Like a lot of people around here, I like my first-person-shooters. It’s hard not to walk around a dorm without the sounds of Counter-Strike or Halo assaulting you from every other doorway. So, like a lot of people, I was anticipating the release of Half-Life 2 last semester. Unfortunately, my computer at the time could not support it, but having procured a new one, I was given the game for Christmas, and now I give it to you, review-style.
As far as plotline, this game picks up a few years after the last left off. You are once again Gordon Freeman, MIT physicist turned alien-killing action hero. The old administrator of the Black Mesa lab from the first game has taken over a city (the world? It’s not really clear), and creatures from the other dimension plague it, as well as the administrator’s legions of robots and storm troopers. You are resurrected at the beginning of the game by the mysterious man-in-a-suit, and sent into the city where numerous people recognize you both as friend and enemy.
The technical aspects of the game are phenomenal. For the first few minutes of the game, picking things up, throwing them, and watching them bounce kept me entertained. At one point, while using boards to cross a gap, I could see them flex underneath my character. It was surprising to see how much work they had put into the game engine, down to these little details.
The graphics were also amazing. It’s one of the few games where the humans actually look vaguely human (you could tell they spent a long time on the female lead character, too). The maps were excellent and vast, and even sometimes gave you the impression that you were finding neat shortcuts while going exactly where they wanted you to. Of course, there were still shortcuts to be found; in a few areas you can skip half the map by stacking boxes and jumping fences.
The new array of weaponry is great, with some guns being specially suited for particular monsters. The “gravity gun” is a fun toy, which allows you to pick up things around the map and throw them around. At one point the game has you controlling a horde of monsters using pheromones, sending them out to do your bidding and rip apart some soldiers, and that was a nice addition. The tried and true favorites are still there, though, and the first weapon you have is the crowbar.
I was impressed by most parts of the game, but was disappointed by two elements. First, the puzzles that litter the maps were not as interesting as the ones in the first version of the game. Stacking barrels and boxes is just not as enthralling as running around starting up a missile silo. Granted, a few were more challenging, but most did not require a lot of thought. I didn’t once consider going online to find out what I was supposed to do, and I remember thinking that a couple times in the first game.
Secondly, the ending of the game was incredibly anti-climactic. I’ve heard this from everyone I know who has played the game. Most say they only defeated the last challenge somewhat accidentally, and everyone says that they were expecting something to follow. It was a huge letdown after such a great game that had kept me occupied for hours, and is most of the reason for the 3.5 rating I’m giving it.
For those concerned about the system requirements of the game, I can assure you that it played quite well on the 2004 RPI laptop, the IBM T42. The load times were a tad obnoxious at times, coming somewhat frequently and sometimes taking about a minute, but they were well-placed in the game so as to not interrupt a particularly interesting sequence. As I said, the graphics looked wonderful, somewhat impressive for a laptop video card.
