Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2

Windows - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Valve Publisher Valve Published 2004-11-16 Platforms Android, Linux, Macintosh, Windows, Xbox Genres Action, First-person shooter, Shooter Themes Horror, Science fiction, Suspense Series Half-Life Distribution Commercial

Half-Life 2 is a first-person action adventure game developed and published by Valve and released for Windows on 2004-11-16 and then ported to several other platforms. It is the sequel to Half-Life and the second game in the Half-Life series. The game is built using the Source Engine.

Personal

Own?	Yes. On Steam.
Won?	Yes. Easy and normal difficulty. I have 24/33 achievements.
Finished	2011‎-09-15.

I first heard about this game from a co-worker who had bought it at launch and said he was so impressed with it, he spent a lot of time at the beginning just playing with the physics. I rarely buy games at launch, so it was years later until I played the game. I got it as a gift, along with all the other Half-Life 2 games, from my friend Cody. Certainly one of the best gifts I ever received because these games became some of my favorites. I played the game through on easy difficulty and beat it, then, some time later, I beat it again on normal difficulty.

Review

10	8	8	5	8

Best Version: Windows

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The 3D rendering engine was awfully impressive at the time featuring water reflection, fog, dynamic lighting, light blinding, cast shadows, focus changing, etc.
• The physics is also really great for the time. Rolling wheels, weighted levers, spinning merry-go-rounds, and thrown objects that ricochet beautifully.
• The weapons feature a nice gradual increase in power that allows you to feel like you're becoming stronger as the game progresses.
• The Ravenholm chapter is deliciously terrifying. One of the scariest experiences I've ever had with a game.
• The Gravity Gun is a fantastic weapon, and being able to hurl saw blades and gas tanks was a wonderful idea.
• There are a lot of secret areas in the game which aides in the replay value. Despite trying to maintain an attention to detail each replay, I still haven't found them all.

Bad

• There are a few points where the game gets dull and repetitious, like the highway section.
• Some of the puzzles are tedious, especially jumping puzzles. Not touching the sand in the sand lions section is especially annoying, not the least because of the frequent bugs in how the Source engine handles collision.
• I miss having the more powerful weapons from the first game like the Gluon Gun and the Tau Cannon. The Combine rifle is too similar to the machine gun.
• The NPCs continue to talk even if you're out of earshot which means you can often miss dialogue.

Ugly

• This game doesn't really have any serious faults.

Media

Documentation

• 

  Xbox manual.

• 

  Windows quick reference card.

• 

  Prima Guide.

• 

  Prima Orange Box Guide.

Gallery

• 

  Flattened game map.

• 

  City 17 Train Square.

Graphics

• textures-resource.com/pc_computer/halflife2 - Textures.

Fan Art

• 

  Fan art by Joey Spiotto.

Videos

Review - What's So Great About Half-Life 2?

Leadhead - How bad is the Combine?

Leadhead - Half-Life 2 makes me proud to be a human.

Boundary Break.

Speedrun progression.

Longplay.

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life:_Escape_from_City_17 - Escape From City 17 - Wikipedia.

Escape From City 17 is an amateur film series produced by David and Ian Purchase. It's set in the Half-Life universe and details the aftermath that occurs after Gordon Freeman sets off the singularity in City 17 as all the rebels try to get out of the city with the Combine still after them. The first two episodes were self-funded, but the duo tried to crowd-fund the third episode, but it didn't reach its goal. A teaser was made for the third episode, but it never materialized. The films were later taken offline, but have be re-uploaded by other people.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	Alyx Vance for sure, and, to a lesser extent, Dr. Judith Mossman.
Bechdel test?	Pass	Alyx and Judith argue about the gravity gun.
Strong person of color character?	Pass	Dr. Eli Vance is black, Alyx Vance has a black father. Possibly Father Grigori who appears to be some Eastern European race.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Expansion

Unlike the first game, Half-Life 2 didn't ship with deathmatch support, so a stand-alone expansion was released shortly after called Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. Later, a part of the game that was scrapped from the final was released as a proper expansion, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast. It showcases some of the new engine technologies that were in development for Half-Life 2: Episode One. I've finished Lost Coast and enjoyed it.

Links