Teamwork even is necessary and works well. While fighting zombies, I would shine my light on them (as she requested) and try to use the gravity gun while she finished them off with her automatic pistol. Later you can knock antlions over with the gravity gun, content in the knowledge that Alyx will finish them off. This kind of efficiency is welcome when you have to try and knock cars into position to block the antlions’ tunnels. Sadly, in this episode at least, you cannot control the Antlions with a pheropod. However, blocking their entrances replaces activating thumpers and is a good challenge.
Much like the grunt zombie from Opposing Force, there is now a Combine zombie, or as Alyx calls them, Zombines. See, isn’t she great? They are stronger than your standard zombie and can pull out a live grenade that is a lot of fun to steal with your gravity gun. Aside from the Zombines, the only other new enemy is the Stalker, the deformed human slaves seen in the citadel at the end of Half-Life 2. They only appear briefly, but are very creepy and I wish I had seen more of them.
The game begins with Gordon and Alyx attempting to shut down the Citadel’s dark matter reactor to give them and the rest of City 17 more time to evacuate before it rips the place apart like The Rolling Stones’ hotel room. The rest of the game consists of their attempts to flee the inevitable destruction. Just so you know, this episode does not take you outside of City 17.
The levels, although set in familiar places, are wonderfully designed and varied, but what makes this short adventure so satisfying is the presence of Alyx. The Source engine creates the most believable digital actors in any game, and Valve has done a spectacular job of breathing life into Alyx. Her character is smart, funny, and good with a shotgun, and her presence brings greater emotional depth to the game. The Source engine also allows High Dynamic Range lighting, which Valve has incorporated nicely. While you need a newer card to run it at all, much less well, it casts things in a whole new light, so to speak.
I feel I must mention that even with its expansion, Half-Life is still Half-Life. There is no ability to lean or use melee attacks or throw grenades without switching to them first. For the most part it doesn’t hamper gameplay, but more than once I found myself wanting to peer around a corner or wack something when it got too close. Oh, and you also don’t get to use the sniper rifle, which I am still looking forward to trying.
