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 | Episode One
 Valve Software
Self-published / Electronic Arts
June 1st 2006
http://ep1.half-life2.com/
You can get the low-down on Episode One and future episodic content here at HL Fallout as more information becomes available.
- News Updates - You can always find the latest Episode One news in the HL2: Episode One category of our news archive.
- Summary - Read below on this overview page to get a quick summary of Valve's new game.
- Known Plot Elements – What we know about Episode One from screen shots and interviews conducted with Valve.
- History – A look back on how HL2: Aftermath turned into Episode One.
- Publisher & Retail - Find out who's distributing Episode One to a store near you.
- Screenshots - Check out the Episode One gallery for all those important pre-release Episode One glimpses and teasers.
- Videos - Download the latest trailers and in-game footage in HLF's downloads section.
Formerly known as Aftermath, the Episode 1 expansion pack promises to pick up where the cliffhanger plot of Half-Life 2 left off. Experiencing the Half-Life world through the eyes of Gordon Freeman, you will fight alongside Alyx Vance in your struggle through the Ant Lion and Combine infested City 17. The current release date is set for May 31, 2006.
You can now sleep easy at night: Alyx survives The Citadel explosion. |
Though the plot of Episode One has not yet been fully divulged, many key points have surfaced throughout interviews and updates concerning the expansion. The most prominent game play feature will be the time spent with your allies. In Half-Life 2 (as in HL1), a majority of the game was spent battling the Combine forces solo. Valve is looking to change all of that by having your sidekick Alyx with you throughout most of the expansion. Also of note is the actual perspective of the expansion. Unlike HL1 expansions Opposing Force and Blue Shift, Episode One will be played from Gordon's viewpoint. Read on for information we have inferred through released screen shots and what Valve employees have said.
Spoiler Alert: This section contains details of Episode One's plot as we know it.
By just looking at some of the media previews of Episode One, it is easy to find which main characters will make an appearance in this sequel. Both Gordon and Alyx survive the blast atop The Citadel through G-Man's mysterious influence. This is not the end of our duo's troubles, however, as The Citadel enables its self-destruct mechanism causing a race out of City 17.
In Episode One, Kleiner has somehow gotten control of Breen's propaganda system.
To attempt to put down the resistance, a few new enemies are expected to be seen. Other than the eerie Stalkers depicted in the Episode One trailer, another type of Combine force has appeared in a few screen shots. A trooper bearing the Combine Elite symbol in dark green and blue attire can only mean more firefights and encounters as Gordon and Alyx try to escape The Citadel's blast radius. Also preventing Gordon's escape will be plenty of Xen monsters from the areas around City 17. Protection from the wildlife went offline as Gordon dealt a critical wound to The Citadel in Half-Life 2 and now Ant Lions roam the streets. Will Gordon and the resistance make it out of the city before The Citadel goes critical? We will have to wait to find out.
 The date is Friday April 8, 2005. Out of the early morning air comes the first word from PC Gamer UK of an expansion to Half-Life 2 entitled 'Aftermath.' This was our first look into the plot:
[Aftermath] deals with the events and issues set in motion during Half-Life 2. You've done critical damage to the Citadel. The whole place is going to go up, taking out City 17 and what's in its immediate radius. You and Alyx are leading the flight from the city getting up close and personal with some of the creatures and sights from the end of the game.
— Marc Laidlaw, May 2005
At this point in the development Valve had the expansion slated for a Summer '05 release. As we all know here in 2006 that was not at all to be the case. A little over a week later Korean Steam publisher GNUSoft and Half-Life2.de were reporting a Fall/Winter 2005 release date along with posting the first official screen shots of Aftermath. It wasn't until June that the next major interview was conducted. GameSpot talked with Valve's Robin Walker who was quoted as saying Aftermath would be ready for release "before the end of the year."
As 2005 slowly began to fade into the history books, Halflife2.net got some mail from Doug Lombardi:
Just wanted to give you a quick update on Aftermath, specically its ETA. We're working very hard to finish this new episode for HL2, however, its going to take us a bit more time to get it into top shape. As such, the target release for this one is now Feb/March of next year.
— Doug Lombardi, November 2005
Yes, Aftermath wasn't going to grace our computers before 2005's close, but Feb/March was a sure thing, right? You evidently haven't been following HL2 release dates! Mod-HQ's Al3xand3r received an e-mail from Doug Lombardi noting that the planned release date for Aftermath and HL2 Platinum Edition was to be extended to April 24, 2006.
In early February of this year, the news changed again. After a month of no new Aftermath news, GameSpot posted this concise article. Valve had decided episodic content was the way to go and "Aftermath" was no more. The newly named Episode One was announced and set the ball rolling towards its expected April 24th release date...
The smiles mean another delay, of course.
This is where Aftermath's (or should I say Episode One's) release drama ends for now. Is another delay lying hidden around the corner or will May 31st be the day the Half-Life universe continues on? Only time will tell as we move ever closer to launch day.
EA to handle retail distribution |
One of the major concerns to Half-Life fans after Valve's breakup with Vivendi Universal was retail availability. Aside from those who use the content distribution system of Steam, a large number of people still prefer to own a hard copy of their games. In May of 2005 Doug Lombardi noted that there would be a retail version but the publisher was still to be determined. It wasn't until July 18, 2005 when one of the largest publishers in the video game industry, Electronic Arts, rose up and found common ground with Valve striking a publishing deal. Electronic Arts is now responsible for the distribution of Half-Life 2 on Xbox and Half-Life 2 Game of the Year Edition. Although not specifically announced in the press release, it is implied that EA will be continuing their retail publishing task through all of Valve's Episodic content.
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