Retro Review: Half Life 2

First played: 2007 on PS3 via The Orange Box

When it comes to first person shooters many games in the genre nowadays tend to play it safe, opting for a simplistic story and persistent online multiplayer to win over an audience. The Half Life series has never fallen into this pattern and the second game in the venerable franchise was no doubt a watershed moment for gaming as a whole.

Half Life 2’s story is set twenty years on from the original; the resonance cascade (a portal being opened into another dimension with catastrophic results) at the Black Mesa research facility drew the attention of the Combine, who have invaded Earth and imprisoned the human race in City 17, an crumbling Eastern European city which also doubles as their main base of operations. The protagonist Gordon Freeman is brought out of stasis and deposited into the city and he begins to work with the Lambda resistance group to fight back against the alien race. From the moment you step off the train at the beginning of the game, Half Life 2 oozes atmosphere and mystery, seamlessly introducing you to its bleak world and the oppressive alien race who occupies it. Homes are brutally raided; the voices of long-gone children echo through disused playgrounds and all manner of creatures and vehicles patrol the streets. There are no cutscenes or moments where you’re forced to stand and watch through the game’s main sequences, ensuring that the game’s immersion never loses its impact. Adding to this is a plethora of brilliant voice acting and facial animation that draws you into the character’s struggles just as well as any pre-rendered cut-scene could. Half Life 2’s dystopian world of totalitarianism blended with dystopia and science fiction is an incredibly rich world, something which you will no doubt get lost in while playing through the game.

Half Life 2’s lone single-player campaign lasts around eleven to twelve hours; this is a bit short by today’s standards, but where the game goes above and beyond most shooters is through its pitch perfect pacing. Valve has always proven they are the best in set-piece moments in shooters and Half Life 2 is arguably the finest example of that talent. You’ll engage in a thrilling chase and eventually turn the tables against a Combine helicopter, blast your way through zombie-infested Ravenholm, and infiltrate a heavily guarded prison using aliens which dogged you before. These are just some of the excellent moments that will stay with you long after beating the game and you may find yourself wanting to play them all over again. Through the campaign mode, you’ll be defeating enemies and solving light puzzles, collecting various weapons as you go. Although the levels are mostly linear, there are several instances, such as a coastal drive where you can go off the beaten path to discover supply caches left by Resistance members or interact with certain items in the game world such as traps and devices. The game proceeds at a breakneck pace, always keeping the player invested by introducing new gameplay scenarios that switch up the standard action, making Half Life 2’s campaign one of the best in the genre.

If there’s one word to sum up the first person combat in Half Life, it’s gratifying. Every weapon, despite often being traditional in nature packs a punch in its own right from the iconic crowbar to the devastating Combine pulse rifle. But where Half Life 2 really changed the game was through the introduction of the Gravity Gun; acquired around a third into the campaign, the device allows Gordon to pick up items and throw them around. It’s so versatile and deep that it, combined with the Havok physics engine, continues to set Half Life apart from every other shooter on the market; not only can it be used to save ammunition and use objects as shields to block enemy attacks, but it also comes into play with several physics based puzzles that require the player to find the way to press forward. Adding to the deep gameplay is a huge variety of environments and enemies, each of which require different tactics to succeed; Combine foot soldiers work together to flank and attack Gordon, Antlions and headcrab zombies swarm the player and hulking striders require much more caution (and plenty of rockets) to engage effectively. All of Half Life 2’s systems and mechanics come together to produce a master class in first person shooter gameplay, something that developers are still trying to match today.

Even 10 years on, Half Life 2 remains one of the best and most beloved PC games ever made and for good reason. It’s one of the crowning jewels in Valve’s PC gaming career that is still a blast to play through, not to mention the impact it had on story-telling and gameplay for the genre.

My recommendation: Buy this game! It is more than deserving of a spot in your PC library, especially if you’re a fan of shooters. It can be found in retail, on Steam for a discounted price or in The Orange Box, which is by far the best value package as you also get the two episodic expansions as well. Though I’d say you should play the original game first to fully understand the story (in its original form from Steam or the brilliant Black Mesa mod which can be found here http://www.blackmesasource.com/)

Rating: 9/10