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
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  1. AnonymousMC
    Mar 27, 2006
    10
    This is the absolute best game ever created. Even if the graphics are slightly dated by now, the game is beautiful. The story is awesome, the sound is incredible in the gameplay is just amazing. Anyone who owns a PC that can play HL2 has to buy this game, I will Chuck Norris karate kick you if you don't. Peace out nuks.
  2. AnonymousMC
    Mar 26, 2006
    10
    i gave it a ten, this is my opinion (i'm not just saying it to follow the crowd). I look beyond the fact that steam screwed most of you into giving it a 0, this game had alot of outstanding realism and a great puzzle style of game play but i guess that some of you may be a little to ignorant or dumb to actually spend time playing a game you cant beat in an hour. it deserves a ten andi gave it a ten, this is my opinion (i'm not just saying it to follow the crowd). I look beyond the fact that steam screwed most of you into giving it a 0, this game had alot of outstanding realism and a great puzzle style of game play but i guess that some of you may be a little to ignorant or dumb to actually spend time playing a game you cant beat in an hour. it deserves a ten and you know it so quit acting like its not that great just because it wont work on your PC… Expand
  3. TadL.
    Mar 26, 2006
    10
    Great atmosphere. Innovative use of physics. Fun.
  4. SamJ.
    Mar 26, 2006
    10
    LOVE it!
  5. JoergS.
    Mar 26, 2006
    10
    The best PC game I`ve ever played.
  6. ArthurP.
    Mar 25, 2006
    10
    Fantastic; the the best game ever made, I enjoy a lot playing it.
  7. HughM.
    Mar 25, 2006
    10
    This is the best game I have ever played.
  8. AnthonyN.
    Mar 25, 2006
    10
    Really good game!
  9. RafalK.
    Mar 25, 2006
    10
    Best game ever. Source pwnz all.
  10. SeanT.
    Mar 24, 2006
    10
    This game rocks.
  11. ChristopherH.
    Mar 24, 2006
    10
    Absolutely the best fps ever released..
  12. KevinK.
    Mar 24, 2006
    10
    I have yet to see anything come close to the source engine.
  13. MikeB.
    Mar 24, 2006
    10
    Best game you'll ever play, Valve makes their games worth buying for sure. Everyone owns a copy of it. Keep up the good work Valve
  14. SergeB.
    Mar 24, 2006
    9
    Excellent, HDR excellent, storyline excellent, gameplay and graphics just superb... i guess what's next ey..lol :D
  15. NickP.
    Mar 24, 2006
    10
    The best game i have ever played. and the best game to date kicking halos ass
  16. GilbertM.
    Feb 22, 2006
    10
    Dune 2. Doom. Command and Conquer. Monkey Island 2. Deus Ex. Every so often a game comes along that redefines the very concept of gaming, that goes beyond "a new benchmark for the genre" to become one of the greatest achievements in the history of the field of sick virtual reality video games. Rise and shine, Mr Freeman, rise and shine. Ignore anyone who's given this game a yellow Dune 2. Doom. Command and Conquer. Monkey Island 2. Deus Ex. Every so often a game comes along that redefines the very concept of gaming, that goes beyond "a new benchmark for the genre" to become one of the greatest achievements in the history of the field of sick virtual reality video games. Rise and shine, Mr Freeman, rise and shine. Ignore anyone who's given this game a yellow score, pour scorn on those who have given it red. This is, quite simply, the best game ever made up to this point. And I'm saying that with 512k of RAM, which makes the key responses occasionally act like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. If you thought the Aliens Vs Predator games were scary...you were right, but ten minutes in Ravenholm and you'll be begging for the chapter to end. The graphics are, of course, to die for - you can turn the detail down and it still looks like Jesus himself created the characters. The voice acting is brilliant - I have to give a quick nod to Valve for the subtitles and closed-captions...finally the deaf can enjoy Half-Life as much as the hearing can. Thanks for that. There is one, only one, downside, and it begins with S. There really is no way around it, but once you've got the game, you can apparently switch Steam off without downloading something claiming to be a crack which actually eats your computer from the inside like a tapeworm - have a look on Google for the tweak. Steam is the archetype of good intentions paving the road to Hell. But I choose not to mark the game down because of the ill-thought out delivery system. Half Life 2 is a landmark. It is to gaming what the Godfather Part II was to film. Wake up and smell the ashes.… Expand
  17. ChrisW.
    Feb 1, 2006
    10
    This is the best game i have ever played. It starts you in a gritty city-without hope kinda scenario and keeps you locked in. The combat is amazing, and it REALLY steps up once you get the gravity gun. I would recommend this game to anyone, and if somone would pass the game up, they should be shot.
