I like the dinamic grapich ^-^ i even played Episode one and it was better =3 so you shud play it or die =3

I like Half-Life 2. It's a pretty good game, but there are just a couple little things about it that irk me. I'm not talking about long load times, stuttering, bugs, etc. Most of those have been updated out of existence by now and were probably due to my comp being strictly middle of the road anyway. No, I'm talking about this sequels storyline being almost completely disjointed from the original, and the way the game keeps rubbing the physics engine in your face (BTW Max Payne 2 had Havok Physics as well and IMO utilized it better.) First off, I'm a huge fan of HL1 and kept looking for some explanation of what happened to Xen, these Combine guys raise a whole new slew of questions and leave the old ones completly unanswered. We aren't even given much of a hint as to how all the supporting cast of HL1 made it to City 17 from Black Mesa. When I first played, it made my head spin. It's like they took the characters from the 1st and dropped them into a completely different storyline. And yes, the 1st time they gave me a physics based puzzle I thought "wow, cool!" when every other puzzle turned out to be a variation on this theme, I started to get a little peeved. That said, the story is still enjoyable, the graphics very impressive, the combats fun, and for those of you worried about the A.I. it does get better when you turn up the difficulty. Still a little annoying that they don't start off on the level of the marines from HL1 though. It's definitely worth your time and money, just...well...do yourself a favor and pick up the 1st one too. It's still what I spend most of my time on.… Expand

Overrated garbage, the most boring and depressing game i've played in my entire life. The environments such as city 17 (boring), ravenholm (disgusting village), highway 17 (ugly ass beach), and nova prospekt (nothing but corridors) are just depressing and horrible. The main character is...well, there is no main character, just a floating crowbar, gun, gravity gun named gordan. The ONLY good thing valve ever did was make left 4 dead 1 & 2, every other game they made sucked major balls, ecept portal which is average at most). Critics only gave this game good scores because of the gravity gun and the storyline, which is slightly above average. Besides, normal and casual gamers don't play games like these: a game for computer nerds or pc geeks: the only ppl who obsess, or even like this game, or think it's the best, which is NOT. This game is below average, average at the most. It would be an ok game if the environments didn't blow ass. The character development was pretty good though (especially Eli and Dr. Mossman, which were the most likeable characters). The only good part about this game is near the end, in the Citadel. Overall, this game is below average, avoid it and play epic games like San Andreas, Max Payne series, Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, Metal Gear Solid series, Halo 3, Modern Warfare series. Just not this, unless ur an obsessive nerd. That's why there were a lot of copes sold, because there are so many nerds that want an alien hunting game with science themes.… Expand

This game is FPS at its best! No matter how many times you play it, youll either crap your pants or have your mind explode out of the sheer awesomeness of this game!! Incredible puzzles, Frightful and disgusting enemies, superb dialogue, and best of all a gun like no other that allows you to turn every day items to super destructive items of terror!!! I dont care if you're the world's greatest gamer, if you havnt played this game...you havnt lived yet.… Expand

Took over an hour to install Steam and the Game even with broadband. Runs fine and looks amazing. Load times ruin immersion factor - these were a shock considering the pre-cached insta-loads from the original HL. Game play is almost too easy - on normal diffiuculy, I've died twice! AI not too challenging. While the game is entertaining, and the physicis are sweet, there is little in the gameplay that we haven't seen in NOLF or even thr original Halo. Gameplay and movement are very similar to the original - No real awe-inspiring moments, like the first time I left the ship in Unreal to see an open valley and waterfall, or the Normandy beach landing in MOA. This is a good game, but I think it's somewhat over-rated. I expected more after 7 years development.… Expand

Atmosphere top, graphics top. Still played in age of 2 years. Can games like FEAR and others beat that? no.

Best 1ST Person Shooter I've ever played. I really liked the Raven Holm Chapter. ~I Don't Face Anything Else Than My Monitor~

Best features are realistic environments and life-like gameplay! I love it!

This is without a doubt the best PC game ever made. A worhty follow up to the first Half-Life game. With graphics as sophisticated as the gameplay - this is a winner.

If anybody ever asks me for proof that videogames can be art, I will point to Half-Life 2.

