Gold - Half-Life 2: Episode One [May 24, 2006, 3:46 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Valve announces Half-Life 2: Episode One is gold, and the first installment in
what will turn out to be a trilogy of follow-ups to their shooter sequel is due
next week:
HALF-LIFE® 2: EPISODE ONE AVAILABLE JUNE 1
Valve Launches First of an Episodic Trilogy
Bellevue, WA, May 22, 2006 - Valve®, developer of the blockbuster series Half-Life® and Counter-Strike™, announced Half-Life® 2: Episode One has gone gold. Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes that will conclude by Christmas of 2007.
Half-Life 2: Episode One advances the 15-million unit selling franchise and launches the first in a new, three-part series that leads far beyond City 17. Half-Life 2: Episode One does not require Half-Life 2 to play, and will be available via Steam® and at retail stores in North America for just $19.95 on June 1st. Also included in Episode One is a first look at Episode Two, which will ship by year's end.
"Given the rapid changes in PC gaming, we expect episodic games will have the same impact on single-player gaming that Counter-Strike had on multiplayer," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "The frequent releases of upgraded technology and new content works better for both consumers and developers, and is one of the key reasons Counter-Strike grew to be 80% of the online action market. We decided that a follow-up to Half-Life 2 delivered in 18 months with our first episode was more in tune with what our customers want than waiting 6 years for another monolithic product."
Episode One offers a new single player experience created by Valve, and is designed to be four to six hours in length. Stepping into the hazard suit of Dr. Gordon Freeman, you face the immediate repercussions of your actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, will accompany you in your efforts to aid in the human resistance's desperate battle against the totalitarian alien menace of the Combine.
In addition to the new single player experience, two multiplayer games are included. And those who purchase Episode One will have free access via Steam (www.steamgames.com) to Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, the interactive technology demo that introduces High Dynamic Range lighting to the Source™ Engine, Valve's award-winning game technology.
EPISODE ONE was really neat!
When does EPISODE TWO come out?
http://profiles.lazygirls.info/sambeckett
When does EPISODE TWO come out?
http://profiles.lazygirls.info/sambeckett
I want to say around 2.5 GB, which isn't that bad. It's supposedly standalone, meaning you don't need Half-Life 2 installed already. However, I had it on there so I don't know if it affects the size or not.
It wasn't that bad for me to preload: I have a 3mbit connection so in 1 or 2 days I was done. I had my PC running the while I was at work the day the game was released, so I don't know if there was more to download or not.
I'll check again when I get home.
"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you."
-Fry, Futurmama
It wasn't that bad for me to preload: I have a 3mbit connection so in 1 or 2 days I was done. I had my PC running the while I was at work the day the game was released, so I don't know if there was more to download or not.
I'll check again when I get home.
"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you."
-Fry, Futurmama
"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you."
-Fry, Futurama
-Fry, Futurama
Actually, I should be asking: how BIG is the DOWNload? Because preloading must be over.
Thanks.
Can someone tell me how big this preload is? I'm very close to my cap and don't want to risk being charged by the MB above that limit.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Just finished it...glad Ep1 didn't pull an Episode One. While I finished it pretty quickly (4 hours), the game's so dense and consistently rewarding it felt like more, and it'll definitely be worth replaying. My $18 wasn't poorly spent.
Weeee HEEHEHEEEEe I'm decrypting it now... hahahaha....
So.. um... does HL2:Episode 1 come out at midnight tonight or at noon tomorrow or what?
HL2 was an amazing game but combat sometimes felt like whack-a-mole. Guy pops up, you smack him down. Next guy pops up, you smack him down.
FEAR was a shitty game but combat was amazing. The graphics were very visceral with sparks going everywhere, and the AI combined with the damage they dealt made you think. Guy pops up, you shoot, get behind cover. Pop out, he dives behind a table.
Slow-Mo actually kind of ruined this. The first time I played through I didn't use much slow-mo. The second time I did. Slow-Mo just made the combat quicker and gave the AI less time to do anything. It hurt the game more than added to it.
