Half-Life 2

 PC
User Score
9.2

Universal acclaim- based on 12734 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11,541 out of 12734
  2. Mixed: 635 out of 12734
  3. Negative: 558 out of 12734
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. JacekI.
    Aug 5, 2006
    4
    Games are not about graphics and physics engine but fun*. I confirm some oppinions expressed so far - it is tedious, predictible, it is a repetitive sequel. * Compare some desktop java games on www.java.com with HL2 - then it is obvious you do not need realistic graphics, expensive harware and so on to enjoy computer games. That is true that the industry including Valve misses the point.
  2. hansen1981
    Sep 14, 2013
    2
    Long empty rooms. Long empty landscapes. Easy tasks. Uninteresting story. Plastic heroes. Lack of narrative. Only Oh! Doctor Freeman! Ah! Doctor Freeman! Wow! This is you Doctor Freeman?
    Blah! Boring game. Cure for insomnia. I dont recommend this game.
  3. infinitePUGZ
    Dec 4, 2014
    3
    This game is way overrated, there are so many better games out there. People always praise it for its story and rich dialogue, but unlike Portal (which had me excited to progress through the story and listen to ALL of its witty, funny and overall extremely well acted characters) Half Life 2 was less than mediocre. Good dialogue was few and far between, with most of the speech just beingThis game is way overrated, there are so many better games out there. People always praise it for its story and rich dialogue, but unlike Portal (which had me excited to progress through the story and listen to ALL of its witty, funny and overall extremely well acted characters) Half Life 2 was less than mediocre. Good dialogue was few and far between, with most of the speech just being "look its Gordon Freeman!" or "are you Gordon Freeman?!".... its disappointing to say the least. I'm not counting the graphics because my pc isn't great and the game probably looks amazing on ultra settings but I wouldn't know.

    Secondly, the story isn't at all innovative or different, I couldn't care for the characters or the world. I wasn't interested enough to who, what, where, why, when or how for any of the story's components - it's nothing new.

    However much anyone says about the gravity gun, to me it will always be a glorified hand - it picks things up and throws them. Apart form that the combat is just like a typical fps although they did a good job with the weapons.

    Finally, the gameplay isn't too great: linear level design, empty landscapes, dull environments. I just wanted this game to be over, I didn't enjoy playing it. If you want a gaming masterpiece, check out Portal and Portal 2.    … Expand
  4. ShawnD
    Dec 29, 2014
    3
    I'm giving this game a low rating because it does most of the things I hate:
    -Unskippable cut scenes.
    -Acting like I care about any of these dumb characters. -Half the game is driving. Rage pulled the same stunt in 2011 and that too was a disaster. All it does is make the game painfully slow. -Does this game even have a plot? It was so boring that I didn't care to find out. A good game    I'm giving this game a low rating because it does most of the things I hate:
    -Unskippable cut scenes.
    -Acting like I care about any of these dumb characters.
    -Half the game is driving. Rage pulled the same stunt in 2011 and that too was a disaster. All it does is make the game painfully slow.
    -Does this game even have a plot? It was so boring that I didn't care to find out. A good game tells you very little so you're left wanting to know what the story is. HL2 does the exact opposite. Unskippable cut scene after unskippable cut scene. Instead of googling to find what the story is, I'm googling to see if there is some console command to skip the stupid cut scenes. I can't believe someone at Valve actually thought it was a good idea to force players to watch the same crap every time they play the game. Start a new game - hey I wonder if that face hugger is going to screw up the teleportation this time. I'll need to watch the 5 minute cut scene to find out!
    -It seems like large segments of the game are unfinished. Half of the game is driving or walking, but there's nothing going on. There's nothing to shoot and there's nothing shooting at me. Why was this left in the game? It's like they forgot to add monsters and nobody in beta testing noticed how boring those sections of the game are.
    -Physics are completely broken. You can run 100mph in reverse just by running backward and jumping. At least bunny hopping from quake took some practice.
    -The guns seem a lot crappier than they were in HL1. The amount of ammo one can hold has also been greatly reduced.