As easy as I can put it this game break the wall and limits of 1-10 rating and really gets a rare 11 pout of 10 again! Don't miss out and fill bad if your some blind dumb ass like IGN that rates it high but don't say why they rated it 2 down from the normal. Really people no game is perfect but this game is perfect and fun and po0ut of this world. There are few words for how great this game really I… Expand

This game wasn't as gamebreaking as the first(but remember that was a long time ago before games of this genre could have these high of expectations), but honestly its nowhere near from far off. An amazing game that will make you play it from beginning to end.

Just the best first person shooter ever created! It got graphics, action, killing and a really good engine!! Worth every penny!

This game roxorz my boxorz... to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game and took breaks frequently to get food and beverage and say to myself, "This game is incredible." Can't wait to play Lost Coast and Episode One.

Best FPS I have ever played without a doubt. No one pay attention to the poor reviews that involve people hating Steam. They say it requires such a high end pc, but mine is definately not that and I can run Steam with ease. I guess they must have aweful computers. The only downside is for gamers who don't have internet (which is about 1 out of 1242567 gamers) since you can only run Steam with internet. Some reviews also complain about bugs, and I have encountered absolutely no bugs that were so bad they ruined the experience, and again, my computer is still nothing special. The multilpayer is awesome with HL2: DM and Counter-Strike and the few mods that are out (and the endless list of mods yet to come). The story is actually quite good (if you can figure out the things that were left out) and the ending, although many might disagree, I think is good. Or at least decent. It ended pretty abrubtly which was disapointing but was made up for from a mysterious speech by the G-Man. The ending, for sure, also falls under the catagory of suspenseful. The somewhat dissapoiting ending is made up for in Half-life 2: Episode 1 though, which you must buy after beating this game. In the end this game is great for any FPS fan and the sequals will probably just get better.… Expand

This could be one of the greatest Egoshooters ever created, but Valve had the great Idea to punish the gamers (= buyers) with Steam. The Installation took me AGES and I dont get why I couldnt play a singleplayershooter without internetconnection. If it wasnt Half Life 2, I would NEVER pay for a Game that uses Steam and I will not do it again. Why Steam? For gods sake, someone explain this to me!

The Best Game Ever

Fantastic!!!

Well.... 96%?? Excuse me? Maybe it's graphically good and has good physical engine. But remember- it appeared in November. And what appeared in march the same year? Far Cry. And it got only 89 %, while it's much better better than HL2 and makes it look funny.

If you could only play one game, this is probably the one you should play.

Just awesome. The game runs in front of you like a book. Great storyline, great charachters, great gameplay. I would rate it 100 out of 10 if I could.

Exelent

Ok, I read all the people who voted zero and I have come to a conclusions. The main reasons people this game is horrible is A. They cant figure out how to install a simple program. B. They cant read the box and see that Internet Connection is required. C. They somehow think a FPS GTA such as Far Cry and a story driven FPS are two games that should be compared. D. They turn off automatic updating and the complain about why there is bugs with stuttering. E. A popular game being liked is now its main cause for being horrid, if you like a game and its popular - then you're wrong. But if no one cares about an averagely rated and you somehow think its godly - well then you got the best game ever. Go ahead and read all the people who voted 0, there is no different reason as to what I already listed. I'm not including the unrealistic physics arguments because that is just an all around lie, and the AI? Heh, yeah I guess it is horrible that they throw grenades back at you? Last but not least, the people complaining about the story are just not trying hard enough. No - this isn't a pop out book where the story is all laid out for you, but is rather a puzzle where you have to actually look into it and find out stuff for yourself. The only reason I can think that it doesn't appeal to you is that you have no imagination at all.… Expand

This game was absolutely addicting. Wonderful game play, gripping story, lots of intense fun!

Almost as good as the one and only.

Nice singleplayer game. So nice.

This is a really awesome game! even after playing it a bunch of times there are still things that i havent seen.... if you rated it 0 just because of steam taking forever etc etc then your internet sucks = and people complaining about Gordon being a silent hero.... retards.... like saying its stupid that master chief never shows his face.

This game good.No its not good..its amazing.For 2004 year its looking very good,good physics and revolution engine with good graph.What else need to enjoy best game of 2004?

A pure technological advancement in both physics and AI. The story uses a drip feed system so don't expect answers from the plot straight away. Although getting a bit old now half life 2 can still give the latest games a run for their money. Suggest you buy this as part of the orange box and purchase the latest garrt's mod if you want more.

