I finished this game on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 6:37:00 PM. This review was published on GameSpot on January 5, 2008.
Can a game ever be perfect?
Every time we try and answer that question about a game honestly, we usually come up with some feature that we are not too pleased about, something that doesn’t quite fit in, something that isn’t as good as the rest. This is typically the case with most games. No matter how much we like it, personal opinions apart, there are always some flaws, some are glaring while some are very minor, but they exist.
However, some games give you a very hard time to find something wrong with it. You have to be extremely judgmental and fastidious to pick these barely discernible imperfections. The point I am trying to make very indirectly is that once in a while a game is made that pushes almost all existing boundaries and goes that much closer towards perfection.
Half Life 2
I will not waste a lot of time with this review – if you have been living under a rock for the last 9 years or so and don’t know what Half Life is and you just happened to come out from underground then you should immediately buy this game and play it. But since I have a job to do, I will tell you why you should take my word.
Now, I am not endorsing this product, in fact I am not even a fan of this genre until very recently, which explains why I have started playing the game 3 years after its release – you see, I’ve been living under a small rock of my own as well. Umm…ok, now that we are done with this living under a rock business, let’s move on.
I set out to write a lengthy review on this game, but frankly, no review is good enough to explain what Half Life 2 is all about, because for one thing, we are talking about gameplay experience here. It has to be played to fully realize what sets this game apart from all the other FPS games. I could go on and describe the unbelievable physics, very adaptable graphics, fantastic level design and whatnot, but you should play it and see for yourself.
What Valve has done is that they created a whole world in the game that is very interactive. Very often you will have puzzles that involve dealing with the environment. For this to be possible, every part of the environment must have its unique properties, so what looks like wood, actually behaves like wood, it will break into splinters and float in water just like actual wood. The same goes for all the objects that are found in the game. This might seem insignificant when you read it, but when you play it, that’s when you see the difference.
However, there are a few faults that are worth mentioning. The game has certain bugs like the popular elevator bug and some video and sound glitches, these can be quite annoying. However, there are fixes to be found on the internet and it comes down to a matter of applying a patch or two.
That said I couldn’t find any other problems with the game. The only problem is a technical issue; I have no complaints at all with the gameplay elements. It is a fantastic journey that you will embark on, the moment you set your foot outside the train and into the subjugated City 17.
This game has to go down in history as one of the best games ever.
This post is published on Apr 20, 2026 Monday 06:34:34 AM CDT