    -HL1 was awesome because it was straight forward. It told a story without telling you anything. An experiment goes wrong, monsters appear, military try to cover the whole thing up, etc. HL2 is about.... what exactly? it's about running through water canals because a guy in a turtle neck sweater is the leader of some people who wear gas masks. This is Metal Gear Solid level of bad story telling. Snake, you have nanobots inside you because blah blah clones Big Boss blah blah The Combine blah blah turtle neck sweaters.

    You can't truly grasp how boring this game is until you watch someone do a speed run of it. Then watch someone do a speed run of Quake. Which one looks more like a game and which looks more like a tech demo?    … Expand
  5. mortabunt
    Oct 4, 2013
    1
    Half-Life 2... Often proclaimed one of the best, if not one of the greatest first person shooters, if not video games of all time. Released in 2004 to great fame and accolades, I was but then an 11 year old devotee of Sonic, Metroid, Zelda, and Star Wars. I hardly knew or cared. But as I grew older, and the internet became more prominent in my life, I began to hear of this wonderful thingHalf-Life 2... Often proclaimed one of the best, if not one of the greatest first person shooters, if not video games of all time. Released in 2004 to great fame and accolades, I was but then an 11 year old devotee of Sonic, Metroid, Zelda, and Star Wars. I hardly knew or cared. But as I grew older, and the internet became more prominent in my life, I began to hear of this wonderful thing called Half-Life 2, starring this great hero, a nuclear physicist named Gordon Freeman, who battled against the evil Combine to save humanity from its position under the jackboots of a tyrannical alien regime. When I discovered TvTropes, I got exposed to many more references to this game. I was told of the epic journey of the great hero fighting all alone against the future straight out of Nineteen Eighty-Four. I read that I was supposed to be a critical piece whose actions and choices would decide the fates of billions. I read about leading the citizens in rebellion against their alien oppressors in a climatic battle in City Seventeen. I heard about the awesome Gravity Gun. I read about the fearsome striders. I read about turning the antlions on the invaders. I read about the horror of Ravenholm. I heard about great and memorable characters, an engaging story, and so many other things which sounded like heralds of greatness.
    I first got my hands on a valve game, Left 4 Dead, in '08. And I loved it. I still do, just as I do Left 4 Dead 2. I got The Orange Box in 2010. I got it more or less for Portal. Portal, damn, that game is fantastic. As you would expect, having consecutively played three superb games from Valve, I was very much looking forward to the next game in my sights: Half-Life 2. So I selected it from the main menu of The Orange Box on my Xbox360 and began a new campaign on the medium difficulty setting. I as already an FPS veteran at the time, having played through games like Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Bioshock, Metro 2033, Goldeneye 007, the Halo series, F.E.A.R., Doom, Doom 3, and Quake 4. With everything begun, I was prepared to be blown away. I was eager for the greatest FPS ever made.

    It sucks.

    I personally rate games mainly on story, gameplay, and characters, with all of these being roughly equivalent. For me to approve of a game, it has to do well enough in these three categories. However, I ultimately pass judgement based on whether or not the game was fun to me. I can forgive quite a lot of if a game is an entertaining experience. Do I think Half-Life 2 is fun? NO! I think it's awful. I had to force myself to finish this game. It failed in story, gameplay, and characters. It wasn't even something that I could enjoy taking the piss out of.
    I know, you're probably frothing with rage and confusion over why I think Half-Life 2 is an overrated piece of crap. I've heard the arguments from the fans, but I just don't see it like they do. I respect their opinions, but I disagree. Truth be told, I feel like this game was always very close to being the great experience I was told about. Of course, realistically, nothing could have lived up to the hype. Even though I habitually make a note to deliberately not buy into hype, it was impossible to go in with anything other than great expectations. I could argue that it had to end in disappointment, but I disagree. I've played other great games, like Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, Far Cry 3, Metroid Prime 2, Metro: Last Light, and Portal, and felt that they deserved the praise they got. Perhaps not the extravagant fanboy praise, but plenty of praise and accolades nevertheless. Half-Life 2 got so many elements right and had a lot of good ideas, but the execution was so often feeble. If maybe just only a few elements were different, then perhaps I would be raving about how I love this game. And I think that, had I played it when it first came out, or at least within two years of its release rather than six, then I could very well have been much more favorably impressed. I could I personally actually quite like Half-Life 2: Episode 1, which was a much tighter game with a much more interesting and dynamic plotline where the player character actually seems to accomplish things.
