This is anintense game. If you haven't herd, valve is using the same kind of technology they used to creat HL2, and making a game called Lost Cost. You can play the test level for free, but once you do you'll want the game. It's not fully released yet, but it will be great. Only people with serious gamming computers can fully enjoy the "art" the creaters put into this game. I played it on my friends computer and thought it was cool. got it on mine, and my nVida 6600+ plays it great. The game used shader 1 and 2, without telling you about it. so it's going to use twice the video ram than usual.… Expand

Not bad - a little disappointed in the ending - I felt that there was another slice of tense action necessary to fulfill my needs. Also, a bit easy!

Loved part 1, and part 2 just left me begging for more. Great graphics, and control is fluidly awesome.

very good- nice graphics well played out all depends on the computer to run it for the best performance other than that it's just as good.

very exellent game , they should make more like it.

Clearly the environment, puzzles, and levels are the best out to date. With the advent of chapter one soon to be released, we'll see this series evolve in ways that can only be experiance through total game emersion. To those critics of Steam, Its irrating at times but I have to its definalty the best way to provide a balance of anti piracy and freedom to manipulate the game through the SDK. I think steam is a good idea and the nay sayers are just plan noobs.… Expand

I have play half-life 1 and that was a great story, when i see the first interview about half-life 2 nice graphic, good its running with steam for updates and more, like the story from half-life 1 and need to see the continuation in to Half-life 2 City17, and now ist come a expations pack to Half-Life 2 Epesode 1 something i don´t want to miss. so i see and hope forward for Valve for Half-Life 3 and more.… Expand

The Best Game Ever

The Best Game Ever

Absolutely amazing. This game lives up to the media hype and is simply an incredible experience to play. Even people who arent fans of FPS's will appreciate the gameplay, the physics, the storyline...the game just does not disappoint on any front.

The Best Game Ever

Simply put, the best-looking, most system-adaptive game I've ever played. I first played this game on an HP Pavilion a220n with an onboard GeForce 4 MX. Yeah. The graphics weren't super (no reflections, dynamic shadows, etc), but the game still looked great and played very well. Then, when I got the ATI Radeon X800, it automatically adjusted the settings, and I was astounded! The game is so much better for me now. I love this game so much, and can't wait until the Episode One continuation comes out. I've got it on preorder!… Expand

This game is probably one of the best games I have ever played in my entire life. The storyline is so involving, the gameplay is addictive and is imense, and the ai of the enemies is so incredible. The only flaws this game has is that it requires more aliens, an explanation of how them aliens learnt how to talk, and why they befriended the humans, and one major flaw is that if ypou have not played the original Half-Life then it's quiet boring and very confusing.… Expand

The best single player FPS ever.. The graphics, ai, lighting, effects, water, physics and sound are all above the competition. It's well programmed product allows gamers to experience the half life 2 in a flawless and error free environment. To walk away from this game without a few stains in your pants would obviously mean you changed them.

I can only say I love it so much I bought the complete Valve Game Package.

Wow.

not really perfect in physical calculation (eg. you can see the rain in water, and some objects' shadow through the wall) but i think this is the best of those fps/fpa game.

its awesome

This is THE SINGLE BEST multiplayer game, EVER!!!!

This game is probably the best ever. It's so realistic, when others are talking, they are looking you in the face. When you walk the natural laws are in charge. And you don't finish it in a week, it takes time. The thing I really love is that you have to think to get further in the game, and often move things around or push a button to get to the next level! It's just the best game I'll ever played!… Expand

This game grabbed hold of me and never let go. I have now played it about 3 times and every time i learn something new and witness something cooler.

This is the best FPS ever made on earth planet. And i really don't think I should explain it to people, who cannot see something that obvious. Everyone else, enjoy it , and do so many times.

amazing game - had me captivated to the end. the physics alone can give hours of fun, the graphics are great and the story is good - the music is amazing! plus with all the free mods that have come out and are to come, you cant go wrong. download and installation were easy - i actually like steam - it keeps all the games in one place and completely does away with all the trouble of manual updates.… Collapse

This game was a great advance in the gaming world. Supurb graphics, awesome physics, and great gameplay made this one a winner.

Best Game Ever!!!!

The game uses astounding physics to create innovative puzzles, which are mixed in with great realism and intense firefights to make one of today's finest games.

