Half Life 2: Episode One

Havoc · #1 02-28-2006, 01:24 PM

Half Life 2 was barely in the stores after huge delays, and already the fan community started speculating about what would happen in Half Life 3. Before long, fake screenshots poped up everywhere and scripts for the third game in the series were posted in a lot of places.
All this while Valve was smiling with entertainment. Because Half Life 3 will not be due for a long time to come.

Instead, Valve will bring pleasure and addiction to the millions of fans, by 'expanding' Half Life 2 with a series of so called episodes, based on Half Life 2 and the source engine.
"Right now, we're really, really good at making Half Life 2," Robin Walker states. "We think our customers want a lot more of Half Life 2. That's what we're going to give them. But we'd just got comfortable with all our tools and what we could do. That's normally the point in which we'd go off and make new tools - we didn't want to do that.".
Even though everyone would love to see Valve surpass it's current Source engine, developing new tools and a new engine would simply take way to long and might just have us waiting for another 8 years before we see Half Life 3.

Episode 1
So what is the first episode all about? Episode one takes off where Half Life 2 initialy left off. The resistance succeeded at attacking the citidel, a big part of the city is left destroyed, most checkpoints and forcefield are breached and City 17 is about to collapse under the reign of the risistance forces.
But the Dark Fusion reactor is about to go, and if it does it will take the entire city with it. It's up to you and Alyx to get out of the citidel, and lead the resistance to savety outside the city.
But with most of the cities defences paralized from the fight, what's left of City 17 is now infested with the allien wildlife that used to be locked outside the city walls. Antlions and other creepy crawlers spook the streets as you must make your way out.
But also creatures you didn't get into direct contact with earlier in the citidel will now be face to face with you. Such as the Stalkers, the pityfull yet creepy labor force of the Combine.

Episode 1 will be a stand alone expansion, meaning it can be played without having the original Half Life 2, but you will drop right into the action without realy knowing whats going on.
The expansion episode will have about 5-6 hours of play time, even though this is a lot less then the 30-40 hours the original game offered, it still promises to be a huge must for any Half Life fan, if only it is to keep up with the story.

Half Life 2: Episode 1 will be in stores and available trough Steam on April 24th, 2006, for the price of $19.95.

Images
Video Trailer

Slaveless · #2 02-28-2006, 01:36 PM

So Half Life 2 Episode 1 is like what AE is to AO? Intresting... I've never played any of the Half Life games,(I feel so dorky) but these grapics are impressive!

And 50-60 hours of game play is more than what Rayman 2 promised! *Sickened at the game back cover*

SeaRex · #3 02-28-2006, 03:39 PM

$19.95 is pretty pricey for a mere 5-6 hours of gameplay.

Then again, it's HL2. I think little updates like these are pretty cool... if only it weren't so expensive.

Bah. And here I am, condemned to only play HL2 on school computers, simply because I don't have anything powerful enough at home to play it. Which means I won't have a chance to play this new episode. Ah well.

OANST · #4 02-28-2006, 03:55 PM

I actually just started playing half-Life 2 a couple of days ago and I'm loving it. I look forward to any new installments.

Voodoo Hand · #5 02-28-2006, 04:39 PM

5+ hours does seem a little short, but if you get to keep the last weapon you
had at the end of the game it could be a F---ing riot!

mitsur · #6 02-28-2006, 05:37 PM

:

$19.95 is pretty pricey for a mere 5-6 hours of gameplay.

Then again, it's HL2. I think little updates like these are pretty cool... if only it weren't so expensive.

Bah. And here I am, condemned to only play HL2 on school computers, simply because I don't have anything powerful enough at home to play it. Which means I won't have a chance to play this new episode. Ah well.

SeaRex, you could just go to the nearest game place, if you have one. Like Howies, or, I highly doubt it, a Kewlzone. They have top-of-the-line compys there, and they get copies of all the top games on all of 'em. I've played a fully detailed Half-Life 2 there myself a lot of times. And it only costs $5-$4 per hour to be there. I'd suggest KewlZone though.

SeaRex · #7 02-28-2006, 06:45 PM

:

SeaRex, you could just go to the nearest game place, if you have one. Like Howies, or, I highly doubt it, a Kewlzone. They have top-of-the-line compys there, and they get copies of all the top games on all of 'em. I've played a fully detailed Half-Life 2 there myself a lot of times. And it only costs $5-$4 per hour to be there. I'd suggest KewlZone though.

See, there wouldn't be much of a point in doing that, because I can just play it on my school computers (they're pretty decent, used for Maya and such) for free. Plus, it's in walking distance.

The only downside is that the school's system has a habit of deleting all HL2 save files once you log off. In other words, I have to make sure to play from one load point to another, so I can use the developer codes to load a preset level checkpoint the next time I come to play. It's tedious. But at least I get to experience one of the greatest shooters of our generation in its full glory.

mitsur · #8 02-28-2006, 07:02 PM

:

See, there wouldn't be much of a point in doing that, because I can just play it on my school computers (they're pretty decent, used for Maya and such) for free. Plus, it's in walking distance.

