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Harry Neary (Akeldama) // Wednesday, November 17th, 2004 // Printable version

Half-Life 2 review

Gordon Freeman returns in the most eagerly anticipated game this year. Has it been worth the wait?

Half-Life 2 is finally here. And what a wait it has been. Ever since Valve first unveiled the game, the anticipation among gamers has been higher than any game I can remember. And the development of the game hasn't been without drama. The theft of the source code by a hacker and the year-long delay to a game that clearly wasn't ready for its original launch date has caused much embarrassment to Gabe Newell and Valve.

And those expectations, never has a game had so much hope poured into it. After all, Half-Life was a huge hit both critically and commercially and the same is expected of the follow-up. Yet it's hard not to doubt during the development process, could Valve retain the magic of the original game and could the much-vaunted physics engine be anything more than a gimmick?

Gordon's world

I'm happy to report that the answer to those questions is a resounding yes. But it's not been easy. For the last twenty four hours I've lived in Gordon Freeman's world. It drew me in to such a level I had nightmares about head-crabs and gas-mask wearing fascist troops last night. Half-Life 2 sucks you in like no other game and leaves you exhausted and eager for the inevitable sequel, but not before you hit the New Game button a few more times though.

It's not easy being Gordon Freeman. Large-scale physics experiments tend to go very badly wrong when he's around. And it seems everyone knows more about Freeman than the poor man himself does. In this adventure it seems every character has expectations of Gordon well beyond his capabilities, they always know who he is and how he's going to solve all the problems. So the player is lost in poor Gordon's head wondering how on earth to cope and why everyone expects such great deeds. In many ways the expectations of the people you meet in the game mirror the expectations of all of us who've been waiting to play the game.

Nothing to say Gordon?

It's a brilliant way of drawing the player into the story. The game poses more questions than it answers, making the player wonder what's going on just as much as Gordon does. But here I am putting thoughts in Gordon's head, when in fact the player is totally Gordon in Half-Life 2.

You will never hear Gordon speak and he doesn't appear in cut-scenes. In some games this would mean that there was no identification with the main character. Here though, through excellent scripting and characterisation we totally take on the role of Gordon, becoming him to such an extent that we fill in the gaps in characterisation ourselves. There's no need to see Gordon in cut-scenes because we never see ourselves when meeting others. It shouldn't work, but it does.

You looking at me?

The characters Gordon meets are rendered in stunning detail. Valve's facial animation system is an amazing technical achievement, more importantly though, it enables characters to convey much of what they say via body language and facial expressions. Accurate lip-syncing and some excellent voice acting add to the package, meaning these non-player characters are the most lifelike seen in a game.

And so what of the plot? Well I'm not telling. You need to get out there and play the game yourself. I'm being as careful as possible to review this game without giving anything away and avoided screenshots from later in the game as they might give too much away. Much of the excitement comes from being on the run, for much of the game Gordon is travelling, moving as quickly as possible from place to place either being pursued or in a hurry to meet someone. It's this drive to always be somewhere else that gives the game such a fast pace.

A bridge too far

The game is split into massive stages that seem more like episodes than individual levels. Some sections are claustrophobic and tense and recall horror movies; others are wide open and fast-paced and owe a lot to movies such as Spielberg's Dual. Two of the levels require long journeys by vehicle, with the quest broken up by action sequences along the way. These set pieces are as tightly-plotted as the best Hollywood thriller yet never come across as anything other than a natural event along the way.

Sometimes the length of the levels can seem daunting. An early section involving canals and an airboat does seem to go on forever. I think that this level was made a little too long. Most of it was a lot of fun, but by the end I was wondering if I was playing an airboat simulator rather than Half-Life 2. Another problem is that many users, myself included, will suffer long loading times between sections. The levels are too big to load in one go, but it's all too easy to accidentally move back after a load and have to suffer more unwanted loading. For the inevitable Half-Life 3 I hope we see a progressive loading system.

