TL;DR – To the surprise of no one, Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2 add a bit of extra Half Life 2 content without changing too much. As a consequence they’re enjoyable enough. Even if it’s a bit of a struggle to recommend them as they don’t do much new. Plus… well… we all know how Episode 3 is turning out. Added together the two episodes take about as long as the base game to finish. Although much like the base game there are sections in each which drag on for a bit too long. While playing through them, you’ll encounter a handful of new enemies, some interesting set pieces and a couple of plot points which probably won’t ever go anywhere. In the end I’d say these episodes are worth playing for existing Half Life fans and are utterly skippable for everyone.
After finishing up Half Life 2 I realised that it’s actually fun, if you can withstand the glacial initial levels. As such I decided to give the episodes a shot. Now I know this won’t be a surprise, but they’re generally fine even if they don’t change much. In Episode 1, we essentially repeat a bunch of Half Life 2’s more memorable moments. While in Episode 2, we actually get some new features and ideas, even if they’re not particularly mind-blowing. There’s one thing to bear in mind across Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2. Namely that they weren’t intended to be the last parts of HL2. Instead they were really just teeing things up for HL:EP3/Half Life 3. As such they’ve got fun little chunks of gameplay. Yet as they didn’t have a huge amount of development time we don’t get much in the way of substantial changes.
Starting with Episode 1, we basically get a few new ideas interspersed among three different scenes. During the first part of the Episode we’re back in the combine’s citadel, amidst the newly liberated City 17. You’d think our job is over, but now we have to prevent an intergalactic meltdown. This involves dealing with one new “enemy” type who aren’t hostile, before we successfully prevent a core meltdown. After this glorious use of Gordon’s scientific background, you then get a quasi-Ravenholm section which drags on for a while. This is where we get the only new enemy introduced in this episode, namely the Zombine. Which is a zombie, but a combine. The main twist is that they have wayyyyy more health and also try to suicide bomb you. This section involves a lot of using the flash-light, alongside a platforming puzzle where you hop over a bunch of radioactive goop. Eventually it culminates in a holdout scenario where hordes of zombies keep spawning and trying to eat your dork ass while you wait for a lift. After all that nastiness, you waddle around City 17 helping rebels, checking out a hospital full of zombies and eventually lead a bunch of rebels to safety via the train station. These rebel sections are probably the most entertaining, although I did quite like the hospital section. Oh and for die-hard RPG fans don’t worry. Because this section repeats the strider battles, and a gunship battle. Some might consider this a bit lazy. But again, Episode 1 was bashed out in a little over a year so I’m inclined to be relatively forgiving. Generally though Episode 1 is… just fine. Nothing particularly special and outside of a few pieces of characterisation there really isn’t much here. One new enemy, one new quasi-enemy, a bit of lore and a couple of memorable set pieces hidden amongst the three-ish hours of content.
Then we’re onto the second of the two episodes, which starts off with your bb girl getting stabbed to fuck. No you didn’t teleport to Glasgow, instead you were assailed by a new type of enemy. Don’t worry though, because you spend about an hour fannying around an Antlion hive. This is done so you can get the doohicky that will save her. During this section, there is a cool idea where you need to avoid an Antlion guard on steroids without killing it. Alongside a bunch of slightly boring sections where you have to deal with another new enemy. This one being an antlion with a ranged attack! That also damages you if it’s too close to you when it dies. So that’s… cool. There’s also another hold-out section, but this time against loads of Antlions. You then escort a Vortagaunt around for a bit, before getting to play a driving section. Now you might remember how the vehicles were kinda jank in the first game. Fortunately they are exactly the same. Yay! Then you fight the aforementioned Antlion guard on steroids alongside his friend, before dealing with a shorter zombie section and a bit more driving and then you eventually get to the rebel base. Up to this point, there really isn’t that much new outside of that annoying acid spraying Antlion.
Then the episode abruptly comes to life, at least a little bit, as you survive an ambush containing those new hunters that were teased so much. In terms of gameplay, they’re a cross between the Antlion guards and normal combine because they have plenty of health and a range of strong-ish attacks. Much like the base game, this DLC has a somewhat slow start with all the Antlion cave nonsense but picks up towards the end even if it hits many of the same notes. Ambush, Sniper fight, Gunship fight, Strider fight set piece, abrupt ending. Bish bash bosh. There’s also some plot shenanigans going on where the G-Man basically says “hey once you’re done with this Episode some crazy shit is gonna happen”. Why? Well that’s a fair question, basically the Combine (not the Zombine) are going to open a super portal and screw up Earth… again. So you need to shoot a rocket into space to stop it. This will apparently have “unforeseen consequences”, which apparently means the cancellation of Episode 3. So as of the time of writing, I can safely and definitely conclude (at least temporarily) that Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2 are more of the same. I don’t hate them, although I have to confess that they have reduced the shine of Half Life 2’s last chapters a tad. You see, while the narrative is still interesting and definitely has it’s moments, knowing it ends on that unresolved cliff hanger dulls it’s impact. It’s a great hook for the next instalment, but alas that instalment will seemingly never come.
With all that being said, the weapons are still a bit rubbish. While the handful of new enemies are a mixed bag. The Zombine are just zombies, but if you leave them for too long they’ll try and suicide bomb you. The Antlion guardian is just a guard, but with more HP. The acid spitting antlions are just antlions, but a pain in the arse. Finally the hunters are an interesting idea for a stronger, hybrid enemy but frankly they manage to be both over-used and not used enough. You see they’re an interesting addition to a squad, but often you’re only fighting them. Generally speaking, while the extra levels aren’t bad and do have their moments, there’s rarely much that’s special. I mean these episodes serve as vehicles for the plot. But the plot doesn’t get resolved, so only the gameplay is really left. And that gameplay is both very similar and yet slightly tweaked. Alas those tweaks are only really good when it comes to the set pieces. Which are still entertaining, and the dialogue is still good but… In many levels you’re basically just standing in an area, waiting for enemies to stop spawning.
So in conclusion, it’s hard to recommend Half Life 2: Episode 1 & 2. If you are looking for more Half Life 2, then it’s a no-brainer but you don’t need to tell you this. The writing, set pieces and world design remain as strong as ever. At the same, the combat, weapons and variety are fairly weak. These episodes are primarily made for existing fans to hype them up for the next instalment, so if you aren’t an existing fan then there’s not much to recommend here. There are some nice scenes, but we all know it’s not going anywhere. If you really wanted more Half Life 2, then here it is. Otherwise I wouldn’t really bother. Either way, Half Life: Episode 1 & 2 are available for just over £1 during the Steam sales so I’d grab them then (and only then) if you are interested.