Amazing game with real life physics! This is THE or one of the best fps I've every played! Love it

Best Game Ever!!!!

Best Game Ever!!!!

Best game byfar, valves style of graphics seem more real to me than any other developer. From the physics to the sound a massive achievement and major step forward for pc gaming.

This game was quite amazing. I've finally finished it, after having gone through 2 reformats and I can't wait for Episode One to come out! Great story, amazing graphics, and the super gravity gun is awesome!!!

A truly superb and amazing game. The storyline was once again an excellent part to the game, with the same great storytelling elements from the original Half-Life. The graphics and physics engine are second to none, and really add to the gameplay.

Superb, just the best game of this genre around. So polished.

Amazing.

Kick ass game, bottom line. 2 thumbs way up!! Great characters, plot, levels, and gameplay. I enjoyed playing from start to finish, the ending totaly screems "what happens next!!" i can't wait for Half-Life Episode 1 to be released. ^_^

It's really good! I have maybe finished it about 6 times, but it didn't become boring to me! Gabe Newell, you're the best!

The best game ever! I got this game the day it came out and still find myself playing it! The best thing about this game is it will play on just about anything and has one of the best single player plots ever created. Anyone who gives this game less than 10 obviously hasn't played it!

People, you are not reviewing steam, you are reviewing half-life 2 so don't include what you think of steam in your reviews. Remember steam is just a delivery method to the goodness of HL2. There are people below who are trying to be witty about how poor they think this game is yet they haven't even reviewed the game probably in terms of the overall package you get along with the amazing graphics (which by the way are better than doom 3 as doom 3 is just mainly played in dark rooms which are much easier to render and create!), plot, character animation (not beaten to date) and cleaver AI which responds to any situation (yes the team AI could have been done better but its a single first person shooter, not a team playing game!!!). If you haven't played this game all the way through then your missing out. The plot is mysterious but that is keeping within the tradition of half life. It makes you want to find out more and more about the overall plot of the game and spurs you on throughout. This game really does deserve the unbeatable amount of game of the year awards it has won over the past few years and the highly rated opinions of the industry's top gaming experts! Buy this game and you won't be disappointed when you get it working!… Expand

this game is super cool. amazing graphics and gameplay. the physics involved in the puzzles are fun. i already bought episode 1 and cant wait till it comes out.

Quite simply, one of the grandest PC games of all time. Kudos Valve.

Es un juego perfecto, con gráficas increobles, la única mala noticia es que es algo corto en comparación con hl uno, veremos que continua en la historia con hl episode 1.

For the peeps who said, "oh, just following the crowd and give it a 10". this game IS A TEN (10) TEN. for all the slack-tards complaining about steam, or im not in it for the graphics, kiss my biffins' bridge.. You people that are never satisfied with anything.. you lack imagination and I would suggest you go by a leap-frog game.......... more fitted to your mental capacity The sequel will be just as great!… Expand

the game is my 2.big love near my girlfriend fine story, big action, and physical engine is so nice,sounds and music is bombastic better as doom and loser game fear.

best game so far. Great graphics, great story, great characters, and a lot of neat puzzles to boot.

Even though Half LIfe 2 was delayed for so long, it showed us that patience is really something. The game just gets better with each update. I can hardly wait for Half Life 3.

This is one of the greatest game ever created. A great game worthy of hall of fame!

Out of all the FPSs I have played, like Doom, Quake, F.E.A.R., ect. this is by far the best and greatest FPS of all time. I find myself looking at my collection of PC games thinking about what I want to play and it always comes back to Half-Life 2. This game has taken so many hours of my life and I dont want them back.

Its a great game, but some stuff aint just exellent.. it should be more realistic, and the teamplay is bad, I see one problem about it, You always play alone in battles in singleplayer, theres never npcs to help you, its much funnier if you always can get support.

COOL!!!

The best game I have ever played.

The End is not the best, but the Game is one of the best I ever played. The Gafik ist a revolution.

great game, and also great for lan partys. it's graphics engines are superb. Definatly the best FPS i have ever played.