    The story is irritatingly impenetrable while being of only vague concern, and yet still managing to hang constantly over the player while constantly keeping them in the dark.
    The gameplay is the worst part, given how it fails to make combat fun in a first person shooter while bloating the game to excessive length with vehicles and puzzles.
    The characters are mostly forgettable with a few good exceptions. Gordon Freeman is the worst possible kind of protagonist for this game. Alex Vance should have been it.
    The game is not fun except in small doses and in certain parts. Your experience may vary. I would recommend watching a walkthrough or LP rather than spend money on it.    … Expand
  6. Alpacalypse
    Mar 22, 2015
    0
    This game has aged horribly. The story is rather decent, but the gameplay is just pathetic. Shoot your peashooter weaponry at guards and zombies, and then use your gravity gun to pick up a saw and throw it at people.
    You will then take the saw with you on your entire game and use it exclusively.
    Sure, you can argue that a game that has a good story is all that matters. But, a sandwich    This game has aged horribly. The story is rather decent, but the gameplay is just pathetic. Shoot your peashooter weaponry at guards and zombies, and then use your gravity gun to pick up a saw and throw it at people.
    You will then take the saw with you on your entire game and use it exclusively.

    Sure, you can argue that a game that has a good story is all that matters. But, a sandwich with the world's best bread (the story) is still a horrible sandwich is the meat is made out of a dead dog's **** (the gameplay)

    As it stands, Half Life 2 is a prime example that gamers will reach to the bottom of their fanboy purses to make anything Valve makes overrated.

    This game would be better fitted as a book, to be honest. It tells a great story, but the gameplay is just so agonizing that I couldn't get past 40 minutes. If you want a good first person shooter, go play Far Cry or Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.
    By the way, this review is going to get a lot of flak for not worshipping a game this overrated. Just some foresight.    … Expand
  7. Superficiality
    Feb 7, 2015
    3
    A nauseating first person shooter in an unrealistic and dull environment. You have to do everything the way the game wants you to, so all you do is shoot up men in masks hundreds of times using the same weapons. Story was sort of interesting, but it bored me.
  8. Oookeeek
    Nov 14, 2011
    4
    Most overrated game ever made. Half-Life 2 is not just disappointing, it's really boring. The first one was much better than this. Of course HL2 has some interesting things such as the Source engine (although many really poor textures), the gravity gun or pheropod, but this isn't enough to keep the game alive. And, as this wasn't enough, the game doesn't have a decent ending. I'll neverMost overrated game ever made. Half-Life 2 is not just disappointing, it's really boring. The first one was much better than this. Of course HL2 has some interesting things such as the Source engine (although many really poor textures), the gravity gun or pheropod, but this isn't enough to keep the game alive. And, as this wasn't enough, the game doesn't have a decent ending. I'll never understand why Half Life 2 is so praised.… Expand
  9. DanMcMan
    Apr 15, 2013
    3
    Lack of story telling; leaves you with a mindless fast paced shooter that gets old after a few hours of gameplay. Cutscenes are non existent as well which only enforces the lack of story this game has, which is unfortunate because with a simple google search you can discover how in depth it truly is.
  10. LeeCalder
    May 5, 2006
    1
    Tedious. Boring.
