A 'must have' for the serious gamer. The Steam setup procedure is somewhat annoying but understandable - I would like all games to adopt a similar procedure to stamp out ' software theft'

Facial twitches alone don't make for a good game. I can't believe this game's getting such good reviews. We waited for HOW long for this game, and this is what they come up with? Technically, it's got good graphics and a physics engine and all that stuff. Like any id game. If you're going to blast id games for being shallow, then HL2 should get blasted as well. The single player is nothing more than a tech demo. Wow, Steam is great. Now get back to work on actual games. The game is overly scripted, with little to no creativity allowed in how you decide to play the game. Games like Far Cry at least partially allowed you to explore other ways of getting your mission accomplished. The feel of the game is simply hollow. You have an environment that you can interact with, but most of the time, do nothing with except solve a few rather simpleminded puzzles. Even with the AI companions it feels lifeless. It's really like playing an unfinished alpha of a game. Games like Max Payne feel much more lifelike with a storyline (yes, storyline) woven in with the gameplay. With HL2, you're not really building up any decent plot, not meeting new characters (with any sort of frequency that break what seem to be incredibly long dry spells of unimaginative gameplay), or even building up your suit or weapons. You feel like you are, quite literally, just shuffling yourself from Point A to Point B for most of the game. There are other games that deserve a 97. Half-Life 2 isn't one of them. Not even close.… Expand

I have heard complaints about two aspects in particular. Firslty, steam is a pain. Secondly, the game is too linear. So lets deal with this. On steam, its a pain, and in my opinion, for good reason. Piracy and illegal downloading is rife and while we may secretly indulge in a spot of less than legal activities when it comes to digital copyrights, we have to respect the concerns of the company. Why should they put up with people stealing their game? The system needs to be cleaned up true, but it is necessary. And personally I haven't found steam to be too troublesome. But the biggest potential criticism is the linear gameplay. Now there are two types of FPS out there really. There are those that are simply linear, and there are those that try to provide the player with freedom. Now personally I fidn that freedom of choice in games is an illusion in most cases, unless we are only talking about what type of weapon etc. In most cases your path is already determined, and only the storyline is affected. But if this is a big issue for you then you won't like HL2 And the fact is that you should already know this. The whole point of HL is to provide a movie like experience. There is a trade off between scirpting and freedom of gameplay. To make the whole thing more movie like, scritping is needed, otherwise the environment will become static. This comes at the cost of raw freedom of movement etc. Given that HL2 is full of scripting, the complaint that there isnt any freedom appears to be valid. But is it a problem? When you watch a movie, do you complain that you can't control the main character? This is how you should view HL2 for maximum enjoyment: you have the priviledge of being the main character in an amazing film. This is what HL1 did and unsurprisingly this is what HL2 does. To change it into some sort of free-roaming game would change the essense of the game, and no one would like that. The second argument against non-linear gameplay is that it increases the workload of the developers dramatically, so they have to cut down on the total length of the game. Now in my opinion HL2 is already too short, so anything less than this would reduce my score greatly. As for other smaller criticisms I have heard, most were minor gripe, but one in particular annoyed me. It seems some poeple are disappointed with the character expressions. This is incredibly unfair if you just comapre HL2's characters to what you find in other games, where developers have spent more time getting the exact way that people die right than the way people talk. I have given the game a score of 8, due to the short length, but if by the time you read this there is sufficient mod support, feel free to consider the score a 9 or even a 10, depending on the strength of the mods.… Expand

Disgusting Half-Life(1) was great and they turned around and made this piece of BS! Everyone seems to just concentrate on Alecs ( correct me if spelled wrong.If the game was more like nIntendo games with the originalaty maby i would of given it a 10 but choice is final.0 out of 5

An instant classic. One of the best sequels ever made. A perfect recreation of a distopic future. Truly fun to play complete with an interesting story. What else do we need?

This just in: Ian F. is an idiot of epic proportions.

I expected aliitle more from Half life 2, didnt like that the game was so linear. Other than that. Very good.

everyone who rate it under 9 don't diserve to play it.

