[Johans14]

This is my first review so be kind.

This is the sequel to one of the most succesful games ever created for pc. The fans of the origional thought that a sequel would ruin Half Life's name, expressed a lot on the VALVe forums, but when the game was released, their views completely changed.

Half Life 2 is made by VALVe, the creators of ground breaking games such as Counter Strike, Half Life and Day of Defeat, it is powered by the amazing Source engine. You start off as Gordan Freeman, the theoretical physicist who starred in the origional half life, it begins with a person called the G-Man from the origional Half Life telling to to 'Rise and Shine' giving his award winning speach then you suddenly find yourself in a train towards city 17, which is the base of operations of the Combine, who in fact run the entire world, how convienient. This is a carry on from the origional but misses out a large piece in the middle of the games, but is then explained in bits through the game.

The Source engine used in Half Life 2 increases the graphical potential for this game dramatically, you can tell the difference of the origional game to the sequel as the engine improves everything about this game, the depth of the levels and detail of its characters and surroundings are astounding, the light and shadow are crisp and are precise. Although because of these graphics the game needs to keep reloading, a lot, every time you enter a new part of level, which may be you started inside a building then as soon as you exit into a large clear area it will load again and vice versa, also during large firefights it may begin to cause it to 'lag' due to low fps because of how much is happening, this happens more from a loading time though.

The Sounds are quite good, especially the music as once you enter a new area or a significant moment in the game, the music will kick in, which gives the game a good feel as it adds to the tension and can either make you more jumpy, or more for wanting a firefight. The sounds of the creatures, police etc. can also change how you think of the game, and these do not disappoint giving a great variation and sometimes a quick laugh at the noices some of them make. ( im sure one was off an old crash bandicoot game) Anyway back to topic, the sounds for the guns are a bit off though, sometimes it is more of a clunk sounds, then more of a paintball kind of sound for the smg, that seems a more of a let down as most of the time you are shooting a gun.

Speaking of guns, the gravity gun has to be one of the most entertaining weapons ever created in a game, you can either pick up a blade, throw at zombie things and watch them slice in half, or even grab an explosive barrel and blow the **** out of them, although this is both a pro and a con thing as you are able to do many things and interact with the enviorment in many ways, (not as much as black but nearly there), but can get quite repetitive in time as once you have all the weapons possible, you suddenly realise you are using the same gun, although the crowbar is handy tool.

The gameplay is a lot of a run, shoot some cops, run a bit more, use gravity gun, blow up some zombie things, then use the gravity gun some more, it is quite enjoyable at first but then starts to get a bit repetitive, although the storyline of the game keeps you wanting to play as it has many twists and turns about that keep you on your toes as you dont know what to expect which keeps you gripped to the fateful brick, but then this is then short lived, it says it has 15 chapters but the reality is thet there are nearly less than an hour less for each, i have so far played 13 chapters and have been playing for about 8-10 hours on it, this is good while it lasts but with no live, multiplayer or any extras available, other than playing a higher difficulty you are going to be playing the same game again, that is if you pick it up again.

Overall this is an excellent game with many quirks that make very unique to any other game i have played with its unique weaponry with the origionals, its mix of characters and level designs, and its superior sound and graphics. Although it is still not one of the best games i have played but it is about a high-mid.

Graphics - 9/10
Sounds - 8/10
Lifespan - 7/10
Gameplay - 8/10
Storyline - 9/10

Overall Score - 8/10

So lads and lasses, what you think?

This post has been edited by Johans14: 14 April 2006 - 09:27 AM

[Johans14]

no comments?? they are much appreciated even if it is an old game.

[(MRC)M@Ginty]

good review, you managed to get most of the strong points in the PC version. the trouble is that its a PC game, it was designed specifically for the PC and its has reflected in XBox game sales. HL2 for the XBox is the only true failure Valve has ever experienced. Its not that it isnt a great game but because on the PC its cheaper and you get more, and because it didnt appeal to console gamers.

If you want one of the best FPS experiences out there Half-Life 2 is a must have game. But if you have a PC that can run it you should get the PC version as it comes with death match multiplayer, Counter-Strike Source and hundreds of third party mods including single player and multiplayer additions.

[R31DY]

Johans14, on Apr 15 2006, 01:06 PM, said:

no comments?? they are much appreciated even if it is an old game.

Sorry mate, i read it yesterday and thought i replied.......what did i wonder off to do now..... ..........Anyways, great review mate , i was pretty close to buying Half Life 2 when it came out but it was too close to the 360 release, so i didn't bother .

[Spirit X]

Yeah nice review there Johans. I too was umming and erring about this one, after reading your piece I think I still wanna' give it a bash but I might wait until I see it dirt cheap in a bargain bin somewhere. It's sounds fairly run'n'gun and I'm more into the tactical shooters atm.

[Johans14]

yeh it is more of a run an gun game than anythin else, thats why i rented it , thats also how i manages to do it for xbox even though it sounded a bit like a pc version, honeslty i would rent it as it does not take long to complete, get one of the ones of the internet like screen select as it gives you 5 free rentals and you can have them for as long as you want, but only one at a time. (sorry if im advertisin a bit there)

[Ding Chavez]

Personally I think this is a great game for people who don't have really powerful pc's. Unfortunately for me, I am one of those people.

Regardless of not having multiplayer, Half Life 2 is worth it just to play through the campaign. Replay value seems to be pretty much zero though.

As for renting...well I recommend it as well since there isn't much replay value. Just make sure you set aside some time to play. I am currently on the the 2nd last level and I've been playing for approximately 10 hours. When I think of short games I generally think 6 hours or less.

By the way, great review.