Half-Life 2 (PC)

Review of Half Life 2 The majority of those who played the first Half Life will agree that it was perhaps the most ground breaking first person shooter of the late 90's. Realism, carnage and plot were combined with brilliant effect, to create a game not only enjoyable, but engrossing and intriguing. There were no cut scenes, so to say; everything was from our protagonist's perspective, from the chilling train-ride introduction onwards. You WERE ...
...training session (Full Metal Jacket anyone?) and numerous film references throughout. People, for once seemed real; there was Barney, the security guard, and numerous Einsteins dotted throughout, musing and pondering over their machines. Counterstrike was the perfect bonus (am I correct in saying it is the most played online FPS ever?), and add-on Opposing Force deepened everything one step further, providing the player with control of the very soldiers ...

black_dog 02.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

Half Life 2 - Beauty In Its Own Aspect Intro ~~~ Half Life 2 is a game that completely redefines the FPS genre for me. Half Life, Half Life 2, Deus Ex and Far Cry are the games that really make full use of the FPS genre and as a result are completely brilliant for me. Half Life 2 is a brilliant sequel to the original masterpiece for all the right reasons. Brilliant gameplay, great story, Gorgeous visuals, undefined sound etc.. It has to be played ...
...It runs so smoothly together and plays so well. It really is one of my favourite First Person Shooters. Gameplay ~~~~~~~~ Half Life 2's gameplay is brilliant. It is fluid, dynamic, unique and most of all unmatched. It plays great and the controls are great. Its very immersive and the whole environment in the game is approachable in the aspect that you can pick up many things and throw them. This really comes into use when you get your hands on ...

Geddes-i 28.10.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

HALF LIFE-2 Theres a damp smell about the air, a chilling wind howls through dark caves, the distant rumble of a Jet fighter plane can be heard far off in the distance, and then all is quiet. What is this...Half life two? he whispered to me in a stern, yet comforting voice. 'Well Mr Bin Laden, you see Half life-2 is'..........My words were cut short as a tremendous thoom hit the cave roof, the entire abyss shook and creaked, rocks fell around ...
...could answer an immense chunk of rock came upon us and then all was quiet again. Ok so the first part of this review has almost nothing to do was Half Life-2 except for the fact that perhaps only people in such a predicament as that would not have heard about this game. Half Life 2 is the sequel to arguably the most popular game of all time, and certainly the most popular First Person Shooter title, Half Life. Its mixture of groundbreaking level ...

Soadfan1 29.11.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

It has been many years since Half Life came out and with its attempt at realistic animation of scientists, soldiers, robots and aliens; it is still a very playable game today. The bumbling uncertainty of the scientists under pressure to complete their experiments with the help of Gordon Freeman, and the catastrophic appearance of aliens from another dimension combined to make for an entertaining, absorbing and frightening scenario for a First Person ...
...development of the code, textures, etc, being used by enthusiasts to create the biggest online game of all time, Counterstrike. That – and other variations – not to mention the online multiplayer deathmatches based on Half Life itself, gave this title legs. It has lasted a long time with many enthusiastic online followers for good reason. It was groundbreaking when it first arrived on the scene, and though it is now looking outdated in many ways, ...

FlameDruid 08.01.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

...(FPS) sequels. Both Doom and Half-Life produced sequels that, in this writer's opinion, did not live up to either the hype or the legacy of the titles. Half-Life 2's development has been a long and troubled road. Originally meant for release during September 2003, security issues at the developer, Valve, meant that early code was released onto the internet and the release of the final version was postponed until such leaks could be eliminated and ...
...their attraction. This is Half-Life 2's (HL2 from now on) greatest failing. At the end of Half-Life, the mysterious G Man gave you (as scientist Gordon Freeman) the option of joining him or, well, not (and facing the consequences). HL2 begins with the assumption that you chose the former and have been working with the G Man and it is through his influence that you find yourself, unarmed, on a train that's arriving into the mysterious City 17. Immediately, ...

TheDuke 10.01.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

The advertisements call Half-Life 2 "the most highly anticipated PC release, ever." While this may be true (apologies to Doom 3), the haughty cries of this being "the best game ever made" are very much overstated. Is this a good game? Yes. Is it a great game? Certainly! Is it the finest game, or even FPS, ever made? That's debatable. Let's start with the good stuff, because there's a whole lot of it in Half-Life 2. First and foremost, the graphics ...
...of a living, breathing world, Half-Life 2 succeeds like no game before it. Particularly of note are the character facial expressions - they're so lifelike, they're borderline creepy! The characters move so realistically, it's like having CG actors in a video game, performing with every bit of emotion and skill as their flesh-and-blood counterparts. Equally impressive is Half-Life 2's physics engine. The gravity gun is easily the best new weapon in ...

Stuart1984 30.11.2005 (01.12.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

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 ...
...adventures at Black Mesa, a long time has passed. You are again called upon to save humanity and are plunged back into the fray by the mysterious G-man (a recurring character from the first game) to save Earth from the clutches of the evil Combine, a mysterious force that has managed to conquer the planet and enslave its population. Clearly the storyline gives the gamer a familiar scenario to overcome, but there is so much more to Half Life 2 than ...

southy787 27.12.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

...it worth the wait? Half-Life 2 starts like its predecessor, on a train. After your first contacts with the other passengers, you can feel the air of intimidation. This is the atmosphere that is kept for the first 30 minutes of the game, a true introduction, the tense build up before the action. This is all crafted through clever use of sound and visual effects by Valve, and, perhaps in a step more games need to take, takes influences from a different ...
...to be lost. But in Half-Life 2 it is changed into something equally beautiful - effectively paced action. The balance between peace and gunfire is on a par with Sands of Time, effectively using the static-dynamic-static structure that is often seen in films. This is mostly thanks to the clever take that Valve has on the cut-scene. They are all from the first person, leading to both good pacing and more of a feeling of integration with the game. ...

