Game On: Half-Life 2

Yes, I know, I am very late to the party, but here's a review of the classic Cinematic FPS, Half-Life 2, for PC, Mac, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PS3!

In a Nutshell
Gordon Freeman, Theoretical Physicist, is brought to a dystopian future under alien occupation and must use his scientific genius to build a superweapon shoot a bunch of people and zombies to strike against the alien overlords.

Story
The story is pretty damn great in this, which is pretty surprising seeing how First-Person Shooters are not usually known for their great storytelling. It's interesting how, aside from the beginning and ending, there are no cutscenes and every single event is from a first-person view. It really helps hammer in the immersion. It was one of those things that made the original Half-Life special and it works marvelously well. You never feel as if control is taken away from you.

As for the plot of the  story, it's not groundbreaking. Gordon is literally flung into the dystopian world without being told much of anything, and he's expected to somehow save humanity from the aliens who took over the planet. It involves science fiction elements, but it's a bit anemic as far as narrative goes. Then again, this is an FPS and they don't usually need much of a plot to keep you going, the promise of more action is usually enough to get you moving forward.

Where it really shines is how the characters and areas all feel alive. The details peppered throughout the game help tell the story of the world. it's one of those games where a lot of the details of the world can be successfully understood by going through it, not by getting lengthy exposition thrown at you. From City 17, which tells of a dictatorial police state controlling the human populace with drugs and fear to the streets of Ravenholm showing what happens to those who try to escape, using it's characters, level design and little touches, it really tells a compelling story without a particularly compelling plot.

Gameplay
I am not a fan of First-Person Shooters. i never really got into them and I find the first person perspective a bit claustrophobic, being used to literally watch my own back. That said, by the end of it, I was really enjoying this game.

The game has an okay selection of guns, with pistols, submachine guns, a shotgun and a "sniper crossbow". What it brings to the table is the objects-manipulating zero-point energy manipulator, or gravity gun. Allowing you to weaponize any loose object around you and the robust physics engine, it can be used in a pinch or whenever you don't feel like using guns. It also shines during the various physics puzzles peppered through the game. All in all, the game's weapon selection is good enough, but the gravity gun never felt right as a weapon to me. Maybe it's because i underestimate the punch flinging objects pack, but I pretty much stuck with the submachine gun all game, switching to the shotgun sometimes, in closer quarters.

The enemies also offer a decent challenge. There's a few varieties of zombies and headcrabs, a few different types of gun-using enemies and a few special alien creatures or boss monsters here and there. Honestly, the combat felt a bit samey Zombies are slow and easy to kill, combine soldiers shoot back but all more or less use the same strategies and the bosses are, well, strong and hard to kill. It's really at the very end that i started really having a lot of fun in combat.

Lastly, the level design is, well, a bit schizophrenic. It's very good overall, but sometimes, i just found myself stuck, unable to find the right path to continue. I feel like sometimes, some visual emphasis should have been put on things, but overall, the level design was actually pretty great.

Really, overall, this is a game that works very well, but hits a few snags along the way. The gun selection and enemy variety are okay without being particularly outstanding, but a special mention has to be made of the Gravity gun, which is a very interesting weapon.

Presentation
What can i say, this game came out in 2004 and it still manages to look very good today. The graphics are nice, the engine is very sturdy, the models are very good. This is just a game that looks and sounds very damn good. The areas all look distinct, the overall style is interesting and fitting, the game just looks right. The style really helps the story and gameplay, never hindering it.

There's not much to say here that hasn't been said, this is a gorgeous game that still holds up 8 years after release.

Verdict
I'm not a fan of First Person Shooters, but I really enjoyed the game. it took some time, but it really grew on me. if I may digress, i think i might have liked it more if it were like Portal with the gravity gun only, but still, I very much enjoyed myself and, by the end, I was really liking the game a lot. It looks good, it works well, it tells its story in a very immersive, quiet way. It's just a great game, even 8 years after its release! i give this game a great score and suggest that, if like me, you never play FPS games, you try it out, you just might start to like that genre a bit more!