Really repetitive, nothing changes, doesnt come close to doom 3 when it comes to graghics.

A well designed FPS with lots of ambience, detail, and dynamic physics. Worth the price, but I must agree with other reviewers that it is overrated. It is ultimately a very linear FPS with less depth than a game like Deus Ex: Invisible War. My irritations include dealing with the required Steam program and frequent graphical/audio stuttering and long loading times. All in all, though, it's a compelling FPS, but probably not much reason to play twice because of it's linearity and scripted sequences.… Expand

I love this game - It's got a great atmosphere! I love how even my-non gamer friends watch the opening scenes in silence, drawn into the story.
It's just a pity that STEAM sucks **so much** The AI didn't bug me to be honest, but, good lord - Steam? why.. why would they do that to us?! 2 days it took me the first time, nowadays a freakin' hour to install... This kind of drawback is UNACCEPTABLE - game developers take note - we won't pay for products with this kind of drawback unless the game itself is REALLY good! It just shows how good the actual *game* part of HL2 really is.… Expand

This game rocks.

This game is better than chocolate.

An artistcally brillant game! The content is excellent! The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is due to the irritating installation process and the steam application that HL2 requires to run.

Great game,truly an experience in itself,there was only one thing that I did not like about the game. (besides steam that is)This may sound trivial but I absolutely hated the rocket launcher!! this has got to be the worst weapon that I've ever see, in any game!! please lose this weapon for the follow up!!

The difficulty levels are poor, even on hard the game is very easy, and it is almost impossible to die. The game progress is entirely linear, no variation on game play is possible, and as usual in Half Life, you really have no idea *why* you are walking forward, just that you need to in order to play the game. Graphics, etc, are all great, of course.

This game is awesome, the plot, graphics, steam is good, the engine, the ai is good despite what people say (just cos they have it on easy) the gravity gun, musides is wrong it isnt almost impossible to die etc etc.

I have to part-way agree with Mister B. This game's graphics and effects are amazing, but the gameplay's innerworkings are lacking... at best. I was blown away when I first started playing it, but my disappointment mounted when I reached the third level. You spend an hour driving around on a stupid bike solving incredibly dumb puzzles. Yes, Ravenholme won me back for an hour, but no more, no less. Really, if you are going to choose between this 50 - 80 dollar game and the 20 dollar original Half-Life package, go with the original Half-Life. It is defenitely better. Trust me.… Expand

Easily the best FPS ever made and perhaps one of the greatest games ever made.

How's this for a noncommital evaluation? I understand the hype and I understand the negative reaction to the hype. No, seriously, I give it a "10" because it's the most immersive game I've ever played, and that state is achieved by an incredible attention to detail. It's like you're right there in the scene and I don't know of any other game that can truly make that claim (yes, I know there are some that *say* they can, but IMO they can't). I do have some reservations about the much-praised facial contortions--for the most part these are great, but there're some lapses. Dr. Breen is a good example. His facial expressions/gestures and voice don't quite synch up. Robert Culp's a great choice to voice unctuousness, though--I get such a kick listening to his oily voice on the various broadcasts and then, when I can't take it any more, using the Ggun to rip the console out of the wall and smash it. Apart from that, people have rightly faulted the so-called helpers (including the antlions, post-"Highway 17") and their annoying habit of getting in your way. People have also complained about the ending. I admit at first I didn't care much for it ("cheesy" was my initial reaction) but replaying "Benefactors" and "Dark Energy" together, I find the sinister atmosphere of the Citadel has kind of grown on me. The only thing about that last part I didn't like is having to rely for most of the time only on the Enhanced GravityGun. The fun of HL2 (as in HL1, only not as much) is weapon swapping, discovering to your delight that you forgot, say, that the crossbow could do so much long-range damage or that the best weapon against fast-moving zombies is sometimes the good old crowbar. In the last two levels, it's just blast, suck stuff up, and/or throw it. It gets old, quickly. All around, this game has significantly upped the standards we expect of FPSers and everyone, even those who aren't impressed with the game, should be thankful for that.… Expand

Unbelievable, the ultimate video game experience, almost perfect. These game designers understood what a video game should be.

