Posted: 18-05-05 In: Reviews By: Munro2 |


I woke up that morning and I felt like a kid again on Christmas Eve. I wasn't alone either as the whole of the community felt exactly the same - and not a single one of them tried to hide it. With nearly 2,000 people viewing the forums and over 1,000 people spamming our IRC channel, the community was bursting with anticipation. The date? Certainly not quite near December 24th, Christmas Eve. Instead it was the eve of the release of Half-Life 2, the sequel to the best PC action game of all time and it was November 15th 2004.

So what's all the excitement about? Why are so many people (and many more who don't actively partake in internet communities) actually excited about it? Most of you will already know this by now from your own experience of playing the game, but for those who don't this is why. No longer is Half-Life 2 just a sequel to the best PC action game of all time, it now quite possibly is the best PC action game of all time. It's been six years now since we were all completely blown away by Half-Life.

To me it seems like those years have flown past, but if you sit back and think about it, especially in terms of how fast the gaming industry moves, it's actually a very long time. Think about all of those other first person shooters that have been released in those six years, and think back to how many actually even compare close to Half-Life. In my opinion, the only one that has ever come close is Half-Life 2, meaning after all these years Valve have fought off the competition only to beat themselves. On November 16th 2004, 8:00am GMT, the community exploded with IRC responses and forum posts declaring "HAPPY HALF-LIFE 2 DAY!", and what a happy day it was.

As you launch the game you're immersed in almost an instant all thanks to the fact that one of the first things you see is one of the many dialogued parts of the game and you get to see the amazing character and facial animation system.

Much like Half-Life 1 you never actually leave the perspective of Gordon Freeman so everything that happens in the game is all from his point of view, or should I say, your point of view, as at times it genuinely does feel like you are in that game and you are Gordon Freeman. Hopefully most will be sure not to take that to extremes, however, and pick up a crowbar, grow a goatee and go around throwing bottles at people's heads in the street. It got me into all sorts of trouble.

In all seriousness though, as usual Marc Laidlaw has written a great story and it definitely fits well with what preceded at Black Mesa. The only complaint I've had about the story is that in places your background knowledge doesn't quite seem sufficient enough to understand what's going on. But in Marc's own words recently:

Hopefully it's like a good record ... doesn't quite make sense the first time you hear it, then you discover that you can't get it out of your head, then you just have to play it again, and you start to notice things you didn't catch the first time, and after awhile you accept it for what it is.

I've so far found this to be true and I'm not usually the type of person to play games more than once. In fact, the only time I've ever done that is with games from the Half-Life series. Something just compels you to want to try it all over again. Even though there's no particular benefit or gain from doing so (there isn't many things you'll miss if you're thorough) you'll happily play through it again for a second, third or as in my case with Half-Life; tenth time.

There has been some massive game releases so far this year. We've had Far Cry and Doom 3 two games which some would say were the first proper DirectX 9 games to fully take advantage of the DX9 feature set. I especially remember there were all sorts of threads on our forum being made "Half-Life 2 vs. Doom 3", "Far Cry vs. Half-Life 2", "Bush vs. Kerry vs. Half-Life 2". It became quite clear that there literally was a war of opinions on which games would be graphically better. Now all three have been played and there's a strong opinion around the community that the most graphically superior game out there is in fact, Half-Life 2.

The art direction in the game is amazing and produced by a very talented group of artists who haven't just plastered the levels of Half-Life 2 with every single effect their engine has. Instead some of the placement of the bump mapping effects and other engine features is a lot more subtle so it doesn't look like you're trapped in some sort of plastic kid's toy - it all in all looks a lot more realistic. Despite this being the best looking game so far, unlike Doom 3 it won't require two NASA super-computers to run it. The engine has been designed to be scalable all the way down to DirectX 7.0 hardware, so even on that computer you've had for years, you'll still be able to run Half-Life 2 comfortably - minus some of the nicer features like bump mapping and shader effects.

The level of detail that has gone into the game just adds to the immersion factor whereas in most games you just get a few crates here and there, the odd bit of computer equipment and a few barrels, Half-Life 2 takes it to extremes. Not only do you have all of the above, but there's props in the world like burnt out cars, ships beached on the dried out sea floor, tin cans and other garbage props, litter bins, desks, tables, computer systems, little desk toys, pay phones - the list goes on. It all goes towards the effect of making you actually feel like you're really in a warehouse or you're in a city.

Another thing that strikes me about Half-Life 2 is the quality of the voice acting. In many games the voice acting is often as cheesy as a really bad soap opera, but with Half-Life 2 not only have they brought back a lot of the talented cast from the original, including Mike Shaprio as Barney/the G-Man and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Kleiner (previously all the scientists). Other talents making an appearance in Half-Life 2 are those of Michelle Forbes who plays "Ensign Ro" on Star Trek: The Next Generation and now taking on the role of Dr. Mossman in Half-Life 2; also we see Robert Guillaume as Eli Vance who has starred in such roles as the voice of Rafiki in The Lion King.

With a combination of the realistic facial expressions and the quality acting in the game you start to feel real emotion and protectiveness over the characters. The minor non-player characters such as the citizens of City 17 even gain a certain emotional hold over you and you actually sympathise with their woes in the oppressed city. The other sounds in the game are also of a high quality. In the ambience you can hear birds flying away, gun fire in the distance or the Citadel eating through even more of City 17. All this of course is complimented by a soundtrack composed by Kelly Bailey at Valve. The music isn't playing all the way through the game, but when it does the music always fits the situation and adds so much to the intensity of the level.

