Half-Life 2
- Released
- November 16, 2004 on Windows
- Credits
- 252 people
- Releases by Date(by platform)
- Publishers
- Developers
- Genre
- Action
- Perspective
- 1st-person
- Gameplay
- Puzzle elements
Shooter - Interface
- Direct control
- Setting
- Post-apocalyptic
Sci-fi / futuristic - Misc
- Regional differences
- ESRB Rating
- Mature
- Business Model
- Commercial
- Media Type
- CD-ROM,Download,DVD-ROM
- Input Devices Supported/Optional
- Keyboard,Mouse
- Multiplayer Options
- Internet,LAN
- Number of Offline Players
- 1 Player
- Number of Online Players
- 100+ Players [view all 41 specs ]
- Official Site
- Visit
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast(2005)
Half-Life 2: Complete(2008)
Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition(2005)
Half-Life 2: Holiday 2006 Collection(2006)
Half-Life: Complete(2008)
The Orange Box(2007)
Valve Complete Pack(2008)
- Half-Life 2 (Bronze Edition)(2004)
Half-Life 2 (Collector's Edition)(2004)
Half-Life 2 (Gold Edition)(2004)- Half-Life 2 (Silver Edition)(2004)
Descriptionofficial descriptions
Following the period of instability caused by the events described inHalf-Life, an interdimensional organization known as the Combine invades the Earth, defeating the human forces in the Seven Hour War. A Combine Citadel is erected in City 17, a town in Eastern Europe reminiscent of World War II ghettos. Dr. Wallace Breen, a human scientist, rules the city on behalf of his new masters. An energy field prevents humans from procreating, and no new children are born. Earth is turning into a grim, oppressive police state.
Meanwhile, Gordon Freeman, the man who was at the center of the events that took place shortly before the rise of the Combine, awakens from his stasis and is inserted into a train to City 17 by the mysterious G-man. Gordon is soon brought into a resistance group and makes a seemingly futile attempt to bring down the Combine and liberate the Earth.
Half-Life 2 is a linear first-person shooter with light puzzle-solving elements and many setpieces, similar to its predecessor in concept. The player guides Gordon Freeman through City 17 and the wilderness that surrounds it. On his way, he'll encounter a few friendly characters, but also fight dangerous foes. The game features a realistic physics system: Gordon can pick up objects and toss them freely, and many of the puzzles are physics-based - for example, at one point the player has to weigh down a seesaw with bricks at one end to turn it into a ramp.
Gordon's enemies, apart from alien wildlife which found their way to Earth, are mainly Combine forces, which utilize a variety of firearms, gadgets, and vehicles. Policemen and foot soldiers work along with helicopters, gunships, and gigantic walking machines to hunt him down. To defend himself, Gordon has a range of weapons available: from the iconic crowbar for close-quarter fighting, through pistols and rifles, up to grenades and a rocket launcher. One of the most notable weapons is the gravity gun, with which Gordon can pick up objects, hold them in the gun's anti-gravity field, then hurl them at the enemy with great force.
Setpieces in the game include coordinated assaults on enemy bases, fighting gigantic boss enemies, bringing down aircraft with the rocket launcher, and others. A few levels require the player to navigate buggy-type vehicles. Some of the more exotic stages involve the player summoning an army of antlions to unleash on unsuspecting foes.
Included with the game isCounter-Strike: Source, a version ofCounter-Strike made with the new Source engine which powersHalf-Life 2, andHalf-Life 2: Deathmatch, an online multiplayer game featuring the same physics and weapons as the single player game.
