SiN Episodes: Emergence

Robot called me a faggot.

I wish this game would have been continued.

sin

Sin Episodes was quite tragic in that it was meant to be the beginning of an episodic storyline much like hl2 and its episode however only the first episode was released as ritual went bust but whats here is pretty good level design, cool environments shooting mechanics are fun if you like hl2's gunplay you'll like this game's gunplay you have your standard weapons shotgun automatic rifle, pistol and all of them have alt attacks. Its just a shame that the game never got those other episodes because it could've been one of the greatest shooters of all time if given more time.

so much fun. Def worth a play through. Short story though

i had a blast with this thing. feels like the slightly degenerate cousin of half life 2, who is always on coke, but he is fun.

that was short beat it in three hours, only three weapons but they do have alt fire, story is mid but since it's only episode 1 it's incomplete maybe they'll make episode 2 by the 20th anniversary. Graphics look alright for 2006 but the level design isn't really that inspired.

All in all it doesn't really hook you with just it's first episode, oh well Jessica and Elexis are cute though.

I really like the Supremacy Tower, cool to scale up the tower on the outside.

I like

Good Game

raise my son blade

Great game much better than half life I love the big tits of the antagonist just for her sake I complete this game.

I enjoyed the boobs & everything, but this game made me wait way too long before letting me shoot things in the face. 18 minutes in & I haven't gotten to fire a single shot. No wonder this series died.

i just bought this for elexis

Coom-Life 2



(It's not even that bad.)

can't wait for the remaining 7 episodes

A short campaign that will leave you wishing they improve and build upon this.

YT used the algo the direct me into "Half-likes" games and this one was listed here, with good reason and merit.
Short, fun, good gunplay with alt fires but also modern sensibilites (direct melee and grenade buttons, ADS). Just don't save scum on this one, because you'll mess up more the already messy auto tune difficulty. Meant to be played more than once with those difficulty sliders :P

its alright, nothing more. feels like regular HL2 mod.
there are 3 guns with 2 modes each, enemy variety is lacking and the dynamic difficulty thing really needs a rework.
story is just way too short but considering this was supposed to be just one of episodes, its understandable.
positives are: you get huge boobs in your face like 5 seconds into the game and main theme song is great. that's about it.
that being said its still sad that this series just died, i think it has potential.

This game is what Half-Life would have been if it was shorter, cheesier, had a B-rated movie story, jiggle physics and was still as action packed.
As I finished this short but fun experience, I raise a toast.. to the sequel that was teased, but never released!

It's short, and cheap (2€ on sale). Decent fun for an afternoon, if you want to visit an old FPS. I would not however buy it at current full price. This is not some hidden masterpiece, and mostly it sells on nostalgia, and the curiosity of being a Half-Life 2 copy but with a sexy lady in a bikini (game never explains what that was even about). The narrative starts at the middle (I didn't know it's a sequel apparently), and ends on cliffhanger.

There's roughly five different kinds of enemies (two humans, two mutants, and a flying drone). Two boss encounters (very boring). Only three different guns (although they have alt fire, which do add some variety to the shooting).

3 hours to complete story. There's some secrets (exactly like HL2, down to the supply boxes you have to break), but otherwise no replay value. Rather forgettable.

This game is great
I recommend

Aboba

Pretty fun for what it is, gets really tedious in the late game though.

Wish Blade had more to say, him staying silent robs this game of the attitude that the original SiN had.

Good. We will never get a new episode. But I hope we will.

Everyone knows it's a game built off of the source engine, so it feels like Half-Life 2, of course. This game also has Red Faction (2001), Far Cry (2004), Deus Ex (2000), and F.E.A.R. (2005) vibes. It's just got that early to mid 2000s vibe to it and love it for that. The game has actually a lot of cool stuff to it, i kinda wish the franchise wasn't dead because the world also feels alive which is amazing for a game made in 2006, and it does it better than most of the modern AAA titles out today. The game also has a great soundtrack and also the reverb yelling from the enemies sounds very realistic for the time this came out, i dont think i have heard anything as good as this sound design since like the battlefield games. The game is short, feels like a giant tech demo but it's actually pretty fun and it's only worth buying for like a buck or two. Thankfully once you can beat the game, you are given the option to freely play a arena mode to make your moneys worth i guess.

