PC Game Review: Half Life 2

Blitzkrieg · Post by **Blitzkrieg** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:57 pm

First off, I must insist that everyone who reads this stop what they are doing and run to the store and purchase this game.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this is an awesome game. the first thing that really jumps out at me(I've only been playing for a few hours) is the look and sound of the game.

It's really obvious that a lot of thought and preparation has gone into it. The gameplay is smooth and the controls are not at all clunky, as is often a problem with FPS(first person shooter) games. Also, you are able to interact with nearly everything in the game. When you shoot something your gun leaves a hole or bloodsplatter as the case may be. The objects in the game are all things you may grab, throw, or use as a weapon. Also, you may need some of the objects to clear an area or defeat an enemy. It's all done very skillfully IMO.

Overall I give this game a solid A-, but that may change as I get into the heart of the game.

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:07 am

I actually played through the first Half Life without using cheat codes a few years ago. (You save games before you get killed, etc).

I saw the concepts back then what HL2 was going to be and there was nothing close to the kick-ass level as what was advertised.

I was an original Castle Wolfeinstein guy when John Carmack and John Romero got that whole thing and DOOM going.

Then came all of the .wad and .pwad files and we started creating our own and uploading them for others to use for modem death matches.

Wolfeinstein makers came out and released the open source code and I started learning programming but was several years behind the tri-linear dithering techniques and just realized I wasn't an artist like those freaks.

The last game I've ever bought was Return to Castle Wolfenstein but didn't like spending hours trying to find secret shit and quit gaming for the most part and burned out. I may play some Mahjongg on Linux but that's even rare.

Well, it's good to see HL2 finally came out after all of this time.

Blitzkrieg · Post by **Blitzkrieg** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:56 am

Some screen shots that I took.

Blitzkrieg · Post by **Blitzkrieg** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 5:00 am

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 5:04 am

The thing is..... you can feel it as you see it. It becomes a part of your memories as if it really happened. Those two screen shots just made me stop and reflect.

Thousands of hours playing those games and seeing that world kind of fucks you up to where it seems like you were really there.

HAHAHAHA!!!! I got to get this game some day.

Blitzkrieg · Post by **Blitzkrieg** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:27 pm

Here's some pics with a little more gore.

This game is a freaking blast!!

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 7:53 pm

I own the game but have very limited playing time on it, due to the explicit need for an internet connection. Let me say this again for anyone that lives with an idiot who hasn't gotten internet at home yet....it needs an internet connection. I was pissed when I found that out after buying and installing the game. I should bring the PC in to work, but more then likely what I will do is do a minor upgrade to a PC here at work and be able to play games on it after work. Thank you work for randomly sending me a PC last week.

But thats another story, a good one in this case since I got a brand new 3ghz cpu dell system that just needs an upgraded video card.

But I digress...As for the game, from what I've played and what I've seen, it is absolutely incredible. The user interface is awesome. The best so far. In fact it blows Doom III away. Sure doom has some good graphics too, but IMHO the game play didn't add anything. In HL2 on the other hand, they've improved on everything and its more then just a stupid fps game where you just shoot monsters. There are lots of small and large challenges to accomplish to get through levels. The only thing missing is the multiplayer portion, which is too bad.

Donovan · Post by **Donovan** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:27 am

There is multiplayer for HL2. Not only is there an upgraded version of Counter Strike included, but there's a deathmatch mode that seems to be well done (I've only tried it once). Nothing's cooler than using the gravity gun to fling a toilet at someone's head.