Peter McCoy
Nov 30th, 2004, 08:34:32 PM
I thought I'd give a little review on my new favourite game, since nobody seems to have done so already.
Half-Life 2
The minimum system requirements are forgiving despite what you may have seen/heard/read (1.2GHz Processor, 256 MB RAM, 4.5GB HD; as well as an internet connection for installation). When the promo video's started rolling out of Valve's studio I remember thinking 'Jesus, this is going to be an expensive upgrade' - the demonstrations were THAT good. The first thing the demo's showed was the G-Man from the original Half-Life, then how he looked in HL2. From the world GO people knew they were in safe hands with this game - the G-Man looked unbelievable. I'm sure many people know what I'm talking about.
The reality is that only high-end machines will be able to churn out the visual orgies shown in the video's. However, I have to say that even though I could not whack all the video settings up to full I was still blown away by how the game looked. The textures are gorgeous even on the lowest setting, and the glass and water effects are really something - at one point in the game I noticed the reflection of a rocket I'd just fired at an enemy across a canal. The facial articulations in HL2 are simply amazing - the models can display a number of expressions - I've seen characters smile, get angry, cry, laugh, worry and even show affection. Having the model detail on the lowest setting really didn't affect my enjoyment of the game visually, but seeing the high-level models was really something!
As with the original game and its expantions, the lighting in HL2 is moody and atmospheric. One example of how delighted I was (pardon the pun) was when I had been fumbling about in the dark (I don't want to give away much of the games actual content) and finally reached daylight. You know what its like when you've been in the dark for a relatively long time, and how light can seem so much brighter (eg, through a door or window) and can even give off a silhouette effect - thats exactly what I found as I could see the tip of my shotgun in the distant light. As I moved closer to the opening the world became clearer and the daylight less strenuous to my 'eyes'.
The physics in the game are exactly as stated on the back of the case. You can pick up most objects that look like you can pick them up - barrels, boxes, chairs, bottle crates, bottles, ammo boxes, loading palettes, doors, even broken planks of wood that were benches or desks just moments before. Here's a little thing about the likes of desks and tables. I came across a table - wooden leg/frame and separate wooden surface. When I threw the table at a nearby wall with excessive force, not only did it fracture quite nicely into many pieces of varying size and shape, but the legs/frame and surface broke away and independently of each other. You can then pick up and use the individual pieces as you see fit. Lovely. Everything has buoyancy - drop a body into water; see a dead Barney plunge a few feet, then rise to the surface and change his name to Bob. Once, when hip-deep in water,. I blew away something with my trusty shotgun and it proceeded to float away with the momentum. And if something's submerged then its image is distorted by the water, and vice versa if you're under the waves looking up at something. You'll often find yourself having to manipulate the surrounding junk to get past an obstacle of some sort, and when you're in the middle of trying it out you'll think 'Cool!'.
The weapons are pretty basic for the most part - there's the good ol' crowbar returning from Black Mesa, as well as the pistol and .357 revolver. There's a sub-machine gun with grenade launcher, shotgun, grenades and an rpg launcher with laser targeting. The laser is better than the original game's as the missile will track whatever you 'paint' with it, and can even turn around if it overshoots its target somehow. As well as these, there's a crossbow which kills pretty much anything with a single shot, and can pin enemies to surfaces (I once shot an enemy on an elevated platform with it, headshot, and he was pinned even though the platform fell from underneath him) and a pulse rifle which has some kind of energy cannon which launches a ball of plasma that can ricochet around corners before exploding with great stopping power.