TLDR: A must-play for anyone who loves Half-Likes and that particular indescribable but magic vibe all good Source Engine games seem to share. However, my recommendation is to buy on sale because this game is short - took me under 3 hours to complete it.
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SiN Episodes is a huge improvement on the first SiN - it retains the same world and goofy Austin Powers style of humour, but the level design is vastly improved. You can see your final destination right from the start of the game and vice versa, but the route to get there is weaving and intricate. This kind of cohesive level design really adds to immersion as you get a sense of believable scale when you can see exactly how far you've climbed through the landscape.

Gameplay is much like Half Life 2 but with a heavier emphasis on combat and only some very basic environmental puzzles.

The really sad thing about SiN Episodes is (also much like HL2 in fact) - they never finished the story. The episodic format of game releases was a huge fad in the late 00s, but clearly failed as a business model for many developers. For this reason, you have to go into this game knowing in advance it never got finished. I would guess the one Episode we got is only a third, perhaps even a quarter or a fifth, of the "full" game the devs planned. It's such a shame as this was a really fun title and one of the best Source engine games you can play aside from HL2 itself.

The soundtrack is awesome, the graphics hold up well - it's a source engine after all, the image is sharp. no blurry TAA and you didn't need RTX to get reflections back then. The gameplay is fast-paced, I loved scoring headshots with a pistol. The story feels generic and was clearly meant to be continued in future episodes that never happened. No woke and other "modern" stuff. One thing that stood out to me was the attention to detail - like being able to call a phone number from a poster on the wall. Overall it's a good old game, a game that doesn't try to be more than it is

alright, lemme turn this corner, oh ok 3 enemies while im reloading, that's fine, *ahem* ok now to open this door, oh 3 more enemies ok cool, alright i killed 'em, now to call this elevator, oh wow a whole wave of enemies ok, that's fine, oh sweet that elevator is here, look at that view from the elevator, isn't it wonderf- and enemies on jetpacks shooting me, ok nice.

Nice Demo Game, i still waiting other Episodes!

"Make sure they never find my body, Blade"

dont be sad because its over, be miserable because we are never getting a sequel

The game was great from start to end!!. i cant wait for the next episode

Pros: popping heads with the magnum (no zoom) feels, oh so nice
there is a dedicated tab that keeps record of your accuracy percentage with each weapon like l4d2's
Cons: not much content for the price, 3 enemy types and 3 weapons, that's about it

Conclusion: get it on sale, 2 dollars is a really good price
or you could just burn the ISO from your totally legit physical copy of the game that you TOTALLY didnt get from the internet archive on the software section, cool?
cool

This game is definitely a bit like Half Life 2 mixed with the first Sin game. It's a mediocre HL2 except that HL2 does it better so why play this game? If you enjoyed the first Sin game then you might enjoy this one for the continuation of the story. If you can get it on sale then it's worth buying because it only takes 3 hours to finish. Personally, I enjoyed it enough to recommend but I can also understand why someone would be disappointed paying full price for it.

A good Half-Like, and on Brutal difficulty, this gets super intense.

Sadly we wont be getting another Episode :(

Booba

'Hahaha, save me a seat in the sequel Blade!'

It's really fun! A genuine shame no more episodes will see the light of day.

i forgot why i had this on my wishlist until i saw the opening
good female designs.

gameplay is fun feels half life like enjoyed what i played so far
sadly just like half life it seems theres no more to this series?
kind of sad honestly entertaining game

...also the fact i can pull the window up and down in the car is amazing and i wish more games did that.
i want to replay the opening for this alone.

its like half life and perfect dark had a baby and fed it jet set radio.

A fun self contained fps in a cool Y2K world with plenty of detail, charm and atmosphere

Even 31 minutes in, this is still one of the most genuienly blandest titles I've seen ever made.

Kind of like Half-Life 2 story has no ending.

if you are a source games fan like me, then get it ONLY and ONLY when there's an offer, DO NOT get this for full price, very short game, the plot is pretty cartoonish and doesn't really take itself seriously

Its a real shame RItual went out of business, we really had something with this one.

