half-life 2: episode one - 4/10
you're lucky you're paired with some of the best games of this era because holy shit who invited you
this game somehow manages to take each of the issues i have with half-life 2's base game, accentuate them to an absurd degree, and pack them all into a far shorter run time, making for an obnoxious game to play. i truly did not like playing this game, and it simply frustrated me more than anything else. there's no one section i can even point to in order to serve as some sort of redemption, i just really do not have an affinity for the entire package here.
the only reason this is getting two stars is because of what it is. if this was an entirely standalone game, i would be far more scathing, but because it was expanding on half-life 2 and bridging the way to episode 2, i have to give it credit there, for at least being a stepping stone between two pretty good pieces of media. just a shame that the stepping stone is molded out of cold sick and broken dreams.