I thought HL2 was a fantastic game, and that the water was especially impressive, although for some totally inexplicable reason they forgot to add any displacement physics, meaning that stuff put into the water mysteriously contains water even if its solid. I really enjoyed the Nova Prospekt level too. Ravenholm was tolerable, but after a while, the fun of beating headcrabs with a crowbar kinda wears off. Four things missing from this game: 1) Displacement physics in the Source engine 2) A dual-wield weapon/item hold system- anyone else remember the chair-pistol wield from Return to Castle Wolfenstein? I liked that. Also, wielding 2 pistols in Route Kanal would be fun. 3) The sniper rifle. There is actually code for one there somewhere, honest, but its not a usable weapon as there are no models. 4) Flyable vehicles. Okay, so we have a boat level, a car level, a foot level... why not stick a chopper on the roof of that building by the citadel and fly through C17 strafing the striders? Finally, I have had no problems with Steam, in fact, I love it. It makes it so much easier to have a combined game browser (all my non-steam games have shortcuts there), and a chat feature which shows the game you are playing and if it is a multiplayer game, a join the server feature. Finally a reliable game organisation and multiplayer co-ordination system that works. And yes, I've tried most of them. GameSpy is adequate. GameShadow is a waste of space. HyperLobby is tolerable. But Steam? For me, it is great. No problems ever.… Expand

actual health and armour instead of regen health? check more then two weappons carried at a time? check old fasioned guns a blazeing action instead of cover and kiss your a$$ goodbye borefest? chec half-life to is real retro gamers paradise bringing back everything that older gamers loved about fps while keeping the story telling and graphics on par with more modern fps styles, it deserves it's criticle acclaim.… Expand

Absolutely one of the most detailed game universes I ever had the privilege to exist in. The silent hero Gordon Freeman will live on forever in my mind.

A good FPS game that is fun, but its creative effort can't compete with the previous game.

Overate and boring. Stupid game. Its like lets buy the valve rate team. So we can pwnd all other games. This game is bugged like shit unbalance and you can cheat.

This is one of the BEST games I've ever played. It is in a very nice graphic, a great gameplay and is full of nice music perfect matching to the happening. The game is its money worth. I only can tell whoever think Half Life 2 sucks have never played it.

Why 10/10? I had heard hype about this game and bought it in the orange box. I was shocked to see that it is true, it lives up to everything. the graphics are arguably better than some titles released today, the game play is excellent, even though it is linear you will never get sick of walking off the train into city 17. Its a shame i got it 4 years too late.

I'm not sure what everyones getting at about this game. It just seems like a last minute lodge-together of different game genres and styles. One minute you could be driving a beach buggy, the next you could be in Resident Evil. The storyline is non-existant or at least incredibly obscure. And the ending... well, it just made me laugh. Worst Ending Ever. Altogether it just felt like a technology preview to me: just showing what games could possibly do, but forgetting to actually put a game in there somewhere.… Expand

