The pistol is more reliable to use and when ammo from the shot gun or the assault rifle have been run out, it would be wise to turn to pistol. The weapons that you use are the same and no improvements have been made but, hey, you still have the shotgun with you. You rock Gordon!!! Now go kick Master Chiefs ass. You are still playing Gordon Freeman who is more bad-ass than ever but has no means to express it since he is a mute but all that killing pretty much sums it up. The friendlies are very fun to have around and for the majority of the time you will have someone accompanying you whether it is Alyx Vance or the Vortigaunts, who are very powerful and weird looking. The game is, oddly, very scary and during the times in the game where you have low ammo, your pulse starts going faster and faster and more enemies come charging at you but you have to learn to use your environment to your benefit.
![half life 2 episode one half life 2 episode one](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UeoAAOSwVi9fm2SQ/s-l300.jpg)
The best looking level has to be those ant-lion tunnels or whatever that you have to roam in while being chased by a scary-looking guardian. The level designs have been been vastly improved and a new dark atmosphere is surrounding this masterpiece which creates the perfect effect for this game. The Zombies or Zombines, whatever, are back and are fun to demolish but the best enemy in the whole game has to be either the Hunters or striders. We also see some old must-kill-Gordon Freeman friends such as the infamous Antlions, Who are basically still the same from the previous two games but a new Antlion Guard makes an appearance as well, the cute but deadly head crabs are back and are still causing havoc, the Combine troops are not as much in this game but if you ever get into combat with them roll 'em and sock 'em. The striders have powerful guns that can easily kill a human. The Hunters can be defeated with any type of gun but they have a weapon called a flechette to retaliate back with. The Striders are five times as tall and their long, long legs play an important part in his height. The Hunters are 2.4 m tall and have the ability to go wherever the player can go. in the other games such as the "Hunters" and "The Striders" or even both of them at the same time. It introduces new enemies into the game that you couldn't vs. The second episode has more legendary scale fights that keep on coming and never stop.
![half life 2 episode one half life 2 episode one](http://www.numa.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/EllsBoyd_Titanic004-300x188.jpg)
From what I could gather, Episode One was supposed to be shorter than Episode Two but it's slow game-play and repetitive fights made the game seem twice as long. My answer was answered as I played Episode Two through steam and from the first kill, I realized something: I had to get ready for the short ride, a very short ride indeed. After playing the very disappointing Half Life 2: Episode One, I was very upset and was thinking, "How can they propel Episode Two far enough to stop it from being an episode one?".