This was a great game and was a worthy sequal to the original. Playing the game was like watching an epic movie, with its awesome action sequences...but the bad was also that, It is way to linear. Everythings else is fine, especially if you have a top notch PC. Steam, ugg, don't get me started. If your have dial up, youll be spending all day getting it started. I just wish it was longer, it took Valve 8 years to make this game and it is just as long, if not SHORTER than Half Life1 which took just one or two. This is a great game and i highly reccomend it. It isn't the greatest game of all time though, In my opinion i think Far Cry is much better. But if your a PC gamer, get this game alongside with FarCry and Doom3 and have an ultimate Gaming marathon :)… Expand

I've been playing games hardcore on all platforms since the Atari 2600. Half-Life 2 is the absolute pinnacle gaming has ever produced. It's lightyears ahead of the competition in all aspects of it's design. To the haters, a question. If you don't like Half-Life 2, what games DO you like?

Half-Life 2 is the best game ever made. Period. Genius game design.

Ok for all of you who gave this zeros because of Steam...you don't deserve to play games. All you do is install it and open an account, if you had problems doing that...games aren't your thing. This games predecessor (HL 1) revolutionized gaming and this one continued with great graphics, huge firefights, and interesting characters and level design. Gameplay was awesome and the cliffhanger ending left me waiting for the expansion. A great game all around that kills Doom 3's limited environments and tiny hallway brawls.… Expand

Wow! This might be the best game ever made. Everything is the best ever, except for the AI!

+ The Physics Engine. + The beginning. + The last section of the game. - Too much playing with the physics engine. - Trial and error kind of playing at some spots. - Just a dull tunnel run, excluding the beginning and the last parts of the game -> mostly not fun to play. - The game ends just as if the game makers just decided they were too lazy to continue the story. Doom3 has better action, better graphics, and better atmosphere. HL2 tries to be more than just a thrill-ride, but mostly fails at that, making the game just less enjoyable than Doom3 is.… Expand

Perfect is the right word.

Eu não to aqui para falar de Half-Life, só vim aqui para fazer minha visita e deixar o voto pois ninguém vai entender porra nenhuma que eu to falando, é isso ae! Todos que postaram são americanos e gosto muito de deixar eles verem uma língua diferente ! =PP

Fantastic game. I've had it installed on my system for a year now, been preoccupied with CounterStrike:S, and finally forced myself to sit down and play it. While I'm typically not all that into FPSs... select few if any, I absolutely loved HL2. Graphics are awesome (ok on my PCI... yes regular PCI vid card, but my 3.4ht makes up for it). Sound is phenomenal. Gameplay is superb. No question about it. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a good game to kill some time on.… Expand

The best game I have ever played.

You have to get this game its probably one of the best out there and always will be until the episodes get better.

Extra Beautiful graphics.

Not as good as farcry, I liked Farcry better because it is troppical and you get to rome the levels and do what ever the hell you want.

This is the only first person shooter game series where you actually have to use your brain.

This game is totally awesome! I couldn't wait for it to come out, because I thought Half-Life was the most imaginative game of recent times and I expected Half-Life 2 to be even better! It was everything I thought it could be and more!

Absolutely brilliant!!!!! The graphics can run on some of the lowest graphics cards around, with still astonishing detail, and the fact that mods can be so easily created means that it will never get old, especially with things like Source forts, and soon to be portal, which are original, and HIGHLY addictive! WELL worth a ten. I was looking for an 11 option, but oh well...

Greatest shooter ever with plenty of originality. Also Genuinely scary at times.

This game is probably the best fps ever, along with its multiplayer juggernauts counter strike: source and day of defeat: source I dont understand how it has a 9.2 standing rating, perhaps because people arent rating it as to when it came out?

An excellent game, though I thought it was crashing my computer at first, but it turned out it wasnt so I could install it again, I was soo happy.

This game is REALLY exciting, because it has a good story line, good graphics, good sound, everything in this game is good! I give it an 10!

