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Half-Life 2

Publisher: Vivendi Universal

ESRB Rating: Mature

Release Date: November 16, 2004

Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP

Media: CD-ROM

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Features

Sequel to the hit first-person shooter
Scientist-with-a-crowbar Gordon Freeman joins a ragtag human resistance fighting extradimensional invaders for the survival of a conquered Earth
Unnervingly realistic graphics the likes of which have not been witnessed outside of a motion picture or pre-rendered cut scene
Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties
For 1 player

 

Product Description

In many ways, creating a sequel to Half-Life is an unenviable task. After all, the goal is to craft not just any ordinary game, but an improvement to a title that is widely considered to be the high water mark for first person shooters. Fortunately, Valve does not disappoint on their sophomore effort.

Half-Life 2 picks up exactly where its predecessor leaves off, with gamers stepping once more into Gordon Freeman's HVAC suit as he awakes at some indeterminate time in the future, now apparently in the employ of the mysterious G-Man. Humanity has been sold out to alien forces, and your job is to escape their thrall and lead the resistance to victory.

HL2's key successes are in a few critical areas, the first of which is the new physics & graphics engine, called Source. People and objects fall, fly, tip over, float, and break in an extraordinarily realistic fashion, and in-game puzzles often require you to use simple applications of physics to progress. Second, an elaborate facial structure system coupled with excellent voice acting make for some of the most believably human NPCs in gaming history. This is no small thing; you will find yourself actually caring about the characters who surround you, even those that are normally regarded as cannon fodder. Third, the level design exhibits a subtle brilliance, which frequently fools you into feeling like you're making your way through an organic environment and not a forced linear path. These elements combine to form one of the most truly immersive experiences ever captured on a PC.

This gaming bliss comes at a cost, however. If your computer isn't running the latest and greatest hardware, you may find yourself turning down a lot of the slick graphics to keep the machine from choking. Also, at the time of this writing the only two bundled multiplayer games are a barely updated version of Counter-Strike and HL2 DeathMatch. Counter-Strike: Source is every bit as fun as the original, but the DeathMatch is lackluster and contains only a handful of uninspired maps.

Overall, Half-Life 2 is a smashing success, every bit worthy of the prestige and respect that the franchise has been awarded. This is absolutely a game that every computer gaming enthusiast is going to want to have in their collection. -- Jon "Safety Monkey" Grover

Pros:

  • Advanced graphics and physics system provide highly immersive experience
  • Believable, expressive non-player characters
  • Fun, realistic level design
Cons:
  • Requires a very fast computer to play with all bells & whistles on
  • DeathMatch mode has few maps and is not terribly entertaining
 
Average Rating: 3.5

Product Reviews

Rating: 1 StarsSeriously, don't buy it used or it won't work!

I have no idea how the game is because I bought it from an Amazon marketplace seller and now the "Steam" anti-piracy protection system won't let me play it.

I went to the Steam support pages like I was told to, and I read this:

"... you must have a copy of your purchase receipt from within the last 90 days to have the CD Key moved to your account.

"We do not accept receipts from online auction websites or used software vendors. If you do not provide a purchase receipt, Valve will not be able to transfer the CD Key."


I can't believe that anyone accepts this as a reasonable way to sell consumers a game in a box, but I guess they do!

I read a thread on some Half-Life 2 forum where the users were telling a guy not to bother Valve, the software creators, with questions about their policy, but rather just to return his used game to whoever he bought it from.

Unbelievable!

From what I hear, maybe if I send the right person at Valve an actual photo of my box, and wait two months, I might be allowed to play. However, that's certainly not what the text on the Steam support page says.

If this is really the accepted practice regarding used copies of Half-Life 2, then what is Amazon doing letting their marketplace sellers sell these used copies?

Unbelievable! How much research is one supposed to do when buying a game?

Rating: 5 StarsThe beginning of a gaming empire

Simply great. Works on many older PCs. There are tons of associated titles and mods available. And you cannot seriously plan on playing the HL2 episodes unless you have played this game. The story alone would make a great book or movie. The game is the best and is already a classic!

Rating: 5 StarsWell worth it

This is one of the best games every made. If you don't have it, buy and take a week off work and play it until your job/money/girlfriend situation needs attention. It come with Counter strike, a super fast online shooter. Very addicting. Great graphics & physics. It'll run on your old computer and won't require a powerhouse to enjoy great graphics. This game was the best when it came out and still is not outdated. Well worth the money, you'll enjoy it if you like sci-fi, shooters, online multi-player shooters, puzzles. This has a plot, and comes with Counter strike if you dont feel like getting emerged and just want to play. Oh, and it comes with a size XL black t-shirt. sweeeet

Rating: 3 StarsDoesnt meet with all the hype.

Ive heard so many people say "oh, HL2 is hands down the best game ever." give me a break. I had more fun with other Valve products like Sin Episodes: Emergence.

I guess my biggest gripe was the game itself, instead of the installation problems. I mean, it had awesome graphics, cool weapons, but the important things weren't there. First off, the story was kind of bland. The ending wasn't all that great either. I guess the ending sucked because it was leaving it open for the following 2 episodes of HL2. Anyway, the story wasn't all that in depth. It was alright, but not as great as other games, like Sin, Halo, or Far Cry.

The game play was alright. You spend quite a bit traveling in the stupid airboat and car. Both of which, are a pain in the a$$ to control and you always have several people shooting at you or a gunship on your butt. I spent much of the time on these levels saving and reloading just to progress. I really wished they didn't have these levels. The car wasn't fun at all. It never wanted to go where you were turning the wheels and you always had a dozen antlions chewing your head off or something throwing you off the cliff. If they did without the vehicle levels, it would have been so much better.

A lot of the weapons were good, but there were a couple that were just crap. Mainly, the grenade and the rocketlauncher. Neither one were all that great unless you hit the enemy directly with either one. Got a room full of enemies? dont bother with a grenade. You may get half of them if youre lucky and they manage to congregate on the grenade. Other than that, its just easier to shoot them up with a rifle or something.

Good game i guess, if you like having your a$$ handed to you all the time. After a while it just gets tedious. Shoot, jump, shoot, save, get hurt, shoot, die, reload. Thats how it was for me the whole time i was playing. Either that you had some enemy, that you never seen before, that somehow managed to sneak up behind you and waste you away. I only struggled through this to see what the ending was like, and that was about it. Granted, the graphics were great, the engine was great, but these annoyances can really kill a game. There are several other games out there worth playing more than this one. Sin Episodes, Far Cry, Halo, any of these would be better. Dont get me wrong, i play several games, but this one definitely didn't live up to all the hype i kept hearing. If it wasn't for the graphics and engine, i would have given it only 1 star.

Rating: 5 StarsStill the Best PC Game Ever

I just started recently playing HL2 again because I put together a new rig, and I have to tell you it is far from showing its age. What a phenomenal game and engine this is. This game has one of the best storylines and endings ever. The fishbowl game Bioshock has nothing on this.

The graphics are still amazing by today's standard. And when you install the FakeFactory Cinematic Mod v4, the only game that will surpass this visually is Crysis. The facial and mouth animations are still unmatched. The engine could use an update with new and more advanced shadowing, but that's it.

Also, I think steam is great. A couple of my HL2 CDs have become unreadable, but thankfully the cd-key is registered to my account so I am able to download this as many times as I want. Very convenient.


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