Product Description

The Half-Life 2 with Deathmatch DVD collects two of the must-have shooter games, bringing you twice the action. Start out with Half-Life 2, where you return to the alien research facility called Black Mesa. The aliens are now pouring into our world and you'll join the resistance movement to stop them. Battle it out with friends in crazy, realistic mulitplayer action with Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. Then test your tactical abilities with Half-Life: Source -- where the gaming kicks up a notch through the amazing Source game engine. Hordes of new aliens and other enemies, plus a plethora of new guns and weapons Amazing new graphics with pre-rendered cutscenes that look like they came from the movies More realistic physics - Objects have varied and appropriate mass, density and physical properties

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2205 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 09850
• Released on: 2006-10-26
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Windows XP
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25" h x 5.75" w x 7.50" l, .25 pounds

Features

• Combines all the elements of the Half-Life online universe, with new single and multiplayer content
• Half-Life 2 brings you exciting new game modes and new firearms for a more complete gaming experience
• Go all-out for battles where it's every man for himself, in Deathmatch
• New animations with more menacing monsters than ever
• Incredibly advanced AI as enemies adapt, plan, improvise and respond

Customer Reviews

Landmark FPS
You'd be hard-pressed to find a person who isn't a fan of the gameplay and storyline of Half-Life. Half-Life two is regrettably an inferior story, but is still thoroughly engaging. The graphics, physics and AI are groundbreaking, and even 2 years or so since it was released, it is still technically superior to most games out there.

*** minor spoilers follow ***

STORY

You are Gordon Freeman, awakened after years (?) of inactivity since the resonance cascade was created in Half-Life. Aliens now control the world, with a human puppet enforcing law from the Citadel, a giant structure in the middle of City 17, where most of the game takes place.

You fight human and alien alike to assist the resistance forces, and ultimately storm the Citadel in a brilliant final level. But first, you have to deal with zombified towns, devlish alien aircraft, vicious ground-dwelling creatures, and a break in and out of a maximum security prison. All in a day's work for Gordon.

Along the way, you are assisted by familiar scientists, including Eli Vance, and his daughter Alyx. You'll command a strong array of weapons, teleport, and manipulate gravity with the aptly named gravity gun.


PROS

- Beautiful looking game. Realistic to a fault.
- Diverse array of enemies to fight.
- Many different environments to fight in. Look for "Ravenholm"- the first time through it is truly a harrowing experience.
- NPC (non-player characters) are very detailed and mostly intelligent.
- Vehicles; a little frustrating but mostly very enjoyable and responsive

- Last two levels: the game designers did something brilliant; the second to last level is a massive firefight against boss-like "striders" armed with destructive weapons. They are easy to beat once you figure them out, but initially you will be in for a good fight as you explore the map and learn ammo locations. That is the "final" level. The last level is quite easy by comparison, and allows the player to take advantage of otherworldly powers in a series of grand battles. I found myself with my heart in my throat feeling ever-so-powerful as I destroyed mob after mob with powerful globes of energy. It's a great way to end the game.

CONS

- Too much of the story feels contrived. The first Half-Life immersed you in a world where everything was wrong but you never doubted how one thing led to another. There were almost no explanations given, and little assistance from NPCs as you went from world to world. In HL2, you never get the utter despair of being alone, helpless, and fighting for survival in a world gone crazy. Big caveat- the game is still very strong and immersive.

- NPC AI from human characters fighting alongside. Alxy, a main character, is mostly alot of fun and a big help. Other NPCs feel like a nuisance.

I've heard alot of complaints about Steam (distribution software for HL2). Personally, I have had no issues to date and have used it for numerous games.

Overall, highly recommended.

Greatest game ever made. Period.
If you love first person shooters, this game is a MUST HAVE. The story is great, the AI of friendly NPCs is superb (they're actually helpful and get out of your way when you're trying to move around or shoot) and the AI of enemy NPCs is no less impressive. The physics and graphics are so realistic that you truly feel like you're there (which can be frightening at times).

I've played dozens of FPS games over the years, this is the best hands down. The graphics and sound effects are awesome, and the gameplay is even better. The storyline keeps the game moving, and there is never a dull moment. They even manage to add a good bit of humor throughtout the game that will leave you laughing. (listen for Barney to mention the cat) It took them 6 years to make this game, and all the effort put into creating this game shows.

