Half-Life 2 is a story driven first person shooter sequel created by Valve Software.
The original Half-Life, Valve's debut title, won more than 50 game-of-the-year awards
and sold more than eight million retail units sold worldwide. Quite simply it's
one of the most popular and most enjoyable PC games of all time.
Using the income Valve received from the original they have invested in developing the sequel, which far exceeds the original and again changed the face of first person shooting. By taking Half-Life's suspense, challenge and visceral charge, 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 behaviours even the emotions of people around him.
The intense, real-time gameplay of Half-Life 2 is made possible only by Source, Valve's new proprietary engine technology. Source provides major enhancements in characters. physics, graphics and AI. Source's shader-based renderer, like the one used at Pixar to create movies such as Toy Story and Monster's, Inc., creates the most beautiful and realistic environments ever seen in a video game.
Singleplayer and Story
The player again picks 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. And a lot of people he cares about are counting on him.
The game is set two decades after the Black Mesa incident and the world has certainly changed since then. Under the employ of the ambiguous and so-called G-man, Gordon Freeman is deposited on Earth for reasons unknown, and, joining forces with the resistance science team ultimately sets forth on an adventure that pits him against the totalitarian alien menace of the Combine, in an effort to save the remnants of Earths dwindling population.
Multiplayer
Half-Life 2 comes bundled with its own multiplayer Deathmatch game. Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is the culmination of the immersive environments, detailed characters, and super-realistic physics system of Half-Life 2, all thrown into free-for-all gameplay. Sprint around levels carrying your gravity gun, yanking toilets off of walls and then launching them into anything that has a face. What could be more satisfying?
Play The Game
You can pick up a copy from any high street store selling games. Alternatively you can order the game from Valve's broadband delivery system, Steam. Half-Life 2 is currently available for the PC, Xbox and soon to be Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
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Using the income Valve received from the original they have invested in developing the sequel, which far exceeds the original and again changed the face of first person shooting. By taking Half-Life's suspense, challenge and visceral charge, 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 behaviours even the emotions of people around him.
The intense, real-time gameplay of Half-Life 2 is made possible only by Source, Valve's new proprietary engine technology. Source provides major enhancements in characters. physics, graphics and AI. Source's shader-based renderer, like the one used at Pixar to create movies such as Toy Story and Monster's, Inc., creates the most beautiful and realistic environments ever seen in a video game.
Singleplayer and Story
The player again picks 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. And a lot of people he cares about are counting on him.
The game is set two decades after the Black Mesa incident and the world has certainly changed since then. Under the employ of the ambiguous and so-called G-man, Gordon Freeman is deposited on Earth for reasons unknown, and, joining forces with the resistance science team ultimately sets forth on an adventure that pits him against the totalitarian alien menace of the Combine, in an effort to save the remnants of Earths dwindling population.
| Half-Life 2 isn't just about running around shooting though, instead the game has a deep storyline behind it, once again written by Marc Laidlaw. Sometimes the action will take a step-back and you'll be required to part-take in a puzzle or other task, or just sit back and listen to some dialogue. There is a massive story leading you through the game and there are no cut scenes meaning you play every second immersing yourself completely in the story. The aim is to make you think 'you are Gordon Freeman'. |
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As with all First Person Shooters expect a large arsenal of
weapons and gadgets to fight over a variety of different landscapes. The weapons
will range from Gordon's trusty crowbar to sub machine guns, shotguns and new
experimental and alien weapons. A couple of unique weapons introduced in this
game is firstly the alien pheromones, also known as 'bugbait'. You can use these
smelly balls to trick simple minded aliens into thinking you're one of their
commanders. The other weapon, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (or the
gravity-gun), can pick up random objects and throw them at enemies to knock
them out. The singleplayer game is made up of 12 separate chapters each taking 3-4 hours to complete. |
Multiplayer
Half-Life 2 comes bundled with its own multiplayer Deathmatch game. Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is the culmination of the immersive environments, detailed characters, and super-realistic physics system of Half-Life 2, all thrown into free-for-all gameplay. Sprint around levels carrying your gravity gun, yanking toilets off of walls and then launching them into anything that has a face. What could be more satisfying?
Play The Game
You can pick up a copy from any high street store selling games. Alternatively you can order the game from Valve's broadband delivery system, Steam. Half-Life 2 is currently available for the PC, Xbox and soon to be Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
