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| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $5.94
You Save: $14.05 (70%)
New (8) Used (11) from $5.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 4610
Platform: Windows
ESRB: Mature
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.1
MPN: 9845
Model: 71608
UPC: 014633098457
EAN: 0014633098457
ASIN: B000CQIDTC
Release Date: June 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: EXCELLENT CONDITION!! SHIPS within 24 HOURS! FASTER SHIPPING FROM OHIO TO THE EASTERN USA. At Buckeye Discount Textbooks WE PROMISE PROMPT SHIPPING from Columbus,Ohio by US Post Office Media Mail. We offer Standard, Expedited and International Shipping. (Note: We use Priority International Mail and First-Class International Mail (airmail) for all overseas orders - it gets there faster than by ship.)
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, but Short and Lacking Ambition November 16, 2007
I've never been all that enamored with the Half Life series. I played the original, but it never impressed me the way that, say, Deus Ex or System Shock 2 did. I suppose I value choices and customization over pure action. However, I can never turn down a solid FPS, so I've played Half-Life 2 and now Episode 1, hoping each time that I'll experience what everyone else does and become a diehard Half Life fan.
First of all, knowing in advance the approximate length of Episode 1, I waited until the price dropped to $10. Why pay $20 - $30 for an expansion when I can get a terrific full length game like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for the same price? Having finished the game in around 4 hours, I'm glad that I waited. There are so many other games on the market that offer far more hours of play, and actual replayability. Like Half Life 2, playing episode 1 feels like any other scripted shooter. Press the right buttons at the right moments and experience the game exactly as the developers intend, and exactly as everyone else has.
I've played as Gordan Freeman throughout Black Mesa and City 17, but I still have no idea who he is. He has no personality to speak of. He never talks. He's treated like a god, and for what reason? Presumably he can shoot straighter than any trained soldier and his apparently one-of-a-kind hazard suit allows him to absorb enough damage to kill a brigade. A degree from MIT and pushing carts in a lab really paid off.
There's hardly a coherent story, and the one-dimensional characters exhibit predictable and equally one-dimensional emotions. So is there anything that warrants a three star rating? Like Half Life 1 and 2, Episode 1 excells at providing diverting and well executed action sequences. For what it does, it does it with perfection. Fights are frenetic, some made especially so by the absurdly short-lived flashlight attached to the otherwise exceptional hazard suit. The graphics are very good and visually the game has a great deal of atmosphere. The game also succeeds at making fun of itself, with humorous references to duct crawling and crowbars.
Episode 1 is polished and does what it means to do as well if not better than any other game. But for all the hype surrounding the series, am I wrong in expecting something more than typical FPS action? Rather than a forgettable few hours shooting zombies and soldiers, I'd prefer something more unique, more memorable, even if it's not quite as polished. More character, at the expense of less finesse. Despite the shiny graphics and tight production, I still feel like I'm playing the same shooter I played over a decade ago.
 Great NPC Interaction October 16, 2007
Half Life 2 is a great game and Episode One plays just as well. The added interaction with the characters like Alyx and Barney improves game play even more. You worked to get into the citadel in the original game this episode has you working your way out. The downside is that it only takes 5 hours to complete this episode.
 Continue your journey September 14, 2007
All half life lovers will obviously buy it!
Half Life always come up to your expectations.
Lovin It :) September 2, 2007
The game is very realistic, u feel like u r really gordon freeman. Im sad that this episode was very short but i liked it alot and i cant wait to get episode 2. This episode is so much fun but ull be abit annoyed while trying to run it the first time coz it will need to update for sometime. But when its done just go offline and injoy :)
Half-Life II: Episode One (Hour) August 22, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Back in 2004 I was eagerly awaiting Half-Life II along with many other gamers. I heard so much about it that I put it on my "must buy" list. When I finally got my hands on a copy, I can't say I was disappointed. The graphics were even better than those of Doom III's, and everything else seemed to be about right. Like the original Half-Life, the game was very engaging. I made up and posted in a gaming forum a list of my own personal "2004 games of the year," and Half-Life II topped the list. Although I mentioned that I didn't consider Half-Life II to be a great game, I liked it nevertheless and said it was the best new game I played that year.For some reason I didn't get around to playing Episode One, the expansion to Half-Life II, until recently. Maybe the considerable system requirements kept me away for awhile, or perhaps I was busy with other games or even busy with work if any of you know what "work" is. In any case, Episode One just didn't seem to be compelling enough to try right away. Now that I've played Episode One, I can see that one of the most common observations about the game is correct: It is indeed "short." I rarely feel a game is short, but with Episode One I cannot escape that conclusion. The first time I played it, it took me maybe seven hours to finish. What goes on during that seven hours? Simply put, much of it is rehashed Half-Life II. Alyx and "Dog" are back, and you'll see more of them in Episode One. Alyx, for instance, will be by your side for almost all of the adventure. Both indoor and outdoor areas look much the same as they did in Half-Life II although the graphics have been "enhanced" to allow for more robust lighting. You'll be peering down a narrow flashlight beam in some dark areas, but fortunately you won't need to swap your light for your weapon like in Doom III. You'll need to solve a lot of puzzles along the way, and much of the seven hours of the game you'll be engaged in finding solutions to those puzzles.Will you like Half-Life II: Episode One? I think most shooter fans will like Episode One. It looks good, has very good gameplay, and it follows in the footsteps of the older Half-Life games. Some gamers might gripe a bit about the short length of the game, but if quality matters more than quantity, the length should not bother you too much. Did I like Episode One? I think it's a decent game. For the $10 I paid for it, I can't complain too much. My biggest gripe might be the incessant attacks of the ant lions, a holdover from Half-Life II. I didn't like the ant lions attacking in Half-Life II, and I don't like them in Episode One either. Once I discovered how to prevent the attacks of those annoying beasts, though, it didn't matter that much. Sometimes the less likable parts of a game are good in that it's a relief once those parts are done. Once Half-Life II: Episode One is finished, though, I can say that in some ways it's very impressive. For better or for worse, we need to live with the decisions of the game developers, decisions that lately seem to be poor decisions in many cases. In Episode One, I'd say those decisions were more often "better" rather than "worse."
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