Half-Life 2
Game » consists of 18 releases. Released Nov 16, 2004
Several years after the Black Mesa disaster, Gordon Freeman awakens from stasis to aid a resistance movement against the Combine, a collective of trans-dimensional aliens that have conquered Earth.
Short summary describing this game.
-
5 (23) 4 (6) 3 (1) 2 (1) 1 (1) 4.5 starsAverage score of 32 user reviews
-
Great thing's come to those who wait and what a wait it has been. 0
Great thing's come to those who wait and what a wait it has been. The big question is "was the wait worth it?" And i think you'll find the answer is a resounding yes. Half-Life 2 has a completely new gaming engine that works really well and still keeps the feel of the original. You reprise your role of Gordan Freeman, waking up on a train entering City 17 and soon discover the viscious aliens that featured in the first game have taken over earth after breaking through portals. Some of the old en...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
The Best FPS You'll Ever Play 0
Originally posted on my blogValve is used to revolutionizing the medium. Gordon Freeman’s first quest was game of the year when it launched and Half-Life 2 received similar acclaim. There’s just so much about the game that it just exudes perfection. From the moment the game opens and the G-Man deposits you on the train into City 17, Half-Life 2 just never stops. Every character has inherent life and realism in their actions, the voice acting is superb, and the story just flows so well. I could r...
7 out of 7 found this review helpful. -
Great game but eclipsed by Episodes One and Two. 0
As I was wrapping up the final level, it's easy to forget this game is so old. The environments and characters still look fantastic after all this time, and the action is just as fun as anything I've played in Crysis or Call of Duty 4, despite all their bells and whistles.Even the storyline picked up toward the end. (Too bad it took a dozen-some hours -- and 3 years -- for me to get to this point. I could just never sustain my interest past the water buggy level in all my previous attempts to pl...
6 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
Staying the course 0
I recently replayed Half Life 2 to make sure I had all of my lore in line when tackling the second episode. Although this was my third play through and there were no more surprises, the game still holds up well and delivers a thoroughly enjoyable game play experience. The game can do this a few years after its first release by pioneering many new concepts and additions in the first person shooter genre. Concepts that were refined in the subsequent episodes. These include the lip syncing technolo...
5 out of 5 found this review helpful. -
Perfect FPS 0
At this point in time, I am thankful for finding this game 3 years after it's release. I purchased it with The Orange Box, mostly wanting to play Portal. But I had heard many great things about this game and decided to give it a try. What I found were many great things.The game does start out a bit slow, and at times, I had no idea where the hell I was supposed to go. In this game, you are put into an area, and it is mostly up to you to find out what you're supposed to do. After you figure this ...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
An Immersive Masterpiece 0
This is an amazing game. I was amazed by the first hour and completely sucked in from that point on. The start leaves you completely immeresed in city 17 and what's going on. I love the way characters interact with you thoughout the game and they look wonderful with great lip sync. Some problems I had were that it was too short! I finished it in three days not playing it too much each day. But what was there great. Also the AI isnt as great as i had hope it would be. I actually thought the HL 1 ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
fun game 0
After passing on this game for the past three years i decided to give it a shot. im not big on writing so this will be short and to the point. I gatta say im not dissapointed. In an age of graphic powerhouses i supprised to see how well this game still holds up. Its not ganna knock your socks off or anything but the visuals still shine.For the most part all of the voice acting seemed spot on to me. I didnt have any moments of falling out of my chair laughing at the bad acting. WHich i must ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Half Life 2 - Greatest FPS Ever 0
Overview: Half-Life 2, and the franchise itself, will be remembered for forming what most FPSes are today. What really shines in this game - The story, the engine, the gameplay, hell, everything. What else could you ask for?Graphics: A bit dated now, but they're still pretty nice to look at. They run fast, they look nice, they're not hideous, they're not perfect. I can't complain though, they run for me. Most everything looks nice, the guns look all distinct from each other, the locations in the...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Finally Finished this Classic 0
Despite greatly enjoying this game when I first played it, I put it down about 70% through and never quite came back to it. Well I recenly went back and finished it and am very happy I did so. This is a great game and a contender for my favorite FPS of all time. Pros: The game came out 5 years and the graphics are still very good. The art and character design is top notch, and the Source engine is very adaptable so you can pretty much run this game at higher settings on pretty much any new co...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Possibly the best FPS of all time 0
Half-life 2 is probably the best FPS ever. It's excellent graphics and terrific gameplay make this game a joy to play. The gameplay is not broken up by cutscenes and obeys physics, allowing you to stack and weight things which creates some brain teasing puzzles.This game also is famous for the gravity gun, a fantastic achievement which can pick up items from a distance, hurtle objects and push enemies away.Good pointsExcellent graphics Gravity gun! Strong personalities and storyline Difficult cl...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
First Person Shooters owe a great debt to this game's success. 0
This was back in 2005, and I hadn't played a first person shooter since Doom. I was just seriously getting into gaming and the industry in general so I was branching out from the usual games I would play, Japanese role playing games and other story based adventure tales. I liked those specific genres because of the story, which would keep me interested and give me context that would give me a reason to finish the game. Somewhat myopically, I thought that those were the only games where I could g...
