Half-Life 2 will have a massive single-player storyline composed of 12 chapters. By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors of both friends and enemies.
Players once again pick up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa.
The advertisements call Half-Life 2 "the most highly anticipated PC release, ever." While this may be true (apologies to Doom 3), the haughty cries of this being "the best game ever made" are very much overstated. Is this a good game? Yes. Is it a great game? Certainly! Is it the finest game, or even FPS, ever made? That's debatable.
Let's start with the good stuff, because there's a whole lot of it in Half-Life 2. First and foremost, the graphics are truly an accomplishment. They're not as pretty in the "shiny/glossy" sense as Doom 3, but in the sense of creating the illusion of a living, breathing world, Half-Life 2 succeeds like no game before it. Particularly of note are the character facial expressions — they're so lifelike, they're borderline creepy! The characters move so realistically, it's like having CG actors in a video game, performing with every bit of emotion and skill as their flesh-and-blood counterparts.
Equally impressive is Half-Life 2's physics engine. The gravity gun is easily the best new weapon in any FPS released in 2004. Whether throwing sawblades through a pack of headcrab zombies, or hurling an explosive barrel at a pack of Combine troops, the way Half-Life 2 implements the environment's many objects into gameplay never fails to impress.
Now, the criticism. Yes, you read that right: There are problems with the almighty Half-Life 2, the almighty messiah of PC gaming that, according to countless message boards and forums, was coded by Jesus, produced by Buddah, and given on the highest mountain to Gabe Newell.
The biggest gripe I have is with the vehicle portions of the game – quite frankly, they're boring, tedious experiences, and there are far too many of them. Half-Life is about shooting things, not controlling wobbly vehicles through awkwardly designed stretches of level space.
Equally distressing is the script — though the lines are well-written and delivered skillfully by the voice actors, the actual story behind Half-Life 2 seems like it was written in days, not years. The first third of the game plays out like something lifted right out of the Matrix, with Gordon's "Neo" savior figure running from spinning buzzsaw machines of death and jackbooted thugs. For a first person shooter, there's a whole lot of running going on right from the start.
Thankfully, the action does step up quite a bit once you reach the zombie-infested town of Ravenholm. Unfortunately, the many questions raised by Half-Life's ambiguous ending are never really addressed, and as a result, Half-Life 2 feels more like a middle chapter in an extended saga than a self-contained ending to the narrative started in the original game.
The action in Half-Life 2 doesn't quite "feel" as intense as it could, mostly due to the underpowered weapon effects. The other sound effects are spot-on, however, and this especially holds true for the many explosions. Online gameplay is pretty much exactly as you remember it, only with heavily improved visuals. All editions of the game come with a downloadable multiplayer option via Steam, and the pricier editions include a full version of Counterstrike: Source. Either option is awesome, and the mod community that helped Half-Life become the most heavily modified game in PC history is sure to come up with some nifty tricks for the sequel, but there is no doubt that the main attraction right out of the box is the single-player campaign.
Is it a great game? Certainly. The weapons are well balanced, the action is riveting, and the gunplay is as good as it ever was in Half-Life. The graphics, well-written dialogue, and mind-blowing physics put this firmly in the territory of AAA titles. But those expecting a story that wraps up the loose ends of the first game, or a revolution in the basic FPS mechanics of old are going to be a bit let down. Still, the fact that Half-Life 2 doesn't "reinvent the wheel" should NOT stop any PC gamer with a capable rig from experiencing what is assuredly an AAA+ shooter.
The advertisements call Half-Life 2 "the most highly anticipated PC release, ever." While this may be true (apologies to Doom 3), the haughty cries of this being "the best game ever made" are very much overstated. Is this a good game? Yes. Is it a great game? Certainly! Is it the finest game, or even FPS, ever made? That's debatable.