"Valve's encouraging thrust into the cinematic future of gaming shows how far the medium has come"

Introduction:
Before any true discussion of the game can start, one must acknowledge the massive weight of expectation that hung upon Valve's latest at its release- few games have seen delays to the extent of this six-years-in-the-making sequel, and disappointment altercated with hope for the faithful as the months rolled onwards through 2004.

The source code leak, the playable alpha leak, the stunning videos from two E3 trade shows, the nVidia FX DirectX 9 benchmark debacle, the recent releases of the year's biggest shooters (Doom 3 et al), the apparent incompetence of the Steam system- Half Life 2 had both incensed and delighted before it was even in gamers hands, and with the legacy of the original looming large behind them Valve knew they must deliver in grand fashion. Have they?

Storyline and Plot: 9/10
G Man returns in the same clandestine role he assumed in the first title, introducing the player to the changed world at the beginning of the first chapter with a cryptic speech. His image fades from your retinas as you step off the train and start to make sense of the world.

No other shooter has come close to the level of characterization achieved with this game. High quality, believable voice-acting fills the character's accurately animated faces to give you a sense of familiarity and trust just seconds after meeting them. The story begins once again from the perspective of Gordon Freeman, without a clear sense of purpose or self-knowledge- this will change as you encounter old allies and learn about your role in a coming political coup.

Your early-game observation of an oppressive police state quickly builds resentment towards the ubiquitous masked soldiers that are humiliating and viciously beating citizens with impunity, preparing you subconsciously for the war to come. Propaganda decorates the walls, the same old man's voice and face repeating the eugenic justification for the subjugation from every monitor and television the player encounters.

The scope expands to encompass stories of rebellion, friendship, professional bitterness and hints at the potential for love. The story is well rounded and consistent in tone, with dramatic events unfolding quickly to keep the player feel constantly at the spearhead of something remarkable, whilst never being completely aware of the mechanics at work beyond the immediate struggle.

Gameplay: 10/10
Ah, the good stuff. Half Life 2's gameplay is the title's standout feature. Most noteworthy is the inclusion of the gravity gun- a weapon that it used to propel all manner of objects towards enemies at force. Most objects can be hurled, with saw blades and fridges being just two examples. Blast doors and barrels can usefully provide mobile cover when closing with an adversary, the ammunition of fallen foes can be collected from afar. The device is also used to solve some of the game's puzzles, which rely chiefly on the game's large-scale implementation of physics as a core gameplay element. In all, the gravity gun is a beautifully executed feature, creating some new gameplay dynamics and expanding some existing ones.

The physics in Half Life 2 go beyond those shown in any other game to date, utilizing a Valve-tweaked version of the Havok physics engine. Objects roll, bounce, drop, float, sink, recoil and bend as expected, acting with a good degree of visual realism. To progress, the player must use the physics- weighing down one end of a see-saw in one instance, using flotation devices to raise an escape ramp in another.

The game is generally well balanced, but even the hardest difficulty setting will not provide a significant challenge to veteran shooter fans. Weapon variety is good, with a scoped-crossbow that staples enemies to whatever's behind them, a robust RPG launcher with a laser sight that can fly rockets around for minutes if one chooses to, the satisfying shotgun and magnum, an energy sphere that disintegrates its victim on impact, a selection of automatics and of course the gravity gun.

Several creatures return from the first game, with zombies/head crabs now available in three different forms that are radically different to face in combat, but the majority of the game is spent fighting the Combine- the masked authorities mentioned above. Whilst uniform and armament vary a little over the course of the game, the Combine are all broadly very similar to fight. The AI, disappointing, never really shows any clever behaviour with flanking, grenade-evasion or cover fire. The zombies are something of an exception in this regard, kicking barrels and other objects at the player when they were thought to be a safe distance away. Mostly though, fun is extracted in the regular fire-fights from the inventiveness and choice one can exercise in the destruction of your opponents, rather than the smart strategies and tactics they employ.

The same cannot be said for the epic confrontations with the more serious hardware in the Combine arsenal. Battling with striders (horrific tripod tanks straight out of Jules Verne's ‘The War of the Worlds') is intense, crawling from crater to rubble in an explosive conflict that could be ended at any moment by a air-distorting energy blast from the towering walker. Combine gun-ships are worthy adversaries also, laying down a thick hail of heavy fire whilst encircling the player's position from the sky above. These are brought down by a series of rocket strikes, but the gun-ships have great skill in shooting down your rockets as they approach, turning these clashes into games of cat and mouse as the player steers the rocket to evade the defences of the craft before smashing it into the rear. The resultant satisfaction outshines even the explosive accompaniment to the victory.

