Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

Though a lot of people might complain that episode one is too short a game, theres no doubting this game is still a heap of fun. This game takes place immediately after the end of HL2, being pulled out of the rubble from the citadel's portal explosion. Once Freeman is brought back to life with the help of Dog, Gordon and Alyx need to escape the wasteland that is city 17.

The game will last a solid 4 hours, and I had no gripes with that. A short, sweet package is much more enjoyable than a long, dragging repetitive campaign. Sometimes great games can be bogged down by a lengthy campaign that tries to out do itself. Since the game is only a couple hours, it packs a lot of action into the game. The city is mostly infested with zombies and the occasional nest of antlions. Not many combine soldiers left, but they do make appearances throughout. The graphics and pretty much every other technical aspect of the game stay exactly they were in half life 2, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The ending leaves you hanging, but with the Orange Box it isn't really a problem when you have the option to jump right into episode two. Playing Half Life 2 and Episode One at this point makes me remember why I love old school games much. Compared to the fancy, overly powered games that try to do too much, Half Life 2 and the episodes really give you that different feeling you get when you play a classic.