Half-Life 2

"Tops the original in every way possible"

Ah, Half-Life… the very game that wowed the industry with incredible gameplay and FPS storytelling. The game that spawned countless successful mods like Counterstrike and Team Fortress which then went on to become fully licensed games. The game that picked up more than fifty game of the year awards and was voted the greatest game of all time in numerous different publications. I could go on forever but I think you get the point. The original Half Life was a big step forward for the FPS genre and revolutionized and essentially set the bar for how the FPS genre is today.

After 6 years, finally the highly anticipated sequel has finally hit store shelves and the question, my dear readers, I'm sure you'll be asking is ‘does it live up the hype?'. Read more and find out…

Story

If your unfamiliar with the Half Life franchise, the game's story isn't told through cutscenes. Instead, the plot plays out entirely in first person which makes the story feel more engaging and consistent when compared to the bland and generic cutscenes seen in most other FPS's. Half Life 2 starts sometime after the black mesa incident as the mysterious G-Man places Gordon Freeman (the main protagonist from the first game) into the combine-controlled City 17. The combine, are a strange race of aliens tasked by their superiors to enslave the populace and inhabitants of the universe to essentially become the dominant species. The story starts out slowly introducing all of the games main characters as Gordon makes his way through a series of swamps and barren wastelands. But after you reach the half-way mark the story reaches a more steady pace, as the story follows Gordon with the help of the resistance (a rebellion of humans which have joined to fight against the Combine forces) as they attempt to free mankind from the clutches of the evil Combine.

As Gordon travels through the world of HL2 he'll meet up with a lot of the characters from the previous game and it's great to see the inclusion of a few new ones too. The most notable being Alyx, the daughter of Dr. Eli Vance from the first game, and the new lady-friend of Gordon. She also serves as one of the main protagonists in the game and will meet up with Gordon to help him in certain points in the game. Alyx is arguably one of the most likeable female characters I've encountered in a game so far and the way she interacts with Gordon during the game is simply unheard of. The character interaction in general is fantastic and in terms of the game's story, is one of the game's many highpoints. Overall the game's plot is an excellent example to how storylines should be done in FPS games.
10/10

Graphics/Visuals

Visually the game is truly amazing. From the moment you step out of the train station into the combine-controlled City 17 at the beginning of the game you'll be immediately wowed with the amount of detail Valve have put into the outside environments in the game. The incredible highly detailed textures look simply superb, even more so if you're playing in the amazing HDR setting. Valve's source engine is a state of the art and continues to pump out amazing graphical effects and brilliant lighting effects from start to finish.

The famed facial expressions are amazing, and like the voice acting, even the most minor of characters have still been superbly animated. The facial expressions are really so convincing and really bring out their emotions, and if you move while they're talking they will turn their head to adjust their vision on you, it's simply magical. The character models are just as good and are expertly crafted, as is the amazing art direction. The game uses colours, lighting and shading in a unique way, and the architecture is quite an impressive sight. Easily one of the best artistically brilliant PC games I've ever played.
10/10

Sound/Audio

The voice acting is not surprisingly, excellent and even the most insignificant roles are played out perfectly. Music isn't a huge part of the Half Life series apart from the occasional eerie ambient tune when discovering a new area or plot point. Normally I would criticise most other games with lack of music, but in HL2 this really adds to the immersion and atmosphere in the game and more or less, it really feels like your really in a living breathing world. Occasionally though, during some of the more epic action -packed scenes fast-paced throbbing electronica kicks in really setting the mood for the battle.

The game's sound design is excellent. The howls, screams, screeches and wails of the Zombies as they stumble towards you arms outstretched are particularly awesome. And the sounds of puncturing metal as your bullets ricochet of the side of a flying combine Chopper are fantastic.

Sound: 10/10
Music: 9/10

Gameplay

At it's time of release Half Life 2 featured by far some of the most realistic video game physics ever, only surpassed by the two more recently released games in the franchise. Objects bounce, drop, roll, spin, float, sink and break interacting with you, the environment and other objects realistically and believably. All in all though, HL2 uses physics in a way that they has never been used before in FPS games. This alone would still be a reason to pick up this game.

As for the actual gameplay I can assure you that Half-Life 2 plays like a dream. Pretty much everything that made the original game amazing has been topped whether it be the diverse gameplay styles and mechanics or the innovative puzzles. One of the best new features in the game is the inclusion of the revolutionary Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator , or gravity gun as it‘s commonly known as in the game. Using it, Value could truly show the power of their new Source engine. The gravity gun is not only an amazing showcase to the games physics, but probably one of the most innovative gameplay mechanics in a FPS ever. Using it, Gordon can move and manipulate objects in the environment to throw at enemies, solve puzzles and navigate the game's vast world.