Best game ever. The enviroment, especially the enviroment in city 17, is nothing else but the best in the history of computer games. The feeling of being the underdog and fighting against an awesome machine that seems to be able to crush you at will, but the longer you play, you fell more and more undefeatable. The feeling can't be described. If you haven't played it yet, DO IT OR YOU'LL DIE!… Expand

Best Game Ever!!!!

The Best Game Ever

its apparent that the Madeline V. girl has never played through the whole game. probably played single player for about an hour and couldn't figure out what to do.

this game is all half-life 1 was, but more. boring weapons? they brought back everything except the weird ass alien weapons no one used in the first place. gravity gun? can you say gravity gun? not only did i play through the single player in a matter of days because of being glued to my monitor, i was finding myself VERY satisfied and craving the next episodes. the story is GREAT and valve did a killer job keeping the hype up and actually delivering, something doom 3 failed to do.

madeline, you suck, but half-life 2 does not.… Expand

Best Game Ever!!!!

Just because you have a problem with the game, doesn't mean you should give it a 0, look at what other people think, and their experience with the game. If your computer doesn't work with it, too bad. You should've looked up some info on te game's requirements before you bought it. Oh, whats that on steam... A DEMO! Try a game before you buy and bitch about it.

One of the best single player FPS shooters out there. If you've never played the original Half-Life game, you won't really understand this. Seems kind of short, then again I spent 20 hours a day on this until I beat it. A must-have.

Best Game Ever!!!!

When I heard of the game I thought the people were overrating the game. But when I tried it I was really suprised about the graphics, and the sounds, I mean I could stand at the beach and throw granades in the water for hours just to hear the boom under water and the eco it gave. Top grade for a Top game

This is a game that had great story, sound affects,great guns, awsome engine great game.

Absolutely the best fps ever released..

This game rocks.

Best game ever. Source pwnz all.

Best Game Ever!!!!

After going through the whole game I finally realized how amazingly clever this game really is. Each and every puzzle was unique and very nicely planned. The amazing physics also made this possible. Who wouldnt love shooiting the enemy off of cliffs. Thats my favorite. Amazing game!

This game is rediculously overated. The A.I. is abysmal, story linear beyond believe, and you spend pretty much the whole game on your todd being sent down some tunnel or what not. The plot is predictable and the weapons are awful. I also didnt understand why Gordon never spoke, making him seem like a social retard. On the plus side the engine has some nice graphics and fancy physics. A decent enough game but does nothing to improve the legacy of HL1, and there a far superior titles out there now (Far Cry and Call of Duty 2), neither of which need the staming trud that is steam.… Expand

This is the best game ever made! I hope Half Life 3 will live up to it's reputation as the other games hqve.

The physics, graphics and audio are great, but the story and the gameplay is nowhere near the standards set by Half Life 1. The world is also nowhere near as wide, even though the previous environment was only a government facility, the city is a more restructive environment with less outside interaction. A disappointment as far as replayability.

This game has changed the way people will look at FPS! the way it encorperates the weight system of every object, the amazing graphics and not to mention the engrossing story line. not playing this game is a crime and ALL halo fans will learn what a FPS game is.

Incredible! The first game was amazing, and this one had me hooked even before the chopper fight!

Best Game Ever!!!!

Really good game!

Best Game Ever!!!!

Very good game.

Let me see I have Half life check installed it check played it nope. The reason why i'm givinh HL2 as zero is because of steam. I'm sure Half life 2 = 10 but steam = minus ten. What kind of a idiots tick people off by making the go through a living hell but never make it to the other side oh yeah Valve ! I mean what were they thinking or not thinking if I get Half life 2 to work i'll maybe give it a 10.… Expand

Graphically fantastic, with the new game physics creating new methods of play, this is a stunning game. Although i thought some of the weapons was under powered. The game it self was quite short but all new FPS games are quite short in actual game time from beginning to end. Would be great with a co-op multiplayer mode for the single player side. The multiplayer side is also fantastic but does'nt play as well as the older Half-Life for smooth internet play.… Expand

The game had great graphics and well the play of it n stuff was brilliant.

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.

Tedious. Boring.

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.… Expand

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!!!!