Half Life 2 Review

Six years after Half Life's groundbreaking release in 1998, Valve set the standard once again in 2004 with its sequel- Half Life 2. Players once again assume the role of the crowbar-wielding Gordon Freeman in a first-person shooter scenario, pushing through hordes of aliens and soldiers in an attempt to uncover more of the game's thick plot. While retaining much of the simple, dark vibe of the original game, Half Life 2 mixes in a vast amount of new features, characters, and gameplay elements that bring the plot to a whole new level.

The storyline explodes from the confines of Black Mesa and places Gordon into the dystopian City 17 after twenty years in stasis. An alien group known as the Combine have taken control of Earth, which has already been infested by many of the creatures released by the initial Black Mesa incident. Alongside the existing resistance forces, Gordon must fight through the city and surrounding area in order to free the planet from the Combine.

The most noticable change from the original game is massively intricate and detailed graphics. Valve used the Source engine for HL2, which allows for intense realism and clarity. Character models are very impressive- all are capable of a wide range of facial expression and movement, and the AI is very good. Enemies are tactically intelligent, and followers won't get lost behind awkward obstacles. Game maps are beautifully detailed and contain a lot of extra story-enhancing bits, such as resistance graffiti and rusted remains of life before the Combine invasion. In all, the graphics are highly convincing and accurately portray the emotions of a post-apocalyptic, dystopian Earth.

Another visual (and strategic) upside is the inclusion of the Havok physics engine, which is easily one of the greatest new elements of HL2. Most objects in the game can be picked up, moved, thrown, or interacted with in one way or another. NPCs are also susceptible to physics and react accordingly when subjected to various levels of abuse. To get the most out of the new physics engine Valve included a weapon known as the Gravity Gun, which allows players to pick up and launch a wide variety of objects in the game. This becomes a critical strategic element later on, where the Gravity Gun is needed to do everything from stacking bricks to launching sawblades.

Gameplay is largely the same as the original Half Life, but with a few added benefits. The game never leaves the first-person perspective, which gives a great deal of intimacy to in-game cutscenes. Being the highly active first-person shooter it is, HL2 requires high dexterity and reflexes in order to avoid death and make it through City 17. The heads-up display is the same as the original Half Life- a simple system of health and HEV power at the bottom, and a scrolling weapons catalog at the top. Two added features include a zoom function to see into the distance, and a sprint-mode that allows for bursts of speed. The flashlight, sprint-mode, and swimming underwater all consume the same self-recharging auxiliary power source. Weapons are largely similar to the original as well; classics like the crowbar, revolver, shotgun, grenades, and RPGs are used side by side with new firearms. The largest augmentation to gameplay in HL2 is the inclusion of vehicles- large stretches of time in certain levels are spend cruising on makeshift swamp boats and dune buggies. This certainly mixes things up from the usual walk-and-shoot of Half Life and keeps the lengthier travel-based levels interesting.

While the game is most certainly a breakthrough in the world of first-person shooters and a great continuation of a fantastic storyline, it isn't without its flaws. The voice acting leaves much to be desired. While a few characters retain the dark and strange tones so well associated with Half Life, many are overtly chipper and inappropriate for some situations. For example, while scientist voice-acting of the original game fit the deathly theme perfectly, Dr. Kleiner seems more suited to a children's cartoon than the blood-stained sequel. Another minor inconvenience is the severe shortage of ammunition. Only two or three reloads may be carried for many of the guns, and ammo is hard to come by. While this may hamper using spray-and-pray tactics, I feel as though Valve mainly chose this route to increase challenge and promote clever use of the crowbar, Gravity Gun, and the highly interactive environment. In one level, the horror-film-like Ravenholm, almost no ammuntion is to be found, and the zombies can only be slain through intelligent use of the environment. It was a clever move on Valve's part, but it can also bring a great deal of frustration when facing waves of Combine with naught but a crowbar.

In all, Half Life 2 is a fantastic sequel that has broken many boundaries in the world of FPS games. Not only does it boast top-end graphics and compelling gameplay, but it builds on one of the greatest (and most mysterious) storylines in gaming. While it retains the smooth simplicity and fast pace of the original game, it adds so much in the way of graphical depth, combat strategy, and overall interactivity to create a formidable end product. Excellent work, Valve.

9/10