Well the wait is over HL2 is now available. So all the doubters and people that said this game would never come out or that it would be a flop are in for a scare..... Half Life 2 starts you off in City 17 a quiet, city at the moment. With civil rights at there lowest. Civilians seem to be scared and uncertain of there future and saftey, which gives you the same feeling as yo ugo around talking to each of them. So appear sad, others paranoid about trains that come in with people but depart with no one on it. This sets the stage, as you walk through the city trying to piece together what has happened since the last Half Life......and theres some pretty obvious changes.. HL2's physics is where it really shines, being able to pick up every object that you normally could in "real" life adds a realistic feel to the game. You can pick up cans, bottle crates, or rip a phone from a payphone and throw these at people or guards and listen there reaction....or run before the guard beats you. But believe me you can use physics to your advantage in more important ways later on. The graphics make the enviroments really life like, alot more so then Doom 3 i found. As HL2's textures are easier to distinguish whereas Doom 3's where buffed over with shine and bump mapping. When you first ride in on the train you'll see what i mean by great graphics, everything is smooth and polished well. And the physics go hand in hand to make this combo even better. Physics later in the game takes up a huge part of how your going to survive or how creative you can be with the objects laying around. Using the enviroment to your advantage is what makes HL2 so entertaining and in my view it's the first game to advantage of phyics to the fullest in a game. Which will have many games following this interactivity in the future. Just for that alone it's revolutionary. As little a step as it seems now, this is the direction that fps will be going for in the future, a great emphasis on being able to interact with the enviroment. HL2 pulls it off perfect. The sound in the game is great, all the clanks and bangs of things being thrown around, guns and explosions have that umf to them that Doom 3 lacked. The sound as usual from Valve is spot on, no complaints there at all. The thing that caught my eye the most was the level of detail with the voices being in perfect sink with mouth movements. Valve did an unbelievable job of making characters voice and mouth match. You'll see what i mean the moment you begin your campaign. Usually im not harsh on sound for a game because sound is for the most part always good in every game. Mostly because its an important part. But HL2's use of voice and mouth motion working together perfect is to much to pass up, therefore it deserves a 10. Overall the game pushed the envelop of a standard first person shooter and is a worthy sequel to HL1. Its addition of phyics shows where first person shooters are headed in the future, as being able to react with the enviroment is key. Half Life 2 is no letdown and you will enjoy this game no question. You may even go through it a few times, its just that fun with the addition of physics, the game has some good replayability. Half Life 2 is a game that you should not miss out on, if your computer can handle it and your over the requirements then dont miss out on this instant classic!
1998, half life comes out, rocks the planet. Six years later, half life 2 comes out, rocks the galaxy. Gordon is back and so is perfection. For six years the world has been waiting, and now it is here. The game play ... Read Full Review
First person shooters changed forever in 1998 when an unknown gaming developer known as Valve released a game known as Half-Life. It revolutionized the genre with cinematic gameplay, intense combat, and a story filled wi... Read Full Review