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Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
FEAR was a shitty game but combat was amazing. The graphics were very visceral with sparks going everywhere, and the AI combined with the damage they dealt made you think. Guy pops up, you shoot, get behind cover. Pop out, he dives behind a table.
Slow-Mo actually kind of ruined this. The first time I played through I didn't use much slow-mo. The second time I did. Slow-Mo just made the combat quicker and gave the AI less time to do anything. It hurt the game more than added to it.
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Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
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Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Going back to HL2 after FEAR felt awful.I'm one of those people who liked FEAR, but didn't think it was that revolutionary (it certainly didn't "blow by the bar HL2 set"). It did a few things better than HL2 (AI, graphics) but pretty much everything else was equal or worse. Maybe that clouds my opinion, but I've replayed HL2 after playing FEAR, and I still like HL2 better. I really doubt I'll replay FEAR, but I've already played through HL2 twice, and I doubt it'll be my last replay of it. Good AI isn't the only (or even necessarily the biggest) factor in a good FPS. Then again, I'm one of the few who didn't think the AI in HL2 was bad - you'd think I'd notice that playing through the entire game twice. Who knows, maybe I have low expectations.
I don't really understand why people say HL2 is "dated." What has changed in FPS games since then? The AI in FEAR was a little better, but it didn't do anything amazing. In another year, I'll probably have forgotten all about FEAR, while HL2 will still be a fresh memory.
Another thing to keep in mind, is that sometimes it's good not to change a winning formula. Even if they don't change the gameplay much, many people will still love Episode 1. I know I will. I guess that makes me a Valve fanboy, but oh well. I've been called worse.
This comment was edited on May 31, 13:26.
Ordered!
This thread is about dead, but I figured I should say something. Tumbler (the former DICE fanboy) and Riley have accused me of being a Valve fanboy many times.
I still dislike episodic gaming. But this is an expansion, not HL3. On the other hand, this expansion will take a significant chunk of what could be HL3 development.
But I think we're in for much more of a surprise than people expect. We'd better be. Going back to HL2 after FEAR felt awful. Yes, the AI has its moments, but it has equal moments of Q4esque standthereandtakeit. Usually because they die too quickly to do anything. This happened in SiN E1, too, but at least there heads popped off.
Valve needs to have really updated gameplay to make this work. HL2 is old now. It still looks good, but it plays dated. Valve is also not stupid, so I'd imagine they're well aware of this and have really done a lot of work to wow us. To make us forget the seemingly open (yet often unpolished) gameplay of Far Cry or the repetitive-yet-rushing combat of FEAR.
HL2 set a bar when it was released, but not by much. And while many FPS games since have failed to come near that bar, at least one has blown by it.
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
I still dislike episodic gaming. But this is an expansion, not HL3. On the other hand, this expansion will take a significant chunk of what could be HL3 development.
But I think we're in for much more of a surprise than people expect. We'd better be. Going back to HL2 after FEAR felt awful. Yes, the AI has its moments, but it has equal moments of Q4esque standthereandtakeit. Usually because they die too quickly to do anything. This happened in SiN E1, too, but at least there heads popped off.
Valve needs to have really updated gameplay to make this work. HL2 is old now. It still looks good, but it plays dated. Valve is also not stupid, so I'd imagine they're well aware of this and have really done a lot of work to wow us. To make us forget the seemingly open (yet often unpolished) gameplay of Far Cry or the repetitive-yet-rushing combat of FEAR.
HL2 set a bar when it was released, but not by much. And while many FPS games since have failed to come near that bar, at least one has blown by it.
-------------
Doomriders: the first new band worth a signature - http://www.deathwishinc.com/
-------------
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
Music for the discerning:
http://www.deathwishinc.com
http://www.hydrahead.com
http://www.painkillerrecords.com
I don’t understand that statement, they made one fucking game –a great game to be sure -- and its sequel, and are hugely famous for a mod that a fan made.It's not really that hard to understand: Valve made HL, HL2, bought and heavily updated CS, made CS:S, bought and updated DoD, made DoD:S and bought and updated TF. Each of those things was done very successfully, therefore the statement I made is perfectly valid. Regardless of your obvious dislike of Valve their products have always received very good reviews and I have most certainly enjoyed them. I have no problem with you disliking Valve or their games, however that does NOT invalidate my point.
