Why is half life 2 so good

The thing that sticks with me most about the Half-life series is really just the general tone of it all. You aren't a super soldier, you're a scientist, yet you're being hailed as the messiah of the earth.

The fact that humanity is getting destroyed by the Combine, so slowly yet so deliberately, and when the Combine is done, the only humans that remain probably won't look or feel human at all. The subtlety of it all. The fact that there are large story elements that you can miss if you aren't paying close attention, like the fact that the resistance actually struck a deal with the G-man for your services, hence why everyone was expecting you to show up.

So much of the story is told in the subtext, and the fact that it's set in an interesting sci-fi universe and I'm a huge sci-fi nerd just make it awesome for me to experience. You're judging a game by standards. This is only happening at all because the game was so good in the first place that it's still relevant today. It was and still is an outstanding shooter, with one of the most well-crafted FPS campaigns of all time there is a ton of variety throughout that campaign and you can see the effect that had later on games like CoD4.

Half Life 2 an extremely competent follow up to one of the most important games of all time. Half Life showed the industry how you should tell a story in a video game world some listened, some didn't - Half Life 2 showed the industry how you create a physical world that the player can interact with. You can't just dismiss the physics in HL2 as a few simple puzzles; it was a revolution for how FPS games were made.

The puzzles -and even the gravity gun- only existed to highlight what they had built. Look at how games were made before Half Life 2 and after Half Life 2, and you'll see why it gets the praise it does. HL2 was as important and influential as Half Life, which is saying a lot. Remember that games are measured by the time they come out. At the time, Half-Life 2 was superior to everything in the genre. Just like Pac Man was when it came out.

I just remember HL2 being a rollercoaster ride. I love these kinds of games - they're as much of an awesome ride as they are games. Am I making sense here?

If I reviewed a game using a list of flaws that would make said game a failure, and yet none of those flaws were actually in the game, that would make me a fucking idiot.

Can't imagine who would do such a thing Yes, HL2 sucks.. On the PC? Best video-game ever created. And if you do not understand why it is the best game ever you are just dumb. Dumb moron. But what I'm not understanding here is why people feel like they're part of some great story, when the story in the games is confusing, largely unexplained, poorly told, the characters are literally just there to spit out pointless dialogue that does nothing to advance the story, and all the game does is tell the player to go from point A to point B, killing a bunch of nameless, faceless soldiers, solve an extremely easy and half-assed puzzle every once in a while almost invariably involving "pick up X object, move to Y location, puzzle done , and the only thing really good about the game is how well the shooting works.

Ya know, "nameless, faceless soldiers"! Did this guy play the game with his eyes and ears closed? The suit has flashlight, speed mode and stuff. Also you use a gravity gun, the gameplay is very well balanced, the story is told in a first person mode and every part of the level was tested to perfection. Part of me agrees with the poster who said "gravity gun".

This was my first reaction to the title question. When I first played the game in probably , orange box , the gravity gun made my jaw drop. It just works so well. It allows so much versatility in gameplay see achievements such as "The One Free Bullet". This was the first game in my mind to have a physics system that worked incredibly well. It was obviously developed around and for the grav fun first and foremost. It also adds to the experience that you get a teaser of the Super Grav Gun.

Just a tease to make the end of the game stand out with a feeling of absolute power. It's not just the grav gun though. The game is so well polished that, in combination with the art style, it makes a shooter that still looks good today. AND - Doesn't use the engine well? Mods support is another reason it's highly praised for sure. The company that made the game is one of the biggest supporters of FUN in the industry.

I had fun playing this game, and I had fun playing HL1 probably also in Someone mentioned sound quality. This is one of the features that you might overlook, but sounds really increase the satisfaction of performing actions in a game world. Look at the sounds of the boat and the car in HL2. Those for me increase the satisfaction of operating the vehicles.

I have been itching to play HL2 again. Just so many other games to play No matter how fast the loads are, it's still stopping gameplay which I don't find to be acceptable. I personally thought Half life 2 was one of the best games ever made. Read on for a look back at Half-Life 2 from our feature series that was originally published earlier in Join GameSpot as we celebrate gaming history and give recognition to the most influential games of the 21st century.

These aren't the best games, and they aren't necessarily games that you need to rush out and play today, but there's no question that they left an indelible impact on game developers, players, and in some cases, society at large. World of Warcraft popularized the massively multiplayer online sub-genre, Doom 3 impressed with its mesmerizing visuals, and Halo 2 set a new standard for console multiplayer going forward.

