As an avid Half-Life fan, my opinion may be a little biased, but I thought it was a pretty fun expansion. The gameplay is the same as HL1 which is fine, since it's fun to play, but it falls short really hard when it comes to how it tells the story. Valve has never been an "exposition" team when it comes to developing a story, only really having it in small doses to serve where the gameplay is going and for some iconic monologues. Unfortunately, Gearbox fumbled in that category and has Jon St. John dump info on you multiple times, and it's really jarring. Are they necessary to understanding the story of the expansion? Somewhat, but they could have been trimmed down and more spaced out. The level design was passable; nothing as good as Blast Pit or Questionable Ethics, but it never particularly bored me. A serviceable and fun expansion pack that misunderstands Valve's development process but still remains enjoyable.