Kill or be killed

Don't get the impression that Half-Life 2 is just about moving from place to place. This is no point-and-click adventure remember, it's a first person shooter, and shooting is something that Gordon Freeman has to do a lot. There's an impressive arsenal on offer, including Gordon's trusty crowbar, with enough variety in weaponry to achieve individual tasks or appeal to different styles of play. I found myself rather fond of the fuel-rod crossbow, perhaps due to the impracticality of the weapon or more likely because of the mess it made.

Gordon's world is a violent one. It's kill or be killed. The enemies Gordon faces for much of the early parts of the game are the Combine soldiers, these gasmask wearing stormtroopers are the stuff of fascist nightmares. Unfortunately they aren't as smart as we might expect from a Half-Life game. Once engaged in combat they have a tendency to rush into danger rather than taking a more thoughtful approach. Often their smarts don't get a chance to shine as Gordon has such an awesome arsenal of weaponry available many a Combine soldier will be spray-painted across the nearest wall before he has a chance to plot some cunning strategy.

Resident evil

The other enemy type Gordon meets on a regular basis is the legion of head-crab wearing mutants. If you've played the first Half-Life you know the score here. The various nasties, head crabs etc. provide the game's horror moments. One scene in a churchyard almost appears to be a pastiche of zombie movies. While the mutant/alien creatures provide many of the game's scares, these moments often feel more like Doom than Half-Life, with Gordon faced with a room full of mutants to be destpatched – the difficulty coming from numbers rather than clever AI.

Despite the wealth of high-tech weaponry at Gordon's disposal, the real thrill in Half-Life 2 is making use of the amazing physics engine to dispatch the enemy. Believe me, what might have seemed a neat E3 demo really does work in the game. Once Gordon has got hold of the physics gun a whole new world of insane violence opens up. Sure, it's possible to hold up objects as a shield, but the real fun is throwing flaming barrels at enemy troops, flinging circular-saw blades into a room full of possessed or dropping cargo containers onto whole squads of Combine soldiers with a crane.

Meet Isaac Newton

You'll be surprised just how much puzzle solving appears in the game, yet it never seems forced, never seems like you are merely back-tracking to pull switches that open doors.

The physics play a huge part in the puzzle solving. It's not just a case of building towers of objects to climb over fences, this is using the properties of objects to solve riddles. For example, you may find that air-filled plastic barrels are just the ticket for making a ramp float, enabling the airboat to bypass a tricky obstacle. Logical thinking is the order of the day and there's always a sense of real achievement in solving a puzzle in an elaborate way using the physics.

The Source of beauty

But you want to know if it's pretty don't you, admit it? Half-Life 2 is an extremely good looking game. The Source engine is shown off in fine form, the textures are so detailed, the effects such as fire and water, dazzling. In some ways it's not as overtly flashy as Far Cry or Doom 3, but that's a design decision – the muted realism of Gordon's world is like nothing we've seen before. The daytime lighting has a soft realistic glow that few games have captured before – the only one I can think of is Gran Turismo 3.

What's more, the Source engine is no system hog. Owners of lower-spec machines will be pleasantly surprised with how well Half-Life 2 runs on their rigs and how good it looks. Sure, the animation isn't quite as good as Doom 3, but for me the visual design of the game, the look of the locations and buildings, is better than anything else around.

It goes up to 11

So what we have in Half-Life 2 is a first-person shooter that draws the player in like no other. The graphics, the physics, the facial animation, superb sound effects and the high-quality acting all play their part in creating a world that feels real. It's not a case of one aspect dominating another – it's a case of a game designed to excel in all areas with one goal – making the player feel at the centre of the action and in control. The level of interaction with the world is breathtaking and heightens the sense of danger and the rewards for success.

Stripped of the flashy graphics Half-Life 2 would still be a stunning game. Why? Because it's a fast-paced, exciting, action-packed romp from beginning to end. Players get to be Gordon Freeman and live in his world, fight the bad guys, win the day etc. Valve has created a wonderful playground to live out our heroic fantasies and this is not a game that you will play just once.

