Half-Life 2

"Some of the best graphics on consoles, to bad the story is so lame"

Half Life 2, Is probably the best example of a great PC game, being transferred perfectly to consoles. Very few games have made the transfer, but Half Life 2 is defiantly one of them. Combining the perfect elements of shooting, puzzles, and action, in one game. Being that I never played Half Life 1, I was a little confused on some things, but everything was pretty much explained in time.

You like shooting? This game covers that. Life puzzles? Half Life covers this to. Half Life 2 is one of the first games to really use different styles of gaming in one game. I was amazed at how much thought and skills it took to complete a simple task like building a ramp. Shooting was done perfectly, and the game gave you lots of different weapons to choose from, like a crow bar, to a revolver, to the gravity gun. The layout of the controller was a little difficult to figure out at first, one of the few bad parts about the game. As you progress, you will gradually master them in due time, but it is a little confusing and tiring parts of Half Life.

Another part I thought was bad was the fact a very large, and long portion of the game was taken to driving around a large fan powered boat around the outskirts of the city. It was boring and really mad me tired of getting out and back in the boat constantly. Not to mention that there was a demon helicopter following you the whole time. But after a while you get to have a gun placed on your boat, and can quickly law waste to it.

The story is pretty simple, you are Gordon Freeman. The silent, brilliant, strong, and courageous scientist that has the sole job of protecting your world from a deadly alien race. The game starts with the infamous G-Man, waking you up to save the human race again. So, after a short dialogue from him, you appear in a train car with two other people. It seems that several years have passed since the Black Mesa incident, and the humans have been enslaved by creatures known as Combine. After walking through the train station and learning about the area, you meet one of your old friends from Half Life 1, Barney. The story continues as you find Dr. Eli, another character from Half Life 1, and you try his new teleportation machine. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as planned, and you are transported all over the place, raising many alarms from the main bad guys.

Half Life 2 story isn't its most gallant point, and failed to hook me really, but its okay none the less.

Probably Half Life's 2 most outstanding feature, is the character voices and the dramatic pulse raising music. Characters sound great. I felt as if they were truly right there in front of me. So much detail and life likeness in the voices really shined in the game. Gordon himself doesn't say too much, if anything. And the music, which wasn't a constant thing, which I thought was great. Music in some games is needed to continue the action, but in others, such as Half Life, having it gone really added to the realism and overall feel to the game. In some spots, such as the helicopter chase scenes, the music kicked in and thumping exciting rock type music came on, which really made you just move.

If the characters and music isn't the best thing in Half Life 2, then the graphics are. For a PC gamer, most probably will be disappointed at how the final product for the X-Box turned out. But for non PC gamers, such as myself, will be utterly amazed and just in awe. I couldn't believe the detail and style that went into every single thing. I was just purely drooling while playing. Characters, while seeming a little off in faces, look great overall, and environments, well, that's just a completely new chapter for console gaming. From fires burning in the streets of Ravenholm, to a simple wall in the train station, all of the game looks outstanding, and is completely just, amazing.

Rent or Buy? I want so much to say Buy. But, I would rent Half Life 2 just to be safe. I enjoyed the game, but the story didn't grip me that much, and game play was confusing. The game looks great, and sounds amazing, but just small things made me say rent it first, even though most will buy it afterwards.

Half Life 2 is a true masterpiece among X-Box, no, console games in general. It brings to the table hours of enjoyment and thrilling action. The story, while not a Spielberg original story, is good, but fails to really capture you, in my eyes. But, with these amazing graphics, and awesome character voices and engulfing action music, it's defiantly one of the best games out there for consoles.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/05, Updated 12/23/05