  11. MadelineV.
    Nov 28, 2006
    0
    Characters are boring and uninteresting and pretty unattractive. There is no finesse with the weapons like most fps shooters. AI is poor. Storyline isn't too great. Too much physics gimmicks. It's cool at first, gets old very quick and really in most action films or horror, the killing doesn't exactly revolve around this. It's just unrealistic. Despite your so called Characters are boring and uninteresting and pretty unattractive. There is no finesse with the weapons like most fps shooters. AI is poor. Storyline isn't too great. Too much physics gimmicks. It's cool at first, gets old very quick and really in most action films or horror, the killing doesn't exactly revolve around this. It's just unrealistic. Despite your so called cheat free environment, i found cheaters in multiplayer and many people called out the same people I saw cheating. Nothing is done. The unreal 3.0 engine even the 2.5, far exceeds this engine and characters. Who wants to play a 4 eyes ugly dude who never talks anyway? The only thing I liked were a few of the maps though when looking at them closer in the editor, again the unreal editor FAR exceeds this game.… Expand
  12. Conner428
    Nov 10, 2013
    3
    Here's the problem with giving an overrated game a bad score: people will ignore what it says and just say that that person is wrong. First of all, I am not hating this game just to hate (hell, at least I gave it a 3). Second, I am taking all the hype for this game out of the equation. Graphics: I honestly felt like I got a beta version of the game when I started it and saw the very basicHere's the problem with giving an overrated game a bad score: people will ignore what it says and just say that that person is wrong. First of all, I am not hating this game just to hate (hell, at least I gave it a 3). Second, I am taking all the hype for this game out of the equation. Graphics: I honestly felt like I got a beta version of the game when I started it and saw the very basic (borderline texture starter kit) and dry textures. The guns didn't look too bad but everything else looked like it hadn't even started rendering (yes I played the game on Ultra settings). Concept: put a gun in front of the screen, give an invisible entity a name, and have people tell it to do stuff only to always be interrupted mid sentence by enemies and never find out what they were going to say. Valve tried to give Freeman no personality or dialog so that the player could relate with him but the outcome was the exact opposite. It felt like just controlling a floating gun with zero personality. Story: The biggest confusion for me was how much people praised this game's story line. You literally start the game with many questions from the last game and are only given more questions. The G-Man spouts off nonsense and makes it seem like it's important and you wake up in god knows where in the future (no clue as to how many years because the game never specifies). No one is shocked in the least to see you after so many years looking the exact same you did when they last saw you and they ask you to go from point A to point B for no good reason. That last sentence is literally the entire story. One full game and two 3 hour episodes with absolutely no story progression except for the end of episode 2, and even that isn't that great because you had no emotion ties to the character who dies. People will constantly defend this and say "Valve will eventually explain the story. Just give them time". Why? Why judge a games story based on what your assumptions are? That's not innovative, that's sloppy writing. AI: I never even knew this was something that was seen as something great about this game until after I beat it........ so I have no idea why it's praised. Enemies act like enemies (in annoyingly low numbers and way too weak (even on hard)). Alyx is uncomfortable with how she acts with a guy who is probably twice her age and is actually quite annoying pointing out everything that happens in front of you. Replay Value: None. The game is linear with nothing on the side to keep it entertaining. Physics Engine: similar to the AI, I didn't even know this was something that was looked at as innovative. A physics engine should not determine a games worth especially when it's only used to have you "solve" kindergarten puzzles or to encourage you to use a weapon (Gravity Gun) that was boring and useless right after its tutorial. Conclusion: this entire game felt like a students project for an indie game. No story, no atmosphere, bad dialog, slow paced, confusing for the sake of being confusing, and has a complete lack of feeling like any work was done with it. This game was very underground when it came out (mostly because pc gaming wasn't as big in 2004) and so most of its original praise is from the, for the lack of a better word, hipsters that played this game. In essence, this game is a hipster game. It's a hipster game because it's full of things that normally wouldn't be seen as good but it's praised for those things so people jump on the bandwagon (similar with Stanley Parable). This actually only a small fraction of what I can say about this game but I am not about to write three reviews for one game.… Expand
