Half-Life 2 is a revolutionary 1st-person shooter, which has been released on it's own on the PC and Xbox, and as a part of the Orange Box on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The amount of times it's been released, the amount of mods that have come from it's engine and the amount of praise it's gotten have not been a coincidence.
I will cover Half-Life 2 and the two expansion episodes they have released since it's initial debut.
Gameplay: 10.0
Unique gameplay concepts - What drives the game, and what is it similar to?
Half-Life 2 is probably the best shooter campaign you'll pick up. It has wonderful gameplay ideas such as the gravity gun, excellent gameplay scenarios and great interactions between enemies and neutral parties.
The gravity gun is really what drives this game. It's a gun that can pick up pretty much any object and throw it at enemies (like explosive barrels, their own grenades, toilets, etc) or allow you to move items around to solve puzzles. I won't spoil anything, but let's say by the end of Half-Life 2 it gets more powerful.
Their weaponry outside of the gravity gun is somewhat standard, but their implementation of these guns make them all really fun to use. They took every aspect of standard weaponry to a new level. For example, their sniping weapon not only snipes but it sticks people into walls. Their SMG is really fast, wild, and very fun to use. They clearly thought of what games were doing and how they could improve on the things they've already done, and did a great job at it.
Not only is it about weaponry, but it's about approaching a scenario and using intellect and strategy to defeat enemies, instead of just pointing and shooting. They have items like trip mines that you can switch allegiances on (or just throw at the enemy), and automatic turrets that will fire at enemies, which you can move around and need to manage their position and status in order to win battles.
You just can't say enough good things about this game. They stretched every idea and thought of innovating games, instead of just taking a piece of the pie.
Presentation: 10.0
Graphical and audio presentation (animation, texturing, overall look & artistic style)
Half Life 2, for the time it was initially released, looks very good. Great character modeling and animation, great enemy animation - overall, you can't get any better for it's initial release date. Even on the Xbox 360, it looks good compared to games of today.
Theatrics: 9.5
Story, Dialogue, Cut-Scenes and Artistic Use of Camera
Half-Life 2 has an obscure story, mostly due to a mistake made by a friend of yours. A large portion of the game is just getting to where you need to be to advance the story. The entire story is essentially "a crazy day in Gordon's life" as it's short, but all seems to take place in real-time.
They have a really strange twist in the middle of the game that I honestly didn't really understand. It's a sort of mind-blowing, game-pausing change that you don't see coming at all, and is either a reference to the previous game or the next game. It was pretty cool, but I didn't really understand where they were going with it, likely due to ignorance on the Half-Life series.
Their dialogue is very good, and their story/scenario design is top-notch. It's definitely not a dynamic game and thus not a dynamic story, so it won't offer much replay value through it's story. The story isn't a big part of the game anyway, but their bits of story are enjoyable and the transition between the episodes and whatever will be the next Half-Life game are very smooth, whereas most of the time sequels or expansions feel tacked on and not much of a continuation.
Controls: 10.0
Ease of Use and Smoothness of Controls
The raw speed of this game is awesome. There are a few long sequences of driving that are tons of fun due to the handling of the car, making it feel both out of control but very easily controlled at the same time. It's hard to describe, but the game flows exceptionally well.
Gun-fighting controls are pretty straight-forward and I can't think of a single instance in which I was wrestling with controls and struggling to do what I wanted to do.
Replay Value: 9.0
Total Gameplay Time versus Expected
I played through HL2 and the two episodes twice. I would give this a higher rating if it had a good multiplayer, but I may be holding it to an unfair standard comparing it to games that have come out several years afterward mimicking their ideas. My second play-through was mostly an achievement run, because some of their achievements are irresistible and fun to get, so I can't quite give it a perfect score in this category. It is what it is, and it's fun as hell. But it won't give you a ton of gameplay. Fortunately, by now, it's dirt cheap.
Fun: 10.0
How much fun was the game?
Truly one of the most fun games I've ever picked up. Their ingenuity when it came to crafting unique gameplay scenarios is still unmatched.
My favorite part about their structure is that they don't have the typical level 1, boss, level 2, boss format. Every level is different and at the times you could consider it being a boss battle, it's frantic and requires a lot of skill/attention, but it's not the same old typical "run around and occasionally shoot the glowy thing" kind of battle.
