Okay, don't ask him. He's a liar.
I haven't been this excited about a game since Half-Life 2 came out. And a game has not so enthralled and submersed me into itself so fully ever before. Ever. And it only took me 4 hours to complete it. Normally, a game that short comes across as rushed, sloppy, full of plot holes, and generally a wasted effort. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 is the EXACT opposite. THAT'S how well constructed it was.
They took everything that was great about Half-Life 2, refined it, polished it, and crammed it all into this first episodic release. One of THREE. Yes, it's going to be a trilogy, and episode 2 will arrive by the end of the year. (Shit, need another new pair of pants......)
The game picks up exactly where Half-Life 2 left off, and let me say how much I fucking loved the vortigants saving the day as the citadel blew up in our faces. Brilliance! I don't even care that this episode didn't answer a SINGLE question that was asked in HL2. I don't care! I was having too much fun playing the game!
Never has a game surprised me this much. Take the beginning for example: you are posed with a puzzle. There's is this HUGE gorge in front of you, and you have to cross to the other side. In a typical game, you would find a way around, or find a switch to flip that will lower a bridge. In this game? You get into this old car, and a robotic dog THROWS you across. FUCKING BRILLIANT!
I'll definitely be playing through it again really soon, since it has an audio commentary track that you can play while you're going through the game. Must listen!
No comments:
Post a Comment