with an auxiliary flashlight for those dark places you're bound to adventure through.
Throughout the game you will encounter all manner of beasties like Head Crabs, Zombies and Ant Lions which should all be familiar from the previous games. And of course, G-man returns as the super-villain. Alyx manages to play an important part as your backup during rather difficult fire fights and also as your guide, hinting at ways to get around obstacles. Just as well, at least one of us is thinking.
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