News Valve makes Episode 1 easier

Huh, only part I had trouble with was the sort-of jumping puzzle in the watery room

Spoiler

where you have to flip the switch and electrify the whole place to get the door open... kept missing the platform and assumed it was just electrified too

... I ended up having to noclip out of there my first time through.

The section they modified was difficult, but certainly not impossible. It was definitely easier the second time through, as I knew to gather all of the explosive barrels and whatnot by the elevator before I went and triggered the fight

I thought the escort part was a bit too monotonous. It was different, but didn't really do it for me. I really loved it when

Spoiler

Alyx climbed up the building then covered me with the sniper rifle

- that was also pretty different from the normal gameplay and gave a different sense of teamwork.

 

I'd have preferred it if they had at least done the changes in a configurable way, i.e. on easy difficulty get the extra changes plus the normal combat boost, on difficult get the original gameplay. Since I can't easily stop Steam updating I'm going to get the zombie lite version whether I like it or not.

In fact the level isn't so tough - if you slug it out in the middle of the room you're going to get your ass kicked a few times before making it through - but there are some areas at the edge where you can go build yourself a little Alamo. Set up the barrels to act as landmines, stash gas cylinders for missiles and when the zombie heads in light 'em up! Apart from the final dash to the lift it won't be as combat intensive as a stand up fight but I find fighting smart just as satisfying.

 

the elevator part was the only point of the game i had to restart, because alyx ran in front of my high-velocity flaming barrel, then straight into a

Spoiler

zombine with a grenade

, killing her.

did it second time round.

 

I done that part first time on normal but i ended up

Spoiler

taking out a couple of zombies with a flare by accident in a moment of panic but their burning bodies gave of enough light

that alyx got most of them with me helping out when she needed it. But i was buggered by the end.

 

I must have been incredibly lucky as I seemed to be fine stood at the top of the elevator stairs with my shotgun, did it first time.

 

I found the game to be easy. Next time put in some more puzzles please. I love the puzzle parts. The hardert part for me was actualy the part where you had to evacuate rebels from one room to another (not going into details for spoilers). The first time is easy but then its almost imposible without numorous deaths.

 

numpties... Ep 1 was too easy imo... mebe in future have 6 easy settings.

Hardcore Gamer: hard - harder - bleedin stoopid!
Weekend Gamer: easy as pie - easier - normal

 

I think there should be an "Ultra Real Mode"

Where if you get hit in the head, you're dead, you get smacked in the arm or legs your movement become severely impared untill you can get to a unrealistic medical station.

 

Personally I thought that part was tough but doable. I don't think it needs to be to toned down, I got through it with 1 hp and again with 77 so it's not to hard, least for me. My probably has been the audio stutter crashing that many others have been posting about. I still haven't beat the game because of it but at least I did get past this part.

 

The bit waiting for the lift was a lot easier if u actually used alyx's uncanny to kill anything with the torch shined on it.
I just ran arround and collected as many flares as possible and set them all off as the previous one died, alyx kept'a'killin and i kept nabbing nades of "zombines" and using them against the fast zombies.

 

First of all welcome.

I had the audio stutter thing your talking about. Fixed it by upgrading to the latest nVidia gfx card drivers though