Half-Life 2

by Vivendi Universal

• Sequel to the hit first-person shooter
• Scientist-with-a-crowbar Gordon Freeman joins a ragtag human resistance fighting extradimensional invaders for the survival of a conquered Earth
• Unnervingly realistic graphics the likes of which have not been witnessed outside of a motion picture or pre-rendered cut scene
• Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties
• For 1 player

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006I02Z
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 16, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (659 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,634 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com

In many ways, creating a sequel to Half-Life is an unenviable task. After all, the goal is to craft not just any ordinary game, but an improvement to a title that is widely considered to be the high water mark for first person shooters. Fortunately, Valve does not disappoint on their sophomore effort.

Half-Life 2 picks up exactly where its predecessor leaves off, with gamers stepping once more into Gordon Freeman's HVAC suit as he awakes at some indeterminate time in the future, now apparently in the employ of the mysterious G-Man. Humanity has been sold out to alien forces, and your job is to escape their thrall and lead the resistance to victory.

HL2's key successes are in a few critical areas, the first of which is the new physics & graphics engine, called Source. People and objects fall, fly, tip over, float, and break in an extraordinarily realistic fashion, and in-game puzzles often require you to use simple applications of physics to progress. Second, an elaborate facial structure system coupled with excellent voice acting make for some of the most believably human NPCs in gaming history. This is no small thing; you will find yourself actually caring about the characters who surround you, even those that are normally regarded as cannon fodder. Third, the level design exhibits a subtle brilliance, which frequently fools you into feeling like you're making your way through an organic environment and not a forced linear path. These elements combine to form one of the most truly immersive experiences ever captured on a PC.

This gaming bliss comes at a cost, however. If your computer isn't running the latest and greatest hardware, you may find yourself turning down a lot of the slick graphics to keep the machine from choking. Also, at the time of this writing the only two bundled multiplayer games are a barely updated version of Counter-Strike and HL2 DeathMatch. Counter-Strike: Source is every bit as fun as the original, but the DeathMatch is lackluster and contains only a handful of uninspired maps.

Overall, Half-Life 2 is a smashing success, every bit worthy of the prestige and respect that the franchise has been awarded. This is absolutely a game that every computer gaming enthusiast is going to want to have in their collection. -- Jon "Safety Monkey" Grover

Pros:

• Advanced graphics and physics system provide highly immersive experience
• Believable, expressive non-player characters
• Fun, realistic level design

Cons:

• Requires a very fast computer to play with all bells & whistles on
• DeathMatch mode has few maps and is not terribly entertaining

Product Description

Half-Life 2 takes the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original Half-Life and adds startling new realism and responsiveness. Welcome to a world where your presence affects everything else. From the physical environment to the behaviors and emotions of both friends and enemies, every move has a consequence. Enjoy the unique combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Characters can assess threats, navigate tricky terrain and fashion weapons from whatever is at hand. Lush and realistic environments - objects obey the laws of mass, friction, gravity and buoyancy. System requirements: Windows, 700 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, DirectX 6.0 compatible graphics card/accelerator.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

463 of 501 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word: Perfect! November 17, 2004

By Christian Hunter

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I stopped keeping time after 2am so I can't be sure what hour it is, nor can I tell you when I ran out of the cannister of Malt Balls and Peanut M&M's I brought as supplementation. What I can tell you however (in the humble opinion of a dedicated PC gamer for 15 years), is that Half Life 2 is the the most mind blowing game I've ever played.

I was at E3 with my pyscho gaming buddy cleaning the Pizza flavored drool off his chin when we got a preview of HL2. Like most, I counted the days, cursed Valve and Sierra for delay after delay, put all my faith and hope into Doom 3, was underwhelmed, went back to playing Desert Combat...basically went insane with anticipation.

In the brief moments before firing up HL2 for the first time, I was hopeful, but expecting to be dissapointed.

And I was.

Really, no multi-player! I'm one of those that have an absolute allergy to single-player games. Small beads of angry sweat began to form on my back...

But I soldiered on, and in:

10 minutes I was impressed,

at 30 minutes I was completely immersed,

at 1 hour chills were running up and down my spine, and occasional girlish yelps of horror began emanating from my pitch dark office...

...by the third hour I came to the conclusion that HL2 was/is the most impressive game software I've ever had the privilege of living in. Some highlights:

1. The engine is truly revolutionary. Doom 3 has a darn good engine, HL2 in my opinion is vastly better. Indoor AND outdoor environments are near photo-realistic (I have a 3.2GHZ w/ 1GB RAM), the physics are jaw-dropping AND deeply integrated into the play of the game, texture and lighting, faces, water, you name it, this engine is now The Standard.

