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Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 (XSX) game cover art
Platform: PC
Tags: Shooter, First-Person
Developer: Valve
More Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox

Publisher
Region
Released
NA
11/16/2004

Half-Life 2 (PC) imageHalf-Life 2 (PC) screenshotHalf-Life 2 (PC) screenshot


Staff Reviews

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed July 09, 2005

Daniel Forbes says: "Like Half-Life's Black Mesa, it's a place infused with an atmosphere and culture that you can only experience through microcosms. Even more so than VALVe's immortal debut FPS, Half-Life 2 is a single, seamless scripted journey that's not so much about where you're going as much as who you meet on the way. Sometimes, you get there in time to be a hero; others, you're too late, whether it's by seconds or years."
autorock's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed July 04, 2008

Mike Suskie says: "Valve’s objective was to simply provide an FPS experience that surprises you around every turn and never stops entertaining. It works – every chapter in Half-Life 2 feels completely distinguishable from the last, and yet there isn’t a level in the game that I didn’t enjoy. Other developers should study Half-Life 2, because it’s a perfect example of how one game can so cleanly fit into a single genre, and at the same time constantly feel like something different."
Suskie's avatar

Reader Reviews

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed January 24, 2005

asherdeus says: "You know, it’s truly a testament to great game design when you beat a game and feel sad that it’s over. Sure, I can always go back and play through Half-Life 2 again, and I will. But will it have that same "magic" like it did my first time? That “what are they going to throw at me this time” element of surprise; where I constantly anticipating what’s around that next turn or in that building? I know it will still be awesome, and I'll still love it and all that jazz, but is it possible to ..."
asherdeus's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed July 03, 2007

bigcj34 says: "Let’s get this one straight, if you play PC games and haven’t heard of Half Life then you must have been wearing a blindfold each time you were in the game store, and held under house arrest otherwise. The original Half Life was released in 1998, a success in its own right and also supplied a game engine used as a basis for many popular mods, such as Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat being the most popular plus two official expansions released, Opposing Force and Blue Shift in 1999 and 2001 respe..."
bigcj34's avatar

Half-Life 2 review feedback bubble

Reviewed December 02, 2018

Follow_Freeman says: "Changing the rules, stepping back, leaping forward, and raising the bar."
Follow_Freeman's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed October 17, 2016

hastypixels says: "The abject fascination of curiosity will consume you, as will the scope of its storytelling mechanism."
hastypixels's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed November 13, 2008

Lewis says: "Imagine the future. Not shiny metal and fluorescent lighting; not lightsabers and foreign planets. This is a disturbingly grounded future: today's world and today's ideals, painted black by the harsh brush of technological surrealism. A future where, day by day, life becomes a little more synonymous with survival. "
Lewis's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed November 14, 2007

southy787 says: "As a huge fan of the original Half Life, I was incredibly apprehensive approaching its sequel. Sure, I'd heard great things, but you hear positive consensus about a great deal of games that when you actually play, turn out to disappoint you. I was incredibly relieved to discover in my first few minutes of play, that Half Life 2 is one of those few sequels that manages to live up to the standard set by its predecessor. "
southy787's avatar

Half-Life 2 review

Reviewed September 05, 2009

wolfqueen001 says: "The decrepit city of Ravenholm is home to many a fell beast. No longer are headcrabs and zombies your typical foe. There are far worse breeds. A hiss and a screech announce the arrival of the infamous venom crab as it launches at your face. A flash of sickly green obscures your vision and you’re suddenly inches from death. Muscles tense, heart pounding, you pray that there aren’t any other monsters crawling around because if there are, you know your chances of survival are slim."
wolfqueen001's avatar

Related News Articles

Valve is creating a new Source engine

November 12, 2012 - 0 comments
Nothing sets the gaming community alight with rumours like fresh news coming out of Valve, creators of fan favourites Half Life, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Managing director Gabe Newell recently held a fan Q&A session, where any topic was fair game apart from one: “So what... full article

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