To all you rate HL2 higher than 5 you are not doing HL2/valve or fellow gamers any favours. do NOT encourage valve to create another slightly-above average game. if you like to compare with doom3, then HL2 rates perhaps 7. i dunno who the raters are and they dont know me. however, my FPS-credentials started with the original wolfenstein 3D, so i've seen/played almost all the 'worthwhile' FPS until HL2. for all the new innovations (physics, facial mimic) valve fails to make the most of it. with physics we have little and easy puzzles that involves weight and counter weight - in kinder-garden are we? for human-face mimicry, minimal use in-game and lots for "story-line cut-scene". meaning it does little for gameplay. immersion you say? well, was the FinalFantasyMovie conviced anyone it was real? it was not mean to be right? but just what computer technology is capable of. we are not suppose to fall-in-luv with high-polygon-count characters are we? HL was alot better in terms of innovations, puzzles, challenges. one weapon missing from HL2 arsenal is the strategic trip-laser-mine. why is it left out in HL2? HL2 puzzles are contrived. contrived to demonstrate the physics abilities of the game engine. ramps for the airboat? who place them there? surely not the combine who must be stationed there to stop rebels? antlion sand-traps? oh my, are we having fun 'walking' about with metal doors? yawn. then there's the countless crates freeman must destroy! oh the humanity! and what is inside these big boxes but one single clip or couple of litty bitty things. who left these around? the rebels? why didn't the combine who 'own' the place clear it up? a few nice touches were when rebels throws freeman stuff/supplies! the countless explosive-barrels! how conveniently place near combine troopers for freeman to pick off. the countless barrels! are the level-designer somewhat confused? while the levels do not seemed like levels because the environment/architecture is convincingly real the gameplay suggest an arcade shooter. there are places were if freeman do not rush the 'nest' of combine they don't stop pouring out. scripts and why they are bad. that said it all actually. more scripts=more movie like but this is a game...remember? the things that happened by scripts/triggers MUST seem incidental or a direct cause of player's actions. the player in real-time causes stuff to happen, thus the joys of interacting with the game-world. like closing a door would stop a dumb flesh-zombie from entering. if the game-world pretends to be the real-world then everything should be happening simultaneously at will. the arrival of an interactive-agent, you, would immediately begin to cause effects on the environment and NPCs but thru AI not scripts. bad scripts example: it is somewhat odd dog knew to open a gap BEFORE freeman knew he had no where else to go? or if you reload a segment over and over the scripts played like a broken record? this indicate poor AI to AI interactions and AI to player interactions. Scripts are cheap and their novelty wears thin fast. scripts are much too linear, just like HL2 game/level design. exploration and wondering around is discouraged. there are a few 'secret' places to find for rewards but freeman was just being strung along. HL2 didn't try to be rainbow6. the squad you "command" are just as dumb. they mill about blocking your way or utter polite 'sorrys' and try to get out of your way. they cannot obey a simple (of two) command to stay out of trouble. while they seem to admire freeman they just never listen to him for long. there are so many thing poorly done with HL2 that it felt rush. very abrupt ending. instead of a scientist caught in something way, way over his head which he must overcome in HL, freeman becomes little more than a puppet-on-a-string. the mysterious G-Man acts mysterious, like a angel or devil nearby but not involved other than to have this condensening tone of speech. one just expected much more from valve but it does not materialize. the only thing that did was the G-man, at the end to stop the show... HL2 is merely counting on existing HL-fans and not trying to win new ones, not with short gameplay (someone 'compress' gameplay to about 3-4hrs), not with low replayability (if you knew what you knew you would play it over and over again because each time it is a little different or just as fun), not with weak (copied and mixed up from originals like 1984, aliens, resident evil/zombie flicks/starship-troopers/matrix) story line, not with steam. much like when valve came out of HL little known newcomer Far Cry does a good job (it is also linear but you can take your own sweat-time) surpassing kings of the hill - the Doom and HL series... ok for all high-raters, play it again sam? then rate it again.… Expand

While playing through this game I kept waiting for the awesome moments I had been hearing about for the past month from my friends. Driving under the docks and knocking out the supports, Ravenholm being scarier than Doom 3, the GG being able to pick up anything and hurtling it... etc. The fact is I played this game and didn't feel that electricity and near ecstacy that other people felt. For most of the game I felt like I was being advertised to for this great new engine Valve has created. Instead of "OMG THAT WAS AN AWESOME MOMENT!" it was "alright- i solved your puzzle using your engine... now what?" The most fantastic moments I had during this game had nothing to do with the engine. Commanding a group of aliens and attacking a Combine base, throwing a grenade behind a wall and watching bodies go flying just before whipping out my shotgun and blasting my way through a group of enemies. Half Life 2 does nothing new in the genre- it is simply an improvement on the physics games like UT2k4 have given us while giving us some awesome action. This is definitely not the "end all" that gamers were promised, but somehow the PC hype machine managed to make it so. Summary: HL2 is a very fun game that doesn't do anything new and markets a physics engine to other developers.… Expand

The Ability of the user to affect almost everything around him, when mixed with the imaginative and stunning weaponry make for pure excellence. The in-game water effects are simply stellar.

This really is one of the finest games I've played in a while, and is amazing scalable. I can play it just fine at 1024x768 on a Radeon 9600SE.