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Emotinomicon: Emoticons of the Dead
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
I'm sure it will get 109% in PC Lamer too.
Valve has always produced top notch gaming, in my opinion and that of most reviewers and gamers, so why is everyone predicting that this will suddenly be their downfall?
I don’t understand that statement, they made one fucking game –a great game to be sure -- and its sequel, and are hugely famous for a mod that a fan made. How is that “Gaming”? The only thing I know for sure that Valve can do is create a fuck-ton of buzz.
Episodic gaming lives or dies by the story. The technology is the same, engine, textures, set-pieces, nothing to warrant a purchase. Perhaps soon Valve will finally Deus ex machina themselves the complete HL story, but I doubt they really know where they are trying to go with it.
Right now Episode 1 sounds like, no judgment yet, obviously haven’t played it, a bonus level hidden on the disk that they finally unlocked.
**yawn**
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Always listening to: http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=53
FUNGS 53
Looking to add BF2 members to our clan. Drop a line if interested.
**********************************************
Always listening to: http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=53
FUNGS 53
Looking to add BF2 members to our clan. Drop a line if interested.
Do not dilute yourself
Do not dilute yourself? HAHAHAHAHAAHahahahaaaaaaaaaaa............
im sorry.
This comment was edited on May 28, 17:13.
Do not dilute yourself? HAHAHAHAHAAHahahahaaaaaaaaaaa............
im sorry.
This comment was edited on May 28, 17:13.
How exactly do you know they havent? Episode 1 for both HL2 and SiN has taken 6 months longer than originally expected. You can guarantee there is overlap of development from 1 episode to the next, which is obvious from the "teaser" of Ep2 shown at the end of SiN. Do not dilute yourself to think that Valve or Ritual tell the public everything they are working on and when.
Several reasons.
Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes that will conclude by Christmas of 2007.
Christmas 2007 is about 18 months away at this point. 18 is greater than 6 so it's too early to be releasing part one if part 3 isn't due out for another 18 months.
Also included in Episode One is a first look at Episode Two, which will ship by year's end.
You could easily argue this proves they are overlapping but let's assume this means episode 2 is coming in november sometime, and that is 6 months away, so 6 is greater than 3, they are releasing episode one too far in advance of episode 2, let alone episode 3.
That's the basis for my criticism. It makes not difference if they overlap the episodes a little or a lot. Timing is the issue here, if you release episode one when the next episode is likely 6 months away it's too early. It's possible they are just setting dates far out to give themselves enough room but I think they are saying there is going to be at least 6 months between episodes and that much time is too much to tell a cohesive story that people will want to come back to.
It's possible they are lying and are in fact planning to release the next 2 episodes within the next 6 months...but I wouldn't hold your breath...
Sorry to disappoint you... From the same PC Gamer article : "The G-man's tiny role in Ep1 leaves him as enigmatic as ever."I hadn't seen about that... it's a bit disappointing actually. It was nice how vague HL2 was in some ways but I'm hoping that Ep1 actually has some serious plot progression - they can't keep dragging it out in the vague manner they have. Unless they actually develop the plot considerably I'll just skip Ep2.
I paid my 17.95 for it already, and I'm hoping it will be worth it. If not, I will be bitching about it as much as possible, and I won't buy the second episode. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for the first one.That's exactly my philosophy.
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Emotinomicon: Emoticons of the Dead
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
There better be some good explanation as to how Gordan and Alx even survived that explosion in the citadel in the first place, or it is going to start off looking really damn cheesy to me. I agree that it should go somewhere other than the citadel, like out of City 17 and maybe into the alien world again. At least something that feels more new.
I paid my 17.95 for it already, and I'm hoping it will be worth it. If not, I will be bitching about it as much as possible, and I won't buy the second episode. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for the first one.
I paid my 17.95 for it already, and I'm hoping it will be worth it. If not, I will be bitching about it as much as possible, and I won't buy the second episode. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for the first one.
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