If you can overlook the unstable frame rate, this is one of the best first person shooters ever made.
Obviously the graphics in the Xbox version can not look as good as a high end PC, but the game still looks great by Xbox standards. Compare to games like Halo 2 or Far Cry: Instincts, the game has a very bad frame rate problem. When there are a large number of enemies on screen or many physics interactions, the frame rate slows down horribly. However, the frame rate holds up fine for most of the game. Driving vehicles with the analog stick is easier, but shooting at the same time could be difficult for some people.
The graphics in this game look amazing; the attention to detail is everywhere. The facial animations look freakishly real and are good enough to make the player develop emotional feeling for the characters in the game. A very large portion of the game takes place out side in the sun, and the game showcases some fantastic use of shadow and lighting effects. Some use of HDR is also present in the Xbox version.
Half Life 2 has the best physics engine made in a video game up to date. Newton’s all three laws of motion are modeled accurately, so things move like they would in real life. The true effects of the gravitational force are also accurate because the motions of objects and characters are based on their weight. The game introduces a new weapon called the gravity gun, also known as the zero point energy field manipulator, which allows the player to pick up and hold objects in mid air. It can be also used to pull objects that are with in a certain distance towards the player; as a result, the objects can be thrown at enemies to do damage. This gun is used to solve claver physics puzzles, kill enemies and to have a great deal of fun. In most games, the objects in the environment will remain in the same places before and after an action takes place. This is not the case with Half Life 2, every gun fight that takes place will affect the environment greatly because of the physics engine and the large number of objects around the player. When grenades explode object fly in every which way; in addition, the player can pick up any pieces of the broken objects with the gravity gun. Because of the insane physics, bullets can be picked up in this game!!!.
The level designs in Half Life 2 are unmatched, and the levels are simply enormous. Some of the levels found in the game can be compared, size wise, to the levels in Far Cry. The game has a variety of weapons ranging from a crowbar to a rocket launcher. These all sound great for the most part and are fun to use. During the course of the game you fight an alien race known as the combine in an attempt to save humanity (I do not wish to talk too much about the story line). All you need to know about the story line is that it’s great and sets up a perfect setting so the player can blast at all different kinds of enemies. The action in Half Life 2 can vary from using a crow bar to solve a puzzle to controlling a squad.
The Xbox version of Half Life 2 does have some minor problems that weren’t found in the original PC version. Most of these problems can be easily overlooked; for example, the occasional frame rate drops do not last very long. Every other aspect of Half Life 2 is well made and polished to perfection. This game offers one of the best single player experiences on the market today. There is no excuse for a first person shooter fan, who owns an Xbox or a PC, to not play this game.