Wtf stop bitching here, everyone knows pros and cons, not everyone has money to buy all games and appreciate it, so they buy and play hype games like this and I can see many ppl enjoy HL2. I am one of them. There is no use bitching. Who knows how difficult to build an engine and create models with a limiting budget? How much can a game return? as much as blockbuster? HL2 sacrifice some of good features it had in HL1 for better graphic and physics engine. Anyway they managed to do meet its hype though there are many ways they can do it better. Halo 2 beat HL2 commercially, but if u look at what Halo 2 did after 3 years of making and Valve building their own engine from scratches in nearly 5-6 years, u can see clearly the passion behind the valve. Yup Steam sucks, it is mostly because they got hacked once.… Expand

Over Rated, but hey so was the first one, no surprise here. And all the 10's are no surprise either. It's human nature to simply mindlessly follow the crowd( trust me you had your 'opinion' way before you played this game ). Saying it's 'amazing' and "the best game ever made" is simply proving my point, you cannot explain it with arguments that stand. Oh and please do say that I'm a turd and just being negative for I am. Too much budget does silly things to people who were able to develop a pretty good game the first time around( or film, The Matrix anyone? ). And all the big gaming sites and mags..what can I say, does anyone of them ever give a rating that hasn't been given by the next site or magazine considering the big titles? Go right ahead and check it out, it doesn't make sense that everyone agrees on something, does it now. I can go on for a little while on why and how but I won't. And I believe it's time again for some biased posts now.… Expand

Truly a great game. The atmospere is stunning, voices and music are nice, storyline's fascinating, graphics are amazing and the physichs best ever seen, and they're used well to bring us some logical puzzles. But it has some flaws. The long loading pauses are bigger problem than you might think - they split the gaming into too small pieces. Also, though most weapons are great, some, for example the Overwatch Pulse Rifle, aren't that good.… Expand

A response to Mr. Hideto, who claims this game is no good, and that all evaluators of this game are somehow stupid and/or mindless clones who cannot make up their own minds: your "intellectual" smugness is entirely annoying. Please don't preach to us about human nature: there is more human nature in Half-Life 2 than your entire diatribe. Your philosophy that "it doesn' t make sense that everyone agrees on something, does it now," is entirely idiotic, for not everyone agrees. And I really doubt that game-playing critics must go to other magazines for their own scorings. Thank you for your dumb post. Oh, by the way, everyone else: buy the game. It is excellent.… Expand

This game has great physics and everything. best game in the world!

It's a great game and it has all the things a good game requires.

This game would get a 10 from me, but for a few things. The ending is one of the worst I've seen in a game. It does nothing that endings are supposed to do (wrap the story up, answer an unanswered question or two, etc). The gameplay, while fun, is quite linear. If you're looking for something like Fallout (or even the GTA line), you won't find it here. The AI is pretty poor as well. Friendlies will pretty much either follow you, or charge the enemy, which means they are either in your way, or dead. Having worked with the mapping software a bit, I can see the enemy AI is only decent if you have a fairly linear level (you know where the player is coming from), and you take plenty of time to set up "cover points" and such. If you don't specify where the NPCs can find cover, they pretty much operate on the same AI level as the friendly NPCs. As for the good parts, there are a good number. As I said, the gameplay, though linear, is very fun. There are a number of weapons that will fit most players' playing styles. The graphics are the peak of current generation games, along with great implementation. The game also works fine on a wide variety of systems. It will run decent on a 5 year old computer, yet can make full use of a new powerhouse computer. As a last note, one of the best parts of the Source (and previously the Half-life) engine is its modability. Through these mods, developers can create a single or multiplayer experience that fixes all the gripes I have about the game, besides the storyline. Overall, I would recommend this game as a "must-buy", as what the game doesn't have out of the box, others can do for it.… Expand

I found this game extremely entertaining and the ability to surprise me. To me the story of a game is very important, maybe even more important than the gameplay, but this game gave me a new standard to follow (AGAIN), when revieiwing games, which new games has a very hard time following up to!

The most innovative, beautiful, immersive, fun, thought-provoking, useful, creative, and awesome game EVER. Graphics are as good as they get, and yet still seem to run playably on relatively old machines. The plot is very realistic, and you're much more involved with full facial animations. I felt that was something all games were missing. Not only do all the characters move with the full range of emotions that almost makes the game like a movie, but you can make your own animations too! And I've seen some that kicked ass, no less. And physics...DON'T GET ME STARTED! Physics not only make all the gunshots and explosions so much cooler to watch, but it actually brings up a whole slew of new ways to attack enemies. An expert may look down at a new player and say "You just left that splintered piece of wood BEHIND???" Garry's Mod is a game in itself, with enough extra visuals and creative methods that bring the engine's physics to their full extent and back around again. Just go to facepunchstudios.com and see what wonders have been made. When I played Halo, I noticed something - you get lost a lot. A lot of rooms are similar, and I have never ever memorized any portion of a halo level. But Half-Life 2...take just about any screenshot of a level and even someone who only played the game once will look and say "Oh yeah! I remember that part!" Every little room has something in it that's memorable. As for the prequel, let's just say graphics is probably the smallest of the things they improved.… Expand

In my opinion FPS is the best genre, and in my opinion this is the best FPS, so in my opinion this must be the best game ever.