  13. IanF.
    Oct 20, 2005
    0
    Garbage. What's all the hype about. This game was BORING. The weapons were boring, the enemies were boring, but most of all the story was BORING. The whole game all you do is try to rescue one person or meet up with another person, in very cramped environments. That might've been forgivable if this game was fun or challenging, but the fact of the matter is it isn't. Also, Garbage. What's all the hype about. This game was BORING. The weapons were boring, the enemies were boring, but most of all the story was BORING. The whole game all you do is try to rescue one person or meet up with another person, in very cramped environments. That might've been forgivable if this game was fun or challenging, but the fact of the matter is it isn't. Also, the ending is AWFUL. Could it have been worse? What really happened? it felt like they didn't know how to end it so the developers just took a dump and modeled it after that. Half-life is supposed to be about story and this game had very little. If you want to play a good FPS play Far-Cry (for those of you recommending Doom 3 instead of this pile, I'll have you know that Doom 3 was trash too). Far-Cry had great action, audio, gameplay, and a decent story (not great by any means, but definitely better than this connect the dots junk). If you haven't played it you are doing yourself a great disservice. Far-Cry = 10, half-life 2 = (they don't have negative scores) 0.… Expand
  14. AnonymousMC
    Jul 16, 2006
    0
    This is a good game dont get me wrong. But what kills this game for me, and makes me want to throw it out the window is, in a word: Steam. Steam kills this game and any other game that uses it. In my opinion Steam is the worst thing to hapen to gaming since E.T. for the atari. Im a Marine who is on deployment right now. I dont make alot of money so it was a choice between picking upThis is a good game dont get me wrong. But what kills this game for me, and makes me want to throw it out the window is, in a word: Steam. Steam kills this game and any other game that uses it. In my opinion Steam is the worst thing to hapen to gaming since E.T. for the atari. Im a Marine who is on deployment right now. I dont make alot of money so it was a choice between picking up F.E.A.R. or Halflife 2. I had played HL 1 and loved it, and only a demo of F.E.A.R. I chose HL 2 and have had a game that i could not play for 4 months because i dont have access to internet on a navy ship. What Valve didnt realize, or just didnt give a .... about what that not everyone has internet. Yes 'most' gammers do, but not 'all'. Also 'most' gamers that i have talked too or seen on forums are angry or scared about what this means for the future of computer gaming. If someone dosnt have internet access he cant play games on his computer? That right there is reason enough for this game to get a 0. Its not like it helps fight piracy, in my eyes it makes it worse. There are cracks for this game everywhere, it took less time to find a crack then to register the game with Steam. Someone like me who has no problem paying for a game and registering it Is forced to go get a crack because he cant get his laptop to an internet source for the hours it takes to do the initial update, but its easy to take a flash drive and get a 30 second download of the crack. Valve has alienated so many gamers with Steam, and agin in my opinion has given pirates a major victory, by forcing someone who would normaly never download a crack to get one just to play the game he bought. Basicly, I will never buy another Valve game after this. They have lost me as a customer and i will recomend to all my friends who come to me for game advise to stay away from this company and any games they make. I shoulda got F.E.A.R.… Expand
  15. AnonymousMC
    Jan 25, 2007
    0
    This game will not perform well at all on my computer. 1.4G Pentium Processor with 1.2G of Ram. I wouldn't waste another dollar on anything this company makes. The steam engine is a joke. If I wanted another browser on my computer I would have downloaded a new one. The steam engine is a resource hog and very unnecessary. Just provide updates for games at your damn website, we willThis game will not perform well at all on my computer. 1.4G Pentium Processor with 1.2G of Ram. I wouldn't waste another dollar on anything this company makes. The steam engine is a joke. If I wanted another browser on my computer I would have downloaded a new one. The steam engine is a resource hog and very unnecessary. Just provide updates for games at your damn website, we will go get them if we want them. Just like the media today, once again we are spoon-fed everything someone else thinks we need. Socialism disguised as Democracy.… Expand
  16. AlyxF.
    Jul 25, 2008
    4
    Pretty good graphics although it could be a lot better, bad ai. and the game is one of the just play once games. When i did play the game i took a lot of time exploring as much as the game allowed me to do, and that isn't pretty much. the game is designed for a just rush through session.
  17. CoreyintheHouse
    Nov 8, 2014
    0
    The graphics are clunky and absolutely disgusting, the guns are unrealistic and disproportionate. Its lame I do not recommend this game to anyone who calls themselves a lover of games. This game is a classic, a classic piece of ****
  18. EsteticBomzh
    Jun 23, 2020
    4
    Неплохая графика и отличная физика не спасли игру от того, что она невыносимо скучная. Тебя заставляют постоянно ползать по каким-то вонючим канализациям. Я понимаю что кому-то это может нравится, но игра реально скучна.Неплохая графика и отличная физика не спасли игру от того, что она невыносимо скучная. Тебя заставляют постоянно ползать по каким-то вонючим канализациям. Я понимаю что кому-то это может нравится, но игра реально скучна.