There's so much to do and see, so many different ways to play – that there will be no escape from Half-Life 2 for a long while yet. Half-Life 2 exceeds expectations and really does deliver. Yes there are a few faults, the AI isn't the best it could be, one level is a bit too long and you can occasionally get stuck on some scenery. These are minor issues when faced with the excellence of everything else in the game

Half-Life 2 is the best first-person shooter you can buy, and for that reason it deserves the highest mark we can give.

Rating

Graphics:
Amazing natural lighting blending with peerless level design raise the bar for future games.

Durability:
This is one first person shooter you'll play over and over.

Sound:
Excellent voice acting and great sound effects.

Gameplay:
So much to do, so much to see - more fun than we could have hoped for.

Overall rating:

Click here to see how we rate.

System requirements:
Minimum: 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, DirectX 7 graphics card, Windows 2000/XP/ME/98, Internet Connection.
Publisher:
Vivendi
Developer:
Valve

Screenshots

References to other articles

Lombardi has little faith in Microsoft
Is the Games for Windows initiative genuine or just another way to sell more Vista copies?

Black & Orange Box HL2 screens
Plenty of new screens from the two Half-Life 2 packages.

Black/Orange Half-Life 2 boxes unveiled
Electronic Arts and Valve have announced full details of the forthcoming Black Box and Orange Box Half-Life 2 collections.

Related downloads

Half-Life 2 downloads

HL2: Empires Mod v.2.21 patch
Half-Life 2 - Now with RTS and FPS in one mod!

HL2: Empires Mod v.2.2 Full
Half-Life 2 - Now with RTS and FPS in one mod!

HL2: Insurgency mod Beta 2.1 client
The newest full public release of the awaited Insurgency mod for Half-Life 2.

Comments

#1 - 17/11-2004 @ 16:00 : Logan

"How come you can give this a 10, when ..."
oh, give it up, you're going to buy it anyway, aintcha? I know I am...

Egen lykke er godt, andres ulykke er endnu bedre!

Jesus loves you, but I think you're a cunt!

#2 - 17/11-2004 @ 19:51 : AirWolf1

Boomtown: Don't mess up the reviews! Come on i am very sorry to say this but not 1 singel game is worth a 10!! And if you give a 10 and a 10 and a 10 and a 9 its 9.75 and not a 10!~So thatsd the first mistake. Second don't give any game a 10! I saw better graphics than HL-2 so don't overrate games. Verry sorry to say this but YOU OVERRATED THIS!!! WATCH BETTER!

#3 - 17/11-2004 @ 20:12 : Yojimbo

No game is worth a 10? We give games 10 beacuse its in the top end of mark scheme. Otherwise we'd be marking out of 9. Which is silly. It's very rarely get used, as only best games deserve it, but I agree with Harry -this one does.

Also we don't give games 9.75 as we dont use percentages to score. If we used the average mark of the four scores combined, which we don't, it would still round up to 10.

Lastly have you actually played hl2 to be able to so confidently judge it?

Dan Crowley - Boomtown writer

#4 - 17/11-2004 @ 22:23 : Kleeze

The grade isn't an average - meaning a game could get an average score of 6, but due to great gameplay it could get an overall score of i.e. 8.

I have yet to play HL2, so I can't comment on this particular score, but the #1 best game at one time in a genre should get a ten - and we at Boomtown do not hand out many of those grades - by the average composed on gameratings.com it's actually evident that our average is lower then that of the average site.

Best regards / Med venlig hilsen
René Bergfort - Skribent
rebe@writer.boomtown.net
_______________
Boomtown.writer \___________

#5 - 18/11-2004 @ 02:26 : Harry

As people have stated, if we didn't use 10 then we'd just be marking out of 9. And then you;d argue about us giving 9, and then 8 etc. 10 doesn't mean a game is perfect, it just means that of the games available this is the best within the genre, And remember this is down to personal opinion. For me this game is the best FPS I've played, therefore it deserves 10.

It's not a magical number, it shouldn;t be viewed as unbeatable. It's merely a case of the best in its class at this point in time.

Harry Neary
UK Editor
Coming Soon - a whole new Boomtown!