Spellings
- 半条命2 -Simplified Chinese spelling
- 戰慄時空2 -Traditional Chinese spelling
- 하프라이프 2 -Korean spelling
Groups+
- 3D Engine: Source
- Console Generation Exclusives: Xbox
- Distribution Method: Episodic
- Gameplay feature: Drowning
- Gameplay feature: Recordable replays
- Games with officially released source code
- Half-Life universe
- Physics Engine: Havok
- Retail releases with faction/character-specific cover variants
- Setting: 2020s
- Technology: amBX
Screenshots
Promos
Videos
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Credits (Windows version)
252 People (226 developers, 26 thanks) ·View all
| VP Studio Operations | |
| Senior Administrative Assistant | |
| Senior QA Manager, Fuctionality | |
| Senior QA Manager, Resources | |
| Senior QA Manager, TRG/CRG/VUPC | |
| QA Manager | |
| QA Lead | |
| QA Testers | |
| [full credits ] | |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 93%(based on 123 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.2 out of 5(based on 555 ratings with 24 reviews)
If you have a dial up line, DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!
The Good
Graphics were wonderful. The game is immersive. Sound is very good. Skin textures and facial movements are the best I have ever seen. Action is non stop.
The Bad
The game is totally unplayable if you have a dial up modem or if you don't have an internet connection. Product activation is one thing, but being forced to log onto the Internet and get Vivendis permission to play a game you have purchased is totally over the top. Especially when, if you have a dial up as I do it takes between 35 to 40 minutes before the game is finally ready to play. What were the Vivendi guys thinking. It is so stupid I am lost for words.
The Bottom Line
I am reminded of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey pot. There is this wonderful game, but it is totally out of reach. I think cruel and unusual punishment is an apt description for the Vivendi people. I will never ever buy their products again if they have such an outrageous activation scheme.
Windows · byEdwin Wigmore (2) ·2005
The Good
Very smart AI that keeps the game interesting.
There are lots of puzzles to challenge the gamer and his or her intellect. the physics in this game make it way cooler than other games.
An array of weapons that not only look good but also are very helpful in combat against the combine. (one shot kill from the magnum, crossbow that is like a sniper, one or two barrel shot from the shot gun, etc.)
The load times (not including the first one) are any where from 5- 10 seconds long (in simple terms there is basically no load times).
The graphics are amazing and there are no cut scenes so its like a movie but you are the camera (what I am trying to say is the dialogue happens during the game rather than going to a cut scene).
The Bad
Sometimes can get a bit confusing and frustrating.
The combine REALLY piss me off at some times because the zombies and head crabs take my life down to like 20 and than (sometimes) around the corner is a combine with a shot gun which just happens to be a checkpoint so when ever i go back to that point, i get shot to like 5 life before i kill the combine.
Also the head crabs waste my amo since they are so small, they are able to evade 5 shells of my shot gun before they go down.
Some times i find myself lost in the game but that's just me.
The Bottom Line
A game recommended for any one that has an xbox or a computer (that can handle it).
Xbox · byTodd Bello (28) ·2006
A thoroughly immersive, plot-centric game (no spoilers).
The Good
There are 5 main high-points for this game: the dramatic storyline, the games capability to immerse the player, the music, the physics, and the models.
As with Half-Life, the sequel Half-Life 2 is a plot-centric game where the story is king and events unfold into a dramatic "silent narrative". The sheer drama of the Half-Life 2 story, to me, was gripping.
The game's main strength is immersion. The best games of the genre are the ones where you forget there's a mouse and keyboard, and I believe the HL2 achieved that greatly. There were episodes, like Ravenholm, that made my heart pound in fear. I found myself completely immersed in the game, which was totally cool. I loved every second of it, and I feel this is the single best aspect of the game.
Music and sound was done effectively. Although I've read complaints about music occurring at odd times and stuttering, I had no problems. The choice of music and timing of the music gave me a sense of deja-vu about watching a George Romero movie, like Dawn of the Dead. I had to sleep with a night light for days after finishing the game -- the moans and cries of the zombies were extremely unnerving!
The physics was awesome. Since this is what most people comment on when they review HL2, I will say no more about it other than ... "whoa!"
The last high point of the game are the models. Totally effective. The eye movement was eerily realistic. The 5 o'clock shadows were masterful. NPC mannerisms like Alyx self-consciously touching her hair while she tells Gordon what an honor it was to be with him (or at the end when it feels like "I love you" is about to be said) was a superb touch.
The Bad
I personally don't have much bad to say about the game.