Ravern 15.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

Once again you play Gordon Freeman. Scientist, Saver Of Worlds & complete mute as he never speaks. You've been doing who knows what since saving the world from the threat of Xen but you obviously decided to take the G-man up on an offer of work or you'd be dead (as you'll all well know if you've seen both endings of the original Half Life). You are brought back to reality on a train which is just arriving at City 17, somewhere that looks vaguely ...
...lots of heavily armed men in scary looking black uniforms. They are The Combine and their pretty much running not only the city but the planet and their not the type of people who you want to be annoying. You'll get your 1st confrontation with one who makes you pick up a bit of litter (that he drops!) and that you have to throw it into the bin he knocked it off. You can comply and get past with no problems or refuse or even throw it at him but that'll ...

atytyut2434 25.07.2008 (12.05.2009) · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

Half-Life 2 is, without a doubt, the best PC game in existence. This is the product of six years' work, and it really shows. VALVe, the developers, obviously really love what they do and more importantly, they love this game. It positively gleams with polish, and the creativeness and care exerted into this game really shows off what a developer can do with the financial autonomy required to resist publisher pressure. Too often games are rushed towards ...
...thereof. For all its merits, Half-Life 2 is a very quiet game, often near-silent. This eerie quiet is usually used to great effect, but combined with the few sticking points mentioned above, it means that a total of about 20 minutes of these 40 hours-or-so of gameplay are completely unstimulating. When there is music, it's used excellently to push your heart into your mouth, or get the adrenaline pumping. There have been many complaints about Steam ...

poorsod 08.11.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

I waited along with most of the gaming community for 5 years for the sequel to one of the greatest games of all time - Half Life. I was not disappointed. Technically - this game is superb in just about every department. What I feel the game lacked was the sense of depth and immersion that it's predecessor had. I'm trying to write this review without spoilers - but it is very difficult!! Graphics... The graphics in this game are phenomenal. They ...
...- and in my opinion better than Doom 3. You will really see the benefits of Valve's Source engine (the engine that runs the game) if you have a high-end system - although the game works well on a system of 2 years in age. If you are lucky enough like me to have a gaming-only computer - then your eyes will reap the rewards. There are a number of different locations - and they all feel different, and they are all bought to life in different ways. And ...

TheFirstEscapist 03.12.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

I purchased 'Half Life 2' last week after hearing so much hype (for the past 12 months or so, prior to game release!) about what this game has to offer to the gaming community and how it will be the BEST First-Person Shooter game ever! Well... is it all that the pre-release hype made it out to be....? Here are my views; Playability & Enjoyment: The game starts out as yourself, "Gordon Freeman" on a train coming in to a station and getting off with ...
...and now is the time to pick up that crow bar and rescue the world from the wrong that you unleashed in 'Half Life'. This, I thought was unique and set the game apart from others straight out as there 'appeared' to be an extent of development for your character, but to me, it turned out to be nothing more than picking up new weapons as you go along! *But* as I was saying, still unique in a way, as you do not get any "Mission/Level Complete" screens... ...

Cotty 26.11.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

Half Life 2 is simply the best first person shooter of all times. All you have to do is play it for five minutes and it becomes obvious that you haven't played anything like this before. HOWEVER, if you prefer the straightforward run and gun, you should probably get "Doom" instead. Writing a review about this game is hard because it's too good... it just leaves you speechless and waiting for more. But I'll try my best. ***STORRY*** I don't think ...
...the first FPS game ever to have a story. Half Life 2 is the first ever to have a story that good. Valve hired a professional writer Mark Laidlaw and you can really feel it. I'm not going to reveal the story because that would greatly spoil your game experience, but i can say that it's so good you could make a movie. When the game starts, from the very first moment you are showered in questions and you hope that you will find the answers along the ...

Dangis 21.08.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

...That game of course was Half-Life from the then little known Valve software. It won so many awards it would be impossible to list them all including game of the year and best game ever by PC Gamer. Fast forward to 2003..... Early in 2003 it was announced that Half-Life 2 was in development and had been since the launch of HL1. And lo and behold it would be out in September of the same year. Fans of the genre jumped for joy. Then the slipping began. ...
...year after the initial date Half-Life 2 was released. So was it worth the wait????? YOU BETCHA From the moment you step off the train in city 17 (with no weapons) you become totally imersed in the most atmospheric, playable, story driven FPS I have ever had the privelige to play. An eerie sense of foreboding permeates the air married to the sultry calming tones of the mysterious DR Breen emanating from the giant video screen. His voice echoing around ...

Grendalx 26.02.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)

I bought this game a few weeks ago and have played it several times since. Although i've had Pc's for years i've never really been a gamer. Now i'm kicking myself after realising what i've been missing! This is a superb game, with very good realism. I'm astonished by what can be achieved. The game itself is very interactive and best played when you can draw the curtains and crank up the volume to get the true effect. After a short time of playing ...
...play a scientist trying to save earth from Aliens. Along the way you meet commrades who will help you out a little (provide you with health and ammo etc) and give you a little breathing space...although not for long! Although the game is very playable, you can sometimes find yourself bored, just dying to get to the next piece of action. In my opion though, there is an excellent mixture of full on, in yer face FPS and puzzles that will get you thinking, ...

emos 31.05.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Half-Life 2 (PC)