Half-Life 2 Impressions 

Mmmm...Crowbar Goodness

I never got around to playing the original Half-Life, nor its famous spin-off Counterstrike. Consequently, I wasn't overly hyped about this long awaited sequel. I had occasionally heard a few snippets of news about this game on the various gaming news outlets I regularly read, but for the most part I had no interest in the game until the week before its release. Thanks to a number of sincere testimonials from some friends whose opinions I trust, I wound up getting this game the day after it came out.

And I'm certainly glad I did! This game is perhaps one of the most engrossing I've played in years. The action is a nicely balanced mix of action and cinematically scripted events. And throughout the game, the first person perspective is never broken and as a result you never see yourself. This only reinforces the immersive nature of the game. Half-Life 2 takes place in some sort of post-apocoplyptic world that has been dominated by alien invaders and which is overrun with all matter of nasty and deadly alien creatures. This game decidedly earns its "M" for Mature rating, as there is quite a lot of violent and disturbing scenes in the game.

Gameplay is mainly your standard shooter fare, with a few twists. Many objects in the game can be manipulated by the player, either by hand or by a nifty little device called a Gravity Gun.  This opens up the ability to make weapons out of loose objects that may be laying around. Then there is a crossbow that fires super-powered bolts capable of pinning enemies to the wall behind them. The other weapons aren't all that remarkable, and include things like pistols and a submachine gun.

This game looks really nice, even on my 3 year old issue computer that just barely covers the game's minimum requirements. A more powerful machine would be preferable, because as-is I have all the graphical and sound detail cranked down, and the game takes a while to load and has frequent stutters. However, the game is good enough that I am more than willing to put up with these issues.

Half-Life 2 is definitely a gaming experience that is engrossing, but the violent and sometimes gory nature of the game means that not everyone will enjoy it. However, if you can tolerate some Alien-style critter gross-out, this game is not to be missed!

By: Andy Rucker