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Half-Life 2 PC
  • Publisher: VU Games
  • Release Date: Nov 16, 2004
Half-Life 2 Image
Metascore
96 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 81 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 4845 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: [Metacritic's 2004 PC Game of the Year] By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors -- even the emotions -- of both friends and enemies. The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people -- people he cares about -- are counting on him. [Vivendi Universal]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 81
  3. Negative: 0 out of 81
  1. Eurogamer
    100
    Half-Life 2 has astonished us from start to finish. Valve has done to the FPS genre what restaurants in Chinatown do to ducks; shredded it, smothered it in a delicious sauce of their own devising, and served it up in a way which you simply couldn't have imagined when looking at them in the pond.
  2. GMR Magazine
    100
    It's a game that somehow manages to simultaneously fulfill all expectations yet finish with the player unsatisfied and craving for more. [Feb 2005, p.92]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Edge Magazine
    100
    Half-Life 2 is a first-person shooter. But in action, storytelling, technical achievement, atmosphere and intensity it has far outdone its peers. Valve just hit the top note no other PC game developer could reach...The excuse that 'it's just a game' won't cut it anymore. [Dec 2004, p.102]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 81 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,377 out of 1507
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 1507
  3. Negative: 85 out of 1507
  1. GhettoGarden1
    10
    Alright, i am responding to most of the negative reviewers out there. i have read them. Half of them are about steam. in 2004. These days, steam has improved and is now usable, along with a built in social network. Dont blame the installation. Blame the game. Now i agree... The graphics are aged a bit... but, you dont complain about a fine wine being aged, do you? Now you know that the game works on middle-high range computers. Being overrated and overadverstised...i dont see any commercials for it, or for when it came out. WoW? Yes, i most certainly did. Physics, no bullet penetration...thats real life...items that fall to the ground depending on weight and gravity...thats real life too! You cant say that about most other modern games. Also, these days, modern games are shipped out in a few generic catagories; Warfare(MW2,Bad Company,Black Ops) WWII(CoD, RUSE)Sci-Fi(Starcraft, Star Wars),Attemped survival horror(Doom3)And Low Budget(Big Rigs OTRR). Half life is a step above because of its individualism. it also has elements from some of those catagories. Its a shooter with warfare scifi elements. Also, FEAR was good, but Far Cry was a peice of Sh*t, and Half Life is the only game ive played that doesnt feel the same as every other game ive played.… Expand
    • 13 of 13 users said yes
  2. AnonymousMC
    6
    The more I play this game, the more I am starting to dislike it - it's rapidly becoming nothing more than a linear 'if-it-moves-shoot-it' style average game. Yes, the graphics are very good, but surely gameplay is more important? The original Half Life had style and innovation; Half Life 2 has half the content and very little character.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. AnonymousMC
    3
    HL1/HL2 marked a time when masses were just catching up on the joys of PC gaming. The ratings entirely reflect this. Put into perspective from having played most of the notable FPS before these two came out, they both were at most an 8 at the time of release. Now I'm giving 3 just to make this point visible in the crowd of undeserved 10's.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 1507 User Reviews

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