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Excellent Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: November 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just finished the game and therefore, this is a true REVIEW.

First I must make a few technical comments. Steam gave me no problem, I have a high speed internet connection. The game gave me no problems as I have decent computer (P4 2.8Ghz, 512MB, an ATI 9600XT 256MB, and an Serial ATA hard drive). I also have an SB Audigy 2 ZS and the sound was absolutely amazing. I know many people have reported technical problems with the game, but this is PC gaming. If you want easy, buy a console. PC gaming requires an investment of time, money and effort. If you have a decent rig and a clue, you should have no problems.

Now on to my impressions of the game; the Graphics are excellent. If you have played FarCry on a decent rig, it is about the same quality, but with more interesting level design. The Havoc physics engine also deserves a nod, as it makes this world the most believable I have ever played in. Everything in the game behaves as it should, and this goes a long way to making the game more interesting.

The sound is excellent also. The weapons sound authoritative, the buggy sounds like it has a rumble pack, and the enemies sound suitably intimidating. `Nuf said.

Several people have commented that the game is easy. I agree. On the default level, it's a push over. If you are experienced, consider turning up the level a bit to make it somewhat more challenging. There are numerous puzzles in the game, but none of them should leave you too stumped. Most of the time, a careful look around at the environment will make what you need to do evident.

This game is short. If you played Max Payne, it is very similar in length. I personally enjoyed every second of the game and maybe that contributed to making this 20 hour game seem more like 20 minutes. Other reviewers have said HL2's brevity detracts from the "value" of the game, but I disagree. I would rather pay for a short game I really liked than a long game that bores me to tears. Also, keep in mind, that like the original HL, the Mod community really loves this game, and you should be able to get tons of free content along with the single player game. Admittedly, most of these add-ons are multiplayer in nature, so if single player is your bag and you can't stand playing with others, then this isn't much of a persuader.

The real question is "would I recommend this game to my friends?", and the answer is yes. The single player game is very enjoyable, and I am already enjoying the multiplayer add-ons like Counterstrike. You could certainly do a lot worse then spending some time saving the world as the last "Free-man"!

Frustrated, Nauseous, Disappointed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 21
Date: November 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The frustration comes from having to figure out what I'm supposed to do to proceed every 10 minutes or so, and then to waste the time in performing the inane task. At one point you have to pile cinder blocks to scale a 3 ft wall. This took me at least 15 minutes, because the controls are limited and the blocks don't want to stack neatly. At another point, in the "Canal" section you have to figure out that you have to place the large blue drums that are lying around underwater beneath a ramp that you will then use to jump over the pool of water. The problem with this is that the physics is impossible! Try taking just a basketball to the bottom of a swimming pool. The few minutes of play between these annoying puzzles are fine, but they ruin the flow of the game. Another significant problem with Half-Life 2 is that it gives me motion sickness after 10 or 15 minutes of play. I've played most of the major FPS titles, Doom3, Far Cry, Painkiller, Max Payne, Castle Wolfenstein, etc., and have never gotten nauseous, so there is no doubt in my mind, that the problem is in the game. My computer registers 90 or greater frames per second while playing, so it's plenty fast. Lastly, I feel like my computer has been invaded by this "Steam" engine. Every time I turn on my computer, the Steam dialog pops up, and I have to quit out of it. This is crazy. I'm completely perplexed about the popularity of this game, and question its strong following.

Not perfect, but still damn good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: September 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Half Life 2, is touted as the best game of all time. Like Halo 2 and Resident Evil 4, there is serious hype and fan following to be found. I suggest you shelve those ideals, and the idiots who rave this is the best game ever. It's not. Yes, I will explain why, but first, let me cover some other ground.

For one thing, Half Life 2 is visually, stunning. More so, that beyond the pretty outter shell, there is alot to be found here. To start, objects in the world often react to your presence. Boxes break, bridges creak, bottles crack, and all of it, can be manipulated by you. This is the most talked about point of Half Life 2, the Havok physics engine, and it does not disappoint. Firefights that could have been boring, are enhanced by the physics, where barrels won't just sit there are they are barraged with a hailstorm of bullets, they will react. This is one of those things where, you have to experience it, to understand what I'm talking about.

Though Half Life 2 delivers in other areas as well. The Dystopian European cityscape, and it's dilapidated structures look great. Even on low settings, this game will impress you. Everything is modeled great, though despite the awe inspiring view...as you get closer...

...you will see pretty grainy textures at times. Bear in mind, I wasn't playing this on max settings, so it might have just been me, but I noticed things like this on halfway to max settings. I also noticed odd things like, how my gun would reflect just fine in light, but in the dark, it had some kind of texture issue, and it looked strange. Still nothing all that serious here.

Sound is another area that cover the atmosphere, and it works well here. You will feel tense while playing, because the setting, and the slight music cues that play, add to the suspense and feel of the game. About 20 minutes into the game, you'll hear the "Half Life 2 theme" play, as you take out a few soldiers, and it's a real rush. You get to manipulate exploding barrels, dodge gunfire, and emerge either alive, or dead, and that song, really fits. Not to mention, it's cued with the entire scene, the farther you get, the louder it gets, and then, as quickly as it came, it goes, fading out as you hit the next "checkpoint"...and "checkpoints" are a serious gripe of mine.