  18. ShawnH.
    Jan 20, 2006
    9
    I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, so I'll make it short and sweet. Great graphics, great sound, great game. The gravity gun is tons of fun. My son loved it when I "starfished" Combine soldiers by shooting them straight up in the air and watching them spin like a top. Also, shooting soldiers into energy streams and watching them somersault in slow I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, so I'll make it short and sweet. Great graphics, great sound, great game. The gravity gun is tons of fun. My son loved it when I "starfished" Combine soldiers by shooting them straight up in the air and watching them spin like a top. Also, shooting soldiers into energy streams and watching them somersault in slow motion was endlessly entertaining. The game ran fine on my system, which surprised me considering how detailed the graphics were. The ending was disappointing and was obviously designed to leave the door open for Half-Life 3.… Expand
  19. JonathanC.
    Jan 16, 2006
    10
    Half Life 2 is a great game, but it is in no way the best FPS ever. Friendly AI is poor, as your fellow soldiers will die quickly; ant lions are more effective than humans. There is no sniper rifle (sorry, the crossbow doesn't count) so you end up wasting lots of ammo on enemies at even a medium distance. Even a Halo-style battle rifle would have been nice. There is no compass or Half Life 2 is a great game, but it is in no way the best FPS ever. Friendly AI is poor, as your fellow soldiers will die quickly; ant lions are more effective than humans. There is no sniper rifle (sorry, the crossbow doesn't count) so you end up wasting lots of ammo on enemies at even a medium distance. Even a Halo-style battle rifle would have been nice. There is no compass or map, so you can get disoriented, even though the game is very linear. However, the game does tons of stuff right. Great graphics, great sound. Firefights are varied and fun. Environments are highly detailed and the physics bring it to life like no other game can do (possible exceptions being FEAR and Far Cry). Fun vehicles. Solid characters and thought-provoking story. Overall, a must-play for action fans, and a big bright feather in Valve's cap.… Expand
  20. AnonymousMC
    Dec 20, 2005
    0
    Disgusting Half-Life(1) was great and they turned around and made this piece of BS! Everyone seems to just concentrate on Alecs ( correct me if spelled wrong.If the game was more like nIntendo games with the originalaty maby i would of given it a 10 but choice is final.0 out of 5
  21. AndrewB.
    Dec 1, 2005
    9
    Arguably the single most immersive game ever made. The story line was a fabulous continuation of the original and the game managed to use its spectacular physics engine without becoming overly gimmicky. In an article by PC Gamer it was stated that EA was trying to make the citizen cane of gaming, but considering this game i think you need look no further than valve. My one beef with this Arguably the single most immersive game ever made. The story line was a fabulous continuation of the original and the game managed to use its spectacular physics engine without becoming overly gimmicky. In an article by PC Gamer it was stated that EA was trying to make the citizen cane of gaming, but considering this game i think you need look no further than valve. My one beef with this game is that the ending was a complete dissapointment, total cliff hanger.… Expand
  22. AnonymousMC
    Nov 28, 2005
    9
    Even a year after release, no other game has attempted to use physics in such an integral and ingenious way. It excels in every area. It did seem short to me however. Which leads to my complaint.
    The reason for a 9 score is that I really wanted TFC2, just as much as the single-player part. It should've shipped with HL2 instead of CS:S, which I couldn't care less about. I    Even a year after release, no other game has attempted to use physics in such an integral and ingenious way. It excels in every area. It did seem short to me however. Which leads to my complaint.