The only downside is that the school's system has a habit of deleting all HL2 save files once you log off. In other words, I have to make sure to play from one load point to another, so I can use the developer codes to load a preset level checkpoint the next time I come to play. It's tedious. But at least I get to experience one of the greatest shooters of our generation in its full glory.

True. But what about when school closes? Or do you go to the colleges/schools where the computer lab never closes down. Still, you can use the cheat codes to open up all the levels or checkpoints.

Now I'm off to play Ravenholm! Toodles, and helllloooo Father Grigori!

the brew master · #9 02-28-2006, 07:19 PM

Havoc,you didn't even know this existed until i told you a week or two ago. =P

mitsur · #10 02-28-2006, 07:37 PM

Wow. That really shoots a hole in Havoc's....um...what was it? Advertisment?

I've known about this thing almost as soon as the news came out.

oddveteran93 · #11 02-28-2006, 07:49 PM

aw cool but i have hl2 on xbox

SeaRex · #12 02-28-2006, 08:03 PM

:

True. But what about when school closes? Or do you go to the colleges/schools where the computer lab never closes down.

Labs close at 12 on most nights, but are open 24 hours on other days, depending on class schedules and project due dates and such. But with the amount of sleep I need to function, I don't need to be staying up playing video games past 12 anyway.

Umm... yeah. HL2. Awesome. More episodes... good?

I wouldn't mind seeing more games follow suit with the whole downloadable expansion pack/episode idea. Downloadable episode things for Stranger over the 360 would be awesome... if, you know, OWI was still doing games.

Call me crazy, but I actually like Steam (with the exception of the fact that almost everything on there is overpriced). I would like to see Epic make a Steam-like application.

mitsur · #13 02-28-2006, 09:00 PM

:

But with the amount of sleep I need to function, I don't need to be staying up playing video games past 12 anyway.

Umm... yeah. HL2. Awesome. More episodes... good?

*looks at SeaRex blankly* Whats sleep? I never have to what you call 'sleep'. I just use the time to do other stuff.

Any yes, HL2 is awsome. And yes, I'd like to see more episodes. Did you hear that they're remaking HL1 in HL2 graphics? It's called Black Mesa Source!

And no, this is not me trying to find an easy way to hit 1k posts, Luke.

Havoc · #14 03-01-2006, 12:06 AM

:

Havoc,you didn't even know this existed until i told you a week or two ago. =P

No you twat, I figured it out myself only to find out... YOU NEVER TOLD ME!

Coolmanbizkit · #15 03-01-2006, 12:01 PM

Sounds great, too bad that Half Life 2 didn't run on the computor when my Brother bought it. I think that Episode 1 (As Luke said) Is a bit overpriced. But, I don't mind as i can't even play it.

Havoc · #16 03-01-2006, 12:17 PM

After some browsing I also came across some sites that state it will be for sale for 12 dollars or something.
I'm kinda two sided on the price. On one side it's expensive for a game that only has about 6 hours of game time. On the other side, I do honestly think Valve deserves every penny of it for putting so much effort into making the absolute best games in the industry in pretty much all history. With any other game, I would say it's just milking out a franchise, overpricing stuff. But with the HL2 series, it will deffinatly be worth the price IMO, if the same ammount of effort went into the expansion as in the original game.

big bro slig #1 · #17 03-02-2006, 04:04 PM

OOOOOOH YEAH!
I've heard alot about it and I'm waiting for it to come on Steam on apr 24,
until then I'll be looking all over the place for more information!
But I liked the original name- Half Life 2: Aftermath

mitsur · #18 03-02-2006, 07:42 PM

Yeah, that name sounds a lot better than episode one.

You know, I just noticed that Alyx looks a lot hotter with the lesser graphics (XBox) than with the full-on graphics. Weird.

Leto · #19 03-02-2006, 08:20 PM

You have Pixelophilia. 16 bit gets you off, dirty dirty boy.

Havoc · #20 03-02-2006, 09:25 PM

Yea well I wouldn't mind spankin' them there pixels... or... oh >_> :P

SeaRex · #21 03-03-2006, 04:43 AM

You guys are awful.

One of the most respectable and positive, not to mention least objectified, female characters in a video game... possibly ever, and you're still ogling after her.

That's one of the main reasons I liked HL2, believe it or not. It's treatment of women is, sadly and for lack of a better word, revolutionary. It's sad because everyone just seems OK with having most, if not all, female characters portrayed as defenseless weaklings to be escorted, rescued, and/or dressed in practically nothing, because that's totally not objectifying women in any way. Totally. Not only are all female characters in HL2 decently dressed, most of them don't even look like they wear makeup, WHICH MAKES SENSE.

[/endrant]

Havoc · #22 03-03-2006, 05:13 AM

Decently dressed? Have you played the game? Most people walk around in either a prison outfit, or old rags.
And... the treatment of women is totaly up to the player... hehe. I had etter joy every time one of those stupid females ran in open fire and got blasted by a hand granade.
But... Alyx is stil hot... for a game character...