Many people complain about the vehicle sections of the game, stating that they're too long. I don't agree. The riverboat and dune buggy episodes were gripping and ended just as I started to become vaguely conscious of wanting a scene change.
I do have to complain about the NPC's AI though. They weren't very smart, and were very ineffective in killing enemies and saving their own neck. They were particularly incompetent in avoiding unnecessary death (like walking in the path of a known sniper). As a programmer, this doesn't so much bother me because I know how difficult AI is, but sadly, this deficiency often snapped me out of my immersive experience. I started to become conscious of needing to save the game in order to keep my squad alive. Too bad, especially considering the immersive quality of the game is its main strength.
I also take exception to the ending and certain elements of the story line. Not only were none of the questions of HL1 answered, we now have a whole bunch of new ones. The ending of the game, while dramatic, was completely and thoroughly unsatisfying.
Lastly, I take STRONG exception to Steam for being intrusive, buggy, and singling out non-broadband users. I will purchase this game only when Steam is removed, and not a second before.
The Bottom Line
FPS games often get the short-shrift when it comes to plots. Perhaps the story line was a goof back in the Doom and Build engine days, but most FPS games have a rather complex storyline, considering that the main objective is to shoot. Even so, Half-Life distinguishes itself in the sheer drama which was never quite achieved in games like Blair Witch, Quake or Alice (even though Alice tried).
This game is clearly influenced by a host of sci-fi and horror themes:
- The Matrix
- Dawn of the Dead (or Night of the Living Dead)
- 1984
This amalgam of influences is highly effective and should be very enjoyable to anyone who appreciates the genres.
Windows · bynull-geodesic (104) ·2006
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Half-Life 2 appears in the book1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Characters
Almost all the characters inHalf-Life 2 are modelled after a real person's appearance:
- Barney's face in the game was provided by Valve's CEOScott Lynch.
- Alyx Vance is modelled after American actress and television hostJamil Giovanni Mullen.
- Eli Vance's is based onLarry "The Count" Heard, a local man holding a sign indicating that he was looking for work. Valve found him on the corner of Highway 520 and 148th Avenue in Redmond and hired him as a model.
- The G-Man'sHalf-Life 2 model is based onFrank Sheldon, an Alexander Technique practitioner. He was originally slated to be the model for Dr. Breen.
City 17
City 17, the main location ofHalf-Life 2, strongly resembles Eastern European and Soviet cities of the communist era; the architecture style of suburb districts is nearly identical to what can be see (even until now) in East Berlin, Prague, Moscow, etc. However, there is also more direct evidence to the "Soviet" nature of City 17; several times some Russian words can be spotted. For example, during the mud skipper chase there are large gates with the wordsПОРТ written above; "порт" is Russian for "port" (pronounced roughly the same way as the English word).
Closed captions
Valve designedHalf-Life 2 with closed captioning for the deaf. Sounds are bracketed. Each character has a color assigned to their dialogue.
Cut levels
According to the bookHalf-Life 2: Raising the Bar, the original storyline spanned four in-game days instead of just three. Among the parts cut are an antlion cave, a train ride through a dried out sea bed, a ship called the "Borealis", the underwater "Kraken Base", a Combine weather control station, a chapter set in arctic regions and a skyscraper. Many of these places show up in pre-release screenshots and press material.
Some parts were recycled for existingHalf-Life 2 chapters, many others are making a comeback in theHalf-Life 2 episodes.
Distribution
The PC version ofHalf-Life 2 was the last game thatSierra distributed for Valve at retail.Electronic Arts was quick to scoop up the retail deal, but their Steam digital distribution service remains independent.
As a result of a settlement in a lawsuit betweenValve andVivendi Universal Games (as Sierra's owner), VU Games ceased distribution of retail packaged versions of Valve's games (includingHalf-Life 2), effective 31 August 2005.
Engine
Despite the complex graphics, including ragdoll physics and pixel shaders, the Source engine was designed to support cards that offer only DirectX 6 hardware support. The original Source engine code would run by using the software emulation encoded in the DirectX 9 library. That means that the game can be run even with an Intel 846g card or a Nvidia TNT chipset. To give some perspective, The TNT chipset was introduced in 1997.
