Below are user reviews of Half-Life 2 and on the right are links to professionally written reviews.
The summary of review scores shows the distribution of scores given by the professional reviewers for Half-Life 2.
Column height indicates the number of reviews with a score within the range shown at the bottom of the column.
Higher scores (columns further towards the right) are better.
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User Reviews (281 - 291 of 513)
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THE GREATEST GAME EVER!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 26
Date: January 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User
By the looks of HL-2 at the E3 Expo,i think HL-2 will be a game everyone wants to own.The graphics is so good and the best part is the physics engine.It is really awesome.Those people who are fans of halflife should get the video which was shown in E3.As for the hardcore shooting gamers out there,this is one game u surely dont want to miss.
Although i havent played it,i would give it 7 stars (out of five)!Shame on u if u havent ordered it already!
Cheating in gaming vs a company that makes money
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 4 / 19
Date: May 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User
A problem with people that have played counter-strike and just about every other game is that they do not understand that
1) Cheating is a fact of EVERY GAME not just pertaining only to valve-made games. People get bored of a game (or think they're better than everyone else) and download a cheat that someone else has made. This leads to problems that a gaming company tries to fix, but these people that make cheats spend their lives making these disruptions. (just look at any virus maker)
They are made to mess people up and in fact cost gaming industries a ton of money and customers.
2) Valve is a company with a class of people who need to be paid for their knowledge of how to make games great. They plan for a new game while they are making money off ones they've already done... Does that make them criminals? not in my opinion. They do want to make their games fun and they HATE cheaters like the gamers themselves, because most of them are gamers. They want people to have fun.
And, Half-life 2, by what I myself have seen in previews time after time there is no comparison to a game that is currently owned. Some come close, but these people seem to know what they're doing. Thanks for your time.
The 5 Stars are for the fun I have had just watching the previews of the game and them showing off their creation to the world, just a tad bit at a time. (Get a taste, you'll want to come back for more, This time it better be in bigger portions!)
Yes, it is going to rock.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 3 / 13
Date: February 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User
Half-Life, released by Sierra and Valve Studios in early 1999, won over 100 Game of the Year awards from top gaming sites and magazines. It was voted Best Game of All Time by PC Gamer, and has sold millions upon millions of copies.
Half-Life 2 has been in development with a full team for over 5 years - the original Half-Life was in development for 2 years with an incomplete team. The screenshots surpass visual quality of any games on the market, with in game graphics like those found on a rendered computer graphics movie in another game. The game engine (a system of physics and such, to determine bullets, sunlight reflection, collapsing objects, etc), called the Source engine, is extremely well developed.
The released gameplay movies are phenomenal, and Half-Life 2 is promised to be a groundbreaking game, much like its predecessor.
Buy it. Buy it now.
Why bother...
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 14 / 108
Date: November 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User
Why do people bother with this game? Valve was supposed to release this game almost two years ago. It got pushed back home many times? Alot.
The fact that Valve expects us to pay $50+ for dealing with all the crap thats come out of the HL2 delays is rediculous. Ofcourse they are going to sell millions of copies, so put the price down.
And the thing that annoys me the most about this, is the people that preordered the game and expected it in a couple months, and end up waiting a couple years for it. See the problem? I do.
Valve doesnt deserve a whole $50+ for every copy of this game, I really dont think people should buy this game because of Valves constant delays and problems. Your just giving them another $50+ to make HL3 which will end up just like this.
Also, the fact that Valve tries to cheat people out of money by releasing community mods retail... You can buy HL now for around $10 and download Day of Defeat for free, but if you buy Day of Defeat, its around $20, you get ripped off $10, and its not like you can download HL, not to mention all the problems DoD retail had that Valve never felt the need to fix.
My 2 cents.
why steam, why...
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 2 / 7
Date: August 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User
Put simply, half-life 2 rocks. with great graphics, amazing voice acting, and almost creepy realistic character behaviour, it is one of the best games. its just a shame they had to go and add steam...
Very Very Good
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 2 / 7
Date: December 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User
What can i say?
great graphics
very interactive
love the weapons
love deathmatch
great plot
Simply Outstanding!!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 2 / 7
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User
I have two thoughts:
One, everyone who is having problems logging into Steam I empathize but your complaints are premature. I recieved my copy a few days ago (a few days after launch) and had no problems at all with Steam. On a side note I applaud Valve for trying to step away from the previous game distribution channels which should avoid the "middle man" and reduce piracy, both concepts leading to reduced game cost for us in the future.
Second, HL2 is simply the epitome of fantastic gameplay and technology innovation. The addition of the Havoc phyics engine not only has an amazing "wow" factor but adds immensly to the gameplay. Every object in the game looks incredibly real and is very detailed. The levels are intricately designed and well thought out. The story is compelling and is greatly enhanced by the NPC' emotion-filled facial responses. The vehicles are fantaastic and worthy of their own game. (If you don't do the Dukes song when you launch the buggy, you are too young or dead!) New villians, new aliens, an array of new weapons. HL2 is nearly flawless.