*Has yet to glace at the huge amounts of erotic HL2 fan fictions that seem to scatter the net...*

SeaRex · #23 03-03-2006, 06:53 AM

:

Decently dressed? Have you played the game? Most people walk around in either a prison outfit, or old rags.

Exactly.

Decently dressed as in clothing that makes sense given the game's atmosphere. Instead of unnecessarily skimpy outfits, like you would find in about 95% of other games with female characters.

I mean, you're not going to find any civilian woman in a post-apocalyptic, Orewellian universe wearing a designer form-fitting leather outfit with a huge slit down the chest, or other such forms of blatant sluttery.* People are going to be wearing old clothing or uniforms, like you said. And for that, I applaud HL2.

I apologize if I seemed hostile toward you personally, though. It's just that I find the level of female objectification in modern gaming appalling (as if you couldn't tell from my previous post!). Also, I hate seeing "sex" being used to sell a product to the predominately male gaming audience, and I'm exceedingly glad that Valve took the mature route by making a game which people can admire on its own merits, instead of any "eye candy" it may provide.

*I like making up words.

OANST · #24 03-04-2006, 08:04 AM

I just bought Half-Life1 Anthology and am having a problem. Once it is installed it gives me a message reading "steam.exe (main exception) is unable to connect to library steam.dll". Do I have to connect to Steam to play the game? If so does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? This is the first pc game I have ever bought so I'm a little behind on how to do things like this.

Havoc · #25 03-04-2006, 08:41 AM

Yea, you need to be connected to the internet and let Steam connect to be able to play Steam games. I dunno if Anthology is a new release or an old version. But since it came with steam I guess it's a new release.
Anyway, you need to let Steam connect to the internet so it can download some unlock files so you can play the game. Try seeing if something is blocking Steam, or try re-installing the game and Steam alltogether.

mitsur · #26 03-04-2006, 11:58 AM

:

Exactly.

Decently dressed as in clothing that makes sense given the game's atmosphere. Instead of unnecessarily skimpy outfits, like you would find in about 95% of other games with female characters.

I mean, you're not going to find any civilian woman in a post-apocalyptic, Orewellian universe wearing a designer form-fitting leather outfit with a huge slit down the chest, or other such forms of blatant sluttery.* People are going to be wearing old clothing or uniforms, like you said. And for that, I applaud HL2.

I apologize if I seemed hostile toward you personally, though. It's just that I find the level of female objectification in modern gaming appalling (as if you couldn't tell from my previous post!). Also, I hate seeing "sex" being used to sell a product to the predominately male gaming audience, and I'm exceedingly glad that Valve took the mature route by making a game which people can admire on its own merits, instead of any "eye candy" it may provide.

*I like making up words.

Oh come on Luke. I mean, i'm with you on the amount of games that have the unbeleivable scenarios of women somehow saving the world in almost nothing (In fact, from the amount of it, I'm sure the Military is going to look into how a cocktail dress seems to protect from guns and other deadly weapons better than bullet-proof vests). But still, You gotta have at least one hot girl to fight for. I mean, look at almost every Final Fantasy. Theres always a love intrest who gets captured, you gotta save her, blah blah blah. Also, look at Mario. You ALWAYS have to save Peach for Mario

I think part of reason you're against it so much is because you know Ambi will come crashing down on you if you even say the word 'hot' and another girl's name in the same sentence

.

[/hot girls in video games discussion.]

outlaw king · #27 03-04-2006, 01:16 PM

Alyx is alright , but its really blisterz booty that floats my boat.

No , thats sick and depraved , of course i was lying . Alyx could waste lara croft anytime , with that fu*king big robot of hers. God i suck at HL2 , ive only just started controling the antlions , and im getting the sh*t blown out of me by all those helicopters.

Havoc · #28 03-04-2006, 01:24 PM

Ah your almost in Nova Prospekt hm?

But yea... wait you're into Blisterz Booty? O.o To each his own I guess... but that makes even me twitch an eyebrow. I mean damn XD.

outlaw king · #29 03-04-2006, 01:31 PM

Oh , goodness no! hes all fat and lumpy! No , my favorite game chick would have to be Either Alyx or Leela from that futurama game.

But yeah , that level is so hard! My missles always miss , and theres never a safe spot to hide in!

Havoc · #30 03-04-2006, 01:37 PM

There's a little area right across the missle ammo box. You can hug the walls, it will provide you a lot of cover. And when firing the missles, make sure you keep moving to avoid gunfire while guiding the missle to it's target. Remember that the gunships you fire at will first take care of the missle, but the other gunship will still fire at you.
To avoid the missles being shot down, circle the laser scope around the gunship untill the missle is behind it and then focus it on the ship, it will then hit it in the back without it being able to take it down in time. Repeat this about 5 times per gunship, and you should be home free to enter Nova Prospekt.

Also don't forget to use the containers in the middle of the square for cover.

(Yay for being the Half Life 2 guru

)