Below are user reviews of Half-Life 2: Collector's Edition 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: Collector's Edition.
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.
User Reviews (281 - 291 of 476)
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very nice
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User
i've played hl1 and i got hooked. same with this game. the graphics are really nice if you have a computer that can take everything. it's still pretty fun and good even with the lowest quality but you need to set all the settings on highest to really get the best effects. also, make sure you have lots of time when you start playing this game cuz you'll probably get hooked within 10 minutes of playing.
Oh my God(dess)!!!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 2 / 8
Date: November 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User
This game is unbelievable. Don't just buy the game, get a new computer or graphics card. I am playing the game at 1600 X 1200 and it is almost photorealistic. The picture reminds me of Anamatrix graphics. The story is totally addictive. Screenshots and even video I have downloaded don't even do this game justice, it has to be seen to be belived. I had high expectations and they were exceeded. I am running an Athlon 2800 (not 64 bit), 1G of DDR RAM and a GeForce 9800 256MB graphics card and it still plays great at high res. Get this game and a new computer, ask for it for birthday or holiday, do anything short of steal, you have got to play this game!
Great game
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User
I loved HL2, much more enjoyable game experience than Doom3. Great graphics and atmosphere. If you loved HL then you should be able to enjoy the sequel. I think most of the low-score reviews wre played on low spec systems or had slow internet connectivity. Steam wasn't a problem for me.
Great game, even for occasional gamers
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User
As one who plays games maybe once per month, I hardly call myself a gamer. After playing Half-Life 2, I have been very hooked, and find myself wanting to keep playing.
As everyone knows, the graphics are beautiful, unlike any game that I have seen. Gameplay is simple and quite intuitive, I didn't have any problems starting off and unlike some games I have played, isn't so difficult where you have to die a few times before you figure out what to do.
Installation did take a fair amount of time, maybe about an hour, but I have an older machine (P3 Celeron 1.4, 512MB RAM), but I have experienced long installs before and it's not really a big deal at all.
I am quite impressed at how well it runs for such a low-spec machine. I did have to buy a new graphics card for it, as my GeForce2 Ti would occasionally stutter on some parts. I am now using a very basic Geforce 5500FX and it is running great at 1024x768.
Overall, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who has the slightest bit of interest. I have experienced none of the problems that others have mentioned in their reviews, and I bet that support for the game is only going to get better now that it is being "tested" on every setup possible.
What is Steam?
3
Rating: 3,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User
The gameplay is good, but some of the enemy troops & 'monsters' are unimaginative. They could have done alot better in the art dept. I remember being in awe playing "Max Payne" and was expecting the same , but it fell short. Also one MUST have a internet connection to connect to the 'Steam Network'. I don't want to play 'multi-player' but the game loads up in that mode sometimes. To play, i'm forced to reboot the game or the computer..ugh..it a pain. I paid $50+ for this thing and I ahve NO INTEREST in joining any 'club' or 'network'.
Gordy the Demolition Man
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User
Yeah, I don't like the online registration either, but once you have registered your copy you can switch to offline mode. The Valve servers were pretty overloaded at first, but I managed to play it the night it came out. This game feels very similar to the original. The main difference is the vehicles you get to drive (the air boat is a blast) and of course, the graphics engine. The water is very realistic and the facial animations are really life-like. Quite a few outdoor locales, which is nice after Doom3. The gravity gun is handy for getting those goodies just out of reach--plus it lets you take out enemies with a washing machine. The NPC AI is good, though not great (oh look, a grenade. Maybe I should duck or somethi-BOOM). There are some unintentionally funny moments, like when your squad members join you ("Let's follow Freeman!"), and get in your way ("Oh, sorry about that!"). Or your personal swarm of killer "ant lions", which fly around like lady bugs. Or when Alyx (Gordon's love interest?!) is battling machine-gun-toting storm troopers with her pistol and going "Ow! Ow!" The only real negatives are some sound stuttering and long load times between "levels", but a patch is rumored to be forthcoming. All in all, a lot of fun. Now where is that box of rockets...