    The reason for a 9 score is that I really wanted TFC2, just as much as the single-player part. It should've shipped with HL2 instead of CS:S, which I couldn't care less about. I spent more time playing TFC back in the day than any game before or since. Making the sequel a standalone product is unwise, IMO. Valve's generosity has declined over the years it seems.    … Expand
  23. MartyH.
    Nov 15, 2005
    10
    Best FPS ever! Beautiful Graphics, impressive physics, good storyline, brilliant level design, and fun vehicles. Half-Life 2 has it all.
  24. ms
    Nov 14, 2005
    10
    Do you know why I give this game a ten..because I played it front to back as much as I could on each difficulty level with as many different stradegies and as many different opinions on how to play as possible. each time proved better than the last..but what I don't understand is..why ones? why twos? why zeros? What is the point to giving a game that obviously has some of the Do you know why I give this game a ten..because I played it front to back as much as I could on each difficulty level with as many different stradegies and as many different opinions on how to play as possible. each time proved better than the last..but what I don't understand is..why ones? why twos? why zeros? What is the point to giving a game that obviously has some of the strongest points in gaming such a low score...I'll tell you why..BIAS! The people who give this game a bad review are either too obsessed with just one FPS (Far Cry, Doom, Quake etc...) or don't like FPS games in the first place. Either that or there are way too many opinions based on positive bias such as those who give it a ten simply because its half-life..both are wrong ways to judge and I can definately say as an all around game fan that this game has earned this 10..do you know why? Because I'm NOT biased..do you think the game critics upstairs are thinking about Doom, Quake, or Far Cry when they give this game a review..absolutely not, which is why they work for their publications! You guys aren't even close to fair or reasonable so get real and actually play the game for all its worth and then we'll see how terrible it is.… Expand
  25. GregW.
    Nov 3, 2005
    9
    Awesome game. Builds on the original in terms of rivalling movies and books in character depth, a story that can enthrall you if you take the time to actually listen to what the AI says (Looking at you Ian F). Why a 9 and not a 10? Linear, although that seems to be par for the course in terms of FPS's (excluding Far Cry), and steam, which although it proved no problem to me, was a Awesome game. Builds on the original in terms of rivalling movies and books in character depth, a story that can enthrall you if you take the time to actually listen to what the AI says (Looking at you Ian F). Why a 9 and not a 10? Linear, although that seems to be par for the course in terms of FPS's (excluding Far Cry), and steam, which although it proved no problem to me, was a pain in the rear for a dial up friend of mine.… Expand
  26. MattN.
    Nov 3, 2005
    8
    There were parts of this game that I thought were brilliant unfortunately these just served to highlight the parts which were substandard. It does have great graphics but they lacked the wow factor of Far Cry or FEAR. The A.I was strictly average more like the A.I in Quake4 (though for some reason in Quake4 this doesn't detract at all from the game) and your own guys do nothing but There were parts of this game that I thought were brilliant unfortunately these just served to highlight the parts which were substandard. It does have great graphics but they lacked the wow factor of Far Cry or FEAR. The A.I was strictly average more like the A.I in Quake4 (though for some reason in Quake4 this doesn't detract at all from the game) and your own guys do nothing but get in your way. The puzzles seemed little pointless and added nothing as they were so simple. I did like the main characters and enjoyed the story overall particularly the last quarter of the game. I didn't experience any technical problems at all with game nor did I have any trouble with steam and apart from initial conatct to set up my steam account and verify my copy was genuine I have never needed a internet connection again to play this game. I didn't love it (it's no Far Cry) but I would definitely recommended it.… Expand
  27. NateW.
    Oct 26, 2005
    10
    This just in: Ian F. is an idiot of epic proportions.
  28. GuillermoS.
    Oct 25, 2005
    10
    An instant classic. One of the best sequels ever made. A perfect recreation of a distopic future. Truly fun to play complete with an interesting story. What else do we need?
  29. 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
  30. BrendanK.
    Oct 14, 2005
    10
    I loved this game - even more than the originial. It has one of the best atmospheres ever, with lots of action and puzzles etc.
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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 »