Half-Life 2: Episode One

CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
edited June 2006 in Gaming
It looks like Half-Life 2: Epsiode One launching in just over a month.

Check it out: http://ep1.half-life2.com/

Anyone else as excited about it as I am? The trailer makes me happy. Haha.
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Comments

  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Excited yes... not so much though since reading it'll only be 4 to 6 hours of gameplay... it better only cost me upwards of $15 or I'll be pissed. Better yet hold off an release all them combined for $54 so I don't spend $15 per episode costing me close to $100 for one games worth of content.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    omg it'll cost me $20... forget it.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Lol. 10% off if you pre-purchase through steam.
  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited April 2006
    Hmmm, 4 to 6 hours game play? It'd better be cheap.
    I just got Tomb Raider 7. It was a full priced game that lasted 8-10 hours and used 7.8Gb HDD space. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, lovely graphics but very short games.
  • edited April 2006
    Valve plans to release new episodes every few months, each one being around 6-7 hours long, rather than waiting every 5 years for a 15-18 hour game. I think the former is much better than the latter.

    Each episode will also include a new technology update to the engine, made possible thanks to Source's modular design.

    The first Sin: Emergence episode will also be out on the 11th. I'm all preordered and pre-loaded up! :)
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    TheSmJ wrote:
    Valve plans to release new episodes every few months, each one being around 6-7 hours long, rather than waiting every 5 years for a 15-18 hour game. I think the former is much better than the latter.

    Or... they could just release them more frequently. People are fools if they think they haven't already completed them (likely done with the game itself) and then just delay them so people hype it up for them which increases profits.

    $20 for 4-6 hours of gameplay really isn't good value for money in my oppinion. Max Payne 2 was as bad. Completed that in 4 and a half hours. What happened to all the epic games, those were my favorite, immersive and actually decent value for money... buuut, it's Half-Life 2, so everyone knows people are going to buy whatever they release for it regardless of how short/expensive they are anyway.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited April 2006
    Will buy it the first day I can w/ the 10% discount. Looking forward to it. :)
  • edited May 2006
    I just want to point out that Episode One is available for preload/preorder now. It's only $18 if you preorder it through Steam.

    On a related note: Has anyone checked out Valve's store? They have headcrab plush toys available!
    HL2_Headcrab_pic01.jpg
    Naturally I had to buy one, plus the poster of DOG ripping the **** out of a gunship.

    Zoom_D0gvStriderPoster.jpg

    One of these days I plan to buy the Citidel lithograph too.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    Oh, man. I want that poster!

    /me goes to look.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    I think it's about time for Alyx to get more firepower. This pistol just doesn't cut it.

    Oops, spoke too soon!
  • dstyle347dstyle347 Boston
    edited May 2006
    You can't even buy a sandwich at lunch without dropping at least 12 bucks.. What the hell are people complaining about? Where can you get 4 hours of entertainment for anything close to $20?? Seriously.. get over it. I'm willing to support the industry on this one..
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    dstyle347 wrote:
    You can't even buy a sandwich at lunch without dropping at least 12 bucks.. What the hell are people complaining about? Where can you get 4 hours of entertainment for anything close to $20?? Seriously.. get over it. I'm willing to support the industry on this one..

    Agreed. And stop being a shill SMJ :)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    I'd buy it if it were $12-15.
  • V-PV-P State College, PA Member
    edited May 2006
    You know they're going to come out with an Episode 1-6 pack or something 2 months later for $20....
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    So....... I am playing HL2 again, only finished it once, now I wanna get the episodes. But I am wondering. What changes have they made to graphics? Is there HDR in this episode like the one map they sent out over steam a while back? New enhancements? I looked through the main site, but it's not definitive on anything other than mechanics like characters and such.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited May 2006
    Preloading as we speak :D

    Looking forward to this one..
  • edited May 2006
    HDR, some special AI dohickies, developer comentaries, that all I remember.

    There are a couple of new teaser videos out now that outline some of the new engine enhancments. I've had this preordered since May 1st, and I have every intention to start playing the moment it's available.
  • edited May 2006
    Just one day and 13 hours till its release on Steam. :)
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    Only 4 hours 30 minutes left! Too bad I can't play it until tonight. I finally preloaded last night. I thought "I'm going to buy it anyway. Might as well save $2." Hehe.

    I can't wait to play!
  • SoLoSoLo DirtySouth, USA
    edited June 2006
    dstyle347 wrote:
    You can't even buy a sandwich at lunch without dropping at least 12 bucks.. What the hell are people complaining about? Where can you get 4 hours of entertainment for anything close to $20?? Seriously.. get over it. I'm willing to support the industry on this one..


    I kinda agree with ya hear BUT..i personaly can easily sit down any givin night and game for 4+ hours I LOVED HL2 and the single player action along with the story..The problem for me is that 4 hours really isnt that long for game play.

    $20 bucks might just be worth it but depending on how many "episodes" there are it could really add up if eaqch "episode" is only 4 hours.