Pros: This game is sooo much fun. The ragdolls are so much fun, all of the objects follow the laws of physics(meaning no more floating cinder-blocks when they get thrown into the water). The NPCs for the enemies I find are truly amazing. They'll hop over fences, rappel down walls, and even throw stuff at you. Also, the zombies are so sweet. They're all gory and guts and stuff. And also, they'll throw stuff at you. Cons: Horrible teammate AI. Just Horrible. (Except for DOG). If you just simply love the Havok physics and ragdolls, but want to get more freedom just randomly throwing headcrabs against walls, go download Garry's Mod. It's so amazing.… Expand

First of all, you're an idiot Klaus F. You're judging the game, not Steam retard. Plus, you haven't even played the game, so why are you judging it already? Steam is hard to use but this game makes up for the long installation times by rewarding you with Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Half-Life: Source, AND Half-Life: Deathmatch. I wouldn't necessarily say Steam sucks if you get 4 more freakin' games for buying one awesome FPS.
For all of you that say that the graphics are bad, then what's GOOD? The graphics are incredible in Half-Life 2, with beatiful environments, gorgeous character models, and possibly the best water and glass I've ever seen. This isn't a Pixar movie we're talking about here, it's a video game, where lag, glitches, and bugs are an issue, so graphics aren't going to be photorealistic in a fully interactive world.
The weapons are pretty good as well. The gravity gun is reather creative, and the laser-guided RPG is a great twist on a classic weapon. The signature crowbar is extremely fun to use, and who doesn't want to impale someone on a wall using a crossbow loaded with radioactive bolts. The pheropod could also be the most unique weapon I've ever seen in my entire life. The pulse rifle's secondary fire was also incredibly well done, and the shotgun was incredibly fun to use. The only weapon that didn't work for me was the grenade, since it takes too long to explode and is a different weapon (they should imply the Halo system were you don't have to switch weapons to throw grenades). Overall, the weapons were very creative and fantastic.
The story was a bit broken, but still managed to be suspenseful and immersive. There were shocking, scary (Ravenholm, I'm looking at you), exciting, emotional, and intense parts in the story. It was a mix between a horror game, action, puzzle, adventure, and there was even a little love in there (Gordon and Alyx). It fit almost every category (heck, even DRIVING was in there!) and each aspect was pulled off perfectly.
For those of you that don't think the ending was good, then you don't know what a good ending is. Half-Life 2 - an FPS - won't end with Gordon and Alyx dancing in flowers picking strawberries and singing "It's A Small World After All." The game ended suspensefully so that you'd buy Half-Life 3 (or in this case - Episode 1). If there were too many questions unanswered, then maybe the sequel to this game will answer them. Ever think of that?
Overall, Half-Life 2 was an incredible game, and was beautifully presented with lush graphics and gripping gameplay. This is a game that everyone with a PC and a right mind should own and enjoy.… Expand

This game has great graphics great gameplay great storyline and amazing scenery and puzzles along with non-stop action. Who wouldnt want this game?

The source engine is awsome not only does half-life2 use it but thier is so much that you can do with it that wasn't used in half-life2 they could of put a grappling hook in hl2 but they didn't cause people would go into the less detailed areas of the maps, but one of the mods for hl2 called garry's mod let's you do pretty much anything and you will be able to do more when garry releases GMOD 10 people mostly use gmod for comics and stuff like that.… Expand

The best PC game of all time. Plays like an immensely good book or movie; you will be sad when it's over. That said, it will take you quite a long time to reach the climax. Half-Life 2 is a paragon in gaming and not to be missed by anyone with a PC.

Best game i ever played, it really made you like you are a part of the world and the story.

Best game for the PC. Awesome graphics and an awesome storyline. For the people who say there is no storyline, try to actually watch and listen in the environment rather than just trying to get from point a to point b in order to beat it. Also, you dont NEED to be online on steam in order to play hl2. The first time you do to register the game, but after that, its optional for offline play...morons.… Expand

i have beaten this game over 5 times and it is the best game ever.

The best PC game I have played to date! Incredible graphics, which can be run on surprisingly low-level systems, great story and interactivity.

It ROCK's

great game in 32 bit but 64 bit well thats another story, it has lots of bugs

This is a game that is like a drug. You get addicted to it. This is a fast paced and exciting pc game. It never gets old or boring.

One of the best FPSs ever.