According toJohn Carmack himself, "there are still bits of earlyQuake code inHalf Life 2".
German version
There are changes in some German versions:
- Blood from humans (including Gordon Freeman) and blood which is part of the level design was coloured grey
- Almost all enemies disappear instantly after being killed. This is not true for a level near the end where the corpses are necessary to proceed.
- The cries of burning zombies were toned down
- In the original version enemies get dragged with the buggy for a short time after driving over them. In the German version the buggy just drives through them.
A detailed list of changes can be found onschnittberichte.com (German).
G-Man
G-Man can been spotted in a few places throughout the game, as he is watching over Gordon or walking around.
Hydra
An enemy that was shown in early previews known as the hydra, which was a blue tentacle, was cut out of the final game. The developers said that it was good to watch, but when it came to kill you, you would just see a blue blur and you would be dead. They didn't think it would be fun to fight against.
Macintosh version
In September 2007, Valve's CEOGabe Newell wasinterviewed by gaming website Kikizo's Adam Doree about the then shortly to be releasedOrange Box, asking, among other things, about the potential for a Macintosh release. Newell responded by saying that though they had been in conversations with Apple regarding the possibility "they seem to think that they want to do gaming, but there's never any follow through on any of the things they say they're going to do. That makes it hard to be excited about doing games for their platforms." Thus, there wouldn't be a Macintosh version ofHalf-Life 2.
A month later, in October,Tuncer Deniz, a Macintosh developer and owner of the news site Inside Mac Games,posted on his blog that while Newell's complaints likely weren't without justification, the actual reason for the lack of a Macintosh port was due to "Valve's insistence that anyone who wanted to port Half-Life 2 to the Mac had to advance $1 million to Valve. That's right, that's $1,000,000. That might be peanuts to someone like Valve, but no Mac publisher in their right mind would have given Valve that kind of money just for the rights to publish Half-Life 2 for the Mac."
A Macintosh version was finally released in 2010 when Steam, Valve's digital distribution platform, was introduced for Macintosh.
Menu
The background of the main menu changes based on the chapter of the last saved game.
Multiplayer
Counter-Strike: Source was the only Source engine multiplayer game available at the release. Two weeks later, on 30 November 2004, Valve released the regular multiplayer mode (Deathmatch) through Steam, their online content distribution system.
Piñata
Several news sources first reportedHalf-Life 2 entering gold status, quoting an unnamed source within the development team. The source revealed the existence of a piñata doll (a traditional South American custom of a doll stuffed with sweets and toys for children to break) which was broken to celebrateHL2's official completion.
It was later revealed that this "piñata" was in fact a full-scaled Scanner model (the flying machines that take pictures of suspects in-game) and it was broken using a crowbar.
Rating
Even though the initial release ofHalf-Life 2 as part ofThe Orange Box compilation received a PEGI rating of 16+, the stand-alone release received an initial rating of 18+.
References
Dr. Kleiner's pet headcrab Lamarr is actually named after Hedy Lamarr (November 9, 1913 – January 19, 2000, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), an Austrian-Jewish naturalized American actress and communications technology innovator.
References to the game
Half-Life 2 was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 05/2006.
Source code theft
Sometime in September 2003 Valve's network - including Gabe Newell's own computer - was compromised by a hacker and the worst case scenario soon unfolded. The entire Half-Life 2 source code was released on 4 October, and only 3 days later a playable version of the game surfaced. FBI was brought into the case, and Gabe Newell also posted a message on a Half-Life 2 forum, asking the community to help them find the hacker.
Months went by without any substantial progress, when finally on 15 February 2004 the hacker sent an e-mail to Gabe Newell, expressing both his compliments on Valve's work so far and his somewhat dodgy statement that he never had any intention to hurt Valve. Gabe Newell and the hacker, known as "Da Guy" from Germany corresponded over the next period of time, and came to the agreement that since Da Guy had been smart enough to compromise Valve's security, he deserved a job. Soon, a job interview was setup. This was, of course, a trick. FBI agents would be waiting for him when he arrived. However, when the German government heard about the scheme, they denied such activities, and instead they arrested him themselves.