#6 - 18/11-2004 @ 05:15 : [deleted user]

I'm interested as to why you gave it a 9 for durability? Half-Life 1 must be the most durable game out there. Its still the most popualar online game 6 years after its release! I expect the same will happen for Half-Life 2, with ports being made of all the major VALVe and 3rd party mods... Whats your reasoning?

#7 - 18/11-2004 @ 14:27 : Harry

Most story based shooters don't have a lot of replay value - once you've seen the story, then a lot of gamers won't play it again. The score for durability reflects how good HL2 is and that it's unusual in its gengre being something I feel many people will play over and over again. The review was of the actual game HL2, not the source engine, not future mods, but the adventures of Gordon Freeman as told in the game. And 9 is a very high score.

Harry Neary
UK Editor
Coming Soon - a whole new Boomtown!

#8 - 18/11-2004 @ 14:37 : [deleted user]

the durabilty was really deserving a 10.. i played the game 13 hours straight, and if i hadnt finished it i would probably have played even longer :)
Other than that, its got split into chapters so you can easily pick any part you want to play again, which gives more durability than HL1 because you had to start all over all the time..

The sound? it wasnt a 10.. they re-used sounds from Hl1, and some were bad quality! listen to the barnacle when it dies, for example..

The lighting? Not good enough for a 10. Just take a look at the walls in places where there is a fire, or when a wall casts a shadow.. its really not pretty..

with the physics engine and all, i actually believe an overall 10 is quite appropiate for gameplay :)

#9 - 18/11-2004 @ 14:57 : Ventura

I think they reused HL1 sounds in the original quality as a gimmick for veteran HL1 gamers - some kind of internal joke. Anything else wouldn't make sense - why use old sounds, when you've got a brand new sound engine ;)

Jakob Paulsen, journalist
Download manager
Boomtown.net

#10 - 18/11-2004 @ 18:08 : WarMotor

Wow, a 10? I have to say I've been doing nothing but playing HL2 for the last 24 hours, and I love it, bit it doesn't deserve a 10. The graphics effects range from understated to (gag) simple. The textures are often muddy, Source can't hold a candle to Doom3 or even CryEngine. Facial animation is phenominal, but you can't grade an engine on that alone. Simply put, HL2 barely even hangs on as a contender (graphically) next to its peers. Hell, even the modified Unreal2 engine Eidos used for DX:IW and Thief sports better LOD and bump mapping effects.

And the much-touted physics engine is nothing more than another licensed copy of Havok2. It's not any more realistic than every other game in the last year, and the gravity gun is downright archaic compared to the analog finesse of TK power in PsiOps.
----Edited by user 18/11-2004 18:11

International security
Call of the righteous man
Needs a reason to kill man
History teaches us so -SOAD

#11 - 18/11-2004 @ 19:21 : Yojimbo

I disagree. For sheer detail, design and scale Source is the most versatile engine out there. Just because there's an occasional bland texture doesn't make the hl2 world any less convincing.

The physics engine is also leagues beyond any other havok-using game. The physics in Deus Ex 2 and Thief 3, for example, felt weightless and unrealistic. Source makes everything seem so much more real. I don't how you can't see the improvement.

Dan Crowley - Boomtown writer

#12 - 18/11-2004 @ 20:05 : WarMotor

For all the hubbub about normal maps, I saw very few in the game, which left the rock faces and architecture feeling very flat. The specular lighting effects were also sparse and didn't work with dynamic light sources. For example, on the slippery mud of the sewers before the airboat level the sludge looks very wet when the light catches it, but shine your flashlight on it and the effect is non-existant. I can understand if they chose to dumb it down for older systems, but scene after scene I was underwhelmed by the lack of dX9 effects, and where they WERE used... well, I've seen it done better in more than one title.

As for the physics feeling more real - its the same Havok2 engine. Drop a box in Far Cry, Doom3, Psi Ops, Hitman:Contracts, whatever game it acts the same. Granted, the level design makes for superior use of the Havok technology, but that doesn't mean that the same code valve implented magically got any better.