This is a good game dont get me wrong. But what kills this game for me, and makes me want to throw it out the window is, in a word: Steam. Steam kills this game and any other game that uses it. In my opinion Steam is the worst thing to hapen to gaming since E.T. for the atari. Im a Marine who is on deployment right now. I dont make alot of money so it was a choice between picking up F.E.A.R. or Halflife 2. I had played HL 1 and loved it, and only a demo of F.E.A.R. I chose HL 2 and have had a game that i could not play for 4 months because i dont have access to internet on a navy ship. What Valve didnt realize, or just didnt give a .... about what that not everyone has internet. Yes 'most' gammers do, but not 'all'. Also 'most' gamers that i have talked too or seen on forums are angry or scared about what this means for the future of computer gaming. If someone dosnt have internet access he cant play games on his computer? That right there is reason enough for this game to get a 0. Its not like it helps fight piracy, in my eyes it makes it worse. There are cracks for this game everywhere, it took less time to find a crack then to register the game with Steam. Someone like me who has no problem paying for a game and registering it Is forced to go get a crack because he cant get his laptop to an internet source for the hours it takes to do the initial update, but its easy to take a flash drive and get a 30 second download of the crack. Valve has alienated so many gamers with Steam, and agin in my opinion has given pirates a major victory, by forcing someone who would normaly never download a crack to get one just to play the game he bought. Basicly, I will never buy another Valve game after this. They have lost me as a customer and i will recomend to all my friends who come to me for game advise to stay away from this company and any games they make. I shoulda got F.E.A.R.… Expand

Greatest game ever to hit pc or any system the graphics gameplay sound are outstanding the onyl bad thing abotu this game is how creepy it is at 1:00 at night and zombies are attacking you at night.

This is just the best FPS and it has a story line. No more needs to be said.

Half-Life 2 is amazing. The first one was aswell but now this is better. This one was worked on hard. This game has very good graphics, if you have the proper graphics card. The A.I. in Half-Life 2 is awsome. No cut scense! I love that about The Half-Life games. The phisics are absolutly spectacular. This game 10. Those assholes say 9.1, screw that bullshit. This game is sooooo worth getting. You'll love it.… Expand

if you hate this game get out of your house now... and run because a mob of Hl2 fans will hunt you down. this game is the top of gameing. beautiful graphics compelling story, incredible action, some scary elements, those fast zombies always scare the crap outta me. ive had this game since jan 06 and am just now reveiwing and well its amazing, the only downside is probably the worst ending ever!!!!!!… Expand

Overall awesome, Steam is what brings the game down though. Sure, it's nice to be able to get all your games in one program, but it's the bugs of Steam and absolutely horrid support for it that make me hate it.
As mentioned there were some issues with the physics engine and such, but ultimately, it's a game. It's meant for entertainment purposes, it will never be as realistic as some people want it to be unless they just go out and kick the chair themselves instead of having a 3d virtual avatar do it for them.

As for the game: I've played it on both an old (6 years now) and new (1 month) old PC. Both worked fine if you know how to tweak your visual settings. My gripe with this: At first Steam started automatically updating everything, which is where the "gotta have the awesome PC to run it" thing came in. Too many features being added without consent.

So really, Game = 15, but Steam's updates, support, and bugs bring it down.… Expand

Ok I've been reading through some posts and ive come up with my own opinion.

For one ill start with a recomendation. This game is for die-hard fans of the HL series and FPS games, and works best with an NVIDIA graphics card in my experiance and also ppl complaining about how
"STEAM ruined the game it took too long i couldnt update it" stop your damn whining, I mean i got this when it came out and only until a month ago could i play it and i still rate this a ten, my point here being dont let a gay ass program ruin your fun. And for those who say it gets boring try playing in sparring. And also for the marine complaining about your internet issues, its called OFFLINE MODE use it retard it got updated.

Now on to the ending complaints. You see they ended the game like that so that they could have an open horison on sequel pick ups, and the episode formate is to keep players from waiting another ten years for HL3 to come out. I for one acually love the way the game is set up.

Ok and now to you story line nerds. This game did have a story line for those who payed attention, and it all pointed to the final solution of having Gordon Freeman lead a revolt against the combine of city 17. And in my opinion " tedious. boring" isnt a f***ing post thats an unintelligent lazy kid putting up an excuse to be different.