Other than the Gravity Gun almost all of Gordan's firearms return from the previous game to be used at his disposal. Gordan's iconic crowbar, 9mm Glock (Pistol), .357 Colt (Magnum), SMG, Shotgun, Crossbow and a bunch of others as well as a few new weapons like the fast-firing assault rifle, the Pulse Rifle and the Pteropod a seed-like throw able item capable of converting enemy ‘Antlion' to fight by your side.

Like in the previous game the level design is superb. Levels while generally quite linear are expertly designed and are a lot of fun to play through even after several play throughs. Each level a perfect balance of puzzles and gunplay. They range from the combine-controlled streets of City 17 to the dark, desolate empty streets of the zombie-infested Ravenholm, to the long and obscurely beautiful coastlines of Highway 17.

Most of the enemies from the original Half-Life have returned. The alien head-crabs and their zombie hosts all reappear revamped and more powerful than before. In terms of new enemies it's nice and varied, the most common of which being the Combine, a mysterious gun-wielding alien race. There are two new head -crabs types, poison and fast which produce two new zombie types as well as the Antlion which I featured above. Ironically one of the more interesting and ‘unique' enemies added in the HL2 is the ‘Strider' the combine's main assault unit which bears an appearance very simular to the tripods from ‘The War of the Worlds'. You'll fight them close to the end of the game.

Gunfights in the game are incredible fun. The enemy AI has vastly improved, and like Gordon, will now use the environment to their advantage. Combine will take cover behind objects and issue each other commands and Zombies will screech as they knock boxes, barrels and furniture at you moving relentlessly forward slowly surging towards you as you frantically search the environment for paths and objects to use against them as an attempt to escape. It's great to see how the gravity gun has been implemented into combat. Other than being able to pick up and throw objects at enemies you can use furniture to board off doorways to reload and take cover.

The game's puzzles mainly revolve around use of the Gravity Gun and the sheer amount of thought and innovation involved is great, and most puzzles truly utilize the Havok physic engine to it's full potential. Puzzles There's a good range of fairly easy puzzles like stacking barrels, boxes and furniture to reach high ground or blasting objects out of the way using the gravity gun and there are some more difficult puzzles like using the Gravity Gun to unplug power cords or dropping heavy objects onto one side of a large plank of wood creating a see-saw allowing you to get to higher ground.

Near the beginning of the game players are given the task of crossing the vast toxic swampy wetlands on a speeder boat. Then later in the game players drive along a coastline at high speed in a Buggy eradicating combine along the way. These vehicle sections of the game, while somewhat difficult to control, are some of the best and most exhilarating moments in the game. Other levels allow Gordon to control squads of four resistance members guiding them through environments taking out Combine, while another level is heavily based on the use of the gravity gun and environment as your advantage as you make your way through a horror-themed village taking out zombies, while trying to conserve your ammo. This here is an excellent example of the how diverse the gameplay is, each level introducing new gameplay mechanics and essentially, this prevents the game from feeling boring or old.

The game is quite linear in a sense that you have to go from point A to point B completing tasks, but to really get the full experience out of the game you'll find yourself taking detours and exploring ever nook and cranny in the games beautiful world. Concerning the game's length though, it should take you around 15-20 hours to complete depending on how familiar you are with the FPS genre, but for veterans it's fair to say you'll get a fair few hours of gameplay before you get to the end credits.

In terms of features additional features other than the main game the game also includes Counter-Strike: Source which is essentially an updated version of the original CS running on the Source engine with superior visuals and has physics. Whether it's worth picking up HL2 just for CSS depends on how much you want the updated visuals and physics. If your unfamiliar with the original CS (Which is highly unlikely) it's definitely worth picking this up. Others not interested in HL2 may want to reconsider the purchase.
10/10

Controls

The basic control configuration is fairly standard for a PC FPS. WASD controls movement over Gordon and obviously the mouse is used to aim. Firing is done with left-mouse click and secondary fire is done with the right. Spacebar jumps and you can duck & run using the ctrl and shift buttons, respectively. R is used to reload, E is the action button (eg: to activate switches or turn valves, etc, etc) and F toggles the flashlight and the numerical keys on the keyboard are used to switch weapons. Like most other PC games you can tweak and adjust the controls in the option menu, so if the control scheme doesn't quite fit your playing style you can change them. Using the default control method though, the controls excellent.
9/10

Now for a quick revision…

Story: 10/10
Graphics/Visuals: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Music: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Controls: 9/10
Overall: 10/10

Pros

+ Just about everything

Cons

- Little to nothing

In Conclusion

To answer the question in the intro, I can well and truly say that, yes, Half Life 2 was definitely well worth the hype. With amazing diverse gameplay, innovative new features, amazing voice acting & sound design, fantastic graphics and a story superior to the likes of the original Half Life, Half Life 2 tops the original is every possible way. One of the greatest FPS games ever made.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/09, Updated 07/10/09

Game Release: Half-Life 2 (US, 11/16/04)