Another title that would leave a tremendous impact on the gaming landscape was Half-Life 2. It was arguably the most anticipated game of the s, and the sequel to Valve Software's seminal debut became something of a force of nature within the games industry, reshaping PC gaming as we knew it. At the time, Valve had a lot to live up to. The original Half-Life was a significant turning point for narrative-driven games, with the industry and PC gamers alike immediately taking notice of its unorthodox yet revolutionary approach to storytelling and action.

Moving away from the traditional level progression and story beats from previous FPS titles, Half-Life's plot was conveyed through a seamless and largely passive style. The creators were swept up by the craze surrounding their game, which eventually took on a life of its own with the rise of player-made mods--most notably the incredibly popular Counter-Strike.

While other developers were learning from Half-Life and its burgeoning modding community, Valve was already hard at work on the follow-up that would cement the company as a creative force within the industry. Releasing on November 16, , Half-Life 2 was a major success in regards to game design and presentation. While it largely upped the stakes and expanded upon the backstories of the first game's characters, it maintained the intimate and more subdued approach to telling its story--channeling the "show, don't tell" mantra hard.

One of the big takeaways upon its release was how much of a significant upgrade it was over the original. In GameSpot's review , former editor James Ocampo stated: "while Half-Life 2 breaks little new ground, it's still a superb and engaging first-person shooter, as well as an amazing technological accomplishment.

The sequel made smart use of its improved rendering tech to increase the scale and density of the world, along with giving each character a higher level of detail.

The culmination of craft and advanced tech made seeing some returning faces like Barney Calhoun, the security guard from the original, all the more impactful. By far, the most prevalent aspect of its impressive technical upgrades was the revolutionary use of in-game physics. At the time, most games that featured real-time physics only used the technology sparingly. In Half-Life 2, it was always present, giving the world added weight and a feeling of unpredictability.

Not only were physics used to help tell the story, it was also the crux of some key gameplay moments. About a third of the way through the game, you acquire the Gravity Gun, one of the sequel's more clever creations.

The Gravity Gun was a game-changer, allowing you to take advantage of Half-Life 2's sophisticated physics by picking up, manipulating, and throwing objects, resulting in some hilarious and jaw-dropping periods of unintended fun. There was no going back after Valve's freeform use of physics, and AAA games like Bioshock and Crysis ran with the concept; today, it seems unusual for a big-budget game not to feature real-time physics of some sort.

The effectiveness of Half-Life 2's presentation and gameplay was in its simplicity. While the original was about arriving to work at the underground Black Mesa laboratory, the sequel's introduction highlights the mundanity of totalitarian rule following Earth's invasion by an extraterrestrial force.

Half-Life 2's opening is a masterclass in worldbuilding and storytelling, portraying the many horrors and triumphs from Gordon's narrow yet incredibly detailed perspective. This clash between the understated and extraordinary is what made Half-Life compelling, and its sequel even more so. Fans eager to see a follow up didn't have to wait too long, as Valve eventually released Half-Life 2 Episode 1 and 2. Revealing the events shortly after the sequel's conclusion, these mini-campaigns served as a nice tease for the escalating conflict with Gordon Freeman and the alien Combine, and hinted at what was to come in the next major installment--for which players are still waiting.

But Half Life 2 will always remain a disappointment for me. This is an amazing experience like I have never felt before. A PC game lover, like myself, has to play the sequel to the the most important game of all time and it's mandatory that they give Half-Life 2 ten stars.

It's excellent in every perspective and you will have a grand time playing a solid, action, scary, and yet a wonderful game which will have you playing for hours without end. It beats its predecessor in everything from the story, to the enemies, and the characters and so on. I am a professional gamer and I know what good games are and Half-Life 2 is one of those masterpieces which will have dozens of new generations playing it.

If Half-Life 2 becomes rare to buy, people will be paying millions to buy one of the last copies and that just shows how important Half-Life 2 is. The mute protagonist Don't ask me Gordon Freeman has a personality and tactics like no other video game character and he is one of the reasons why this game shines from those other crappy games e. He might be nerdy looking with an unusual beard that shows video game characters are not what you expect in real life. The graphics are pretty impressive however it's graphics could not match with Mass Effect 2's but that's because new graphic technologies are being invented every day.

