Half Life 2 Review
Developers: Valve Corporation
Platforms:  Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, Playstation 3
Release date:  16th November 2004

Don’t say much do you Mr. Freeman?

I think it’s fair to say that Half Life 2 was the most anticipated sequel of any game to be developed for the PC.  The original Half Life was widely regarded as one of the best games ever created.  Valve knew that improving on such an iconic game would be no easy feat. Spending over 5 years developing it, the follow up to arguably the greatest game of all time has now arrived with an improved graphics and physics engine.  It’s time to step in to Gordon Freeman’s shoes once again and step into the action.

Graphics and Presentation

Valve have definitely stepped it up a notch or three for this sequel.  Great detailed 3D environments and realistic characters help immerse you into the battle against the Enslave soldiers with dynamic shadows and lighting bringing the battle to life.

Environments and objects seemed well proportioned in comparison to real life dimensions, something that I feel is not really achieved by a great many games.  Weapons look real, reflecting light and darkening within shadow, making the first person weapon view less of a hindrance and more enjoyable.  The game is set in first person as if you were looking through Gordon’s eyes.  There are a good number of very different looking environments which help keep the game feeling fresh, each environment often presenting a new set of adversaries. 

There are no cut scenes in Half Life 2; all the story telling is done in game.  A lot of people have criticised this, as it does not allow you to follow the story of some of the other characters.  Personally I think it’s very well done as it draws you deeper into the game.

Effects such as explosions and weapon tracers look nice with some good smoke effects, and the game also has a very nice physics engine, allowing you to roll tires and throw objects, objects can be stacked or moved to overcome obstacles within the game.

Menus are very basic with a minimalist look. Unlike a fair few of other games, the developers have achieved this without making it look tacky.  Options are laid out in such a fashion that finding the setting you wish to change is easy.  The interface is identical to those found in other games developed on the source engine.

Sound

Half Life 2 consists of a very nice collection of techno sounding tracks, creating that futuristic sound you might come to expect. Tracks often fade in and out during action sequences or moments of combat.  Tracks are of a high quality and are easily good enough to be listened to separately from the game.  This was something Valve was very aware of later releasing all the tracks from the Half Life franchise on a music CD.

Sound effects are crisp and are very well suited, special attention seems to have gone into the voices of the enclave soldiers to try and make them sound semi robotic.  Although character voices are very crisp and detailed many characters share the same voice.  It would have been nice to hear a bit more variety but generally speaking all audio found in game is of a very high quality.

Gameplay

Half Life 2 consists of your typical first person shooter elements with a few extras.  You can run, jump, sprint, swim and crouch as you tackle the different environments Half Life 2 has to offer.

Half life 2 plays like any other first person shooter using the mouse to aim and fire, and using the designated keyboard keys for movement.  Combat is a major aspect of the game but several puzzles and obstacles are presented to the player, which involves a lot more thought.  In some cases the player must interact with objects found in the environment to find a solution.  Such as stacking crates to get to those high to reach places.  The introduction of the gravity gun will allow you to move and throw larger objects such as cars, very cool indeed!

Weapons have no zoom mode, instead to zoom in you must use the feature built into your HEV (hazardous environment) suit.  The suit provides limited protection from enemy attack and its built-in power source provides energy to give your body an oxygen supply when you’re underwater and provides power to your flashlight.  The suit’s energy will deplete over time after taking damage, however you are able to recharge at various energy outlets.  First aid can also be found at aid outlets.

As mentioned earlier Half Life 2 consists of various different environments.  Gordon will find himself making his way to the citadel, a huge majestic looking skyscraper piercing the cloud cover.  To get there he must battle enclave soldiers through the city and canal structures while fighting off zombies in the gruesome town of Ravenclaw.

Gordon’s journey is filled with action sequences to keep you engaged and on your toes.  Adversaries will often pursue you; various friendly characters will help you along the way.  One of the great action sequences is when Gordon has to travel down the polluted canals in the hover buggy, ripping across the toxic waters and over land avoiding helicopter fire and collapsing enclave posts - a very thrilling ride indeed!

Even with all these features and upgrades, does Half Life 2 match up to its predecessor?  A second cup of tea never tastes as good as your first.

Closing Comments

Regardless of what people think about how the sequel matches up to its predecessor, Half Life 2 will grip you from the start.  I actually think it’s totally inappropriate to compare the two. Technology has come such a long way in the 5-year development cycle that visually the two games are worlds apart and with the development of game physics it plays like it too.  If you’re a gamer buy Half Life 2.  Any serious gamer has this game in their collection and rightly so as it offers a highly entertaining and thrilling experience.  What else is to be expected from the developers of one of the most popular games of all time?

Ayden Thomas.