Half-Life 2
Release Information
US: Mar 2004
Europe: Mar 2004
Austraila: Mar 2004
Introduction
Half Life wasn't the greatest game to be released onto the PC. The characters you met would be the same everywhere - for example there may have been twenty or so scientists in the beginning; but in fact it was two or three different characters replicated time and time again. The mouths were off sync to the in-game voiceover and graphically it was sketchy. Sure, the Half Life series wasn't too bad overall despite the above, so finding out about Half Life 2 wouldn't hurt.
To begin with, Half Life 2 has been five years in the making and you can really see this. Graphically this game looks stunning. The whole game is based upon the theory "if it looks like something, it acts like that something." For example Mr. Freeman shoots a wooden structure, it then splinters and breaks
just like you'd expect wood too. Also, a human body can be dragged around like a rag doll; moving in such a realistic style. Texture upon texture add to the realism of this game and around forty muscles exist in the character's faces to enable a more fluent speech pattern with expressions. Half Life 2 is by far the most gorgeous game I have seen in a long time for the PC and most definitely is one to watch out for (if you aren't already).
Preview
This time around the game is acted out in the streets of City 17 - a fictional East European city. This city has been overrun by your 'friends' in the original Half Life and as such, Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance (brand new female NPC) have to exterminate them all. If you can remember way way back, G-Man from the end of Half Life gave Gordon a proposition - to come and work for him. What a dilemma; what is Gordon to do? Well we phoned a friend (Mr. Nash from Vivendi) and he tells us that the answer is 'C;' Gordon takes the job.
Not only does Half Life 2 have a new character, Alyx, but the game is played on a less linear path; the scripted events do still exist however they are very subtle. Subtle enough infact to give the vibe of freedom by the handful. And what large handfuls these are; many of us will assume the event happened due to something we had triggered with our previous actions. Half Life 2 is split into twelve chapters; each with around five hours playing time.
As I aforementioned, the new engine in Half Life 2 enables for a variety of life like aspects. Each character has a plethora of facial expressions and, get this, real working eyeballs. This sounds strange, but just imagine back in the day - eyes were mere pixels bunched together which occasionally darkened
for a blink. Now the eyes move in coordination with the rest of the face, they look around, wink, blink and sparkle. This may be insignificant to some, but it shows the extent to what Valve is going to in hopes to create the most life like, engulfing game to date. Not only this though, every material found in Half Life 2 will have the same properties as that in real life. To elaborate on a previous statement - each property of a material or object will act differently depending on how you use it, what you use it with and where.
An example of this would be picking up a crowbar; if you scrape it along a wooden wall then the wall will become covered in scratches where you dragged the crowbar. Scrape the crowbar against a wooden wall and you will witness sparks flying. Finally, if you throw the crowbar at the ground it will bounce differently each time - going higher, further or weirder. Not only is there such a quantity of detail graphically, but the sound has also been taken up a few hundred notches. Metal hitting metal will have an extremely different sound to metal hitting cement, wood or an enemy. The sound will also alter depending on where on the metal you use it, or how it is dropped. Finally, when an object burns it will crackle, spit and disintegrate just like something when it really burns out i.e. a match. Heck, certain objects may even explode. Hell, there is an unlimited amount of fun available in this game. Walking into a room with a pool of water in the middle surrounded by various objects like barrels and mattresses are just begging to be toyed with. Using the
Manipulator gun you are able to pick up a barrel and hurl it into the pool. This promptly sank to the bottom of the pool because it's a heavy object. Laying at the bottom of the pool, the barrel, light was refracted and as such distorted objects within. Now the mattress. You can pick it up (with the same weapon). It flops around in the air, sagging on the ends. In the water this goes as well, splashing on impact and floating (simple science; it was less dense than the liquid so it floats).
Now enough of the fun stuff, it's time to talk about the AI. In Half Life 2, certain objects become weapons. When Gordon ran into some zombies, he simply ducked next to a machine and switched it on - prompting four or five spinning blades. Stupidly the zombies wandered into it and were dismembered. However, one zombie was decapitated at the hips, and clawed its way to Gordon. A quick bash with the crowbar sorted that out. Also, zombies can't swim either as
we knocked one off a pier and into some water. It bobbed around a bit, then drowned. However when we fell into the water we simply jumped back onto the pier. Moving into an assault on a barricade on the streets, you can shoot the engine of a car, causing it to explode and propel itself down the street into a hoard of the enemy.
Your AI buddies offer full support as you progress up the street, the lay down covering fire, aid with diversions, follow you and watch your back. But
it is not just the AI which changes, but generally the structure of the game. Everything is just so lifelike. Shooting out a wooden plank an enemy is hiding on causes him to fall to his death. He falls, screaming and flailing his limbs around. Set him on fire and he jumps of the plank into some water. Except he dies anyway. Half Life 2 also enables us to use the antlion aliens as our friends. By covering ourselves with the scent of an antlion guard, the little antlions think that Gordon is their leader. In this state we can send the enemy into a frenzy when our new buddies break in through windows and holes in the floor and eat them alive. However an antlion guard (who we are posing as) isn't as dumb as it's little counterparts, and gets pretty mad when we posed as him. So being the good gamers that we are at XVGN, we ran like hell.
Another new aspect in this game is the use of vehicles such as a Dune Buggy. Gordon is able to hop into a vehicle (with mounted weapons), drive around
and shoot stuff. This proves handy for quick escapes and opens up a diverse array of options for escape routes. Phew, what a jam packed game!
Anticipation
Half Life 2 has been in the making for five years and every penny from the original has been pumped into the making of this. With all new graphics, AI and
flexibility, Half Life 2 is bound to skyrocket. So far this is PC only, but console conversions have not been ruled out. Even if you hated the first Half
Life with a passion, this sequel is a definite for any PC gamer.
Preview by: Alix
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