Da Guy, aka Axel G now faces charges for compromising Valve as well as several other computer related crimes.
Special Editions
3 differentHalf-Life 2 packages were available:
- Half-Life 2 (Bronze Edition) includes the game andCounter-Strike: Source.
- Half-Life 2 (Silver Edition) includes the game,Counter-Strike: Source,Day of Defeat: Source and Valve's back catalog available on Steam at the time.
- Half-Life 2 (Gold Edition) includes the game,Counter-Strike: Source,Day of Defeat: Source, Valve's back catalog available on Steam at the time, 3HL2 posters,HL2 hat,HL2 soundtrack,HL2 sticker, City 17 postcard, Prima'sHL2 strategy guide, special collector's box and a chance to win a trip to Valve.
Vortigaunts
The Vortigaunts are voiced byLouis Gossett, Jr. It is mentioned inRaising the Bar that Gossett was chosen partially due to his role as the alien in the filmEnemy Mine.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2004 – PC Game of the Year
- 2004 – Best PC Action Game of the Year
- 2004 – Best PC Direction of the Year
- 2004 – Best PC Graphics of the Year
- 2004 – Best PC Successor of the Year
- Computer Games Magazine
- March 2005 - #4 Game of the Year 2004
- Computer Gaming World
- March 2005 (Issue #249) – Best Music of the Year
- March 2005 (Issue #249) – NPC of the Year (for Dog)
- GameSpy
- 2004 – #2 Game of the Year
- 2004 – PC Game of the Year
- 2004 – PC Action Game of the Year
- 2004 – PC Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
- 2004 – PC Action Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
- 2004 - Best Graphics of the Year (PC)
- 2004 - Best Character of the Year (PC) (for Dog)
- 2005 – #7 Game of the Year
- 2005 – Xbox Game of the Year
- 2005 – Xbox Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
- 2005 – Xbox Shooter of the Year
- 2005 – PC Mod of the Year (for Garry's Mod)
- 2005 - The "It Shoulda Been on Xbox 360 Award" (Xbox)
- 2011 – #10 Top PC Game of the 2000s
- GameStar (Germany)
- February 2005 - Best PC Game in 2004
- February 2005 - Best PC Game in 2004
- Issue 03/2005 - Most Annoying Copy Protection in 2004
- Golden Joystick Awards
- 2004 - Runner-up for "Most Wanted Game For Xmas"
- 2005 - PC Game of the Year
- PC Gamer
- April 2005 - #4 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
- It was the first game to tie PC Gamer's 98% rating ofSid Meier's Alpha Centauri, previously their highest rated game ever
- PC Powerplay (Germany)
- Issue 02/2006 - Best Game in 2005
- Issue 02/2006 - #1 Action Game in 2005
Information also contributed byAgent 5,Apogee IV,B14ck W01f,Indra was here,James Isaac,LepricahnsGold,Lumpi,Mark Ennis,Mark Papadakis,PCGamer77,piltdown man,Scott Monster,Silverblade,Unicorn Lynx,VVP andZack Green.
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Related Sites+
- Half-Life 2 Hints
This question and answer type solution guides you through the steps gradually, giving only as much information as you need before the final answers are provided. - The Boy Who Stole Half-Life 2
article about the game's source code theft, on Eurogamer.net (21st February 2011) - The Final Hours of Half-Life 2
Gamespot's extensive article about the production process of Half-Life 2.
Identifiers+
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added byZack Green.
Android added byGTramp. Linux added bySciere. Xbox added byDarkDante. Macintosh added byZeppin.
Additional contributors:Unicorn Lynx,Jeanne,Apogee IV,Sciere,n][rvana,Paulus18950,lee jun ho,VVP,Patrick Bregger,Plok,FatherJack.
Game added November 25, 2004. Last modified March 19, 2025.