Half Life 2 sucks you in and doesn't let go.
I never played the original Half-Life on PC, since I was too young at the time. I hear how most reviewers call it revolutionary, citing its story and gameplay as incredibly innovative. Apparently, Half life 2 has borrowed many elements from the original game, and all the professional reviews I have read have criticized the sequel in some way, because it wasn't as revolutionary as half life 1.
It's my first time playing this game, and all the elements they described are brand new to me. So this game is as revolutionary and special to me as it is to those reviewers who played the original back in 1998.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, what's this game about? Half Life 2 is an FPS where you play as Gordon Freeman, a physicist who accidentally opened a portal to another dimension in the first game. He was able to escape the facility where the portal was opened and close it up. However, he was kidnapped by the mysterious G-Man and put into stasis for 20 years, where Half Life 2 starts. The Earth has been taken over by the combine, an alien force that re opened the portal and took over in 7 hours. The G-Man puts you in city-17, the main center for the human puppet government.
The game starts you in a train station in the middle of city 17, and the whole game is pretty much 1 level, divided into chapters.
Seriously.
You go from point A(train station) to point B(prison) in the game, which takes 75% of the game. This was the most incredible part of Half life 2 to me. No missions that place you in different spots, no separate clichéd levels like "fire world" and "ice world."
Nope, just train station to prison, and then a warp back to the train station for the final levels of the game, which take place in the city. The whole game is connected in some way, though. I love the setting of this game. It's a conquered world, dominated by aliens, intelligent and unintelligent that came through the portal. I cannot spoil any of the enemy types, since they are so fun to discover. The game has some extensive driving stages, dominated by either a boat or a car. These parts of the game are some of the best, since you go so far along these highways of broken road and toxic waters and see the fantastically textured visuals. You can also look back and say, wow…..I started at that train station, and NOW look where I am! The world is so realistic, from the enemy strongholds to streets of the city, where propaganda plays on giant video monitors and all the citizens where the same clothing.
Gordon freeman is not alone in his quest to take down the combine. There are great NPCs to interact with, whether they are resistance members or a crazed preacher in a town full of zombies. There are no cut scenes, and nothing ever takes you out of the perspective of Gordon, who is silent, and takes the role of "You" in the game. The characters and setting make the game extremely immersive.
Not to mention, the game is INTENSE. Not one review I read mentioned how intense some of the shooting becomes, but it adds another layer of depth. The best parts of the game come when you are pinned down, little ammo is left, and things become desperate. The best example of this is when you are fighting with 20 or so resistance members against several war of the worlds style-tripods. These guys can only be destroyed by rocket fire, and you need some rockets. They are on the other side of the street. The walkers are firing at you. Good luck.
The game is not perfect. The jumping puzzles are annoying, and one section in the prison is famous for its unfair difficulty. But these small problems don't detract much from the overall experience that is Half Life 2.
This game was recently placed as #5 on game informer's greatest games of all time list, and its easy to see why. Stunning atmosphere and intense gameplay make this a truly memorable experience that should be shared by all gamers.