This game rocks.

i think they amde a great engine for the game but though. Everyone thinks that.

Half-Life 2 is awsome! Such detail, such a setting, such a storyline! The only games that could rival it are it's expansions and Half-Life 3 (when it arrives some time in the future, maybe 2012). I love the super gravity gun, the ultimate weapon, even though it arrives much later in the game.

Wow.

The Best Game Ever

This is one of the best games i ever have tried.

The best game ever created, you arent a true gamer if you havent played this game!!!

Fantastic game! Played on hard the AI is not nearly as bad (There is a BIG difference between Normal and Hard). For those touting Far Cry's AI, a sniper shooting you from a mile away through jungle foliage is NOT good AI, and the soldiers were more twitchy than Quake 3 players - not to mention psychic. As far as steam goes, it's come a long way, and is one of the first -or only- online game distribution systems. At least it's not WON.… Collapse

A sequal that lives up to the original, so much more depth, graphics better than anything I have seen, even a year and half after it's release it still looks better than 99% of all games out today. The traditional gameplay of the original half life is still here, some original weapons are still here and a few new ones thrown in which make the game a whole load of fun. the pace of the game moves fluidly and realisticly. This game is a pleasure to play, I think I might go fire it up right now!… Expand

????? ??????? ????! ???????, ???? ????????? ???????? ????, ??? ???????? ??????, ?? ??? ?????????? ????????, ? ??????? ??????? ?????2 (!) ????? ??????? ? ??????... ????? ? ?????? ????????? ????? machinima, ??? g-man ???? ???????, ? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? - ??? ?????????? ????????... ??????? VALVE, ?? ??, ??? ??????? ???????????? ???? ????????? ? ?????? :) ??? ?? ??????????, ??? ? ??????? ??????? ? ????????? ?????? ????, ?? ?????(????? ??? ????) ????? ???????????? ?????? ? ?????? ?? ??????, ? ????? ??? ??? - ????? ?????? ???? ????-????2 =) ????? ???? ?????????? ?????????? ????????????? ???????, ???????????? ?? ???? ????...… Expand

Exelent

The Best Game!!!

This game defines sequel. I love the plot, the characters, the graphics especially. Every single thing about this game I love. I want to give it a 100 out of 10.

The best game in the world.

New level of fps playing. Story, the World, sounds, figures, etc: everything is in it's own class. I've been playing Valve's games since they have been available and never dissapointed. Still this is something much more than I could have ever expected or imagined even in my wildest dreams or hopes! This goes far beyond normal gaming experience: this is a journey, it is the half-life.… Expand

Maybe this is the best game ever. The story is so nice, like the gameplay too. Great game!

Demo's awsome but when it comes to technical support, you'd have better luck talking to a brick wall, none of the numbers work if you acually get one. If they do work they point to the website were you get to suffer in agony to find a way to get your god damn cd key to work... thanks valve.

LOVE it!

I love this game.

Best Game Ever!!!!

I like this game very much, the AI could be better, but so far i just like it so much. and it was a bit annoying with steam, but smart thinking... But Doom 3 has the stuff in .pk4 files, but Half-Life 2 doesn't but the load time is alot faster. This game owns, its even playing in 2006 ! I am happy with that.

This game was amazing. I hear all of the complaints about Steam; I had trouble with it myself until I looked around the forums enough. The physics are excellent, but, unfortunately, there isn't much the physics are used FOR. And I have heard the complaints about loading times; I have a Dell XPS 400, and the loading times do not interrupt the game badly at all, although slower computers I can understand. The graphics are good, as are the facial expressions. And everyone's problem with a linear game: what's wrong with it? I felt like I was playing in a movie. Also, the fact that one doesn't see oneself in cutscenes is great, because it makes the player seem as he is the character, rather than some random watching entity. True, the Allied AI does indeed suck. You can send your squad elsewhere, whoop-de-do. However, the enemy AI is amazing, on hard mode. There have been several times when I thought I was safe, but not even my trusty crowbar could save me. The enemy AI runs like soldiers, covering eachother while moving and throwing grenades just for the stun effect. Why can't the Allied AI be that great? Actually, there is a good reason. The Allies are just civilians with guns and stuff, they aren't trained soldiers like the Combine.… Expand

how can you not give this game a ten? great graphics, gameplay, physics, voice overs, enemies, weapons, controlls, etc. half life is the best FPS series ever, and anyone who isnt buying it because of the price should know it is worth every penny!

