Reviews - DreadPirateFury

This project tackles its themes in a much darker tone than the original Entropy Zero, for a lot of people I think that will be a positive more than a negative. While EZ1 and EZ2 have incredible storylines they can be a bit campier like more recent Valve titles. This mod is more akin to the tone of Half Life 2 and its episodes, far more serious and with an emphasis on dread.

There's a certain fear factor wandering through rebel controlled streets when you're cut off from other Civil Protection units, you're supposed to be on the side with all the power, all the control. But you're also the lowest rung in the Combine's ladder. You even see actual soldiers on the other side of a fence at one occasion, deploying to go kick some ***, but it doesn't matter, they're not there to help your team. You feel your unimportance permeate the story throughout.

The mod does this among other things to further pressure you into thinking about the questions that Half Life 2 has largely left untouched. Questions about the morality of someone who would willingly join the Combine, of loyalty in the face of extinction, these are compelling topics that I feel have been untapped by the mod's predecessors.

It's done tactfully too, at no point did I feel a character was too 'edgy', even lines I thought would be grating during the trailer actually landed when taken into greater context. As someone with a lot of experience in the Half Life 2 roleplaying community, I can safely say that toeing this line is incredibly challenging. It's an artform to make compelling villains, there is something to be said about the challenge that presents, when your cast is essentially comprised of just that, villains. They felt like deeply flawed people, and that's the right direction.

As for the gameplay and environments, the first episode here runs a tight ship. Level designs never made me feel lost or confused as to which direction to go, encounters seemed well thought out with plenty of cover and flanking opportunities, and the gunplay seems slightly tweaked from EZ1 while still maintaining that 'punchiness'.

Visually the areas kept a very consistent quality throughout. Weather effects and clever lighting add gravitas to the atmosphere, and the night maps are particularly well done. One forced vista point has you looking out towards the citadel and over the rooftops, it's something we've seen a lot of, but something about the way the view was framed narratively set it apart.

I want to see more and I want this story to continue. I do have a few points of critique, I wish we had spent more time in the introductory segment before the Uprising begins, just to help ground us in our characters shoes, help us understand what happened in City 17 when Nova Prospekt popped off. How did the rebels receive the 'go' order? How did they rally those unaware of their opportunity at freedom? We get to see none of this, suddenly an electrical surge happens and the Uprising is on. (That surge couldn't have been Nova Prospekt could it? Does that have precedent?)

As it stands, a lot of the game doesn't really feel like you're a part of a scary dystopian military. Rank structure is hardly mentioned and Overwatch is very rarely talking to you. There are HUD elements in the form of directives from Overwatch throughout the game, but they were pulling a lot of weight for my suspension of disbelief and I feel there were not enough of them. My favorite moment of dialogue was when we finally got breathing room for some exposition in the canals. I know it's a big ask without being ham-fisted, but please, give us more. I like the idea of not knowing the big picture, but I do feel that the Uprising was a little too quiet and sudden.

Show us sections of the City that still ARE under control, show us troop movements suddenly getting ambushed in those sectors, show us how the rebels outsmart us when we hold all the cards. I want to see the Combine as the oppressive force that it is, they can't be pushovers too early (and it is WAY too early), even with Gordon recently tearing *** through the coastline and giving way to legend and rumor among the populace. We don't see nearly enough going on in the background to sell the scale of the Uprising if it really was like a switch got flipped after Nova Prospekt went down. If I'm supposed to believe every single fearful schmuck in a blue suit took up arms when things kick off then the soundscape, characters, and the environment didn't really do enough to get that point across.

Overall though, the "it's a mod, you ******* donkey" rule applies here, because it is a very good mod. I cannot wait to see more and I want to thank the talented people who poured their souls out for it.

I'll keep it brief and to the point. This mod is an absolute masterpiece with great puzzle play and animations. The ending leaves just a wee bit to be desired though so I give it a 9. But I must say, the ending was clever.