My pals Pete and Rico recently told me they’d jumped on the Half Life 2 train over the past couple of days which sent me into a nostalgic tizzy and I needed to get my fix. I’m still astounded every time I play at how good it looks after roughly 6 years. Personally I think it has a timeless, stylized look, which is rare in first person shooters and games in general. As I played through the first hour again, I thought about how although there is a lot of things happening to and because of Gordon Freeman, what makes the game a perfect 10 is what’s happening around Gordon Freeman. The subtleties of the resistance reacting to his return are magnificent and though its heavily scripted it never feels that way. Oh yeah and the physics, who could forget the goddamn physics.
If you haven’t played through Half Life 2 and its 2 episodes, I highly recommend it. A tattoo on my arm and 12 million copies sold later, its still the best video game I’ve ever played. Also, the things that came about because of it (Portal, Portal 2, Team Fortress 2) are just the icing on the cake.