  19. PsiCat
    Dec 5, 2011
    4
    Flat and mediocre sequel to one of the most innovative shooters ever made. Half Life had a depth that is definitely missing from it's overrated sequel.
  20. kenozoik
    Dec 22, 2011
    1
    Very disappointing. Personally, I consider HL1 one of the best games ever made, and everything I liked about HL1 is missing in this game. Boring and linear. The story itself is poor. There's no time left to explore the levels because you're constantly being chased, and when you do find the time to look around, it's only to find that the beautiful scenery is in most cases just a cardboardVery disappointing. Personally, I consider HL1 one of the best games ever made, and everything I liked about HL1 is missing in this game. Boring and linear. The story itself is poor. There's no time left to explore the levels because you're constantly being chased, and when you do find the time to look around, it's only to find that the beautiful scenery is in most cases just a cardboard scene placed around a small, single path level, designed so that you don't even think about stepping of the predefined path. I had a feeling as if being a cow which is ran into desired direction through ever narrower paths in a slaughterhouse. It was so repetitive, boring and frustrating that I didn't even finish the game. The only thing I had fun with in this game was the gravity gun.… Expand
  21. WalterR.
    Nov 17, 2004
    0
    This lost me on this game right off the bat. When a game takes 5 hours to install, set up and play there is nothing that can redeem it. Unknown to me, i had to set up an online account to even play the game. No one mentioned this little tidbid to me before i bought the game. I thought the internet connection requirement was for online play not for activation. I can only get phone modem This lost me on this game right off the bat. When a game takes 5 hours to install, set up and play there is nothing that can redeem it. Unknown to me, i had to set up an online account to even play the game. No one mentioned this little tidbid to me before i bought the game. I thought the internet connection requirement was for online play not for activation. I can only get phone modem connection in the country and needless to say it took some time. Not even Microsoft does this to its customers. Then the game started and i had to wonder around like an idiot to find my purpose. On the plus side, unlike Doom3, it didn't kill my pc. It ran smoothly on my high res lcd monitor. In the end, this game sucks as did Doom 3... I wish people out there quit hyping up games like this. When Far Cry came out it was a real revelation and that's the way it should be. What a disappointment this last few months have been!!… Expand
  22. T0G
    Dec 14, 2013
    4
    Maybe my expectations were set too high by the first game and all the hype but Half-Life2 is so linear it may as well be an arcade game. One of the few games I have uninstalled immediately after finishing. Very disappointed. I will avoid the 3rd outing.
  23. ChristopherS.
    Feb 25, 2007
    0
    Half Life 2 is a marvelous technological achievement. It is beautiful to look at and for the most part enjoyable to play. So why the lousy rating? In one word: Steam. This service is without a doubt the worst thing to ever happen to computer gaming. Implemented as a tool in the war on piracy and as a means of efficient game distribution and praised by such magazines as PC Gamer, Steam is Half Life 2 is a marvelous technological achievement. It is beautiful to look at and for the most part enjoyable to play. So why the lousy rating? In one word: Steam. This service is without a doubt the worst thing to ever happen to computer gaming. Implemented as a tool in the war on piracy and as a means of efficient game distribution and praised by such magazines as PC Gamer, Steam is in reality a bloated, poorly conceived and overly intrusive internet portal whose required installation is used for updating and registering games. If you don't have a broadband connection you can literally spend 4 to 6 hours waiting for this ridiculous process to conclude. Even with broadband the hit or miss nature of the overly complex and unreliable installation procedure may require repeated downloading of large files and that can be particularly painful for those of us with limited bandwith usage restrictions. As a result I no longer buy games made by Valve or ones that use the Steam service for activation purposes. In my opinion this is just another example of corporate insensitivity to its customers and a cynical means by which to maximize its profits.… Expand
  24. HidetoM.
    Apr 30, 2005
    1
    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 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
  25. SeanWar
    Jan 4, 2005
    0
    Really repetitive, nothing changes, doesnt come close to doom 3 when it comes to graghics.
