The storyline really drives this game all the way from start to finish, you can connect to some of the characters, and you feel for their safety. Exceptional writing can make or break a game, and in half life 2, it shines.  Ok here is the skinny on whats going on the game. If the first Half life, you play as Gordon Freeman, a genius physicist on the top of his profession. All of the sudden, all hell breaks loose in the facility called Black Mesa where he works. Mysterious aliens invade Earth, and you have to stop them, also you are haunted by a mysterious man named the G-man, you know nothing about in him. The second Half life picks up where the first one let off. The Combine have taken over the world, and have enslaved all humans that aren't fighting back for freedom. One human named Dr.Breen, who was your head scientist at Black Mesa, is favored and worshipped by the Combine, because he was the one who surrendered most humans to the Combine forces. Now you have to stop him before can enthrall all of mankind.

 

The gameplay in Half life 2 is phenomenal, a true masterpiece in gaming form. The game play ranges from puzzle solving, to all out fast paced gun play. Most of the time you are pitted against the Combine forces, who unlike many other enemies in games, are very smart. You will find yourself dodging grenades, and thinking of many different courses to dispense the enemy. Like I just stated, the AI is very smart, they take cover from grenades, and they wont hesitate to use grenades themselves either, and if you get too close, they'll smack you with the butt of their gun. Sometime youll get to command a small squad of rebels, they too are very intelligent, theyll remind you to reload if youre low on ammo, and theyll give you health packs if you are damaged.

 

Now onto the Graphics. The graphics are the best I have ever seen. With my Nvidia Geforce 6800 ULTRA the game automatically set all settings to high, so I didnt have to fiddle with them later. Half life 2 is filled with jaw-dropping scenery and animations, character models look so very realistic, lip syncing is dead on, and as you move around, characters will turn to face you. The game ran very smooth on my machine, but you dont have to have an expensive PC to play it, and average PC can run Half life 2 pretty well. Now I could spend all day talking about the physics engine, but Ill try to sum it up as best I can. About half way through the game you meet your new best friend: the zero point manipulator, or as you come to call it: the Gravity gun. You can pick up any object that isnt bolted down, and launch it with tremendous force at your enemies. Just imagine picking up a saw blade, and launching it at multiple enemies, slicing them in half, thats just a small taste of what the gravity gun is capable of. Also for the last couple of levels you are rewarded with what is possibly the coolest weapon I have ever used in any game to date.

 

The only thing that stops this game from being a perfect 10, Is some of the puzzles. I was frustrated to the point of screaming obscenities because of the difficulty level of some of the puzzles. That is just my opinion, some people like a good challenge, but to me, the puzzles were way too hard.

Graphics: 10.0- the best I have ever seen, and the physics are so painfully realistic. 

 

Sound: 9.3- generally good sound quality, especially the weapons, they emit a satisfying thud when they are fired.

 

Story: 9.8- could be turned into a block buster movie, or an excellent novel

 

Lasting appeal: 9.0- I couldnt stop playing this game, after I beat it, I just wanted to play it over and over again. Also Counter strike is a nice addition.
 

Game Play: 10.0- True perfection

 

OVERALL: 9.9