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Valve got me to buy Half-Life 2: Episode One which is the first of three episodes that continue the Half-Life story. First off I wasn't that impressed with Half-Life 2, although I was addicted to Counter Strike: Source which was the multiplayer portion that shipped with the game.

I think this is one of the games that is very well made. The graphics, sound, and controls as separate components are all excellent. But the game just didn't come together as well as it should have. It is pretty hard to identify the problem, and it may come down to the killing mechanics. It's just not that fun shooting the enemies. They don't react as well to shots as they could have. Take Goldeneye (N64) for example, enemies react depending on the exact area they were hit and that animation which stuns them for a short time gives you that feeling of being a bad ass. It also makes it easier to not get hit during a gunfight if you get the first hit, rewarding you for being a marksman.

They also sometimes draw out a gamplay mechanic for far too long. In Half-Life 2 the vehicle levels felt drawn out and they did the same thing in Episode One with the gravity gun and 'creating those bridges' (trying not to spoil it).

For $10 I would have probably felt better about this purchase (it costs $20), which lasted maybe 5 hours with no replay value. If you are a Half-Life fan you will like this game, just don't expect anything groundbreaking. This is more of an expansion than a new game. I certainly won't be getting Episode 2.