Not just my favourite game, but a masterpiece I can replay time and time again.
Half-Life 2 is unquestionably one of the best games ever made. Despite the fact that there are those who would disagree, it is widespread knowledge that this feat of gaming ingenuity has set a bar that few games have managed to match in the years since its release.
We all know that the good people at Valve are certainly more-than-competent at making great video games (Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, and Portal are standouts in the games industry - but I would say that's probably down to opinion), but Half-Life 2 remains their richest and most engrossing offering.
With a storyline that rivals some of the greatest achievments in literature and film from the past few decades, we are reintroduced to a hardened and matured Gordon Freeman - the man we left at the end of Half-Life who had come on a perilous journey from unassuming scientist to alien-battling hero.
The world has fallen into the hands of an autocratic dictatorship, seemingly run by the twisted mind of Wallace Breen - but it's all a screen for a much bigger conspiracy that goes beyond the world we know. Gordon is thrust into a position where he becomes the last hope for humanity - a silent hero who runs headfirst into danger at every turn without a single word of complaint.
Of course, Gordon is joined in his endeavours in a much more active role than the first offering in the series. Alyx Vance - the daughter of Gordon's colleague from a life long passed - is a spunky and feisty rebel who has grown up and been molded by the events of the world around her. Although not a playable character in the game, she serves as something of a deuteragonist and remedy to Gordon's silent stoicism with her charming banter and witty retorts.
As expected from Valve the game has spectacular visuals that still hold up in today's market, years and years after its release. Admittedly there have been many technological advancements of late and this game is gradually falling behind in the wake of more advanced titles. Though in saying that you cannot deny that Half-Life 2 still holds its own as an innovator of graphical marvel and possibly the first successful use of a working physics engine.
Needless to say, I am a Half-Life fan, and of course I will sing its praises time and time again. But also I know a good game when I see it (having played hundreds throughout my life) and I can honestly say that very little has come close to breaking the barrier that Half-Life 2 created when it undoubtedly became my favourite game of all time.
I would recommend this game to anybody - if only to enjoy the thrill-ride that you'll experience getting from one point to the next, and seeing how the dramatic story unfolds as you go along.