87
MobyRank
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
2.4
MobyScore
5 point score based on user ratings.

Description

Half-Life 2 is an FPS game where you once again play as Gordon Freeman, the MIT graduate from the first game. You awaken a number of years after the original game on a train to City 17, an Eastern European city which is reminiscent of the World War II ghettos. And the people kept in City 17 are the remains of humanity, left at the will of the Combine, a mysterious alien group who retains totalitarian control of Earth.

You are soon brought into a resistance group, and make an attempt to bring down the Combine and liberate Earth. Why you? You saved it the last time. Or did you?

The player guides Gordon through the City 17 and the wilderness that surrounds it. On his way, he'll encounter a lot of friendly characters, but also fight dangerous foes and solve puzzles to progress. As Half-Life 2 features a realistic physics system, Gordon can pick up objects and toss them freely, and many of the puzzles are physics-based - for example, at one point the player has to weigh down a seesaw with bricks at one end to turn it into a ramp.

Gordon's enemies, apart from alien wildlife which found its way to Earth, are mainly Combine forces, which utilize a variety of firearms, gadgets and vehicles. Policemen and foot soldiers work along with helicopters, gunships and gigantic walking machines to hunt you down. To defend himself, Gordon has a range of weapons available: from the iconic crowbar for close-quarter fighting, through pistols and rifles, up to grenades and a rocket launcher. Most notable weapon is the "gravity gun", with which one can pick up objects, hold them in the gun's antigravity field, then hurl them at the enemy with great force.

Also with Half-Life 2 is Counter-Strike: Source, a version of Counter-Strike made with the new Source engine which powers Half-Life 2, and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, an online multiplayer game featuring the same physics and weapons as the single player game.

Alternate Titles

  • "戰慄時空2" -- Chinese title (traditional)
  • "半条命2" -- Chinese title (simplified)
  • "HL2" -- Abbreviated title
  • "Bantiao Ming 2" -- Chinese title
  • "하프라이프 2" -- Korean title

Part of the Following Groups


Merchant Title Platform    
Amazon
Electronic Arts 101276 Half Life 2 Xbox    
ebay.com
Half-Life 2    
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User Reviews

Who says ports are bad? Sam LaSelva (10) 4.43 Stars4.43 Stars4.43 Stars4.43 Stars4.43 Stars
Perfect game for any one Todd Bello (32) 4.71 Stars4.71 Stars4.71 Stars4.71 Stars4.71 Stars

The Press Says

UnderGroundOnline (UGO) 2005 A 100
GameCola.net Dec, 2005 9.8 out of 10 98
GameZone Dec 18, 2005 9.6 out of 10 96
TeamXbox Nov 15, 2005 9.5 out of 10 95
Gamereactor (Sweden) Nov 30, 2005 9 out of 10 90
Play Magazine 2004 9 out of 10 90
XBox Front Nov 16, 2005 86 out of 100 86
Gamezine Dec 07, 2005 17 out of 20 85
Jeuxvideo.com Nov 22, 2005 17 out of 20 85
GameSpot Nov 15, 2005 8.3 out of 10 83

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Trivia

According to the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, the original storyline spanned four in-game days instead of just three. Among the parts cut are an antlion cave, a train ride through a dried out sea bed, a ship called the "Borealis", the underwater "Kraken Base", a Combine weather control station, a chapter set in arctic regions and a skyscraper. Many of these places show up in pre-release screenshots and press material.

Some parts were recycled for existing Half-Life 2 chapters, many others are making a comeback in the Half-Life 2 episodes.


This entry was contributed by DarkDante Bronze Star Contributing Member (3728) and Zack Green (1022)
 

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