Manufacturer: Valve
Title: Half Life 2
Rating 4.8/5

Review:

Well what can I say, it is probably one of the most anticipated games for a long time and it is well worth the wait. I had preloaded it from steam (Valve's content mamgement system) months ago, bought it sometime last week, so that at 8am (GMT) this morning i could play it straight away.

For those that don't know the Half Life series is FPS (First Person Shooter) where you basically pick up crowbars, guns etc and shoot everything that moves.

Visually the game is stunning. I didn't expect it to play to well on my machine (1.4GHz AthlonXP, 512Mb RAM, 64Mb GeForce 4 MX 440) but I was pleasently surprised to find I can play it at 1280x1024 with high textures and details with a frame rate of about 30-40fps. The only thing that doesn't work is the water reflections and detailed shadows but thats only because my card didn't support it.

The game certainly has progressed since the first one. It still has the same creatures but also new ones that have taken the older creatures that bit further. New headcrabs mean new zombies. They are faster and fore like lickers from Resident Evil.
There are also the human forces that are very intelligent. If they can't get to you one way the will find another, you also face various robots including flying sawblades which are very annoying.

The weapons that are used are the same as lastime mostly. You have your trusty crowbar, pistol, machine gun, shotgun and the all new gravity gun. The gravity gun adds a whole new angle to they game because you can never run out of ammo for it bacause its ammo is your environment. You can pick up anything from bricks, chairs and bottles to tables, cupboards and explosive barrels and "fire" them at your enemy. The best thing though must be picking up circular saw blades and sliceing zombies in two....

A new addition to the series are vehicles. These add a interesting twist and are great fun to drive, jumping off ramps and running people over whilst shooting at helicopters trying to blow you up. It's great!!!

It loses .2 of a mark because at some (very far between) points it can be a bit repetitive and frustrating.

This is a superb game and so I rate it very highly. This is a must buy game.

I will post screenshots asap for it...

i heard that it doesent take long to beat. Friend at school said that he beat it in 12 hours.

Its been posted somewhere on the Gaming Forums that some dude beat the game in 5 hours.

I just beat it yesterday, and I have to say that it is a fairly long game. I'd heard that it was short, but I don't agree with that at all. There is plenty of game here for you to play.

There are certain excellent storyline/visual touches that make this game extraordinarily good, though. Walking through the Citadel feeling like god was fun.

It has just been given its multiplayer part today.
Half Life 2 Deathmatch has just been released and it is pretty good fun. Use the gravity gun to pick up stuff like radiators, toilets and explosive barrels and shoot them at people. It's great fun...

Yeah, my buds and I have been rocking Deathmatch on the LAN. Good stuff.

i heard that the gravity gun is the awsome.

So does the game actually meet the 4 year Hype ?