Valve is putting out two episodic storylines at the moment. Half Life 2, Episode 1 may have caught all the headlines, but there is another that uses the same engine, and is currently putting out longer playing episodes with more challenging gameplay. That game is SiN Episodes: Emergence, aka Episode 1. It's based off of the game SiN that came out in 1998 from Activision, and takes that franchise to an entire different level. You are Colonel John Blade, the leader of HardCorps of Freeport city. In the original game, your job was to stop Miss Elexis Sinclaire who is a bio geneticist who has her own ideas about evolution and the not so gentle nudging she wants to put into play. You succeeded, but at a price -- Elexis escaped, but you are infected with something that she shot you up with. Now, you and your remaining team members are in a race against time to discover what that very beautiful but moderately twisted female put in you, and to stop her other experiments from running amok. Isn't that the way it always is, so much to do, so little time to accomplish the impossible.

Graphics & Sound: 10/10

SiN Episodes: Emergence is based off of the HL2 engine, so the graphics are completely top notch - no question about it. I'll play the opening sequence again and again just to enjoy the amazing detail put into every aspect. This game is eye candy in every since of the word, and some of that eye candy is one reason that it received a Mature ESRB rating. Our diabolical nemesis, Elexis Sinclaire, shall we say 'is drawn', and is unlikely to drown in any depth of water due to her Mae Wests. Voice acting was well done, as well as sound effects/ambient sounds. Plus, unlike Gordon Freeman, John Blade actually has a tongue and a voice, and knows how to actually speak. Maybe not the most intelligent of conversations, but hey - it's an improvement. But if HL2 was PG in nature, SiN Episodes: Emergence is easily a PG-13 if not full R, in some of its more candid use of the modern language.

Interface: 8/10

This is the first game I played completely thru twice -- the first time with a keyboard/trackball combo, the second time with a gamepad/trackball combo. I believe that the gamepad/trackball (mouse) combo works better, mainly because in most FPS's in story mode, there are only so many commands that I use on a regular basis, mapping those commands to the gamepad made things much easier (i.e. didn't hit the windows key and accidentally open up the start menu) But the remapping of the keyboard to primarily use the arrow keys/number pad is another viable option. The mouse has left click for primary fire and right click for alt fire, and every weapon has an alt fire mode. Everything else is keyboard/gamepad driven. If you've played most any FPS put out in the last year or two, you know the drill.