Half-Life 2, like many high profile game releases, brings with it gargantuan expectations. Many gamers hold the original Half-Life in the highest regard, and it often tops numerous "Best Games of All Time" lists. Half-Life was introduced just as First-Person Shooters (FPS) were starting to plateau in terms of originality, and the game proceeded to turn the genre on its head. Half-Life featured intelligent AI coupled with stellar graphics and a gripping single-player environment, then topped it all off with an engaging deathmatch mode and add-ons.
Half-Life 2 is a bit different story, and treads onto a shooter landscape lush with a fresh crop of high-end FPS games like UT2004 and Far Cry, and faces an uphill battle to attain the outstanding reputation of its predecessor. Still, Valve succeeds in many game play aspects and delivers a title that is realistic, diversified and engrossing but, sadly, cuts a few corners on storytelling and gameplay.
Half-Life 2 is part of a new online initiative from Valve called Steam. This gaming distribution network takes traditional online systems like BattleNet one step further and actually allows games to be purchased, played and updated online. The prime reason for going this route is to curb online piracy, but it also provides immediate game patches and helps cut down on cheating. But no matter if you have purchased the retail CD/DVD version (Standard or Collector's Edition) or downloaded it via Steam (Bronze, Silver or Gold packages), you will need to authenticate the game through Steam. We mention this not only since it is a tad obtrusive, but also because you require an internet link to the PC you intend to play Half-Life 2 on. Certainly the majority of gamers will be online and have no problem, but here at SE, we have a dedicated gaming LAN that we are unable to load Half-Life 2 on.
Half-Life 2 starts off by paying direct homage to the original, and places Half-Life hero Gordon Freeman back on a train, although this time around the destination isn't a top secret scientific job at Black Mesa, but instead an alien internment camp for humans. The atmosphere is bleak. The detainees walk with their heads down, afraid of looking their oppressors in the eyes. They dare not speak and instead plod slowly through fenced off streets surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Much like all the other prisoners, you/Gordon are weaponless and cannot actively strike out against these injustices. Eventually you meet up with a team of dissidents who help you to escape the compound and even reunite you with your old friend, the crowbar. From there, you begin your adventure.
Very little of the initial story above is conveyed through speech or cut-scenes. Much of the underlying context is implied, formed through visual cues, like the shattered landscape that's littered with overturned vehicles or broken roads and abandoned buildings. Using these clues, the player can fashion their own picture as to how the invasion played out. But even with this superb attention to detail, this type of subtle storytelling only works from a "less is more" approach, as it often leaves the player without direction or an overall goal.
The majority of Half-Life 2's introduction is simply having random characters send Gordon on short waypoint quests. These include simple tasks such as: go to this building, shut down this generator, meet up with so and so, et cetera. For much of the game, players will find themselves wondering what Gordon's true purpose is. Is it to suppress the alien threat or is it to simply survive? HL2 paints the big picture slowly, which can be rewarding long-term, but will certainly turn some players off.
What will keep gamers trudging onward in Half-Life 2 is to see what kind of surprises are up ahead. In this way, Valve has masterfully blended thematic elements from all types of games. The camp at the beginning has the distinct flavor of a World War II environment, drawing parallels to Nazi internment camps. It then shifts to a psuedo-racing game, with Gordon in a mad dashed rush to flee from pursuing helicopters. We'll even see him in a Serious Sam type situation, fighting off dozens of antlions. HL2 adopts the wonderful habit of keeping the player on his toes and forcing them to play the game in a variety of different ways.
While all these different themes may sound disjointed, the physics engine ties it all together by keeping the experience consistent from area to area. The parabolic arc that projectiles take looks real and feels natural. Items thrown across a room will hit other objects, which will then react in a very convincing way. Even dead bodies that are close to the radius of an explosion will be tossed around like a rag doll. The Half-Life 2 physics engine helps ties it to the real world better than any other game in the genre.
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