Any Half-Life 2 haters probably complain about one single thing and it annoys them so they give it six stars. You wake up on a train headed for City 17, hoping to be free from the Black Mesa disaster but City 17 is corrupted and Combine troops are in every corner waiting for one little mistake.

You meet Alyx and her father Eli Vance and a familiar face also pops out, Dr. Pretty soon you are on the run from the combine hoping to free city 17 from the clutches of it's master, Dr. Breen, and everything depends on you.

What you do not realize is that a long and hard task awaits you that has zombies, combine, Ant lions, and many many more enemies. The enemies are very smart in the game, mostly the combine because they are humans. The classic head crabs along with the fast zombies are probably the best video game enemies that you have to face. Even though what the Aliens lack in intelligence they make up in damage. The fast zombies charge at you an claw, scratch, and tear you to bits without any intelligence.

Sometimes when you are in dark places, especially the night, a head crab or fast zombie will pop out of nowhere giving you a heart attack and when you kill them , you feel something soft in your pants!

The guns are amazing and without them the game is pointless. You have tons of alien and combine weapons which you will use to tear through enemies in order to reach your goal. The pulse-rifle can cause the most damage in the game apart from the rocket launcher and it's quite easy to defeat an opponent with it. The weapon which I have been waiting to get hold of the most is the Gravity Gun.

The Gravity Gun is fantastic and a major help in the game as you try to defeat enemies with it by deflecting bombs back, and piercing them with something sharp. The Gravity Gun is awesome at the very end of the game. Half-Life 2 is the only masterpiece of a game ever made. This game has everything a shooter requires.

Imagination Action Powerful soundtrack Top acting Deep storyline Replayability Side objectives Mystery And a cliffhanger ending that leaves you salivating for more One of the rare sequels the first Half-life" from still works and has even been updated to play well on modern hardware that exceeds the original.

Gordon Freeman is one of the best first-person heroes and manages to do it without saying a word he lets his crowbar do the talking. Believe the hype. Having been burned on other games that promised everything - yet deliver very little - I still replay HL2 every few years. This game has it all: pacing, suspense, strong yet not overbearing characters, subtle plot development, delightful surprises and amazing plot twists.

The game is perfectly directed and gameplay never becomes trite or overwhelming Will we ever get a sequel?

Probably one of the most teased sequels ever, but one we may never see, as Gabe Newell the billionare owner of the "Half life" franchise as well as the "Steam" game site says there will never be another. But at least there are two stand alone "Episodes" HL ep 1 and 2 if you find you just can't get enough of the Half life world. Don't miss it. I posted a user comment a short while after HL2 had been released, after playing perhaps a third of the game.

What I said still stands my only grudge is that it was way to short. The ending left it wide open for further Half-lives to come along. These days just about all new games are short, probably because of the large amount of resources they devour, what with the fabulous graphics. The ending did leave us all up in the air a bit That explosion which looked like it was about to destroy everything, and then everything just froze so the Enigmatic Gman could walk in and pose some cryptic questions to our Mr Freeman.

I haven't played it again yet as much as I,d love too. I,m waiting for some time to pass so I wont remember as much Some weird things start happening like But I will say this, I came across a crow bar sitting on a barrel. Is this perhaps a nod to Half-life? If you have played Doom 3, I recommend you download the free add on which is the original Doom set to Doom 3 Graphics.

It was great fun and really quite well made. PeteRoy 19 November In this game everything moves like it would in real life, or close enough, you can drag boxes, bodies, guns, health packs, grenades, everything, you can use the gravity gun to hit a monster with a health pack, or a radiator, or a box of beer.

The story is very good too and the characters are very well played. Gordon Freeman, Gman, Aliens will be seen again in this game and much more. I am a big fan of the original Half Life. I've beaten the game several times. It is one of my personal favorites. Now its sequels Half Life 2, EP. I really liked the episodes as well. They were too short though. The creators announced that in fact the three episodes With the third one not released at this point are just one long game.

Of course that brings many negative aspects. For instance if you want to play all three of them, you may want to install them simultaneously, resulting in some big portion of your memory being occupied. But there will be plenty of time to talk about these games. Let's focus on this title for now. This sequel had a lot of work. It had to surpass the original game. Half Life was a unique game.

It has an amazing story, great characters, and was really entertaining. It also had a certain kind of "magic". It became a classic almost instantly. Its second installment kept a lot of the great details that made the original so good and improved them with other features that helped to create an immersing gaming experience.