Очень странно, что только недавно я наткнулся на такую очень интересную игру, созданную на движке Half-Life 2. Многие игроки уже отметили, что SiN Episodes: Emergence могла бы быть вообще модификацией. Это всё из-за движка и огромной вариации модификаций для Half-Life 2, когда каждая игра, в которой угадываются знакомые очертания, воспринимается как модификация. Да и движок Half-Life 2 получился каким-то очень уж узнаваемым. Тем не менее, игра стоит намного дальше от HL2, чем такие игры как Entropy: Zero 2 и Black Mesa, которые пусть визуально не сильно напоминают Half-Life 2, всё же являются в лучшем случаи её продолжением, а в худшем - обычной модификацией (возможно вторая часть Entropy: Zero лучше бы была платной, нежели шла в качестве бесплатной игры). Я так сильно акцентирую на этом внимание, т.к. мне кажется несправедливым, что эту игру ставят в один ряд с бесплатными модификациями и почему-то мне кажется, что мы не увидели продолжение именно по этой причине.

Да, игра задумывалась как серия частей, где первая часть - Emergence. Я не знаю, почему разработчики ограничились лишь одной серией. Так как игра довольно древняя, трудно сказать, почему не было выпущено продолжение. Возможно, продажи оказались низкими, но я помню (или я думаю, что помню) что видел в продаже (на развале) этот диск с игрой. В любом случаи то, что Стим не рекомендовал мне эту игру так долго, хотя у меня были все части Half-Life, да и в целом в моей библиотеке много FPS игр, выглядит подозрительно странно. А ведь игра действительно выделяется среди многих остальных шутеров от первого лица.

Наверно главное отличие - сюжет. К сожалению, я не могу сказать, что перед нами цельный сюжет. Возможно всё дело в том, что нужно было начинать с самой первой части - SiN: Gold. Но в SiN Episodes: Emergence сюжет не раскрывается от слова совсем. Мы лишь смутно понимаем, что есть два антагониста, и есть наша команда, включающая нас самих - Блейда - в качестве её лидера. Где мы находимся, какую группу людей мы представляем, на кого работаем и работаем ли вообще на кого-то со стороны, в этой части не рассказывается совершенно. Тем не менее, разработчики решили сыграть картой "сексуальные героини", которая в принципе сработала. Есть главный антагонист - привлекательная и в каком-то смысле обворожительная главная злодейка и есть некий аналог Алекс, которая входим в нашу команду и которая так же довольно сексуально привлекательная. Что ж, для маленькой студии использование откровенно сексуальных тем, явление довольно обычное. Мне понравились обе главные героини. Но это, пожалуй, и всё что можно сказать (хорошего) о сюжете. В остальном же сюжет довольно банален и даже в некоторых местах пересекается с Half-Life 2. Да, уникальностью тут и не пахнет, поэтому всю работу выполняют те самые героини.

Возможно, авторы посчитали, что как в любом бумер-шутере, сюжет является сугубо вторичным. Это верно, но бумер-шутеры все силы тратят на главный элемент - перестрелки с противниками, а тут с этим явные проблемы. Но начнём с локаций. Они чем-то напоминают Half-Life 2, а чем-то - шутеры как таковые. Во втором случаи я говорю про типичный дизайн всем знакомых локации, когда главный герой оказывается в огромном небоскрёбе, в котором на самом верхнем этаже засел главный злодей. До боли знакомая картина, не так ли? Но эта огромная локация нам встретится во второй половине игры, а до этого будут локации, которые условно можно назвать "где-то в городе" и "на корабле". Да, банально, но тут дело не в новизне, а насколько интересно проходить локации и отстреливать врагов. И вот тут игру стоит похвалить, ибо вести бой с противниками получилось интересно и увлекательно. Сам опыт стрельбы приятный, а противников тут довольно много. Хотя противники не представляют большой проблемы, но когда их становится больше трёх, тогда даже такие простые противники могут серьёзно усложнить жизнь. Но, тем не менее, они просты, а самое главное, в этой игре очень приятно ставить хедшоты. Но и без них перестрелки приятные.