Please understand that I think HL2 is the bast game ever, but definately not because Source is a better looking engine, because its not. Add an LOD effect like the very first Unreal title had half a decade ago and spread around the dX9 hardware effects and it would be a different story.

International security
Call of the righteous man
Needs a reason to kill man
History teaches us so -SOAD

#13 - 18/11-2004 @ 22:36 : zushi

You know, in the end, There is really not much point arguing about scores and textures and stuff like that, in the end it is really all about whether you like the game or not. If you like to play the game and think that it is fun then great. But if not, then it really is not that big of a deal..

#14 - 19/11-2004 @ 18:56 : HammerFall_DK

I am not going to play HL2 - doesn't interest me at all :-) Don't flame me for that comments - lol. I am going to wait for the mod INSURGENCY to be released - hooah - that is gonna rock everyones ass off.

HammerFall_DK - Founder / Owner
AA-Overview.com + INS-Overview.com + BF-Overview.com + ArmA-Overview.com ||
Non-Sponsored and Independent resource sites covering Americas Army, INSURGENCY, Battlefield 2142 and ArmA

#15 - 19/11-2004 @ 21:41 : AirWolf1

Just see it on this way: NO GAME IS PERFECT! Not the best games in the whole world. Like Halo 2, Kill Zone and call more great names! But not 1 game is worth a 10 becouse no game is perfect you can't give it a 10! Max is a 9 but 10 means perfect and its not! Verry sorry 2 say.

#16 - 20/11-2004 @ 16:51 : metalcat

airwolf press the see how we rate button

#17 - 22/11-2004 @ 03:02 : deadken

I have no problem with the fact that this game was rated a 10. I don't think that a 10=perfect. A ten is just the highest that you can get in a category, and that does not equal perfect. If you think about it, Olympic judges give 10's without the performances being "perfect". They take into consideration the dificulty of the moves performed as well as other things. I think that this is a case of "throwing the baby out with the bath water", I don't think that an entire review should be overlooked just because of the final score.

I own HL2. I got it on Thursday, and I finished it on Saturday. I enjoyed it A LOT. I don't think that it was perfect, I don't even think that it was as good as the first one. BUT, I do think that it was AWESOME and I think that the visuals were great, I haven't seen many DOOM 3 images that were as nice looking. Most of the Doom3 images I saw were so dark that I feel that the details were hidden in shadows. Granted, I don't even know what a 'LOD' is that the other guy was talking about.

There are a lot of pros and a few cons about this game. I would have to say that I am most dis-appointed in how fast I finished it (H-L made my Wife VERY angry :) ). I won't go into all the small things that bothered me, but I will mention that the 'barnacle' sound didn't bother me a bit.

I am looking forward to some great mods with this game. I hope that they re-do Firearms. That was a great and pretty acurate mod that was a blast to play.
----Edited by user 22/11-2004 03:04

#18 - 22/11-2004 @ 03:35 : [deleted user]

good review well done this is the best game ever made because you can't leave your seat. P.S the graphics are amazing but i don't like how you need an internet connection, but i understand it is to stop burners

#19 - 23/11-2004 @ 01:56 : WarMotor

LOD = Level pf detail
It's basically a second texture layer that pops up when you're close enough to a surface to see how muddy it is up close. Unreal did it, Soldier of Fortune did it really well, and to me it makes a big difference.

I've been playing with the HL2 SDK and it turns out that the engine supports it, it just seems like it was hardly used (if ever) to keep the game running smooth on older PCs. After playing with the level editor for only a day, I have a newfound respect for the Source engine, and one more reason to have a deep contempt for the decision makers at VALVe.

International security
Call of the righteous man
Needs a reason to kill man
History teaches us so -SOAD

#20 - 13/12-2004 @ 00:24 : [deleted user]

this game kicks ass,anyone who says different is a spaztic lamer who dont know theyre arse from theyre elbow and should be blinded and have theyre fingers cut off so they never tarnish the computor world again.

#21 - 16/02-2005 @ 01:06 : [deleted user]

THIS IS THE MOST AMAZZING GAME I HAVE EVER SEEN!

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