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Half-Life 2(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: Veinman
I finally beat it tonight. I played it on hard, which is overall a good idea, but I must admit that a couple parts were so "out of the norm" difficult that I turned on God mode just to avoid having to redo them several times.
Overall this is a good game, but I didn't spooge all over it the way a lot of people did. I don't really consider it revolutionary like the first one, more evolutionary.
Parts really stand out, and there will be times where you are just saying to yourself "this is a hell of a lot of fun." Then there are times where you will say "ugh, when will this be over."
Luckily, it ends on a very high note. The last section was really great. The ending, as you may have heard, is rather abrupt, but hey, it's all about getting there.
The story gets rationed out over the entire game, and definitely leaves you wondering about a lot of background, resolution, etc. No substantial history is given, which is a real let-down.
The game is also WAY too linear for my taste. You literally NEVER get a choice about which way you will go, or how you will ultimately solve a problem. If you see a hall with 5 doors, you can bet your ass that 4 of them are locked.
You have also likely heard of the gravity gun, the cool weapon that lets you move and throw objects in the environment. It is very nice, but the game leans on it way too much. After the 5th puzzle solved with the thing, I was saying "Okay Valve, I get it. The gravity gun is cool."
Graphically, the only real stand-out is the player models and faces. Everything else has been done better by other games. Sound is okay, but has some choppiness on apparently a LOT of hardware. The music is quite good, and suits the action extremely well.
Of course, since it's HL2, it will have (and already does have) some great mods, plus it comes with Counter-Strike:Source of course. If you like CS, this alone is worth buying the game, even if you never play the SP. I know this review sounds fairly negative, but it is a good game. I just would have liked more freedom, even if it was only perceived.
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Value: 10/10
Posted by: aintiswift
that game is sweet
Posted by: Ritsui
Two and a half years later, I actually played the demo  .
It was nice, but from the very start I also felt it was waaay too linear and scripted for my tastes. I realize that's exactly how HL1 was, but in creating a game sequel it's just got to improve in some way other than the graphics and physics. Giving the player choices (or at least designing levels and scripting the NPCs to make the player feel like they have choices) would have been a vast improvement.
I heard the same thing from so many other players and that's why I waited forever for this one to hit the bargain bin. Sure I'll buy it... @ $9.99 
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