Half-Life 2

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I remember hearing a couple of years ago that 3 of my favorite games were to have sequels in the near future - Half Life, Deus Ex, and Doom. They were all three supposed to come out at the same time, and my mind was spinning as to which I would purchase. I was positive that the Deus Ex sequel would be my favorite. Luckily, it was the first one to be released. Unfortunately, it was released with a fizzle, and now the company that made it, Ion Storm, has closed down. A couple of months later, we get our hands on Doom 3. While still hugely popular, it has a lot of problems, and can barely run on most machines. It looks pretty though. Enter Half-Life 2 - it's what the other two games wished they could be.

The graphics in Half-Life 2 are the best I've ever seen. The character models are unbelievably realistic. The action is non-stop-balls-to-the-wall. I remember playing the first Half-Life, and loved the way they linked all the levels together to seem like one big level. Well, in this game, they have perfected this concept. All the level transitions make perfect sense, and were it not for the loading times, you wouldn't even know it was another level. I don't want to get into the story.. you should play it yourself, but I will say that this game is a treat to play. It's exciting as hell, and it's got my vote for the best game ever made. If you liked Half-Life, you'll love this sequel.

I want to mention Steam now. I hate hate hate the idea of having to run a seperate application that connects to the internet just to play these games. It's obviously a very controversial subject, but I should say that it was no problem at all to get it all up and running. It took only half as long for Steam to decrypt the game files as it did to install the game. I'm pretty sure that updating Counter Strike Source took way longer. Anyway, now that it's up and running, I find Steam to be a convenient way to connect to the multiplayer Half-Life / Half-Life 2 games. They're all listed right there in one little box, and can be played quickly and easily at the click of a button. So, if you're holding off buying this because of what other users have said about Steam, then I say go ahead and buy it. I think most of the negative hype around Steam is pretty overblown.

One more thing - there is a 3rd party mod for HL2 called HL2 Capture the Flag. Get it! It's awesome!

Rating:
Summary: A two faced piece of garbage
Review: Okay, firat things first, this *GAME* (hint,hint) is completely amazing. It is the best FPS besides Doom 3 (recommended by me) and is a must have. The graphics are unbelievable and so are the physics. But, there is one thing that caused me to hurl my $54 (meaning the discs) out the window and then setting them on fire, and then chucking the ashes in the woods (Just kidding, I returned it, but that is what I was about to do). The one skidmark is what caused this game to be run over by a car, or should I say run over by about 20 semi's and a Boeing 747, is the WORST thing to ever hit videogames. I will start from square 1.

Hour 1- I am shaking with anticipation as I put the CD in the drive. The install program runs like normal, like it should. Then, totally unaccounted for, it prompts me to connect to the internet, which, might I say, I have crappy 56k. Okay, nothing wrong probably just registering the game, no problem.

Hour 2- A program called STEAM (I scream and run in fright at the sight of this program now) comes up and tells me to install STEAM or I wouldn't be able to play. Okay, no biggie for now. I create a steam account, and it begins to send my information over to STEAM.

Hour 3- I am a little ticked off now as it takes over a half hour to send the info. but I am drooling to play so I press on.

Hour 4- Okay, this is crazy, an HOUR to send information (just a username and password). Suddenly, a notice pops up saying (this is exact words) "We are sorry, the STEAM servers are full, please try again later" Oh yeah, only they can say that calmly. It should have said, "Our servers are too damn lazy to set up your account, so go away and come back sometime, like when you're on your deathbed."

Hour 5-6- Okay, finally worked. I am registered and ready to play. I sign offline after missing god knows how many important calls, and I start up the game. It then asks me ever so nicley again to START up my internet to play. For christ sake, I DO NOT have high speed internet, I bought this game to play it's SINGLE PLAYER, no internet involved, and now I have to sign online to STEAM just to play. This is absolute madness.

Hour 7- Online again. I click on the Play Half-Life 2 button, and I am just slithering in my seat to play. And then, the effing STEAM crap comes up, and downloads an update. Might I say, it just updated the game after I installed it. Now, it is downloading something called MP-Deathmatch (An ONLINE multiplayer mode!!). I yell out loud enough for everyone to hear, "WHAT THE F**K IS UP WITH THIS, THIS IS BULLS**T!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yeah, I was mad.

Hour 9- I skipped hour 8 because it was just downloading something I would never use. When it finished, I was allowed to play, but only when I was online. Let me add a good note, the game was unreal. Awesome, unbelievable. But not good enough for the torture I just went through.

The next day- I traded it in. Not worth it, goodbye STEAM.

Just remember, if you have an Xbox, spare yourself, wait for the Xbox version. (P.S.- STEAM boots up for about 15 minutes every time you turn on your computer, isn't that cool!!!! :) or should i say :( :( :(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steer clear.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the matrix...
Review: By saying that, this game does not remind me of "The Matrix" that much. But playing it is like plugging into the matrix. It is that real. Yes steam is kind of a pain if you have slow internet, but I can promise it's worth the long installation wait. I have never been so sucked into a game before. There are parts that are so intense, I found myself jumping and getting and adrenaline rush... from a game!!!! In short, it's worth every penny, blows away any other game, and everyone should own it. Period.

Rating:
Summary: this is what we have been waiting for,
Review: There aren't words to describe just how good Half-Life 2 is.
From it's amazing physics engine, astounding character detail, great plot, eye sizzling graphics or its immersive intensity it just raises the bar in every way. There is just something about that no game has done before and probably won't be done again until Gordan's third adventure. This is what we have been waiting for and it's everything and so much more than we could have expected 10 out of 5,

Dan,

Rating:
Summary: When Actually Playing it, HL2 is perhaps the best FPS ever
Review: I'll be honest- I did not get a good first impression from Half Life 2. When I put that disk in for the first time to begin installation I had no idea of the hell I was about to endure. Oh, and indeed it was hell. Honestly it was the longest and worst installation of a game I've ever experienced. I mean, there's five friggin CD's!! Well, after about 1hr of loading and unloading the Cd'a I thought- yes! I can finally play it. But no, It would not be so easy..
Included in the installation is this new blasphemy of software called Steam. Basically Steam monitors all of your Cd keys and makes sure you can't give the game to anyone else (no you cant trade it in). You are required to make a steam account which you must log into every time If you wish to experience the game to the fullest. So the first time I tried to play Half Life 2 I had to make a Steam account ok so no big deal.. Then something very unusual and terrifying happened. To play the game Steam had to "Unlock" the game files. I still have no idea what this was all about after all this I was finally ready to play it. And thank God it was worth the hassle.

The game begins with a fairly short intro with the G-Man as you ride into City-17. I'm not going to talk more about the story- you can discover that yourselves.
Graphic wise this game is stunning. With Beautiful city scenes and wide rolling landscapes you could take a good screenshot just about anywhere.
Gameplay is fun and frantic with great variety. Whether you're riding in vehicles battling combine and creatures alike or on land with a gravity gun,this game is always fun.
I had some serious fun with the new gravity gun which was probably created to show off the new physics engine. With it you can pick up almost anything and fling it. Alot of times it is neccesary to use for stacking things or flipping stuff over. If anyone who's read this have been to Ravenholm you and me both know how fun the grav gun is to use with saw blades..
As for the multiplayer, I read reviews saying there is no multiplayer. WHat?! There's Counter Strike:Source and Hl2: =Deathmatch. What more do you want?! Counter Strike is one of the best multiplayer games ever!
Just to wrap it up: Half Life 2 is the most fun playing a game I've had in a long long time. With all the Steam and installation aside it is a worthwhile buy