My Overall Rating: 9.7
Appeal and Recommendations
If you're a fan of shooters in any shape or form, you cannot afford to miss this game. Go get it right now and play it. It's THE defining campaign shooter of this generation and will last for a very long time.
I will cover Half-Life 2 and the two expansion episodes they have released since it's initial debut.
Gameplay: 10.0
Unique gameplay concepts - What drives the game, and what is it similar to?
Half-Life 2 is probably the best shooter campaign you'll pick up. It has wonderful gameplay ideas such as the gravity gun, excellent gameplay scenarios and great interactions between enemies and neutral parties.
The gravity gun is really what drives this game. It's a gun that can pick up pretty much any object and throw it at enemies (like explosive barrels, their own grenades, toilets, etc) or allow you to move items around to solve puzzles. I won't spoil anything, but let's say by the end of Half-Life 2 it gets more powerful.
Their weaponry outside of the gravity gun is somewhat standard, but their implementation of these guns make them all really fun to use. They took every aspect of standard weaponry to a new level. For example, their sniping weapon not only snipes but it sticks people into walls. Their SMG is really fast, wild, and very fun to use. They clearly thought of what games were doing and how they could improve on the things they've already done, and did a great job at it.
Not only is it about weaponry, but it's about approaching a scenario and using intellect and strategy to defeat enemies, instead of just pointing and shooting. They have items like trip mines that you can switch allegiances on (or just throw at the enemy), and automatic turrets that will fire at enemies, which you can move around and need to manage their position and status in order to win battles.
You just can't say enough good things about this game. They stretched every idea and thought of innovating games, instead of just taking a piece of the pie.
Presentation: 10.0
Graphical and audio presentation (animation, texturing, overall look & artistic style)
Half Life 2, for the time it was initially released, looks very good. Great character modeling and animation, great enemy animation - overall, you can't get any better for it's initial release date. Even on the Xbox 360, it looks good compared to games of today.
Theatrics: 9.5
Story, Dialogue, Cut-Scenes and Artistic Use of Camera
Half-Life 2 has an obscure story, mostly due to a mistake made by a friend of yours. A large portion of the game is just getting to where you need to be to advance the story. The entire story is essentially "a crazy day in Gordon's life" as it's short, but all seems to take place in real-time.
They have a really strange twist in the middle of the game that I honestly didn't really understand. It's a sort of mind-blowing, game-pausing change that you don't see coming at all, and is either a reference to the previous game or the next game. It was pretty cool, but I didn't really understand where they were going with it, likely due to ignorance on the Half-Life series.
Their dialogue is very good, and their story/scenario design is top-notch. It's definitely not a dynamic game and thus not a dynamic story, so it won't offer much replay value through it's story. The story isn't a big part of the game anyway, but their bits of story are enjoyable and the transition between the episodes and whatever will be the next Half-Life game are very smooth, whereas most of the time sequels or expansions feel tacked on and not much of a continuation.
Controls: 10.0
Ease of Use and Smoothness of Controls
The raw speed of this game is awesome. There are a few long sequences of driving that are tons of fun due to the handling of the car, making it feel both out of control but very easily controlled at the same time. It's hard to describe, but the game flows exceptionally well.
Gun-fighting controls are pretty straight-forward and I can't think of a single instance in which I was wrestling with controls and struggling to do what I wanted to do.
Replay Value: 9.0
Total Gameplay Time versus Expected
I played through HL2 and the two episodes twice. I would give this a higher rating if it had a good multiplayer, but I may be holding it to an unfair standard comparing it to games that have come out several years afterward mimicking their ideas. My second play-through was mostly an achievement run, because some of their achievements are irresistible and fun to get, so I can't quite give it a perfect score in this category. It is what it is, and it's fun as hell. But it won't give you a ton of gameplay. Fortunately, by now, it's dirt cheap.
Fun: 10.0
How much fun was the game?
Truly one of the most fun games I've ever picked up. Their ingenuity when it came to crafting unique gameplay scenarios is still unmatched.
My favorite part about their structure is that they don't have the typical level 1, boss, level 2, boss format. Every level is different and at the times you could consider it being a boss battle, it's frantic and requires a lot of skill/attention, but it's not the same old typical "run around and occasionally shoot the glowy thing" kind of battle.
My Overall Rating: 9.7
Appeal and Recommendations
If you're a fan of shooters in any shape or form, you cannot afford to miss this game. Go get it right now and play it. It's THE defining campaign shooter of this generation and will last for a very long time.
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