The game is linear in some respects -the player must follow a narrow course throughout the game- but the choices offered to the player in any one situation are so plentiful that linearity never becomes a real concern. More open environments and multiple paths would have been welcome though, as the game can feel a little flat in-between combat zones when replaying the game.

The game offers different gameplay mechanics from chapter to chapter. Some chapters make use of the two excellently implemented vehicles; others involve squads of allies, with a simple but functional level of command over them. One chapter will use a horror-style setting, making heavy use of the environment around you where another will require the player to navigate part of a level without making contact with the floor for fear of the consequences. In truth, the transitions in gameplay can feel very sudden, but more often the play flows naturally into another approach, another skill to learn within the game. The entire journey will take a decent amount of time to complete, at around 15-20 hours for most gamers.

Graphics: 9.5/10
This is a very good game to look at. The game's textures are of a pretty high resolution and appropriately detailed. Objects within the world, from coke machines to milk crates to iron girders, are textured authentically and placed logically. This gives the impression of a consistent world made of lived-in environments, not levels constructed at the hands of game-developers. The models used in the game are exceptional throughout, with a high level of geometry giving them a visual depth which, alongside superlative animation, brings the enemies to life. This is all especially true for the significant characters in the storyline- G Man, Alyx and other characters have been given especially high-resolution face textures and beautifully lifelike facial expressions. In addition to being very pretty, this creates a deeper sense of empathy for the characters you fight alongside.

The Source engine, whilst not fully stretching its legs in Half Life 2, is capable of some impressive effects. The subtle refractions of light seen in the beautiful ribbed glass, water, magnifying glasses and laboratory test tanks are used to great effect- but not in such abundance that they would be considered overused. The draw distance is impressive when called upon, but a little lacking when held against something like Far Cry. The lighting used in Half Life 2 is rather basic, too. Lighting is not fully real-time, with generic shadows appearing below models as opposed to the more authentic shadowing techniques used in Doom 3 and upcoming releases.

In addition to a solid foundation of graphics tech, the game has fantastic art direction. The ominous design of the gasmask-wearing Combine, the integration of the Combine's glossy, slightly iridescent black metal into the buildings of the city, the defunct and wasted ambience of a disused prison facility, the sun bleached highway along the coast- the frequent scene changes, along with the well designed creatures and people that inhabit the world you travel through, make it all something to behold.

Whilst Half Life 2 is not pushing the envelope in every technical aspect, this is partly down to Valve's efforts to make this game playable on a wide range of machines. Realistic minimum requirements for the game are extremely low for such a recent release, with the game looking much better than many could have hoped for on lower-end machines and looking stunning with great performance on higher-end machines. The biggest graphical achievement here is not the absolute in quality from Half Life 2 at maximum settings, but how good it looks with medium settings- and how well it performs with those.

Sound: 8/10

The physics-centric world of Half Life 2 features collisions between objects made of different materials, happening at various speeds. The sound effects for these bumps, crashes and clangs are diverse and satisfactory, helping somewhat in the appearance of a consistent world. Voice acting is of a very high standard in every instance- jokes, panicked yells, flirting, thinly veiled contempt, it all comes across beautifully even without the excellent facial animation system. Hearing the Combine yell things to each other in fire-fights, regardless of any impact on gameplay, is a nice touch.

Music is fairly uneven. The tracks don't play all the time, and though sometimes they can lend an adrenal rush to a situation, they are equally likely to jar with the context the player finds themselves in by starting suddenly at times that aren't particularly appropriate. The music itself is not very memorable, with no one theme that feels made for the series.

Weapon sounds are, for the most part, very good. The pistol is very weak-sounding, and does not feel as though it packs a lot of punch, though admittedly in gameplay it actually doesn't. The thudding bang of automatic pulse-rifle fire, the thick and bass-ridden boom of a shotgun double blast, the sharp concussive blast of a grenade, it all sounds great. With the bass turned up a bit above the usual, these weapons feel like real action film death-dealers. The electric crackle of gravity gun discharge seems totally authentic for what is a fictitious weapon.

Most of what you hear during Half Life 2 is like candy for your ears. *NOTE: Do not attempt to put candy inside your ears, especially a candy cane. To do so could potentially be very dangerous.*

Conclusion: Half Life 2 exceeds the calibre of its closest rivals in almost every respect, with the most immersive action experience on the market today. Any weaknesses (and there are a few as I've noted) are overwhelmed by the quality and cohesiveness of the whole. The innovations in, and varieties of, gameplay on display in Valve's opus combine with the gripping plot to reach new heights in player involvement.

Visually impressive on virtually all modern systems, Valve should be commended for delivering this masterstroke in videogame design to the masses with such success. They have managed to elicit delight in almost all of the fan-base that had grown weary from waiting, burdened with high expectations.

10/10 (not an average)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/05