Half Life 2 is as good as the original. The old characters returned, but with better skins. Some new and interesting characters are introduced. There new and cool enemies Whose A. The graphic detail is incredible. The water effect is by far the best I've ever seen in a game. They took a lot of time polishing this features and it shows.

The only negative thing I can say is that this title is shorter than the original. The plot is great also. It is almost too linear though. We now follow the adventure several years after the events of the first game.

The population is being enslaved and is our duty to help them before annihilation. To make the game even more appealing, the creators added the spectacular gravity gun, which is an extraordinary weapon Well, not a weapon per se. It has the power to lift heavy objects and neutralize their weight. This weapon is almost as important as the characters.

We wouldn't be able to solve some of the most interesting physics puzzles without it, and is extremely fun to use. And I almost forgot, the physics are great. It was extremely difficult to reach the first Half Life game in terms of quality, but I think that this game pulled it off. It has that certain "magic" also. And is highly enjoyable. I recommend this title. It might not disappoint anyone. Half Life 2 Moviememmer 29 March It is a must play for all gamers. Half Life-2 amazes at every point in the game but I only wish that they had done more in terms of the weapons and enemies in the game.

Your arsenal remains mostly the same as from Half Life-1 and thats a disappointment. But even though the source engine does not have the graphical rendering capability of other contemporary engines, some clever texturing has made up for it, especially during the use of reflective water which looks absolutely photo-realistic. Puzzles have been combined with ragdoll physics to give some very interesting sequences.

The action ranges from moderate to frantic. The level design is utterly brilliant. Half Life-2 is highly recommended so go get it now. One thing you should'nt expect is a story, though. This game is the reason gaming is what it is today it created complex stories characters and if you playing on pc has great game mechanix Also the gravity gun is the best weapon in a game.

Obligatory Doom 3 Vs Half-Life 2 post Spoiler warning! I really want to hear what others think here! This is basically 2 mini reviews followed by an overall conclusion - skip to there if you want! After all the hype, I could not believe that it was a step backward. Game play: Shoot. Find ammo. Read pointless emails. Press button.

Repeat until end of game. Secondly, 'boss' endings should have been left in the early eighties where they came from. Levels: What the hell are compartments containing zombies built into the walls for? Not even a hellish teleport? This is plain lazy. I kept getting lost as it all looks the same, making navigation difficult. I should be fighting for my life, not going around in circles trying to find buttons to push!

Sound: Weapons lack a decent 'kick'. Where in hell is the musical score here? He pulled out at the last minute, and they just didn't have time to fit something in. Graphics: Excellent. Well, what you can see. There are great shadow effects, but this is the predominant graphical feature.

Unlike original Doom, don't expect more than 8 enemies at once due to the polygon count. Enemies are predictable at best; making ammo sparse and enemies stronger rather than smarter is POOR game design. Engine: This engine is extremely capable - and it is clear the effort went here rather than into the game-play. The physics are unrealistic, unfortunately - the world doesn't feel like it has any 'substance'.

There is not much in the game you can interact with anyway. Memorable moments: There is a truly horrific fate awaiting a crying female scientist you encounter. It really is chilling to hear her scream as her head and spine are ripped from her body by some malevolent force - and then she comes for you!

I remember Carmack had stated that people shouldn't base their expectations of the final product on this poor showcase beta. He lied. Half-Life 2: After HL1, my expectations were incredibly high. I can honestly say that I was not at all disappointed. Game play: This is an interactive story so expect scripting! These are thankfully only enough to forward the plot.

Some of the script is a little patronising e. Uh, you shot me, so I killed you? Those Zombies ate me? I was obliterated by a huge tentacle? Had my head bitten off by a huge whelk?! Oh yes, a crane too! The vehicles work extremely well and feel great to drive the jeep took me a bit of practice.

Levels: The game starts like the original - weaponless. It is a good intro to a game! You travel from the oppressive city 17 to the deserted Zombie infested Ravenholm to the coast road, the prison With a million different ways to work your way through the levels, it is hard not to find some replay factor here.

The prison was a missed opportunity - the fate of humans being sent there should have been made much more clear and graphic. Sound: Some musical scores are awesome. It doesn't fit in properly - most notably is the battle with the helicopter whilst on the airboat. The ambiance is stunning. Take the coast road - the wind sends a chill straight down your spine, and some times you feel totally and utterly alone.

Graphics: Although the textures may not have the 'gloss' of other games, they are far more realistic.