    Cant wait to continue the story!
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    I don't buy games that cost more than $1 per hour of expected play. I would proly play through any new HL2 episodes two or three times, so for me, personally, this is a just slightly too expensive. I'm very patient. I can wait for it to be cheaper later.

    I'm also still waiting for Star Wars to be all three movies on DVD with extras for less than $50, and I'm waiting for the latest Harry Potter book to be printed in mass market paperback. I also almost always wait for movies to hit the $2 theater before I will see them. Part of it is because I'm thrifty, but mostly, it's because I'm patient. I'm fully capable to enjoy something months after it comes out, so I might as well save the money...

    //edit: clarified statement
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited June 2006
    I don't see Half-Life 2: Episode One becoming cheaper anytime soon, at least within the next 12 months. If you look at the prices of previous titles as an indicator. I think you would have been better off paying $17.95 when it before it was released. :-/
  • edited June 2006
    CB Droege wrote:
    I don't buy games that are less than $1 per hour of expected play.


    When HL2 was first released it was $50, and playtime was estimated to be around 15-18 hours depending on how you played. If you take the lower end of the spectrum (as you did for EP1's 4-6 hour estimate) you'd have $3.33/hour of gameplay.

    Take into consideration EP1's new commentary feature which has over 100 "commentary bubbles" (like in HL2: Lost Coast), and assume you played once through with it off, and then again with it on, you'd get closer to 8-12 hours of gameplay, and the lower end is if you played it on too easy a difficulty and rushed through w/o taking the time to explore and listen to the character dialog. If you do all this, it'll come out to around $2.22/hour at least.


    Anyways I'm loving the new episode! Outside of the storyline, they explore a lot of new meathods of gameplay (which were possible but never touched-on during HL2) and lots of new environments. I say it's very much worth the $20.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    I didn't get very far last night in it, as I was finishing a reinstall of Windows, and once it finished downloading, I was pretty tired to begin with. From the little I got to play, though, it's a lot of fun. Some of the things are still just as mind-blowing as when I started to play Half-Life 2.

    And, I freakin' love D0g! I wish they would make a D0g plush or robot toy or something. I bought the poster. Haha. He's so cool.
  • edited June 2006
    RWB, looks like their adding support for all the new Source graphics features...
    In Episode One, we will be utilizing the HDR lighting tech introduced in Lost Coast, and the film grain and color correction technology introduced in Day of Defeat: Source.
    http://www.firingsquad.com/features/hl2_episode_1_interview/
  • edited June 2006
    I have the poster too! I just need to get a frame for it...

    I forgot to mention before that the choriography they've done for the characters really blows me away- even in comparison to HL2.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    Anyone got a short review they'd like to make, or is everyone too busy playing it? I'll probably download it when I get back from the river Sunday.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    I've got a busy weekend ahead, so I don't know how much play time I'll get in. If I get enough to make a review possible, I'll write one up for you. :)
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited June 2006
    A friend form IGN views :)

    The game still looks quite good, however, and features full HDR for some nice lighting effects. The facial animation is still top-notch, the voice acting is great, and the art style is gritty and detailed. Alex is with you almost the entire way, and she's typically more of a help than a hindrance, which is a refreshing change. The rebel squads in HL2 tended to get bunched up in hallways, making it difficult to quickly and tactically respond to a threat, so it's nice to just deal with one capable individual. And she's not invincible. There was one section where I had to do a lot of running around, and I left it to her to deal with some problems while I did my thing. Unfortunately, she died, and game doesn't let you progress when that happens. I was more conscientious of her situation from that point on, but there's only so much I can do when I don't get an indication of how much health she has, or if her health regenerates after being out of combat for X amount of time. I'll take her over an invincible ally, though, or over a slew of constantly restocked but faceless buddies.
  • tcithtcith Sydney, Australia Member
    edited June 2006
    Hi Guys - long time no talk

    Finnished this is just over three hours - hard setting, do not play on anything less.

    Will not include spoilers

    Impressions
    - A little too much "walking doing nothing" but then the scenery is impressive, just showed how much space was available

    - The dark areas with very little ammo are very challenging, have heard people saying "dark like doom" but I did not get that impression, I found this much more challenging than dooms - "walking into room, lights go out, turn and shoot demnon that appears behind, turn and shoot demon in front, move forward" - the dark areas in HL2 where very free form and those freaky fast zombies charging at you out of the dark...shudder

    - Graphics and models are superb, as well as HDR (I have a GeForce 7800)
    - The long scenes of the landscape and the citadel where very impressive

    - Puzzles not hard but not overly simple, good balance


    - due to reduced ammo supply in many areas I tended to be more selective with my weapons than just play through with one weapon, this made this game very enjoyable for me. I also used the grav gun as a weapon WAY more in this than in HL2, I really enjoyed that as well.

    - Was interesting having Alyx as a side kick, her AI was not too annoying, only a few times did she get in my way and I am guilty of blasting things in her area knowing she can take the damage.

    - wish there was more dog - he is SO cool, but the game balance would just be screwed with him, he's pretty uber.

    - Story line, loved it - give me more

    - the trailer for episode 2 at the end is damn excellent

    Going to play through now with the commentary on - it's that fascinating
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