Half-Life 2

November 19,2004 - In 1998, Valve Software released Half-Life, the groundbreaking first-person shooter that almost single-handedly revolutionized a genre. Not only did the game feature a cinematic, immersive experience with almost seamless environments and a fascinating story, but the flexibility of its online code paved the way for Counter-Strike, the most popular modification ever created. Not only are expectations high for the sequel, but Valve faced an uphill battle in a year crowded with fantastic FPS's like Far Cry, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Halo 2. Impatient gamers need worry no more: Half-Life 2 is a thrilling experience that bests the original in every conceivable fashion, not just in terms of its powerful technology, but in the way the technology serves the gameplay. Make no mistake: Valve's latest creation is an action masterpiece, clearly a superior shooter in a breakout year, and possibly the best FPS ever created for the pc ' or any other platform.

Once again, players step into the shoes of Black Mesa scientist Gordon Freeman, this time arriving at his new home in a scene reminiscent of the first Half-Life's tram ride. Ostensibly, Gordon is being brought here to work for the mysterious G-Man, but soon enough, Barney, Dr. Eli Vance, and Eli's daughter Alyx surreptitiously pull Gordon into an underground movement of revolutionaries determined to overthrow the Combine -'the enigmatic, tyrannical beings that have rounded up humanity into a concentration camp known as City 17. Like Butcher Bay in The Chronicles of Riddick, or Black Mesa in the original Half-Life, City 17 is the ominous co-star in an allegory that explores humanity's darkest fears of conspiracy and paranoia. The residents of City 17 are there because the Combine 'know what is best' for them, and Freeman not only must survive an entire bureaucracy intent on annihilating him and the freedom he represents; but he must rise to his status amongst the persecuted as a potential savior.

Like the first Half-Life, there are no cutscenes in its sequel. There are occasional loading times, but they are fairly brief and never truly remove the player from the immersion. Instead, we experience the narrative from Gordon's perspective, although he remains faceless and voiceless. Various characters you encounter keep you abreast of the ongoing events and the history of City 17, but you make discoveries when Gordon does. Unlike in other FPS's, you never have a specifically identified mission, apart from vague instructions imparted by your underground brethren. Instead, the game design itself keeps you focused by keeping your adversaries constantly on your heel, and by remaining open-ended enough to allow you to discover solutions for yourself without ever letting you feel lost or frustrated. You will encounter certain puzzle elements, but these are never as vexing as those in the first Half-Life; while some must be solved in multiple parts, the solutions are generally common sense, and seem perfectly in context, if a tad wearisome.

Gordon starts with a basic arsenal of the revered crowbar and a pistol, and eventually acquires a good variety of weapons, such as the usual submachine gun, shotgun, and grenades. They all pack a good deal of punch, although we grew partial to the weighty .357 Magnum in Gordon's possession. Later, however, Half-Life 2 reminds us that we are in the seemingly not-so-distant future, and introduces some unique new weapons: the pheropod, which summons a swarm of ant lions that you can order to attack your unsuspecting victims; a pulse rifle, which shoots energy beams at your target; and our favorite, the gravity gun, which you can use to forcefully clear nearby objects out of your way ' or to pick up various items and use them as protection or projectiles.

Your bastion of enemies run the gamut, from Combine grunts donned in gas masks, headcrabs and their poisonous variant, to the flying buzzsaws and giant striders that patrol the streets of City 17. Appropriately, the level of AI and type of challenge each enemy presents is quite distinct. Lumbering zombies rarely present any true difficulty until you find yourself cornered, although they are solid foes in close quarters. Ant lions and headcrabs pounce with striking agility, the grinding manhacks hone in on you with an astonishing degree of recklessness, and the combine troops exhibit artificial intelligence on par with the stars of the genre, such as Far Cry and No One Lives Forever 2. Humanoid enemies are rather aggressive, but quickly adapt by flanking you and using various environmental items as cover. In one example of this elevated AI, we guarded a door, waiting for the Combine grunts to stream in. We quickly felled the first two to rush in, but the third in line, wary of his comrades' fates, quickly strafed to the side, avoiding our barrage of gunfire. All of your adversaries will present a unique challenge, and while Half-Life 2 is not the hardest shooter on the market, it is by no means easy on standard and high difficulty.

While at first the nifty physics may seem like an afterthought as you stack barrels and throw around crates, after your acquisition of the gravity gun and the subsequent trek through Ravenholme, it becomes obvious just how important the environmental objects really are. Fling circular saw blades through a row of zombies to decapitate them; grab a flammable barrel and throw it into a mess of Combine troops to witness a fantastic flaming fiasco. If you are crowded by dangling barnacles, toss them a piece of wood to feed on so you can slink past. Not only does it keep the combat fresh and exciting, but it removes elements we often take for granted in other shooters. No longer can you hide behind that wooden crate: your foes' bullets will blow it to smithereens. Think you are safe keeping distance between you and the lumbering undead' Not anymore: those creatures at which you toss crates will be tossing them right back. Suddenly, Half-Life 2 has thrown genre conventions out the window to create new ones, without ever losing sight of its predecessor's influence.

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