What can I say, Half Life 2 is a phenomenal game, through and through. From the moment you first play it, you just know you're in for an epic and rich experience. After a half-decade in development and a leak on the internet that delayed the game's release for about a year, all that time in the cooker really shows. With valve's new source engine, they were able to create environments and graphics never seen before in a game, pretty much every area in the game is amazing to look at in some way, even the gritty, bloodstained alleyways are good looking a lot of the time! With all the objects just lying around in the game world, it really brings a whole new level of interactivity to the player. Then once you get the gravity gun later in the game, the levels really become a playground for you to mess around in.
HL2 is no slouch in the sound department either, all the voice acting comes across as convincing and really immerses you even more into the game's "Cutscenes", which can't really be called that because they play out in real time sequences that don't interrupt the action the way traditional cutscenes do. You can tell valve really invested a lot of time and money into the character designs as well, the facial animations are top-notch and really do the voice acting justice. The music is somewhat more subtle and based on ambiance I guess you could say, except in a few moments where the fast-paced techno tracks really get you pumped up for the action-heavy parts in the game.
Gameplay is what you'd expect from an FPS game. It's fun and easy to get into, with a nice selection of weapons too, which range from Gordon's trademark Crowbar to the always fun Laser guided Rocket Launcher.If you've played the first Half Life, you should have no trouble getting into the game, as the controls are basically the same, and even if you haven't. With the mouse-wheel bringing up a menu from which to choose the different weapons for easier selection, and a lot of the weapons also have secondary fire in addition to the primary use.
Overall, HL2 is a must-buy and shouldn't be missed for any FPS fan or gamer for that matter, you won't be disappointed.
HL2 is no slouch in the sound department either, all the voice acting comes across as convincing and really immerses you even more into the game's "Cutscenes", which can't really be called that because they play out in real time sequences that don't interrupt the action the way traditional cutscenes do. You can tell valve really invested a lot of time and money into the character designs as well, the facial animations are top-notch and really do the voice acting justice. The music is somewhat more subtle and based on ambiance I guess you could say, except in a few moments where the fast-paced techno tracks really get you pumped up for the action-heavy parts in the game.
Gameplay is what you'd expect from an FPS game. It's fun and easy to get into, with a nice selection of weapons too, which range from Gordon's trademark Crowbar to the always fun Laser guided Rocket Launcher.If you've played the first Half Life, you should have no trouble getting into the game, as the controls are basically the same, and even if you haven't. With the mouse-wheel bringing up a menu from which to choose the different weapons for easier selection, and a lot of the weapons also have secondary fire in addition to the primary use.
Overall, HL2 is a must-buy and shouldn't be missed for any FPS fan or gamer for that matter, you won't be disappointed.