After many years of waiting, Valve has unleashed it's blockbuster follow-up. And, boys and girls, it's spectacular.
User Rating: 9.7 | Half-Life 2 PC
In late 1998 the PC gaming world and the FPS genre were floored, and left in utter awe at the marvel of gaming entitled "Half-Life". Since then it has gone on to win numerous "Game of the Year" awards and has received top review honors from dozens of gaming magazines and websites. It's produced one of the largest cult-followings in gaming history. And forever has this game left it's mark on the gaming industry. Now, almost five years in the making, the sequel to the "golden gem" of FPS games has finally emerged from behind all the screenshots, trailers, trials and tribulations to reveal itself as one of the greatest games of all time, bar-none. When beginning the game, you find yourself face-to-face with the enigmatic G-Man himself. Right off-the-bat you can notice the flawless facial animations and detail in the G-Man's face. The voice-acting is very professional, nothing sounds like it's being read from script. The lip-synching is superb, flawlessly integrated with every word exhibited by the games characters. Every inch, of every environment you encounter in this game is detailed to perfection. The effects of the water, muzzle-flashes, explosions etc., are mind-blowing. Valve has used the "Havok" physics engine for their latest installment. And boy do they use it well. Everything from pushing blocks along rooftops, to knocking over buckets and planks of wood, to Combine soldiers flying through the air from your last grenade. It's all so life-like you might begin to actually believe yourself to be the protagonist, not Gordan Freeman. This illusion, of being in the game, is actually very well executed. You never actually encounter "cutscenes" in this game per se. You're constantly seeing things from a first-person perspective. It's a great way for one to become quickly immersed into this massive 3-D world. More often than not, you may find yourself on the edge of your seat, nose an inch from your monitor, enthralled in one, of many, numerous battles to find sweat rolling down your cheek as if this is YOUR life. And YOUR the one fighting for City 17's freedom. An illusion many games have never even come close to mimicking. After your brief, but discerning, encounter with G-Man you'll find yourself on board a train heading towards City 17. As soon as you arrive you can tell that the denizens of this run-down concentration camp are miserable in their current state of affair. The story thus far is that Earth has surrendered to the alien beings known as "Combine". They have now taken Earth into custody. City 17 acts as the central pillar for your exploration in this game. It's a large, sprawling city and immersive in every aspect of the word. You'll encounter several Combine guards as soon as you step off of the train. They can be interacted with in a humorous fashion. In fact, all the characters of this game can be interacted with to an extent. Pass by a certain person to find his gloomy gaze fixated upon you. Walk near others to eaves-drop on their current discussion which almost always is pertaining to the situation at hand. Not soon after you have explored a small apartment building of City 17 you'll encounter Barney, Eli Vance and his daughter Alyx Vance. From here is where the main plot starts to unfold itself. You'll then don your familiar Hazard Suit, and will be asked to step through a portal. A malfunction will cause some sort of dimensional rift and, similar to Half-Life, you'll be transported to various locations that you'll actually visit during the course of the game. The escapades you encounter throughout the game are some of the most action-packed in any game to date. You really feel as though your a revolutionary undertaking this great task to free civilization from the clutches of a tyrannical force. Of course, what good is a freedom fighter without a diverse arsenal of weapons at his disposal. You will acquire your standard conventional weapons; SMG, Pistol, Shotgun and Grenades. You are also able to collect some purely fantastical weapons. One such is the Pherapod. Launch one into a crowd of Combine to have a swarm of Antlions rip into them like a medium-rare steak. Others include the Laser-Guided Rocket Launcher. Fire one rocket and maneuver it through the air using your mouse. They're used most frequently in your fight against the towering Strider's. Mechanical beings that patrol the stagnant streets of City 17. You will, of course, also be in possession of the staple weapon of the series. The revered Crowbar. Best used to plow through boxes and crates. Or even bash across the soft underbelly of a barnacle. Although one weapon, that may become even more infamous then the Crowbar after this game is the new Gravity Gun. What a delightful treat this little bundle of, physics driven, joy is. Use the primary fire to send a powerful arc of light into any object and launch it forward with awesome force. Or utilize the secondary fire to magnetise items and pull them towards you. This works on ammo and health as well. One great demonstration of the Gravity Guns superiority is in Ravenholm. Buzz-saw's are strewn about the level and you can make use of these, using the secondary fire + primary fire, to make short work of the resident zombies here. Overall, Half-Life improves on every spectrum of it's predecessor. It delivers rock-solid gameplay with innovative graphics and physics. If you own a computer that can run this game, and your even just mildly interested in FPS's then grab yourself a copy of Half-Life 2 and become a revolutionary, just like Gordan Freeman. 
