A review from 2004
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.
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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 the disc. Half-Life 2 REQUIRES that you have an active Internet connection throughout the installation process even if you only wish to play the game offline. Half-Life 2 does not go on forever like you wish it did, but eventually comes to an end. Now that I've taken care of all of the negative sides, lets talk about the wonders that Gordon Freeman will bestow upon you over the 15 or so hours this game has to offer.
Simply stated, Half-Life 2 (HL2 from here on) represents the pinnacle of the FPS genre from any point of view and for any platform. Finely tuned gameplay, brilliant level design, gorgeous artwork, thrilling action, and a solid, cohesive game-world that puts the proverbial nail in the coffin of all its competition. Having played this game from beginning to end glued to my desk, I can say with all conviction that if you play this game and don't like it, you are a hopeless wreck of a gamer and deserve pity, scorn, and banishment from society. It's that good. It's so good that playing it immediately after that Halo 2 only made me realize that Halo 2 kind of sucked when you get down to it. The comparisons between the two are inevitable and necessary.
Graphically speaking the game is unmatched. Seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor environments, the Source engine will put a heavy burden on your video chipset. Luckily the engine is quite scaleable, and performs nicely on even midrange systems with a few of the bells and whistles turned off. Even in this reduced state, the artwork is still a marvel, and you'll sometimes wish that you had more of a chance to stop and admire the details. Fortunately for you, the game is a nonstop visceral thrill-ride that leaves you little time to dilly-dally when there are bad guys to kill. The levels are huge and varied, with none of the cookie-cutter architecture that Bungie gives you in Halo 2. Some levels are so unique and awe inspiring you may wish to take advantage of the simple and effective checkpoint system and replay certain areas that you had a particularly good time in.
The gameplay itself is highly refined. The controls are quick and responsive, and the weapons feel powerful, useful, and fun to reap havoc with. In addition to the normal standby weapons (shotgun, pistol, machine gun), HL2 gives you several unique weapons at your disposal, including a .357 magnum that stops most enemies in a single shot, a crossbow that fires bolts with such speed that it will pin your enemies to the wall or ceiling, and two completely unique weapons that are so much fun to use, you'll look for opportunities to employ them: the bug bait and the gravity gun.
Perhaps the greatest piece of HL2 is its implementation of the physics engine. Though previous games have used quality physics to enhance the gameplay (see Halo or Max Payne 2), none have gone so far as HL2, which gives every item in the game a real world feel by giving it weight, volume, and properties that mirror what one expects. Barrels, drums, boxes, etc behave realistically when struck, and the game relies often on the gamer's knowledge and perception of real-world probabilities as puzzle fodder. Support beams can be broken to bring down bridges, doors can be barricaded with heavy file cabinets and boxes, drums can be lit on fire and rolled down hills, the possibilities are numerous and entertaining. Nothing prepares you for the joy when these items are coupled with the gravity gun.
Simply put, the gravity gun allows you to lift objects large and small and propel them away from you at great speed. Out of bullets and faced with an army of enemies coming at you? Grab the radiator from the wall and fire it at them. Need to turn the tables quickly in a battle? Pull the land mines out of the ground and shoot them at the coming horde. Launch explosive barrels, snatch grenades mid throw and toss them back, hurl boxes, mattresses, doors, toilets, food...the list goes on, the possibilities endless.
Pretty graphics, cool weapons and physics are nice and all, but what really connects all of these individual items together is the HL2 world. Story, characters, and environments are painstakingly assembled to create something unlike any game you've likely played. NPCs are lifelike in their emotions and reactions, offering Gordon one sided conversations that relay their ultimate trust in your abilities. In fact, this tends to be one of the games strongest points. Gordon Freeman is a man of few words, but NPC reactions to his (your) presence tend to go father in setting up the character than any 20 minute melodromatic exposition found in a Final Fantasy game. Just your presence, for example, will change the mood of an NPC from crying and hiding to willing combatant as they join the fray by your side. With shouts of "I'm following you, Dr. Freeman" and references to you as "the one free man", you feel like you are inspiring these people to rise up against their oppressors and take charge of their lives. The game world sees you as a superhuman hero, who are you to argue? Character and facial animation is highly detailed, and the game is populated with interesting and unique personalities: the mysterious G-Man, who seems beyond the struggles he asks you to fix, Father Gregorian, who kicks ass in the name of the Lord, and what may be the single coolest sidekick ever, Dog, give meaning to the struggle you've been placed in.
There's so much more to this game than could ever be put in a review. I've left the best parts out on purpose so there will be many surprises in store for you. The FPS genre can often be stale and repetitive. Heavy exposition or twitch gameplay dominate the genre. HL2 is a refreshing break from that and a reminder of why you play games.
If you love games, like games, or even think they are just somewhat ok, you owe it to yourself to play this one. Something tells me it may be another 6 years before a game comes along like this one...the last one before HL2 was on 10/31/1998.