The "checkpoints" are points on a map, where the game will load a new area, and they are somtimes a bit annoying. For one, they have bad placement. When you finally get to the vehicles, you will run into about 5 instances each, where once you hit a tunnel, the game will load the next area. This completely takes away from the rush you get racing around, and dulls the sense of excitement, as you stare at the words "load". More annoying yet is that, the game seems to have a brief moment of gameplay stutter as you enter a new area, so after the load, you need to let the game sit for a moment, or else you'll be playing a at a very choppy framerate.

Another issue I had with the game, is the somtimes uncertain path to follow. Often times I could figure it out, but somtimes, I wished the game would point me in the right direction if I was straying too far from it. Admitedly, these wrong ways were mostly my fault, but for a first time through, your bound to get lost once or twice.

The final annoyance, was with a stange problem that would pop up occasionally, and belive me, it made it's presence known. For whatever reason, the game would seem to be running choppy, meanwhile, the framerate said it was moving at 40-80 fps. Now, I've seen 20 and below FPS, and this was not the case. This was the game not playing nice with my PC. Again, this may have just been me, but annoying enough to make note of here.

Gameplay wise, I have little to complain about. This is an action packed ride, that keeps a good pace, but somtimes, will diverge from it, for a puzzle or moment to rest your trigger finger. The characters who populate the world, are in fact, some of the most realistic and loveable bunch of characters in a game...shame they aren't seen much during the game.

Thats the main problem with Half Life 2 in fact. It has a great opening, and lots of dialoge, and then you spend the next 3-6 hours wandering around killing stuff, not talking to anyone really, and then all of sudden, your thrown more storyline, and it's back to wandering. I felt the story fell flat at times due to this...but still, it's a great experience with these characters, in particular Father Greogry, the seemingly insane preacher in "Ravenhome". He will stick with you long after you escape from that place, because of how Valve ended his characters involvment in the game. A serious "chill down the spine" moment. Also to be said...the ending kinda hurts. Not exactly the typical "to be continued", but I feel Valve should have done a better ending. Still, it fits with the original Half Life's ending, in the sense that, you know so little, and soon it will be told.

Last gripe, I promise. The damned buggy car you get, is about as responsive as a tank with a boat propeller. I understand Valve wanted to grab the "Hollywood" feel with all the bumps and jumps, but trying to stear with the keyboard, and aim a gun with the mouse, will cause you to fly all over the place. Perfect example of this to be found on Highway 17, when you get to the part with the "Magnet". You will be stuck for a bit trying to figure it out, and the fact that it's not clear what to do, conpounded by the fact that driving isn't easy...yeah, you'll curse a bit.

I feel the reason so many are raving about Half Life 2, is not because the game is good, but rather, it comes with Counter Strike, which is the MOST OVERRATED online multiplayer game to date. Half Life 2's deathmatch is so much more fun and rewarding. Let me ask you, have you ever killed anyone with a toliet? If you play Half Life 2 deathmatch, you will...and there is nothing like it.

So in the end, I really enjoyed Half Life 2, but because of all the hype and people around me claiming it was the "Next coming of Jesus as a computer game" I was put off when I actually played it from start to finish, and noticed it wasn't the flawless package so many claimed, and still claim it is. You'll also notice that people who rave about these games, haven't played, or know the better stuff, that seems to get burried under the hype and buildup.

Half Life 2 is like Doom 3 and Far Cry. Overhyped to no end, but still a very good game. Just don't go expecting to see the "Godsend" of PC games when you play this. Set your expectations a bit lower, and you'll have a great time, no doubt about it.

Oh yeah, I have nothing bad to say about Steam, because it took no more then 10 minutes for Steam to run, and allow me to play the game. Steam is only a pain in the ass, if you bought this game through it. Then, you need to wait for the ENTIRE game to download. I know because thats how my friend bought it, and I remember him waiting two days just to play the game. Also, 56k is dead people...get broadband, or get out. You can not play this game online, or download the game, with 56k...and right on the box, it mentions "broadband internet recommended" so you can say you weren't warned.

Also, Steam doesn't charge your card for updating or downloading the game, unless you just bought it that same day. Normal CD/DVD users won't even need to put in a credit/debit card number, so to a certain Amazon reviewer, your claim on that, is complete and utter bulls**t.

Deserves 0 stars for stupidity

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 15
Date: January 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Start installing at 9PM, finish at 2AM. That's 5 hours, on an ADSL connection, in January 2005 (ie well after the initial rush). Game suffered from choppy sound, partially fixed by patch. The Steam concept is utterly stupid. If I will complete the game in, say, 20 hours, why should I spend 5 hours loading it? No instructions to explain what is going on - just a single card with default keyboard options. Don't buy this game - to punish them for this stupidity. BTW I loved Half Life. This game is pretty good, but not enough of an advance over other stuff out there to really wow me.

