Please keep us updated on your own progress through Episode One over in this forum thread.

20:48

Antlions. I hate god-damn Antlions. They keep emerging out of the ground non-stop, and the only way to get some space from them is to block up their emergence points by Gravity-Gunning a burnt-out car over the top. A pretty neat idea, but annoying after the fourth time.

However, the rest of the action is awesome. We've had Zombines, standard headcrabs, running screaming headcrab zombies, the works. There's one tense section at the end of this underground level where you're waiting for a lift to come down to take you to the surface. All the time there's zombie after zombie after zombie. Then... Click click. No ammo left. Disaster! I run like a coward and take cover behind the ever-invincible Alyx, just as the lift arrives to take us to safety - and some upstairs combat action in City 17. Bring it on Breen!

At this point, I should note that the gameplay has picked up a bit from the slightly boring plod that it was earlier. I hope it keeps going this way!

20:30

Right, 10 minute break to go to the bathroom and get a drink. Perhaps my next upgrade should be a Level 10 Bladder of Holding.

20:12

Erk, this is actually really scary and quite explicit. I'm making my way underground, and I'm taking on Combine zombies with headcrabs attached to them - as Alyx calls them, 'Zombines'. (Yeah, she's hilarious).

There is an incredible amount of gore, and you're in pitch black save for your flashlight. The Zombines are pretty suicidal, running at you with grenades.

(I'm trying to clue you in on the gameplay and fun without spoilers, by the way. So no telling you why I'm running around underground car parks and subways taking on Zombines).

I finally got a gun! Hurrah! Only two hours into the game. I've never been so happy to see a trusty pistol. Despite the horror gameplay, it's very much linear - run through this room, take out these guys, move onto the next room, wait for enemies to attack, take them out, flick switch to go into next room - I'm sticking with it because I'm praying for some storyline progression pretty soon.

Check out this guy. He's actually had his head snapped off at the jaw. Eww.

19:47

Wow, Half-Life goes horror? There's a bunch of Stalkers on the train, and they're a pretty scary sight to see after a black out. The audio is horrid, too. Way scarier than Doom 3 or FEAR. Erk.

19:45

I'm on a rickety old train making my way out of the Citadel. Alyx looks at me - "Well at least we're ok. Let's hope the worst is over." Has the stupid girl never heard of jinx??

19:00

OK, second chapter. The game has been relatively dull so far - I've spent all my time working my way through the core of the Citadel to shut it down. What's noticeable, however, is how well they've dug out the personality of Alyx - her tone and her facial expression are really evocative of her mood. Some neat humour too, in places. Thankfully, Dog has moved out of the picture so now I have her all to myself.

The only gun I've had so far is the Gravity Gun, which is a bit of a downer. The only way to take on guards is to hurl them around. Some fairly standard puzzles - it's all a bit ho hum so far.

That said, it's clear the story is being set up - we've glimpsed the weird aliens that Breen is involved with already. Onwards...