3 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
Half Life 2 review by Termite 0
Game Review: Half Life 2Half Life 1 was released in 1998 ( A year of note for the sheer number of fantastic games that came out .) Developed by Valve and published by Sierra, it was a smash hit. It pioneered scripted in-game events that helped move the story around. It also spawned a large modding community, from which games like Counter Strike and Day of Defeat were born. Half life 2 was in the making for a long time, mostly because Valve wanted to wait for some huge innovative thing that they ...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Half Life 2 0
As a huge fan of the original Half Life, I was incredibly apprehensive approaching its sequel. Sure, I'd heard great things, but you hear positive consensus about a great deal of games that when you actually play, turn out to disappoint you. I was incredibly relieved to discover in my first few minutes of play, that Half Life 2 is one of those few sequels that manages to live up to the standard set by its predecessor.Half Life 2 again follows the escapades of scientist and unlikely hero; Gordon ...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
A half-step above the rest 0
Some years of the aftermath of the Black Mesa Incident from the original Half-Life, the sequel’s story takes place when Combine forces have overtaken the world and takes orders from a government leader known as Dr. Breen. The main character, Gordon Freeman, has been under stasis for an unknown amount of years after saving the world from an alien world coming from a portal that was ripped open the Black Mesa Research Facility. An official only known as G-Man brings Gordon Freeman out of stasis to...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Ten Years Later, Still Holding Up! 0
Half Life 2 turned 10 this year, though it was only 7 years ago that I first played it in The Orange Box. So, how is City 17 holding up?Well, for a game that's 10 years old I was still impressed by the visuals. It does some things better than even newer games, water for instance. Why does the water in Half Life 2 look better than the water in Skyrim? Some of it is visual trickery on the part of the Source Engine. According to developer commentary the water is rendered three times. 1) The reflec...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Not as good as the PC version, but still a great game 0
Half-Life 2, now this was a gamechanger when it came out for PC 10 years ago. This is one of the greatest FPS of all time, hands down. I don't think too many would argue that. But the Xbox version, for me, felt slightly inferior to it's PC counterpart. For one, obviously, the graphics had to be toned down a little. But they still looked great, don't get me wrong. Using the Xbox controller to play kind of felt a little weird as well. Sometimes feeling like you're running on ice when moving aroun...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Too much praise for so many issues 0
There are many kinds of ways to do a dystopian sci-fi story, but few tell it in a way where the environments, you interactions with it, and the people you encounter mean more than any of the backstory or lore that can possibly be introduced. The Half-Life universe tends to do this more so than any other, and Half-Life 2 attempts to continue the success of this narrative method. While its intentions are admirable and often times successful, Half-Life 2 makes seems to make little effort in pushing...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Half-Life 2 0
In 1998, Half-Life sent a shock through the game industry. Combining great action and continuous and immersive storytelling, Half-Life went on to win more then 50 game-of-the-year awards and was even named “Best PC Game Ever” by PC Gamer. Ever since fans of the original heard about Half-Life 2 they have been hoping that it lives up quality of the first game. The good news is that it does. While it is not as groundbreaking as the original, the gameplay and storytelling surpass it in just about ev...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Half Life 2 1
...
0 out of 11 found this review helpful. -
Not as much of a game as it is a bad physics sim 5
I would just like to note that although I'm writing the review now, I played the game upon release.GameplayThe first person shooter element of the game is okay (except for the ugly crosshair), but just okay. It doesn't innovate in that department at all, and what's more frustrating is its exploration factor. The environments you traverse will often involve some sort of physics puzzle, such as breaking wood with your crowbar, or operating machinery to move objects. However, much of it seems force...