November '04: the month that will change PC gaming history

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: October 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Obviously, the reviewer who posted this game won't be available until Spring '05 is a big believer in conspiracy theories . . . . This game will be here within a month. PC Gamer just reviewed the full version. Valve and Sierra continue to maintain this puppy will be on our hard drives in November. Lastly, Steam, Valve's proprietary download service, is downloading the final segments of code to it's subscriber's computers as we speak in preparation of activation next month.

WARNING TO CONSUMERS!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: October 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game itself is good, but there are some things consumers should know before you buy this game so you avoid the nightmare I'm going through.

First of all, what not many people know, and it is written in small letters on the box, is that this is an online game. You need an internet connection and an online subscription to Valve Steam to play. Not too much trouble, unless you have dialup and have to deal with hours of patch downloading. But that was not my trouble. The subscription is free...but there is a problem. My brand new, retail bought game came with a stolen activation code. Took 10 days for Valve to activate my game after a very delayed exchange and extremely slow, distant, and obscure technical support. I eventually had to send them pictures of my receipt and CD Key. FInally I was able to play, but not for long. My account had its password reset, and it has been 2 weeks of trying to communicate with valve and still no support. Apparently, there is a problem with codes being stolen out there. My PC is trojan free, and I have never been hacked before, so this could be a problem on their side.

So consumer, beware.

Pretty good game, I'd say...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First thing to address; Steam. Well, I would admit that Steam isn't that great. But I'm not so sure why everyone's making a big fuss over it. I suppose most of the people who despise it have dial-up and just aren't patient enough to, I don't know, leave the computer connected to the net OVERNIGHT. Maybe I'm the first genius to think of this, maybe not. Yeah, I've got dial-up, and it does indeed work fine, if you're only patient enough. And once everything is set up, you can simply tell Steam to run the game in offline mode, and your internet problems are over. Sigh... Enough of that. On to the actual game...
Half-life 2 is possibly the most immersive first person shooter I've ever played. And yeah, I've played a few in my time. If run on a really nice comp, say AMD 4000+ 64 bit, with a 256 mb ATI card with 2 gigs of ram, you can crank the graphics to the max and have absolutely no lag. But, I can still play it on my much older system with very little trouble. Just turn some of the details off; the game is still fun. It wasn't quite as long as the first Half-Life, and it got a little on my nerves how some of the areas were a little confined. The puzzles? Some people say the puzzles are hard. I had to go onto the net and read a few reviews to even realize people thought they were hard enough to be called puzzles. I don't know... The puzzles that were there took about a few minutes of my time and were amusing, then I got on with the game. Simple.
Major pros for this game: Incredible graphics that can run on a variety of systems from four-five years old to the very best, along with the most realistic facial animation I've ever seen. Cons: Well, if you're lazy, impatient, and have dial-up, Steam might bother you a bit. That's just about it for me... I'd have to highly recommend this game. Now that the price is all the way down to 25 bucks, it's a great value.

non-functioning half life 2

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Beware of wasting your money and purchasing this game unless you have a state of the art computer. I loved the original half life and was anxiously awaiting the release of HL2. I figured that it would be an advanced game so I was carefull to make sure that my computer met the minimum requirements. The minimum requirements are as follows: 1.2 GHZ processor, 256 MB ram, DirectX 7 level graphics card, Windows 2000 XP ME 98, 4.5 GB hard drive. My system is as follows :1.4 processor, 640 MB ram, DirectX 9 graphics card, Windows ME, and 120 GB hard drive. As you can see I meet the minimum and with the exception of the processor, I exceed the recommended requirements, yet I am unable to play the game. The video and sound is jerky, I keep getting booted out of the game with a variety of different error messages, the game gets locked in a loop forcing me to re-boot. The longest I have been able to play without getting booted is 15 minutes. The game will not let me progress farther than that. Repeated e-mails to the support website have gone unanswered. Think carefully before purchasing this game, you just might be flushing your money down the toilet.

Buggy beyond belief!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Is this a beta version?! Read the rest of the posts. This game is SO slow to load. Pauses the game every two minutes to spend a minute reloading (you're only actually playing the game one-third of the time you sit at the computer). Crashes everywhere. AND NO TECH SUPPORT!! Terrible.

VALVE=CROOKS

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 47
Date: May 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Valve has the perfect con going. They charge you forty bucks to buy a game that you can't play UNLESS you use steam to verify that you actually bought it but since STEAM may make your computer crash or freeze your system so you can't actually play the game and since you opened the box you can't return it to the the store and get your money back. INTELLECTUAL COPYRIGHT FASCISM has led to this state of affairs where crooks like VALVE can sell you products that don't work and YOU don't have the right to get your money back. Boycott VALVE and don't ever download games (from any company) so that we don't get to a future where STEAM is the only way to play games at all. That is the future these INTELLECTUAL COPYRIGHT HOLDER FASCISTS are drooling over. Don't give it to them.

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