Half-Life was an astounding shooter that burst onto the PC gaming scene in 1998 and completely annihilated every other shooter in terms of immersion and gameplay. Much of the same can be said about Half-Life 2. Half-Life 2 puts you in the shoes of Gordon Freeman, a scientist from Black Mesa(setting of Half-Life) that is forced to fight through mobs of headcrabs, zombies, marines, and in Half-Life 2, the Combine Forces. This time, Gordon will be fighting in City 17, the last stronghold of humans on earth(or is it earth?). The gameplay in Half-Life 2 is top notch. The game takes you through a bevy of styles of gameplay. From the surprisingly scary streets of Ravenholm, where you have to fend off hordes of zombies and headcrabs with little or no ammo, to the intense shootouts in Nova Prospekt, where you have to use your head to stay alive from the approaching Combine Soldiers. Also, there are a few levels that involve vehicles that break up the on foot action quite nicely. All of these seperate gameplay elements make your experience more rich than any other game this year. The Artificial Intelligence in this game is good, but it isn't as much of an upgrade that you would expect. The zombies have a new trick up their sleeve that caught me off guard the first time I saw it. Now they can throw objects at you like barrels and it will knock your vision off-kilter for a moment, otherwise, they will just slowly stagger toward you making them an easy kill. The Combine Soldiers are a more entertaining foe, they will flank your position, toss grenades to weed you out, and did I mention they carry guns? However, they aren't the best opponent ever, because they will often just run at you and not fall back for cover. All of the guns feel top notch. They all have a part to play and there is a good selection making it fun to play through sections using any gun you want. One new weapon that you earn, is the Pheropods, which attract Antlions who will hunt down combine soldiers for you. The biggest dissapointment in the weapons area is the lack of new guns. However, one of the new guns is the Gravity Gun. You can throw pretty much anything around realistically and watch it bounce around, or you can take the less humane aproach and throw objects at your helpless enemies. The gravity gun wouldn't be possible without the new graphics engine that VALVe created for Half-Life 2. They call it Source. and it is clearly the wave of the future in terms of realistic graphics and physics. The amount of detail in the game overall is astounding. The vast majority of the textures are sharp, and the player models are very clean. The draw distances are better than any other game I have seen, with Combine structures casting shadows for miles around. The facial expressions of your comrades and enemies are more lifelike than any game before it. With characters truly conveying emotion realistically. One notable problem is some framerate and sound issues right after loading up a new area. It only lasts for a few seconds and is the only flaw in Half-Life 2's visual package. The sound is another highpoint in this game. It correctly sets the mood for every situation in the game. It is quite enjoyable to listen to and it gets you pumped up for the coming action sequence. The only letdown in the sound department is the lack of music. It seems to kick in to creep you out, pump you up, or set the emotion of the section. However, in VALVe's defense, these moments wouldn't be as scary or exciting if the music played throughout the journey. The voice acting in the game is top notch, coupled with the great facial animation, makes the characters and story all the more believable. The story in Half-Life 2 is great. There are many surprising plot twists that will keep you enthralled throughout. I won't spoil anything, but you will be amazed at where you are at the end and how far you have come. It leaves a bit open ended, similar to the first Half-Life. While this will definetly anger some, it leaves space for speculation and general excitement about what Half-Life 3 has in store. I played Half-Life 2 on the normal setting, and it took me approximately 10-15 hours to complete. This may be labeled as a "short" game, but there are other things that come into play. The whole game is so immersive and fun that I am sure that I will be heading back to City 17 again and again. Of course not everyone will want to replay the campaign, so VALVe included the great Counter-Strike: Source with Half-Life 2. It is a great addition to the single player, and will keep you coming back for more. Also, the newly released Half-Life 2 Deathmatch is a wonderful feature. In it, you get to run around levels from the single player game with other people and you get to have alot of fun playing around with the weapons of Half-Life 2, including the marvelous gravity gun. In the end, Half-Life 2 is worth the wait. Every element comes together perfectly to form one of the best shooter experiences seen on PC or any other format. It is the most immersive game to date and should be experienced by anyone with a computer able to handle it. Now we can only wait for Half-Life 3, and hopefully it will come faster than this iteration did.
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