А теперь довольно неприятный момент - игра по всем параметрам небольшая, т.е. где-то в три, а может и более раз меньше чем Half-Life 2. Во-первых, сама игра небольшая и проходится за пару вечеров. Во-вторых, вариация противников очень и очень небольшая - три типа противников из разряда людей (при том что третий тип появляется крайне редко), два типа роботов, которые ещё реже появляются и один тип монстров. Вариация врагов тут крайне ограниченная. В основном игрок будет сражаться с двумя типами солдат. В третьих, в распоряжении игрока лишь три варианта оружия. Да, очень мало, но так как игра короткая, а опыт стрельбы из оружия приятный, то такой ограниченный комплект вооружения не даёт заскучать. Но да, это очень мало. В защиту игры можно предположить, что такая ограниченность объясняется тем, что перед нами лишь первый эпизод и что в дальнейшем были планы расширить каждый игровой элемент. Вполне возможно. Но лично для меня всё это не является недостатком. Конечно, хотелось бы большего разнообразия, но игра сама по себе короткая, так что...нормально. Главное что стрелять по противникам тут довольно увлекательно, а самих противников много и не сказать что все они такие уж и простые.

Мне нечего сказать про визуальную сторону дела, так как перед нами знакомая картинка, пусть и в другом антураже. Тем не менее, собственный стиль игры тут явно чувствуется, причём чувствуется во всём, в каждом элементе дизайна локаций, поэтому игра осознаётся не как модификация, а как отдельная игра, пусть и со знакомыми элементами (разработчики постарались сделать всё, чтобы игра не ассоциировалась с Half-Life 2). Звук в игре особо ничем не выделяется, с тем исключением, что я бы отметил отличную музыкальную тему в главном меню.

coo shi

Ageless classic running on the Source engine. It needs the rest of the episodes urgently.

really good, basically half life 2 cyber punk

A small glimpse of what could have been.

SiN Episodes: Emergence is the first episode of a canned episodic series of games as a sequel to SiN. Much in the likeness of the Half Life 2 Episodes, following John Blade at it once again trying to stop Elexis Sinclaire from her evil, mutant related, schemes. It's a incredible short experience that provides a simple but satisfying shooting experience while also having the novelty of being in Valve's Source Engine. It's not worth the price from a game perspective but more so as a time capsule of things that never happen as otherwise it's a fine 2 hours of game to kill some time with.

Gameplay of SiN Episodes takes some beats from Half Life 2 given it uses the same engine. Having somewhat linear levels that take place is a well detailed location with the occasional puzzle and/or spectacle to remind you about the power of the Source Engine. Blade's arsenal is incredible small but a well around supply of reliable and useful weapons. His pistol from the first game returns with a pretty accurate primary fire and a piercing railgun-like altfire. He also has access to a shotgun with hits hard and has a projectile altfire that is a bit more situational. Lastly is the SMG which is pretty self explanatory, it even has grenades as it's altfire much like it's HL2 counterpart. Blade can also throw individual grenades which aren't their own weapon but set to a button that can be launched at any time. Likely the most notable gameplay aspect of the game is it's wonky difficulty system. The difficulty is determined on the actions of the player. Basically If you're doing good the enemies get better, if the reverse than the opposite. While you can't completely disable this feature you can lower it as much as possible. As this is probably the lamest way to do difficulty in a game. You're doing too good? Well now it's headsplitting hard.

Style wise, for being in the Source Engine only 2 years after it officially debuted, SiN Episodes looks really good for the time and still now. The game has a very industrial and futuristic vibes that was carried over from the first game with all the bells and whistles that the new engine provides. There were times where I decided to stop in my track to appreciate my surroundings as while there ain't many locations, they sure are pretty. There's even a skybox near the end of the game that is absolutely incredible with the amount of detail and color for a skybox of that time. Likewise the character models are pretty solid and mirror their Quake 2-esque counterparters from SiN fairly well. Thought I would be lying if I didn't say that I kinda prefer Elexis' chunkier proportions from the previous game than she is now.

Overall, as a novelty. SiN Episodes: Emergence is a fun little bit of what could have been something more interesting at the very least. There's a reason why Valve's Half Life Episodes didn't really take off and it's likely why this project never went anywhere past the first episode. If you're curious about this piece of gaming history either from an interest of the various random games that use the Source Engine, Playing through the SiN games as the underrated franchise it is, or some mystery third reason. I would highly recommend picking it up on a sale as it's average sale price of $2.49 is a bit more easy to bite for how short this little game is.

Pros:
+ Spectacular headshots.
+ Great tits x 2 pairs.
+ Nice ass x 2.
+ Amazing soundtrack.

Cons:
- Fat chance that we'll ever get a sequel.

Man those episodes didn't emerge