Consolation Prize

I’ve got so many games waiting to be played at present, and I’m afraid I’ve fallen back into my bad habit of purchasing games before I’m ready to play them. Once again there’s a back catalogue of relatively new titles waiting for some love and attention once freed from there shrink wrapping.

Even with lots of great titles such as Okami (Wii) and Civilization Revolution (X360) waiting in the wings I was considering returning to some older games that have been left in limbo. And it then it struck me; I never finished The Orange Box. As incomprehensible as it may sound once the amazing adventure of Half Life 2 was complete, and the joys of Portal plundered, I needed to take a sabbatical from Gordon Freeman and the Combine and thus moved onto pastures new. I always intended to return to the game in what would have been a few weeks, I didn’t however expect it to take 8 months. So it’s time again to don the HEV suit and find out how the story progresses in Half Life 2: Episode One after the cliff-hanger ending of its predecessor.

[Minor spoilers ahead]

What I believe Half-Life 2 successfully exemplifies is its unusual approach to story-telling. Told via the first person perspective what you see and hear is exactly what Gordon perceives. There are no cut-scenes to disassociate you from the game avatar, you ARE Gordon Freeman. This approach, when in the capable hands of Valve, is no less of a cinematic experience than say the cut scenes found in Grand Theft Auto IV, but its main advantage is that it keeps the player fully immersed. Being thrown across a chasm into the citadel inside a wrecked mini-van by the robotic DOG from a first person perspective is just as exhilarating, if not more so, than if it was shown via a non-interactive cut-scene.

In Episode One your companion, Alyx, is a useful ally and an integral part of the game, not just an inconsequential by-product to be ignored. As a case in point: when making our way to the center of the Citadel at one stage we were both descending down a large circular shaft on a lift platform. I couldn’t understand why at about three quarters of the way down the platform kept being destroyed, dropping me to my death. It was only when I paid attention to Alyx, heard her shouting “look out” and saw her looking up did I realise that my demise was caused by falling debris, some rather large pieces of debris at that, which needed to be caught with the Gravity gun.

To summarise before this post turns into a review; I’d forgotten just what a deft touch Valve displays with regard to storytelling, narrative, and skillful manipulation of non-player characters. It’s great to return to the fray with Gordon and it feels like I’m meeting up with a long lost friend.

I really enjoyed Episode 1. I’m still hoping we see Episode 3 (or Half Life 3) announcements soon.

I finished it yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I too hope we see something about the next installment soon, the only thing I’ve seen thus far was some concept artwork.