Half-Life 2: Episode One

Overview

Half-life 2: Episode 1 is the first in a series of three episodes set to conclude the ongoing Half-life 2 storyline. The first of these Episodes, Episode 1 (originally titled 'Aftermath') finds scientist come resistance fighter Gordon Freeman embroiled in an evacuation of the chaotic and alien-riddled Combine controlled detention centre of City 17. The Combine's pinnacle of power, the Citadel, has recieved a cataclysmic blow and has entered a state of immediate meltdown, forcing the player to acknowledge and manage their actions in the previous game.

Half-Life 2: Episode One box art.

Plot

Spoiler Warning

Half-life 2: Episode One kicks off exactly where Half-life 2 left off: the Citadel's Dark Fusion reactor has exploded, sending the monolithic structure into a critical meltdown; Gordon Freeman has been whisked away from the unfolding events by his ominous employer the 'G-man' and left to wonder for the fate of his friends. Not long after his removal Gordon is liberated by the Vortigaunts, who save Alyx Vance from the dark energy explosion and repel Gman just long enough extract Gordon and return him to Earth.

Gordon Freeman is quickly reunited with his close friend and ally Alyx Vance, as well as her home-built robot 'Dog' at the base of the Citadel. A monitor session is established and they contact Doctors Eli Vance and Issac Kleiner at the outland base 'White Forest'. Somewhat shaken after seeing Gordon, Eli brings them up to speed on the situation: the Citadel is in a meltdown stage and the core is close to collapse. To prevent, or rather to delay this unnatural event they conclude they must re-enter the structure and engage the containment field. After a fond farewell they begin their journey into the depths of the Citadel.

Within the vast recesses of the spire Gordon and Alyx encounter an evacuation chamber, and after witnessing a pre-recorded message from Dr. Breen (pleading for safe passage off of Earth) a Combine Advisor appears, encased within a synthetic escape pod, known as an Advisor pod. The Overlord attacks and disappears up the chute.

They succeed in engaging the containment field, uncovering a sinister secret in doing so: the Combine are attempting to speed up the meltdown process in an attempt to broadcast a signal through the tear in space created by the teleporter explosion. Suffering a communications black out, the Combine require the signal to reach a Combine outpost in the remotest regions of space.

Alyx makes a copy of this transmission along with an open broadcast from Judith Mossman, who is somewhere up North in search of a "Project". With these two key pieces of information they depart the Citadel via a Combine Razor Train, suffering a crash which forces them through the Zombie-infested sub-tunnels of the city. They reach the surface to find City 17 desolate and ruined, a lone Strider shifting through the wreckage of the once admirable Eastern European metropolis.

With Combine control crippled Dr. Kleiner has managed to hack into the Combine network and broadcast the evacuation procedure, as well as touching upon the days ahead. With the last remnants of the survivors moving toward a train station Gordon and Alyx soon re-group with Barney and push on to the station. Once there they manage the evacuation and make a hasty departure; the pair waving goodbye to Barney as they hold the Combines attention just long enough to allow the survivors to escape.

With the Citadel core on the verge of climax they board their own train and depart the urban ruins. The Core reaches the breaking point and explodes as they move into the countryside, the Advisor pod, launching at the last second as the signal is sent and the Citadel's destruction engulfs the City in a wave of blinding blue energy.

The train is de-railed.

Soundtrack

Like Half Life 2, Episode One's techno music was composed by Kelly Baily, and is in order as follows:

• Disrupted Original (1:18)
• Combine Advisory (1:54)
• Guard Down (1:39)
• Darkness at Noon (0:56)
• Self Destruction (2:00)
• Eine Kleiner Elevatormuzik (?) (1:18)
• What Kind of Hospital Is This? (3:04)
• Infraradiant (4:37)
• Decay Mode (3:06)
• Penultimatum (2:49)