  26. thisSuckz
    Jul 11, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the most pointless game ever.you spend the first 30-40 mins doing pointless menial tasks that are not fun to do and are incredibly boring. This game has to be one of the worst games ever created. I f i wanted to watch a film that takes 30 mins to get to any action i would have done so instead of playing the first half of this pointless game. To top it all off valve after 7 years still have not released the sequel to this stupid game.… Expand
  27. JayG
    Apr 26, 2008
    4
    I fail to see how this game warrants so many "Perfect" scores. This is not a game, Its a tech Demo for a very beautiful, very versatile engine but entertaining to play... Half life 2 is not, unless you enjoy repeating the same puzzle every 30 seconds and navigating some of the worst level design that I have seen in any game. What could be a very thrilling and engrossing game, is broken up I fail to see how this game warrants so many "Perfect" scores. This is not a game, Its a tech Demo for a very beautiful, very versatile engine but entertaining to play... Half life 2 is not, unless you enjoy repeating the same puzzle every 30 seconds and navigating some of the worst level design that I have seen in any game. What could be a very thrilling and engrossing game, is broken up by a repetitive string of physics puzzles with no purpose other than to show off the physics engine. Which would have its own charm, were the puzzles not repeated every 5 mins with an identically puzzle. This is demonstrated best in any level that contains a vehicle for the player to drive, where you will have to move an obstacle out of your way every 30 seconds with the "Gravity gun." Top that off with 90% of the plot being as in depth as Mario's "The Princess is in the next castle, navigate your way to the next location" and you are left with a game that left me "Blue" for a decent story and some thrilling action. Half life 2 is a monumental technical achievement, and the mods that have come out for this game make it well worth the price of purchase, but I would rather pull out and eat my own intestines like spaghetti than call this a "reviting good time."… Expand
  28. Dremord
    Aug 18, 2012
    3
    I got to the speed boat part and that's when I had to stop. It was miserable. The monsters were boring, cold boring environment... everything bad. Very disappointing game.
  29. JohanG
    Jan 8, 2010
    2
    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.
  30. RehnH.
    Nov 19, 2004
    0
    Steam unfortunately ruined the game for me. The game at first seemed to be worth it but the game play loses its juice about half way into the game. I also feel like I have been ripped off I bought the Collectors edition of the game, what a joke that is. I GET A SHIRT YAY!!!. Valve needs to get off their trip with steam people are going to pirate games no matter how much time you spend on Steam unfortunately ruined the game for me. The game at first seemed to be worth it but the game play loses its juice about half way into the game. I also feel like I have been ripped off I bought the Collectors edition of the game, what a joke that is. I GET A SHIRT YAY!!!. Valve needs to get off their trip with steam people are going to pirate games no matter how much time you spend on creating new technology, Hackers are just going to spend more time trying to hack it. I am just glad a real game developer is releasing a game a week after I will be sure to jump on WoW and support blizzard and I wish I can get my money back from this steamy pile of crap. Why do you need an internet connection to play a single player game? Why cant I just launch the gaming from steam and not use the cd? I went through a 3 hour install and I still need the damn game cd to play this sh..ty game. … Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2004
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2004
1
#1 Most Shared PC Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 81 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 81
  3. Negative: 0 out of 81
  1. CPUGamer
    100
    Nothing less than a revolution in the gaming industry that will keep gamers busy for years to come, just as the original did.
    Read full review
  2. Play.tm
    95
    An ephemeral and controversial ending, along with the few issues described above, means that for me, Half-Life 2, while a compelling and highly enjoyable game, falls short of the size of impact that the first title had on the gaming world.
    Read full review
  3. Playboy
    100
    A graphics overhaul delivers detailed facial animations and sophisticated physics that leave battle zones strewn with debris after intense shootouts with shuffling corpses, overfed curstaceans and other assorted foes. [October, p.37]
See all critic reviews »