So what about the game play? The game play is so much more varied this time around than it was for Half-Life. This is probably one of the main reasons I'm toting it as being better than Half-Life, simply because there's so much more variety in the game play. Sure, there's your usual "jump from that ledge to the next ledge" kind of puzzle every now and then but with the inclusion of the physics engine, these puzzles are ever more creative. I don't want to spoil any of the puzzles for you but there are some pretty cool ones involving the physics system. Not only do the physics help for this but it adds to the realism factor of the environment as almost everything you see will be physically simulated and will act and behave how things would in real life; including the dead bodies of human and alien characters alike as they rag-doll, fall and tumble. It is also the inclusion of the physics system that have enabled Valve to develop effective game play areas involving the use of in game vehicles. A good portion of the game is spent either in a buggy or airboat which is incredibly fun, especially in some of the situations you get yourself in and the puzzles you need to solve to be able to proceed.

The game contains some brand new enemies to contend with and with their design and the sounds they make this results in some very frightening and intense game play. There are literally points during the game that will make you go "Oh s**t!" as you fumble around around the keyboard trying to change direction or to a more suitable weapon. When designing the game, Valve originally wanted to avoid there being too many gaps from one point of loading up on ammo and health to the next. They realised however that it would add a lot more tension to the game by placing less of these re-supply points about, and it certainly achieves the effect they set out to make. There are times during the game where you'll think it's quite easy, but then there'll be points where you've had an intense struggle to get through a certain area but it's done in such a way that it isn't too difficult and it doesn't make the game too much of a challenge, just a bit of a challenge to keep you on your toes and it's a good combination.

I don't want to give too much away in this review due to the fact that first of all, a lot of people will already know what happens and second of all this game is best played when you know nothing of the story and what's going to happen. But when you do play the game you'll find that this is the first ground-breaking title for well over six years - the last one being, of course, Half-Life. Gabe and his team deserve a pat on the back for this effort, because even though it has one or two small downfalls, the general overview of the game is fantastic and I'm sure it will be awarded 50, 60, 70 or more Game of the Year awards, just like its predecessor. So, that's it, it's all over but one of the most important focuses to us now should be the future. Half-Life 2 has laid the foundation for a long future of expansion packs, mods and total conversions. We've got six years out of Half-Life, here's to another six years based on Half-Life 2. I once wrote an article on whether the Half-Life franchise would make it to a decade or whether it will decay into a gone and forgotten memory. After playing Half-Life 2 I can now say, without a doubt, that Half-Life and it's successors will be with us for a long time.

PROS:

• Engaging and immersive storyline and narrative
• A physics engine that enhances your immersion into the world
• Best graphics seen in a game so far this year
• Extremely detailed characters and facial animation

CONS:

• NPCs can sometimes get in your way
• Not as many enemies as originally thought
• Not many new weapons
• The ending might seem a little rushed to some

Our Rating: 99%

Comments from other HalfLife2.net Staff:

qckbeam:

Half-Life 2 is the game I’ve been waiting for, and I don’t just mean for the past few years, or since E3 2003. This is the game I’ve been waiting for ever since I first became hooked on the hobby. This is the first time a game has ever created a world so vivid that one can actually feel for the beings inhabiting it. Due to some amazing facial animation technology, top-notch voice acting, and brilliant writing on the part of Marc Laidlaw, each character has depth, and their own unique personality. The story itself is told in a new, and very involving, manner. You won’t be spoon fed any details here. There aren’t any expository cut scenes or briefings. If you want to know what’s going on, all the pieces are there for you to find on your own. It’s up to you to fill in the blanks. Remember, you are Gordon Freeman. You’re thrown into the middle of this situation and no one knows what has happened to you or where you’ve been for the past few years. They assume you’re up to speed and will act accordingly. Valve took the “show, don’t tell” route with the story in Half-Life 2, and the experience is all the better for it.

The incredible physics system really helps to bring a new dimension to the game world as well. Other games have made use of physics, but Half-Life 2 really brings it to a totally new level. It isn’t used for dramatic effect; it’s a vital part of what makes the game-play so unique, and satisfying. Solving problems using physics is a brand new idea. Can’t get by that sniper nest? Why not grab that dumpster over there with your gravity gun and use it as a shield? In a showdown with some pesky headcrabs and you’re all out of ammo? Why not beat them to death with that nearby cinderblock? Got some Combine soldiers on your tail? Run into that house over there and barricade the door with that armoire. The possibilities are endless. It truly empowers the player like never before.

I want to rant and rave about how truly spectacular and groundbreaking this game really is. It deserves the praise, it surpasses the hype, and it will satisfy for years to come (I’ve already beaten it twice). Half-Life 2 takes every bit of progress made in the first-person-shooter genre over the past six years, polishes them to absolute perfection, and then introduces new, groundbreaking ideas to create what is easily the best single-player game I’ve ever played.

Pi Mu Rho:

HL2 is a worthy successor to arguably the greatest FPS of all time. The atmosphere is fantastic, the locations really give you a sense of being there and the attention to detail borders on obsessive. The plot can appear thin at times, but this is a game that encourages interaction - the more you look around, the clearer things become. Graphically, it's superb - the characters should be singled out for specific praise - certainly the best seen in a game to date.

It's not all happiness though. The plot can feel thin - you just seem to be rushing around with little sense of purpose. Some of the graphical effects are jarring (i.e. when a fire goes out and the light it casts suddenly "switches off") and there's several places where you can see the void or break a mission. Overall, however, these don't significantly detract from what is undeniably a fantastic game. Invest some time in exploring and you'll be greatly rewarded.