2. Vehicles. Well, not only do they have them, they're really fun to operate (or be chased by as the case may be).

3. The Gravity Gun. This weapon comes later in the game, and in my humble opinion, is easily the most fun weapon I've ever used. Picking up and throwing items, using it to activate latent elements of the environment (often as weapons) is unbelievably fun. Which brings me to:

4. Humor. This game has some really funny moments. I almost busted a gut when I ran out of heavy/sharp things to fire at zombified creatures that were teaming up on me in close quarters. I desperately pulled over a large can of paint, fired, and splattered huge gobs of white paint all over their (now more upset) faces. I died, but I died laughing. And finally:

5. Immersion. The screams were obvious signs of immersion, but beyond that, I noticed myself making facial expressions of anger, empathy, anticipation...all throughout the game I found myself genuinely caring. That's a first for me.

I really could go on and on, but I can't, literally, I fear that dawn isn't far from my window and I'd like to pretend that I myself won't be a zombie tomorrow.

Enjoy,

Christian Hunter

Santa Barbara, California

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So I decided to drink the Kool-Aid... February 11, 2005

By Matthieu P. Raillard VINE™ VOICE

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

As one of the 3 people in the universe who didn't much care for the original Half-Life, I was hardly awaiting with baited breath the release of this sequel. The things I didn't like about the original, namely the clunky and flawed controls, dated graphics even for 1998, outweighed the undeniable genius of the game as a story. I wasn't ruling out Half Life 2, but I was much more interested and looking forward to Doom 3.

Fast forward to the present. Having just built myself a top-notch gaming PC capable of running both games with ease, I took the plunge, but decided to install and play Doom 3 first. My initial reaction to that game --awe at the graphics and production value, creepy atmosphere-- was quickly replaced with tedium and boredom as the game played out like a 21st century scavenger hunt (find the key card! Get lost in the dark!). When I played Half-Life 2, however, I was BLOWN AWAY. The graphics are as good as Doom 3, but the big difference is that you can actually see them, because the entire game is not in dark tunnels, but rather takes place over a variety of terrains, ranging from beautiful coastline to wonderfully post-apocalyptic cityscapes. This game is truly deserving of all of the "Game of the Year" awards, and here is why:

GRAPHICS: Simply stellar. The textures are terrific, and the water effects are super, second only to Far Cry. The character models are very nicely done, and the way their eyes follow you around the room is both creepy and amazing.

SOUND: Very, very good. The sounds and music are very well done, and complement the game's moods quite ably.

GAMEPLAY: A gift from heaven. The game engine is ruled by physics so real, you're going to try picking up every object just to see what happens. A brick feels and reacts different that a doll, a tire swing responds realistically to a push, and bodies fall convincingly when shot or falling. The control is simple, smooth and effective, and the weapons are generally balanced. I wish there had been a better sniping weapon than the crossbow, but hey, that's what mods are for!

STORY: Again, stellar. It's so noticeable when a story grabs you, and when a story is just filler, a pretext for the setting of the game. In Doom 3, I couldn't care less why I was there. I certainly wasn't about to read the myriad boring PDA's you find on corpses, and the story is really trite. Half-Life 2, much like Knights of the Old Republic, makes YOU the star of the game, and gives you little chunks of info, but never overwhelms you with random names that mean nothing to you. As a result, you internalize the info, and actually come to care about the other characters. The scripted scenes are always logical and never forced, and they are just plain funny at times. I can't say enough about the great immersive world of this game.

NEGATIVES: Much like everyone, I dislike the "Steam" program which basically means that each time you play half life, you need an active internet connection. It's the company's way of authenticating your software, and while it's logical to be paranoid, (after all, this game's code was famously stolen by a hacker last year) it's a bit much. That said, most people have internet, so this is somewhat moot.

OVERALL: I personally don't care for online games; I find that people often act like children or jerks, and that the few games that are fun to play in multiplayer are shooters like Unreal Tournament of the Battlefield series. I can't express enthusiastically enough how happy I am to see that a game developer still cares about putting out a polished and amazing single player game.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The game is fantastic! The Security is the worst! December 9, 2004

By Brandon

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

The game itself if fantastic! The AI is brilliant, the puzzles are challenging yet not impossible and the real life physics are just fun to watch (People falling head over heals off a cliff is just plain fun!)

What irks me is the security. When I heard you had to connect to steam to get it working I thought it would be like the adobe CS programs, just log on and get authorized and thats it. NOT HALF LIFE 2! They install this highly intrusive steam program that takes a good chucnk of resources. Also, you just don't verify the game once and that's it, every once in a while it has to reauthorize (because I bought the game and then decided to steal it later????) It sometimes takes an hour to load the game up because of this reauthorization.

Game is great but Valve and Sierra went WAY over the top with security. I will NEVER buy another product that uses the steam system, it's just not worth it