It was cool seeing little things they'd taken from the original and somehow thrown them into the sequel - people who've played the original will know them when they see them. The enemies are great, with some new terrifying incarnations of older ones, such as the headcrab and run-of-the-mill zombie, the barnacles (those things that pull you up with their tongue) as well as various grunts with guns. The levels are massive and magnificent - I've never seen levels as good as them except in Doom 3. But Doom 3 is limited to enclosed areas - Half-Life 2 has some fantastic outdoor locations; I'd say they're some of the best locations in the entire game. Also, there are two vehicles in the game that are driveable. Theres the airboat, which you use to escape the cities via the canal and river systems, as well as the buggy which takes you along the coast to an abandoned prison known as Nova Prospekt. Both sections of the game ae immense fun, with various obstacles to bypass on the way which allow you to decide the best way to proceed. For example, just because there's a controlbox to open a gate doesn't mean you can't jump the fence somehow. :D
Two things to finish on. Firstly, the story. Half-Life 2 is set some time after the events of Half-Life, and deals with the consequences of the incident at Black Mesa - initially it has a sort of '1984' feel to it where people are being controlled and told where to go and what they can and can't do - no human breeding allowed. This is all set up by an organisation known as the 'Combine', as well as a party only referred to as 'our benefactors' who, together, are supposedly in charge of Earth or at least part of it. The protagonist, Gordon Freeman (you) is looked upon as some kind of legendary hero whos exploits at Black Mesa have become a myth believed by all - his name is played on, as many characters throughout the game refer to him as 'the Free Man'. Unfortunately, the game's story leaves you with more questions than answers by the end of it, and I felt a little frustrated at the absence of closure on the situation as a whole. However, that is the only detriment to the game - it succeeds in every other way at being a computer game. The story ends on yet another cliffhanger leaving the player wanting more which, by the looks of things, we shall get.
The second final thing 'd like to mention is the gravity gun, the 'weapon' I failed to mention earlier. The G-gun is easily the best thing in the game. It puts a whole new spin on how you play the game. In an early section of the game you find yourself in an abandoned town with, for some unexplained reason, an bundance of disused buzzsaw blades. Right-clicking will allow you to draw the blade towards you and harness it with the G-gun's energy, and then left-clicking will launch the blade into anything that wants to feast upon your flesh, most likely cutting it in half in the process and embedding the buzzsaw in a nearby wall ready for recollection. Or perhaps you need to bypass some deadly snipers by walking out in the open. No problem with the G-gun - just levitate a sturdy iron sheet between you and the laser sights and you'll soon be out of harms way. Coolness!
Finally, I'd like to sum up things by saying that Half-Life 2 is the greatest game I've ever played. The multiplayer co-op possibilities are too exciting to think about and I'll be map-making as soon as I'm able to. Manipulating the environment and surrounding junk is great fun and you'll find yourself faffing about for the first half an hour just trying things out such as throwing crates in water or shooting barrels to make them roll, or even trying to put a ragdoll into orbit by dropping a breezeblock onto a seesaw. After finishing the game and knowing the story, despite a slightly disappointing ending I'm really looking forward to starting it again and trying things a little differently. Thank you Valve. Half-Life 2, I love you!
Half-Life 2
The minimum system requirements are forgiving despite what you may have seen/heard/read (1.2GHz Processor, 256 MB RAM, 4.5GB HD; as well as an internet connection for installation). When the promo video's started rolling out of Valve's studio I remember thinking 'Jesus, this is going to be an expensive upgrade' - the demonstrations were THAT good. The first thing the demo's showed was the G-Man from the original Half-Life, then how he looked in HL2. From the world GO people knew they were in safe hands with this game - the G-Man looked unbelievable. I'm sure many people know what I'm talking about.
The reality is that only high-end machines will be able to churn out the visual orgies shown in the video's. However, I have to say that even though I could not whack all the video settings up to full I was still blown away by how the game looked. The textures are gorgeous even on the lowest setting, and the glass and water effects are really something - at one point in the game I noticed the reflection of a rocket I'd just fired at an enemy across a canal. The facial articulations in HL2 are simply amazing - the models can display a number of expressions - I've seen characters smile, get angry, cry, laugh, worry and even show affection. Having the model detail on the lowest setting really didn't affect my enjoyment of the game visually, but seeing the high-level models was really something!
As with the original game and its expantions, the lighting in HL2 is moody and atmospheric. One example of how delighted I was (pardon the pun) was when I had been fumbling about in the dark (I don't want to give away much of the games actual content) and finally reached daylight. You know what its like when you've been in the dark for a relatively long time, and how light can seem so much brighter (eg, through a door or window) and can even give off a silhouette effect - thats exactly what I found as I could see the tip of my shotgun in the distant light. As I moved closer to the opening the world became clearer and the daylight less strenuous to my 'eyes'.