The game looks pretty nice, plays well, but the story isn't deep at all. there is basically no story, just random missions on a list. Took me 10 minutes to install and play, so im not complaining about that. Weapons were very unoriginal, and AI was very stupid.Game play is Awesome, and Ravenholm rocks more then Doom (at some parts). Not as good as Far Cry or Half life 1, but definitely better then games like CoD2.… Expand

Best Game Ever!!!!

Steam aside (evil software), the actual game itself is insane. The facial details of the opening cutscene blew me away before I even fired a shot. The plot is brilliant and easily a worthy sucessor to HL1. My only concern is that HL3 will need the Pentagon's mainfraim to work.

If your computer is less than 1 year old, play it. If not, buy a new machine (levels can take weeks to load, but they are worth it).… Expand

Not only does it have awesome graphics, and amazing visuals, but it continues to be a very playable game that puts you in many different types of scenarios and not one part of the game feels like a previous part.

Simply put, I think Half-Life 2 was one of the most over-hyped, over-rated games this year with frequent long load times, which break the flow of the game, over extended vehicle scenes, and the complete LACK of a plot line. I

The graphix are out of this world. The only one ever bad thing is the long ass loading. But all in all the game is the SHIT! I love all the cool things u can do on it. Like along with it u get a sample of counter strike scource with u can play online with tonsof people. But the bottem line is if u like first person scince fiction games this is the one for u!!!

Best of the games!!!

I've finished it tree times and it just doesnt ever get boring! This is the best fps game i hav EVER seen! Though i wish there was a sniper rifle too.

Holy Crap! Tihs game is great, completley smooth game play with 3.4 GHz Processor and 2 GB RAM. If you have this game I hate you! Episode 1 is just as good!

Very good game. A little bit too short ^^ but very nice =)

The Best Game Ever

Quite frankly this game is shit... The whole game is a load of boring nonesense mixed with some pretty graphics, its boring, the AI is stupid, where are the marines??? and the combine arent enemies, they just piss you off. Long scenes of driving vehicles and doing nothing. Boring, easy, shit. Nothing compared to hl1

Great, fun to play, intresting story line and amazing graphics.

its awesome

Good graphics but the game's too linear.

What I like with the game, you can play with the physics in the world. Because of HL2, other thirdpartysoftwares has created awesome games, like Gmod 9 and 10, Sourceforts and much other. This game also includes episode 1 and 2 to extend the games history. And the first time I played HL2 it really looks great when NPCs die. Ravenholm and the Citadel is my favorite part. But still there is more of this game that scares me: The ocean. First time I would try to swim over to the end of the map I meet up with carnivorous leeches! I thought that I would hit an invisible wall instead. This is the best game ever made. But still there is many that hates this game because they mean there is more action on CS:S than HL2. I hope there will be a HL2EP3! :D… Expand

By far the best Sci-fi FPS I have played! Physics are amazing Graphics look amazing and very good story line!

bought orange box (first time of getting half life 2) about a fortnight ago and have to say even now in 2007 it is still a brillant game. It should still be in games top tens i hope episode 1 and 2 are just as good

I think this game is brilliant, but I think HL1 was better. The new driving bits were extremely boring sometimes repetitive. The AI of your followers were quite bad but the enemy AI excelled. The addition of the gravity gun was excellent. It allowed me to do so much more and use my world as a weapon. Great game overall

HL2 3 years after purchasing still takes all for Fps Story and Fps Multiplayer mainly due to a rediculously high replay value!!! Bar None one of the best games of all time!!!!! Insaine Innovation Valve KEEP IT UP !!!!!!

As with the original half-life, a giant leap forward, creating the benchmark against all contemporary games must measure themsleves. All praise to the team. Anxiously awaiting the mext chapter.

The best game I've ever seen! VALVE has done the best job ever to make this game come to life. The scripting is revolutionary. If only other games were like this...

This is a greate game with super graphics and very interesting story line!!! Keep it up !!! Hope Episode Two would be as good as Half-lefe 2 or even better!!!

Best Game Ever!!!!