I could be completly nit-picky and point out that there are some places where the character can get physically stuck or that the Half-life series can tend to be linear. Of course, these are minute specks of dirt in a sea of blinding white FPS goodness!
Awesome game
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 2 / 7
Date: November 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User
After Doom 3 I was very nervous about the amount of hype surrounding Half-life 2. After a bit of debate, I went ahead and bought the game the day it released at a nearby Wal-mart.
It took a bit to unlock, no big surprise there especially on opening day. The couple people who had problems need to take a chill pill and just be patient... Valve is doing what they can to prevent massive losses to piracy which is understandable.
Soooooo, I then started the game. Right off the bat I was amazed at the graphics. Screenshots and rave reviews should have prepared me, but there is nothing like experiencing it for yourself. However, graphics are not the only thing that matters in a game.
Its the other factors that really moved this from "wow" up to the scale of "one of the best PC games I've ever played."
Voice acting - superb. lips move with the voice overs perfectly. They also do a good job of making it feel immersive.
Plotline - Awesome (so far). Haven't beat it yet.
Playability - this game was a lot nicer to my machine than Doom 3, and still looks a LOT better. Its nice to see some actual coding efficiency rather than whatever Doom 3 did.
Multiplayer - The thing that will keep it #1 for a while. They already have CS Source out (which is a blast) with more on the way. HL 1 dominated the market for popular FPS mods (CS, team fortress, DoD, etc) and HL 2 is already setting up to continue that trend.
Overall, I am very glad I bought HL 2. Is it hyped? Yes. But this time there is a very good reason for it.
Source Engine: The soul of Half-Life 2
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 4 / 21
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User
THE ENGINE:The source engine for Half-Life 2 is the most advanced graphics engine so far, this will allow Half-Life 2 to be very realistic. There will be ragdoll physics and skeletal animation allowing NPC's to be ultra realistic. Enemy A.I. is supposedly phenomenal.
CHARACTERS: Gordon Freeman has returned for the sequel and Black Mesa has been replaced by City 17 for the Half-Life 2 setting. Also the mysterious G-Man has returned. And everyone's favorite security guard, Barney (Valve says that Barney will not act suicidal during shootouts. Gordan's new sidekick will be Ayx, the daughter of one of the Black Mesa scientists.
THE ENEMY: The creatures from Xen are back, but some are your allies (could Xen have been invaded and they need OUR help?). The pesky headcrabs are back along with a variety of new threats like the fifty foot sriders that shoot lasers. But I hope the sausage dogs that shoot electricty are back.
BOTTOM LINE: Half-Life 2 will revolutionize he gaming industry, and will probably out sell its predescessor. Frankly I can't wait.
In a nutshell: Disgusting
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 4 / 21
Date: January 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User
I found the first "Half Life" and the following two expansion packs interesting to play, but the degree of violence rampant throughout the series was a constant hamper to their overall enjoyment. In many portions the action went beyond "realistic" into ridiculously gruesome. The game would have been just as good without all the extra blood and guts. The storyline, action, adventure, and game engine were what made the original "Half Life" an exceptional gaming experience, not the extreme violence.
Sad to say, "Half Life 2" picks up where the original version left on and dramatically pumps up the level of objectionable content. To be quite honest, I'm surprised no one else here has picked up on this. The content is pure trash. Instead of thriving on level design or even story, the game relies heavily on the shock value of gruesome violence. So severe is the level of such content that you have to wonder if the designers intentionally crafted it to be purely sadistic. Let's be realistic about this, folks. Over-the-top violence is not cool. It's not innovative. It's not for "mature audience only." It's time we realized mature people don't go in for such filth.
Granted, the "Half Life 2" physics engine is incredibly well designed, but that alone is hardly reason to plunk down $50 for the game. A few months down the road, all first-person style games will have the same advancements, and many of these won't contain such sordid content. Personally, I'll be investing my money in games that provide great graphics, challenge, and gripping storylines, but do not contain such objectionable content. Look around. There are plenty of such games available. Why waste your money on pure filth?
I hate to think what kind of damage this game is doing to impressionable young kids, who are undoubtedly its biggest market right now. And its affect is not reserved just for children. No adult human being with an intelligence quotient above room temperature could continually expose him or herself to such content without being negatively affected. It might not manifest itself in actual violence, but the influence on our minds and souls will still be there. Sure, we all know it's fake, but if we continually allow sordid images into our minds we will inevitably be desensitized to them altogether. We will find it more and more difficult to practice such traits as compassion and self-discipline in real life.
The safest bet: Avoid this game altogether. There are countless other titles, including those in the first-person shooter genre, that provide the same benefits as "Half Life 2." It's about time we told the game industry enough is enough. Use your money wisely and avoid this trash.
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