From what I've heard this was the least liked game from the "Half-Life 2 Saga". Mainly because it didn't add much to it. Well... I actually prefer it over the main game.

The main issue I had with the main game was that every cool thing, or actually anything in general, overstayed its welcome way too much. Throwing a dozen striders on us in the span of 15 minutes. A bunch of physics puzzle to showoff the engine. Spamming enemies after we get the Super Charged Gravity Gun, etc. This game fixes it all. Mainly because it is an Episode so it is shorter, but that worked out very well. There's not one section I felt that overstayed its welcome. Every mission had something different and was fun and cool in its own way.

The game is definitely easier though. I played both on Normal and this one I even got the "don't kill any stalkers" achievement accidentally because I thought they were actually a puzzle xD. The "gnome" achievement in this game is the One Free Bullet which you need to complete the entire game shooting only one bullet in a required place. I got it first try because I was having way too much with the gravity gun and the game was pretty much made with it in mind.

Overall great experience. Loved the zombies underpass section. The music is incredible, especially the one that plays during the hospital gunfight and the fantastic "Guard Down" that plays right after the Antlion Guard battle.

The story is meh. I like it because of the sense of desperation and running out of time it gives, seeing City 17 finally getting destroyed and us winning against the Combine for a while was pretty cool. Overall it doesnt add much to the grand scheme of things. You can watch or read a summary if you want to skip it even though I dont recommend it because this game is incredible fr.

Now, let's see if Episode Two can top it out for me.

From what I've heard this was the least liked game from the "Half-Life 2 Saga". Mainly because it didn't add much to it. Well... I actually prefer it over the main game. The main issue I had with the main game was that every cool thing, or actually anything in general, overstayed its welcome way too much. Throwing a dozen striders on us in the span of 15 minutes. A bunch of physics puzzle to showoff the engine. Spamming enemies after we get the Super Charged Gravity Gun, etc. This game fixes it all. Mainly because it is an Episode so it is shorter, but that worked out very well. There's not one section I felt that overstayed its welcome. Every mission had something different and was fun and cool in its own way. The game is definitely easier though. I played both on Normal and this one I even got the "don't kill any stalkers" achievement accidentally because I thought they were actually a puzzle xD. The "gnome" achievement in this game is the One Free Bullet which you need to complete the entire game shooting only one bullet in a required place. I got it first try because I was having way too much with the gravity gun and the game was pretty much made with it in mind. Overall great experience. Loved the zombies underpass section. The music is incredible, especially the one that plays during the hospital gunfight and the fantastic "Guard Down" that plays right after the Antlion Guard battle. The story is meh. I like it because of the sense of desperation and running out of time it gives, seeing City 17 finally getting destroyed and us winning against the Combine for a while was pretty cool. Overall it doesnt add much to the grand scheme of things. You can watch or read a summary if you want to skip it even though I dont recommend it because this game is incredible fr. Now, let's see if Episode Two can top it out for me.