Half-life 2 was undoubtedly the most hotly anticipated FPS of 2005. It’s predecessor, way back in 1999, had set the genre on a new path, providing interaction with NPCs, a coherent storyline and a sense of identity with the main character. For most games journalists and many punters, it was the clear Game of the Year, though officially Unreal Tournament took most of the prizes. 

The story of the making of HL2 is worthy of an article all by itself. Suffice it to say that it was delayed by over a year thanks to some arsehole hackers and having been kept successfully under wraps for about four years, screen shots, movies and articles flooded the press while we waited. As a result there wasn’t a lot we didn’t know about the game by the time it finally arrived, but this didn’t diminish the impact one bit. 

THREE THINGS 

FPS games pretty much fall into one of two categories. The larger (and older) is the “corridor” shooter, where you follow a carefully and fairly narrowly defined path, meeting and defeating enemies and environmental hazards as you go. The newer and far smaller group offers you much greater freedom of movement and approach (e.g. Deus Ex, Far Cry), permitting a more “interactive” experience as opposed to the linear, “movie” feel. HL2 and its forebear are very much in the former category, so what elevates it above its peers, such as Doom 3, Quake 4 and F.E.A.R? 

PEOPLE 

Basically it builds on the strengths of the original game. The story has you, Gordon Freeman, progressing through a world very clearly affected (and for the worse) by the original accident you helped precipitate in Half-life. As you go, you are passed from resistance group to resistance group, interacting with a core cast of characters at frequent intervals. Here you may be given a task, or some form of help (such as a new weapon, or vehicle) or receive direct aid from fighters, who will help you through a level. While the co-operative combat side is very lightly implemented, in that the actual effectiveness of your allies is pretty low, this gives you the feeling of being involved in something larger than just your own efforts. Just as happened in the original game. It helps to make you care about what’s happening, rather than just taking on the next bunch of bad guys.

 PRETTY PICTURES

This effect is enhanced immeasurably by the graphics. It’s pretty safe to say that HL2 was the best looking game of the year, despite some stiff competition. Aside from such niceties as dynamic lighting, eye-smacking particle effects and all the rest, the character details and animations were the best yet. The fact that people speaking to you follow you with their eyes as you move about adds to the sense of immersion. Lip synching and extraordinarily expressive faces only help.

 EVERY ACTION …

Then there is the physics and here, I think, is where the game elevates itself above the pack. While your world isn’t 100% deformable, a hell of a lot of it is. Barrels and planks can be moved, structures collapsed and pieces of discarded rubbish can be picked up and used as shields or weapons. If you shoot a baddie on a narrow path along a cliff, he doesn’t end up lying half in the air, but rag-dolls realistically over the edge, bouncing off bits of the landscape until he hits the bottom. A grenade or other explosive doesn’t just kill an enemy, it throws him a fair distance too, along with anything moveable in the vicinity. Again, all adding the feel of being in a realistic environment.

The kicker, however, is the Gravity Gun. Apparently this evolved from a development tool. With it you can pick up anything moveable, provided it’s not too heavy and in range and then fire it as from a gun. In this way you can pick up a sheet of corrugated iron and hold it in front of you as a shield. Or else grab a barrel, and squish an enemy soldier with it, rather than using valuable and scarce ammunition. You can’t, however, pick up bodies, either alive or dead, until the final level. As you will then discover, it makes life altogether too easy, though immense fun.

Another nice trick is when you are faced with the “possessed”, who shamble towards you rather pathetically (though if they get close enough they get very unpleasant). Picking up discarded rotary saw blades, which just happen to be lying around in these situations, you can have great sport decapitating the poor things. It’s very satisfying when you manage to line two or more of them up and despatch them with one shot!

 THE STORY

I won’t go into this in any detail beyond that above. As it’s such an intrinsic part of the game experience, it would be a spoiler too far. Some have complained that it didn’t make sense, but they are clearly not science fiction fans. Or, if they are, they are at about Star Wars Episode 1 level, rather than the likes of Alien. The storyline is coherent with the original game and you even bump into a couple of characters you’ll “recognise.” The ending is rather abrupt and clearly designed to lead into an expansion pack (which is expected around mid-2006) or a sequel.

 SUMMARY

 Half-life 2 is a beautifully choreographed, carefully scripted and well balanced adventure. It really is like being in a movie. You have little freedom of movement and are seldom faced with anything other than pretty straightforward puzzles. However, the graphics, level design, enemy AI (and variety), weapons and character interaction all make this a very worthy successor to the original, ground breaking game. Was it the best of 2005? For me, that honour goes, just, to Far Cry, but that’s because I love the sense of freedom you get there. I like to be able to take several approaches (whether geographical or tactical) to a problem, rather than be railroaded. Having said that, HL2 is a stunning and absorbing rollercoaster ride that you will find hard to put down.