The physics in the game are exactly as stated on the back of the case. You can pick up most objects that look like you can pick them up - barrels, boxes, chairs, bottle crates, bottles, ammo boxes, loading palettes, doors, even broken planks of wood that were benches or desks just moments before. Here's a little thing about the likes of desks and tables. I came across a table - wooden leg/frame and separate wooden surface. When I threw the table at a nearby wall with excessive force, not only did it fracture quite nicely into many pieces of varying size and shape, but the legs/frame and surface broke away and independently of each other. You can then pick up and use the individual pieces as you see fit. Lovely. Everything has buoyancy - drop a body into water; see a dead Barney plunge a few feet, then rise to the surface and change his name to Bob. Once, when hip-deep in water,. I blew away something with my trusty shotgun and it proceeded to float away with the momentum. And if something's submerged then its image is distorted by the water, and vice versa if you're under the waves looking up at something. You'll often find yourself having to manipulate the surrounding junk to get past an obstacle of some sort, and when you're in the middle of trying it out you'll think 'Cool!'.
The weapons are pretty basic for the most part - there's the good ol' crowbar returning from Black Mesa, as well as the pistol and .357 revolver. There's a sub-machine gun with grenade launcher, shotgun, grenades and an rpg launcher with laser targeting. The laser is better than the original game's as the missile will track whatever you 'paint' with it, and can even turn around if it overshoots its target somehow. As well as these, there's a crossbow which kills pretty much anything with a single shot, and can pin enemies to surfaces (I once shot an enemy on an elevated platform with it, headshot, and he was pinned even though the platform fell from underneath him) and a pulse rifle which has some kind of energy cannon which launches a ball of plasma that can ricochet around corners before exploding with great stopping power.
It was cool seeing little things they'd taken from the original and somehow thrown them into the sequel - people who've played the original will know them when they see them. The enemies are great, with some new terrifying incarnations of older ones, such as the headcrab and run-of-the-mill zombie, the barnacles (those things that pull you up with their tongue) as well as various grunts with guns. The levels are massive and magnificent - I've never seen levels as good as them except in Doom 3. But Doom 3 is limited to enclosed areas - Half-Life 2 has some fantastic outdoor locations; I'd say they're some of the best locations in the entire game. Also, there are two vehicles in the game that are driveable. Theres the airboat, which you use to escape the cities via the canal and river systems, as well as the buggy which takes you along the coast to an abandoned prison known as Nova Prospekt. Both sections of the game ae immense fun, with various obstacles to bypass on the way which allow you to decide the best way to proceed. For example, just because there's a controlbox to open a gate doesn't mean you can't jump the fence somehow. :D
Two things to finish on. Firstly, the story. Half-Life 2 is set some time after the events of Half-Life, and deals with the consequences of the incident at Black Mesa - initially it has a sort of '1984' feel to it where people are being controlled and told where to go and what they can and can't do - no human breeding allowed. This is all set up by an organisation known as the 'Combine', as well as a party only referred to as 'our benefactors' who, together, are supposedly in charge of Earth or at least part of it. The protagonist, Gordon Freeman (you) is looked upon as some kind of legendary hero whos exploits at Black Mesa have become a myth believed by all - his name is played on, as many characters throughout the game refer to him as 'the Free Man'. Unfortunately, the game's story leaves you with more questions than answers by the end of it, and I felt a little frustrated at the absence of closure on the situation as a whole. However, that is the only detriment to the game - it succeeds in every other way at being a computer game. The story ends on yet another cliffhanger leaving the player wanting more which, by the looks of things, we shall get.
The second final thing 'd like to mention is the gravity gun, the 'weapon' I failed to mention earlier. The G-gun is easily the best thing in the game. It puts a whole new spin on how you play the game. In an early section of the game you find yourself in an abandoned town with, for some unexplained reason, an bundance of disused buzzsaw blades. Right-clicking will allow you to draw the blade towards you and harness it with the G-gun's energy, and then left-clicking will launch the blade into anything that wants to feast upon your flesh, most likely cutting it in half in the process and embedding the buzzsaw in a nearby wall ready for recollection. Or perhaps you need to bypass some deadly snipers by walking out in the open. No problem with the G-gun - just levitate a sturdy iron sheet between you and the laser sights and you'll soon be out of harms way. Coolness!
Finally, I'd like to sum up things by saying that Half-Life 2 is the greatest game I've ever played. The multiplayer co-op possibilities are too exciting to think about and I'll be map-making as soon as I'm able to. Manipulating the environment and surrounding junk is great fun and you'll find yourself faffing about for the first half an hour just trying things out such as throwing crates in water or shooting barrels to make them roll, or even trying to put a ragdoll into orbit by dropping a breezeblock onto a seesaw. After finishing the game and knowing the story, despite a slightly disappointing ending I'm really looking forward to starting it again and trying things a little differently. Thank you Valve. Half-Life 2, I love you!