PROS
Well-rounded weapon selection (I love the .357 revolver)
Gravity Gun - you can pick up nearly anything and use it as ammo
Intelligent AI
Awesome graphics/sound effects
Realistic Physics
Long game - you might be able to finish it in a week... if you do nothing but play games all day
After it's installed, you don't need the cd in your computer to run it

CONS
Higher end computer is recommended - check the system requirements
Must download updates from steam and register before you can play - this takes forever if you're on dial-up, but it's well worth the effort

GREAT FPS! Steam is a PITA, but otherwise ...
Except for Steam, I'd call this about the best fps I've ever played. The artwork is fabulous, and the motion, the weapons, vehicles, overall responsiveness and realism is first rate. And the story line, while not the very best, is a realistic vehicle for a genuine message, like a good video game should be. Because this is a great work of art here, folks.

The overall theme of this game is of the rebellion, taking place around the world right now, of humanity against post-humanity. Kind of ironic since anybody educated and wealthy enough to possess the game and a computer to play it on is probably pretty good posthuman material anyway. But that's what it's all about. (Same with "Prey," really, but the Doom engine s#cks by comparison.) In the game it's all about a violent underground conspiracy against faceless half-human mandroids, who are gradually turning all humans into faceless creeps; where in real life it's all about disorganized lo-tech cults, or tribes, or ethnic groups, struggling (mostly) peacefully to preserve something of themselves as the forces of "civilization" close in and normalize us all. As Gordon Freeman, you are the "last free man," and sort of a heavily-armed messiah. Just as some modern terrorists may see themselves.

Meanwhile, the game interface is fabulous, the action is awesome, and the artwork is impressive. The vehicles are awesome, and just loads of fun. The weapons are great, original, and work smoothly.

I'm very impressed that they can do so much without requiring that much of a video card. I have no problem at all with my "mere" NVidia 5600fx card. You can't even play Doom 3 or Quake 4 with my card, really, and their graphics engine is cr@p by comparison to the half-life engine. Sure, IMO any vid card that costs $100 is an unnecessary luxury--but still, compared to what's required to play something like F.E.A.R., or Crysis, I'm really pleased somebody actually tried to make a game that isn't just a demo for the latest outrageously expensive video card. Let the other chumps buy the $400 vid cards and I'll buy them later for an eighth of that. You can actually make really good games with just a good plot, engaging characters, good artwork, and maybe sneaking some ideas in there. It also helps if your graphics engine does a fabulous job. I have a 2.4 ghz p4, 2g ram, and this game flies for me. So a serious gamer would probably say it is a good game for a slow machine.

The only real detractor for this game is the whole Steam process, which requires you to be online while you are playing, even if only single-player like this game was basically designed for. Essentially it's an ironclad piracy protection scheme to keep the game from being pirated to death like the original half-life was. (After all, only the best games get ripped off as much as half-life 1 was.) D@mned shame, really.

After reading all the reviews complaining about Steam, let me say this: The game is absolutely great. If you have a legit copy, a good internet connection, and a Pentium 4 as good as mine or better and a graphics card of decent quality, you will have no problems. If you have trouble installing or registering, do a little searching for solutions before giving up. I discovered among other things you have to install the "optional" other game that comes with HL2 before it will install properly, and then you can uninstall it at your leisure, or just ignore it. I think the guys at Valve have displayed kinda poor business judgment before, at least partly because their focus is on the artistic, or so I like to think. The whole Steam registration scheme is irritating, but with a little patience I got it all worked out and enjoyed the game massively, which is what really matters.

So for $20, as I see it priced here at Amazon, it's a steal. If you haven't tried it this is one of the best FPS games you can get, and the hardware requirements aren't outrageous. You may find yourself losing a lot of sleep playing this great game.

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This added much later. I had uninstalled the game and much later tried reinstalling it, and now Steam will not let me play it. My feelings about Steam were right on target.

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Eh, no, I could still play it on my original machine I installed it on, just not on any other apparently. So perhaps the simply wouldn't let me install it on two machines? I am still hoping there will be an "Half-Life 3" out there.