Finally i would like to mention that people dont all put a ten to be with the in crowd as Hideto M put in his post, I call bullshit on his post with the " It's human nature to simply mindlessly follow the crowd" staement. Just beacause you dont agree with the rest of us who have taste doesnt mean you can call it human nature. Its social nature to want to fit in with a large crowd, and guess what. This is just a large FACELESS groupe of gamers we dont know each other and we dont need to worry about any reprocusions of our posting cuz there are none.

well that was my post and i hope you ppl can now see some reason to their problems. If there are any problems i can be found in mostly any G-mod servers under the screen-name "ShadowMarshal9525" so you can take it up with me as a gamer instead of a poster.… Expand

This game rocks.

great game! i couldnt get off it! love all the weapons, characters and alike. Gordon Freeman is at his best in this one!

Just the best game I ever played. Excellent graphics, nice AI, good weaponry, beautiful gameplay. Congratulations to its developers.

The BEST game i've ever played in my entire life! I can't beleave what will Valve create next with the amazing source engine! I just love this game so much, and all the mods including Garrys Mod! I'm just waiting for Natural-Selection and TFC to come out with New and imporved physics and graphics! and more! Great job Valve!

By far the most intense, addictive fps i've ever played.

For sure Half Life 2 in an incredible game, even not being perfect. Obviously there are some things to improve, there always is, but they're not too many... If producers could make a game more shooting and hard puzzles and less useless enroling scenes it would be nice... the engine is perfect.

What can I say, Half-Life was great and Half-Life 2 is even better! The physics engine is really used to be part of the gameplay and the physcannon is by far my most favority weapon in any game ever! Valve managed again to get the maximum fun out of my PC!

Beautiful game with intricate details and gameplay, the only real downfall is the length of the game, it took me a total of 8 hours to complete without stoping to play games with the physics. Could also use a little more freedom in your path beacuse it seems a little linear right now.

This is one fo the best games EVER made! It keeps you on the edge of you seat wondering when the next enemy will just pop out and try to kill you. Just like its predecessor, you must conserve ammo to survive, and with the new gravity gun, conserving ammo has never been so much fun! The graphics left me in awe, even before i could crank the settings to max. The facial expressions may never been so focused on this much in any game before this. The physics are just a toy to play with the entire game. The enemies incorperate ragdoll physics(yay!) and everything else behaves just like it would in the real world. If anyone can find anything about this game that can ruin the experience, good luck trying! 10 out of 10! If i could go any higher than 10, i would!… Expand

This is one of the best games i have ever played.... and trust me i have played a lot of games.

I think that the Valve team have never made a game worse than best ;)

Half Life 2 is one of those rare games. it's a game that can be played over and pver again and not really get sick of it.

By far... this game surprized me in many ways. Two thumbs up in my book... top score as well!

The Best Game ever made, the graphics surpass all the other games. I first thought that no game would beat counter strike, but i am overwhelmed by this, this magnificent game.

Always been a huge fan of Valves. Their work is Industry Changing.

Nothing short of amazing. Half-Life 2 is by far the best computer game -- nay, the best game, period -- to date.

Just great! :D I love it! Great Physics, gravity gun and all :D For me - Best FPP!

One of the best games i've ever played! On par with the original, the original has some points that are better, and the new one does, which pretty much evens both games out to 10/10. I'm sick of hearing people bitch about steam, aside from waiting for loading times on Steam which i didn't mind becuase I'd do somthing else anyways, there was no problem with tihs game. I'm not sure how people can say "THE AI SUCKS" when their simply too retarded to change the difficulty from easy to hard mode like the rest of us who actually enjoyed this game. those of you who say its not "challenging"... try turning your difficulty up. and the storyline does not suck, and people who are saying you go into tower and gravity gun dangles people and end of game..… Expand

Loved it amazing cant belive how good it was and is.

Great game, Looks amazing if you have a good computer.

An absolutely wonderful game created by Valve, in has a nearly fully interactive environment. I definitely would reccomend it to any fan of the series, or to anyone who wants to play a hyper realistic game.

Very Very Very great game. Awesome graphics, interesting story, long lasting game. Just plain awesome. Worth every penny.

WOW, I played it and the physics were great, also the graphic, but I think, that one little thing is of an importance and not to neglect: The game is to linear sometimes and it has some bugs/faults ! Otherwise excellent!

It's the best game in the world, I can't wait to play the Episodes 1 and 2.

Best Game Ever!!!!

Best Game Ever!!!!