0 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
Half-Life 2: 6 Years Later 0
Can you really believe that it’s been 6 years since this game came out? Much has changed to games since its release, but war never changes just the way it’s being fought. However when you play the game you do get the feeling that this is an “old generation” game, this does not make the game bad so don’t get me wrong. One of my main issues when starting the game was that it has no “aim down the barrel” like most modern FPS games have today. But you quickly get accustomed to this as the game pro...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Half Life 2 Review 0
I think it's safe to say that everyone who is a fan of FIrst-Person Shooters should own this game. Its great use of physics creates an interactive experience for gamers that sets it apart from other games of its kind. You play as Gordon Freeman, a scientist who attempts to stop the world from an alien invasion. I've never played the original Half Life, but I think it's safe to say that the story in HL2 is very difficult to follow, and anyone who is not willing to observe every single det...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
One of my favourite games, and with good reason 0
Ok, let me get the obvious out of the way right at the start; the Source engine is absolutely stunning. However, having also played Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (which uses much of the same technology) I can testify that Half-Life 2’s achievement’s are far from its engines alone. The visuals, the sound, the PHYSICS… all are beautifully realised and totally integrated within the game world. Overall the level of quality in the production of this game is not only consistently breat...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Even in 2010 this game is still brilliant 0
I am not the first to perceive a major risk in revisiting beloved old video games. Like many other media, like films and books, video games are subject to the attrition caused by the temporal forces of our world. Time goes on; consumers evolve as do tastes and theories of design. Upon release media remains static, a snapshot of time, a snapshot of that era’s design philosophy. There is always the concern, then, that a game that was outstanding on day one is going to be mediocre a mere two...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A great adventure worth playing! 0
Half Life 2 is a very time consuming game. There is a distinctive thing about all of the half life games that make playing them well worth the while. You are able to control the main character (Gordon Freeman) in a way that you see fit. The game challenges and tests your ability to handle tight, fighting scenes while also giving you a sense of adventure. It is a very enjoyable game with fairly good graphics and sound quality. The games offers a small range of weapons you are able to roam with. A...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A review from 2004 0
This review was originally written by me for another (now defunct) gaming site. It has not been altered from its original 2004 verbiage, including the screen-shots. --------------------------- Let's get any negative items out of the way immediately lest anyone reading this review doubt my feelings on the game. Half-Life 2 took me over 2 hours to install and get running, and that does not count my trip to Best Buy to pick up a new DVD player that would work with the SecuROM encryption on t...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Attention developers: This is how you make a sequel 0
After blasting my way through a recent disappointing sequel, I decided to go back and revisit one of the best in the gaming industry. Simply put Half-Life 2 is one of the best games ever made. More so however it is a perfect example of a sequel done well and how to play to the strengths of the PC platform. Even six years after its release it still stands as one of the most well designed games in the first person shooter genre and a landmark title showing that innovation can be achieved wi...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Still holds up 0
I got Half-Life 2 around when it came out, after having played a lot of the original Half-Life. I also played through it again recently since Valve added Steam achievements to it. I’ll relay what I remember of my initial impressions of Half-Life 2 as well as how it holds up today. The original Half-Life had certainly grabbed my interest in the series, and Half-Life 2 brought it up significantly, such that I am now one of many painfully waiting for Half-Life 2: Episode Three to finally come out.I...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A very polished and streamlined FPS experience that introduces so 0
I have been keen to play Half Life 2 for a long time. I enjoyed the first game quiet a lot back in the day and ever since the sequel came out, it was overrolled with praise and claims to be the best game ever made (according to IGN and PC Gamer for starters).As soon as the game starts, you can feel the polish and quality that only a Valve FPS-game could deliver, the controls are very good, the animations realistic and immersive and the surroundings are top notch, if a bit repetitive in parts. St...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Half-Life 2 300 Word Review 0
What can I say about Half-Life 2 that hasn’t been said already? Its a masterpiece and was the first PC game I ever played. I saw so much hype about this game in 2004 that for my 12th birthday convinced my parents to get me a gaming PC so I could play it. I loved it instantly. The characters, the world, the weapons. It all came together in a way that I had never experienced before. I play this game to completion at least once every 3 years and will randomly boot it up every few months, just...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Great game. 0
Wonderful improvements and clean visuals let Half-Life 2 stand as one of the greatest FPS' of all time. Ever since 1998 the gaming industry has never been the same, so many influental and revolutionary games were released in that year, Half-Life being one of the most impressive. With Half-Life First-Person Shooters became more respected and viewed as more than just a run and gun frenzy. Half-Life was not only challenging but it also required you to think about your actions before you made them, ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Still Good! 0
I have played through Half-Life 2 somewhere between 18 and 20 times now and I still get caught up in the story and feel the same level of immersion as when I first popped in the CD. The game just holds up brilliantly and is still the most unique of it's kind. The level of detail that was put into the level design, character AI, balance of difficulty, and especially the amazing story made it a significant achievement in gaming history. Half-Life 2 also had another great feature, and that was the ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Log in to comment