"HL2 raises the bar for ALL future games!"

After a year of delays Half Life 2 finally made it's debut. Is it better than Doom 3? Yes. Is it worth the $55-$60 price tag? Not really, although some may feel different. If you pre-ordered and paid the $49 for it it's worth the money. The only issue I've had with the game really was it's length. There are a few minor things too which I'll mention later. For a game that suffered so many setbacks and delays it should have been much longer, instead it was painfully short.

GRAPHICS
Outstanding! HL2 has raised the graphics bar to extreme levels. The textures and environmental graphics are unmatched in any game to date and probably will remain on top for a long time. Textures are crisp, detailed, and well defined. Environmental effects like explosions are excellent, and water effects such as reflectivity are incredibly realistic. The character models and enemy models are finely detailed. Perhaps the most outspoken graphic feature is the facial expressions of the characters. Incredibly realistic movements and features, the best of any game yet. It's like actually watching a real person. Eye movements, lip movements, facial expressions, all are unmatched.

SOUND & MUSIC
Excellent for both. Many, but not all, of the sounds were taken from the original Half Life game. Sounds such as the breaking of boxes, crowbar hitting metal, bullets ricocheting, alien noises, etc. The music is excellent, real adrenaline pumping music fits well with the game. The voice overs are excellent too and sync well with the lip movements of the characters. We have yet though, to hear what Gordon Freeman sounds like he doesn't say anything in HL2.

PLAYABILITY & CONTENT
Excellent! They've made a vast number of improvements over the original HL. Probably the move dominant is the physics. It is indeed all they claimed. Objects react differently depending on what it is. For example, a cinder block will cause more damage with thrown or launched at an enemy than a crate. Where as a crate will float on the water as opposed to a brick or something heavy which sinks. Objects will bounce, roll, slide, etc. depending on it's shape and mass. The rag doll physics are very good as well, even the objects have rag doll, for example the bed mattress will fold over and bend.

Most objects in the game are breakable which was good. Everything from crates to windows to book cases. I spent a whole lot of time just smashing stuff and throwing things around seeing how it'd react to contact with other objects. Also, most objects can be used as a weapon once you get the Gravity Gun. The GG allows you to pick objects up and carry them around or use them as projectiles. You can also use it to catch certain enemy units and launch them into walls and stuff. You can also catch grenades and launch them back at the enemy. Unfortunately the GG doesn't work on most creatures and enemies until the end of the game which was a bit disappointing.

Another great feature was the driving of vehicles. You get to ride hover craft type boat, and drive two different dune buggy type cars. It was pretty fun zipping around and they responded well to controls so it wasn't a pain to maneuver them.

The levels are designed with an extreme amount of detail and you'll find yourself exploring a bit more than you normally would with other FPS (First Person Shooters). The game also ran very smoothly and despite the heavy graphics load it didn't crash on me at all. Some people might find the game choppy though if they try to set the graphics higher than their system can support. But even without the filter settings set high or at all, the graphics are still unmatched.

Ok now for the issues I've had with the game. First and foremost it's just too short. As stated for the length of the delays the game should have been longer, a lot longer. You can probably beat the game in 3 or 4 days even if you mess around. Some parts are a little irritating because enemies will constantly respawn at you. I've never liked when a game does that. There also weren't many weapons, although there were a few new ones. They could have put more weapons in the game especially more alien or future type weapons. You only get a 9MM, .357, SMG, Pulse Rifle, Crossbow, Crowbar, Alien Pods (Bug Bait), and grenades. Also the plot, it pretty much throws you into the game and you have no idea what's going on. At least some kind of intro might have made things a little more clear. You really don't know what's going on until partly through the game.

CONTROLS
Keys can be mapped.

SAVING FEATURES
Anytime, anywhere.

[b]THE GOOD[/b]
Outstanding graphics.
Excellent sounds and music.
Unmatched physics.
Facial expressions and lip syncing.

THE BAD
Few weapons.
Short game.

THE UGLY
Nothing notable.

OVERALL RATING 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/04