An unbiased review of Half Life 2.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User
I haven't been playing PC games for very long, to tell you the truth. I just started seriously in August because up to that point, I didn't have the hardware to run the good games out. I bought some of the big titles: Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, etc. Yet when I got Half Life 2, my view of computer games changed. I'm not going to drone on about the graphics, sound, lighting, and AI because everyone who is seriously considering buying this game knows that. I'm here to tell you about what matters: gameplay. The action in this game is some of the best in any videogame. It graps you and never lets go. The gameplay is intense and varied. One minute you'll be in tight corridors and fighting off zombies, the next in a wide open area, taking cover, avoiding Combine fire. It is awesome. The story is great, and when you think you know what's going on, you don't. It's the way they tell it that makes it truly grand. There are no cutscenes, so when characters are interacting it's like you're actually there. They multiplayer is great, coming with two seperate modes. One is Half Life 2: Deathmatch. This is just what it sounds like. You fight other players using Half life 2 models and weapons. You don't install it, it's dowloaded through Steam (more on that later). The other is the real draw. It's Counter-Strike: Source, a remake to the original Counter-Strike. You play as either the terrorist or counter-terrorist in a winner take all match. It's awesome. Now I've heard some people complain about Steam network. I, personally, had no problems with it. I had had Steam on my computer before I purchased Half Life 2, so no problems there. My advice: get Steam before Half life 2 (it's free, don't worry). I think if you try to install it while installing Half Life 2, it screws up. It's a really great service for me, despite what others say. This is an awesome game and anyone with a pulse will love it.
My System Specs:
ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card
1 Gigabyte of Ram
2.8 MHz Intel Pentium 4 processor
1024 Megabytes memory
*with these mid-range system specs, it runs VERY smoothly, with a couple of long load times here and there.
Excellent Game.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User
First off the collector's package isn't anything special. As one reviewer mentioned not even a included manual! Instead they give you a simple mftr slip with the control scheme and Steam activation process. Read steam part thoroughly before anything else of course. Now the game is awesome. I reinstalled Windows XP and everything else just to be on the safe side being I was getting errors previously. Put in the DVD-ROM and I was off to installing HL2. Steam didn't take long and I was gaming within forty minutes. Steam installed the other included games as well. I've never played any previous HL variants and I must admit I'm itching to try HL Source1.
Great thing about DVD-ROM is none of the annoyance with swapping installing CD-ROMs otherwise DVD-ROM is not needed to game. Definitely want to clear out HDD space or defrag at least prior to installation. Game runs great and very DOOM 3 like scares/chills around every corner. The biggest nuisance for me are the getting STUCK BEHIND OBJECTS (Stairs, steps, ladders, flat objects/debrew inches off the ground!) often in the most critical moments. Thats a big bug it definitely ruins the moments that should be flawless.
Game progress is very good pace. Playing with all in game video settings set to *High, but the game still doesn't look as sharp as Far Cry or Doom 3 on my PC. Of course my PC is nothing special either. System specs: Gigabyte NForce2 GA-7N400 PRO2, Athlon XP 2600+ 2.079 GHz, 512MBx2 Geil Value PC3200 Dual Channel, ATi AIW 9600 XT, and Thermaltake 480W PSU. I'm happy with the video display I get, but definitely know I'm not getting the full experience. I guess HL2 auto-detect won't allow for Very-High settings if system can't run smoothly, because my game play is quite smooth even at HIGH settings with 2X AA. Definitely give this game a go, but make sure you have Internet connection first. Also I trully recommend at least a videocard upgrade to an ATi Radeon 9600 PRO 128MB (around $100 at NewEgg.com) or anything equivelent or better that fully supports DirectX 9.0b features. Being STEAM is a long-term uncertainty and unsure about reinstall process definitely make the first run the best. Do yourself a favor and buy this game. If the same price buy this DVD-ROM Collector's Eddition instead of CD-ROM variants. Otherwise turn the speakers high and become Gordon Freeman.
Loved it all the way through.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User
I seriously can't think of anything wrong with the game. It ran fairly well on my radeon 9600. I counldn't turn the graphics all the way up of course but it still looked so much better than other games I have. The level design is just absolutly amazing, and the game never gets repititve. All the greatest and most shocking moments are spread evenly throughout the game.
Best game ever made
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 2
Date: September 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User
The graphics are fantastic and run great on my not so current machine. The game is exciting, interesting, and there are no annoying stupid puzzles. There are puzzles, but they are fun and intuitive. It's the most real game I have ever seen or imagined.
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