The most engaging FPS of the decade and worthy successor to 1998s Half Life
Half Life 2 picks up about 20 years after the Black Mesa incident portrayed in the original Half Life, Gordon Freeman is awaken by the G-Man to save humanity from the Combine, and alien military force located in City 17, an Eastern European urban district. Those who have not played the original Half Life or do not know about the previous events will most likely be lost and turned off by the first 30 minutes. Many references to Black Mesa are made throughout the entire game and the whole opening with the G-Man will be confusing. That isnt to say people who are new wont enjoy Half Life 2, but they will be lost by the story. The story itself is pretty plausible and answers several questions brought up in Half Life, while bringing up some new questions, and not really in a good way. The ending to Half Life 2 is one of the most Anti Climatic endings I have ever seen, and Episode 1 and 2 are no better, each of them leaving you wondering what happens to Gordon and everyone else. The characters in this game are very likeable and by the end of Episode 2 you will have somewhat of an emotional attatchment to them. Some familiar faces such as Doctor Kleiner and the oh so creepy GMan return in HL2 while some new faces appear, most notably Alyx Vance, who is the daughter of Eli Vance who worked with Gordon throughout the first game.
The gameplay of Half Life 2 is basically the same as the first one with some new twists, Valve really took advantage of the Source Engine, especially with the new Gravity Gun, which can pick up objects and fling them at enemies, its very enjoyable and doesnt get old for quite a while. Some guns make returns such as the classic SMG, Shotgun, Pistol, Revolver, and Crossbow etc. Another new weapon is a pod Pheromone, which can summon these creatures called Anti-Lions, which crawls up from the ground and decapitates your enemies, which really come in handy during the chapter Nova Prospect. One thing that the Half Life series is notable for is its clever puzzeles, and Half Life 2 has bunches of them. These puzzles are by no means challenging at all, but they are well thought out and are very clever and keep you entertained when there is no gunfighting. Another thing that is notable in not only Half Life but in almost all Valve games is its environment. Half Life 2 offers lots of variety when it comes to environments, whether your on a highway being chased by The Combine, on a river dodging helicopter bullets, in a deserted town sawing zombies with your gravity gun while a crazed priest assists you by blowing them away with a shotgun, or in a prison fighting an Anti-Lion queen, Half Life 2 constantly keeps the game feeling fresh with its wide variety of levels and spectacular level designs.
Like most games, Half Life 2 has its share of minor flaws. Enemies are repetitive and just feels like a horde of constant Combine soldiers coming after you the entire game. Sure the Anti-Lions and the zombies offer some enemy variety, but for the most part its all Combine. The game is also pretty easy, and even on the hardest difficulty you can get through the game with little to no challenge, there are a generous amounts of Health Packs scattered all across and its pretty easy to find cover and peak out, blast a few enemies, then repeat in order to get passed tight situations. Also, and Im just being nitpicky, how come the shotgun only carries 30 bullets? And how come the Pulse Rife only carries 60? If this was Valves way of adding challenge this is wasnt exactly what I was thinking of.
Overall, Half Life 2 earns its place as one of the greatest games this decade, its engaging gameplay and story make it worth playing through, and there is enough variety in its environments and puzzles to keep you entertained the entire game.
Score- 9.7/10