Half-Life 2

I am a big fan of the original Half Life. I've beaten the game several times. It is one of my personal favorites. Now its sequels (Half Life 2, EP.1 and EP.2) are included among my favorite titles.

I really liked the episodes as well. They were too short though. The creators announced that in fact the three episodes (With the third one not released at this point) are just one long game. Of course that brings many negative aspects. For instance if you want to play all three of them, you may want to install them simultaneously, resulting in some big portion of your memory being occupied. But there will be plenty of time to talk about these games. Let's focus on this title for now.

This sequel had a lot of work. It had to surpass the original game. Half Life was a unique game. It has an amazing story, great characters, and was really entertaining. It also had a certain kind of "magic". It became a classic almost instantly. Its second installment kept a lot of the great details that made the original so good and improved them with other features that helped to create an immersing gaming experience. Half Life 2 is as good as the original.

The old characters returned, but with better skins. Some new and interesting characters are introduced. There new and cool enemies (Whose A.I. is good). The graphic detail is incredible. The water effect is by far the best I've ever seen in a game. They took a lot of time polishing this features and it shows. The only negative thing I can say is that this title is shorter than the original.

The plot is great also. It is almost too linear though. We now follow the adventure several years after the events of the first game. The population is being enslaved and is our duty to help them before annihilation. To make the game even more appealing, the creators added the spectacular gravity gun, which is an extraordinary weapon (Well, not a weapon per se). It has the power to lift heavy objects and neutralize their weight. This weapon is almost as important as the characters. We wouldn't be able to solve some of the most interesting physics puzzles without it, and is extremely fun to use. And I almost forgot, the physics are great.

It was extremely difficult to reach the first Half Life game in terms of quality, but I think that this game pulled it off. It has that certain "magic" also. And is highly enjoyable. I recommend this title. It might not disappoint anyone.

"Half-Life 2" really elevates videogames to a new art form. For someone such as myself, who had taken a long hiatus from gaming, this was a refreshing revolution of the medium. There will always be the classic arcade games and the great Mario games for NES - but "Half-Life 2" takes gaming into a new dimension. This is the game that will blow away those of us who always thought games were simplistic. Its plot is better than 90% of action films today and it seamlessly blends realism with science-fiction.

Curiously enough "Doom 3" received more attention for blending cinema with gaming but I think "Half-Life 2" did so much better - there aren't cheesy cut-away scenes such as there are in "Doom 3" (which was still a fine game) and you actually feel like you ARE in an alternate reality. Valve - as they first did with the original "Half-Life" - provides similar scenes of plotting and character dialogue, but you never leave the POV of Dr. Gordon Freeman. And with the advancements in technology since the first game, "Half-Life 2" takes advantage of this to its fullest.

When I first got the game I couldn't play it. I was on a 2001 PC with outdated specs and had dial-up - Steam (which is a major pain and the only downside to this game) takes forever to download mandatory updates and "decryption" files in an effort to cut back on Internet piracy. The irony is that the game has made its way online anyway while people such as myself who purchased it often experience troubles with Steam because if you forget your password, or someone else uses it before you, you have to buy another copy of the game and they won't just replace the password itself.

Apart from Steam (the worst idea ever conceived by any gaming company) "HL2" delivers non-stop. I was surprised how the game combines so many different styles - first you start out in a bleak future-world reminiscent of "1984" and you join the resistance to fight the fascist ruling. The first few levels are eerie and brilliant; what's really scary is that they seem so realistic and not-so-far-away from where we are now.

Then it becomes a sci-fi game with zombie creatures and similar monsters. Then one level evokes atmospheric tension by placing you underground (think "Doom" minus the chainsaw) and then the game ends with a stunning apocalyptic-style war which also blends sci-fi and action together - yet all the while I felt like I could be playing a WWII battle game; the genre-bending is superb.

The storyline is solid and the game's engine is remarkable. The expansive surroundings and beautiful rendering is breathtaking at times. And the physics are the most realistic I've ever seen in any game, ever. It blows everything else out of the water.

