Half-Life 2

After the unforgettable and legendary Half-life, Valve again made one of the greatest PC games of all time. Half-life 2, a game with new moments and smart ideas came to give us great emotions. Of course most of the Half-life gamers remember the story where Gordon Freeman the physicist had to save the world from an alien invasion. In Half-life 2, Freeman has to free the citizens from the new government. Firstly, the game takes place in City 17, where the enemies, City's police force and the Combine Soldiers, control everything in this city.

From the first moment in the game you will realize that there is no big difference between the Half-life world and our real world. The characters the animation and the environment in the game are so real that they give you the sense of perfection. If you go close to the characters you will see that the dialogue and the motion of their faces are very well synchronized and their reaction too is so surprising.

In the game there are different kinds of enemies, but different allies as well that you would never imagine before during the game. The first enemy is the City's police. The characters are well designed and especially their textures are the most incredible thing in the game. They use pistols and MP7s and when you kill them they alert the enemy. The Combine Soldiers use MP7 and pulse gun but are not as weak as the police force.

There are also three different kinds of zombies and Headcrabs. The normal zombies are the same as the zombies in Half-life, the scary Fast Zombies also and the Poison Zombies carrying poisonous Headcrabs. Headcrabs appear again but this time the poisonous Headcrabs are very dangerous and they easily take down your health. The Barnacle is almost the same as in the first game but they are better designed and if you don't use an easy way to pass them they are very annoying. There are Antlions where you will never kill all of them. They are usually small groups and in some places they appear with the powerful and disgusting Antlion Guards.

Striders also are very tall gunships and you need many rockets to take them down. The same as the Striders the Combine Gunships that are like helicopter are moving very fast, but you can destroy them with only a few rockets. The Manhacks are small flying buzzsaws. They are in groups and it's easy to take them down. In addition, there are Scanners in City 17 where they can blind you if you are a criminal and the Hopper Mines that you can even use against the enemy with the gravity gun.

Alyx is maybe your best ally. She is a very important ally in the game since she leads you to the right path. Her father, Eli, is also a scientist and a significant role in the game. Other allies like Judith, Barney, Dr. Kleiner, and Father Grigori are decisive characters but also unpredictable personalities. Alyx's mechanical pet dog is a likeable and powerful machine that helps you to learn the gravity gun. One of the most helpful allies is the Citizens and they can follow your orders. Sometimes they are a little bit annoying because they are getting through your way but their help is a necessity in the game.

I believe the Crowbar is the best weapon in Half-life and it is very useful when you don't want to spend your ammo for an easy opponent. The Pistol is a very effective weapon for headshots against the Civil Protection and the zombies. The Magnum is the most enjoyable weapon in the game since you need only one shot to kill your enemies. Unfortunately, its ammo is insufficient.

The Shotgun is efficient for fast zombies and it's also different than the shotgun in Half-life. The Submachine Gun or MP7 is not very effectual in the game but you can use it as a grenade launcher. The Crossbow is very reliable, especially for far targets. The RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher) is useful for flying targets, gunships and striders. You cannot carry enough ammo but there are plenty in the places that you will really need it. The Pheropod is actually a weapon for controlling ant lions. You will have fun with it, but it doesn't work for the whole game.

A new weapon the Gravity Gun can be used for different functions. You can move and manipulate objects from far distances against your enemy as well as fight the zombies. The Pulse Rifle has a better accuracy than the MP7 and as an alt-fire it has a grenade launcher where it can hit more than one enemy. Finally, the Grenade can be used for killing groups of soldiers.

I thing Half-life 2 has the best graphics. The details, the textures, and the visual effects make realistic environments in the game. If you have a very good graphics card you will have the chance to see everything with the best quality. The well-done sounds make the big difference and actually bring the life in the game. I would say that, Valve made again a great game even though the story wasn't very successful. Certainly, I will give 10/10 because I want to be honest with what I lived in the wonderful world of Half-life.

Marios is an accomplished musician and animator.

Links

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