The gravity gun at the end of the game is almost too good to be true - I've never seen anything like it in a game before.

At first I wasn't too sure about "Half-Life 2" because it has a fairly slow beginning; but by the end I couldn't stop playing. I re-played most of the game again and the second time around I really enjoyed the opening; it builds up a lot of tension and develops the storyline.

Overall this exceeds in the same areas that many games fail - it effortlessly combines every gamer's fantasy with mixed genres, great action, realistic settings and stunning graphics. I don't think any other game I've ever played has left such an impact on me. This is definitely one of the best games ever and possibly the best of its genre.

I am a huge half life fan, The game was the beginning of first person shooters. It set the standard for all fps's, everything was compared to to that game. It turn fps games into what they are today.

we have half life to thank for games being what they are today.

did half life 2 do the same thing? Half life 2 was amazing , one of the best games I ever played. Everything about the game was crafted so well and polished up to make it perfect.

GAMEPLAY 10/10 - Know questions ask half life 2 has some of the best most crafted and unique gameplay up todate. There's so many different way to approach combat situations. Most first person shooters its just run around blasting things with your gun. But in half life you can think, you can plan how your going to approach combat. You look around and use your environment and everything around you to help you fight, by setting off chain reactions or shooting the wood from underneath your enemy so they fall to the ground. Through most of the game you don't even need to shoot at your enemy. And the gravity gun just adds to the fun, putting stuff infront of doors watching the combine try and bust there way in. Picking up or moving everything around you. And on top of that just using a gun and blasting peoples heads in is unbelievably fun to.

GRAPHICS 10/10 - Now not everyone will get to see the game how its suppose to be seen. But if you do you will understand. Half life 2 probably has the best graphics seen to this day in any video game. Everything is detailed so much and so polished its amazing, from huge out door land scape's to a small beat up house everything looks amazing. The dynamic lighting adds such a element of beauty to everything giving it that final touch it need. Plus the water, I cant even begin to describe how beautiful the water looks, It reflects everything around you and does it so amazing its hard to put in words.

STORY 8/10 - I loved the story of the original half life and I loved the fact that no one really new the story even more. Half life 2 didn't really give any answers to any of the questions ask in half life 1, which is not a problem and didn't bug me at all. I actually like the overall story I just not sure I loved the way the did it. Alex character I thought was a typical tough girl thing and I was a big fan of her. I loved the part in doctor Kliners lab I thought it was amazing and so well done. I also loved the doctor Breen parts, I just would have liked it if it had been more like the first one where your really not sure whats going on or where you are. Overall I think it had a good story I just think it was missing some element that makes it half life.

OVERALL 9/10 - This game was amazing, no question about it. Definitely one of the best games of all time. It was totally original filled with fun action gameplay. Every element in the game was very well done and half life 2 was probably the first game to put all these amazing elements like physics, Good story, Good action, good graphics, in to one game and do an amazing job of it. The only real thing I didn't like was Alex typical tough girl attitude.

First of all, to mcottier, bbspot.com is a satirical website so yeah, sorry--no groundbreaking physics here.

what you do have however is one of the most amazing games ever. period. it's remarkable. I had never heard of halflife my freshman yeah in college.

someone bought it for me. all of a sudden, in a haze of FPS, Counterstrike and TFC it was the end of sophomore year and time to pick a major ;p ;p

now i'm a first year med-student and hl2 has come out...and all i have to say is don't get sick in my hospital! b\c this game is going to destroy my future--but it's so worth it! 10/10

Pros:

• Great story & characters
• Great fast-paced gameplay
• Amazing AI
• Great physics mechanics
• Great graphics (for 2004)
• Intricate level design
• Good variety of weapons
• Good variety of enemy types

Cons:

• None

Verdict: A game that is way ahead of it time; in its gameplay, graphics, story, AI, and physics. It is a must play for all gamers.

10/10.