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Expensive and disappointing

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: November 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

While I agree with the other reviewers' criticisms of the cripplingly annoying copy-protect scheme attached to this game, I won't dwell on that part of the experience. It's the game itself that disappointed me.

Half-Life was a great experience because of its wonderful atmospherics. The gameplay was adequate and the graphics were a little dated, but few complained about them because the game unfolded as a wonderfully immersive story. Players didn't just run through the game, but also spent a lot of time exploring the maps and just enjoying the scenery.

Half-Life 2 is a different kettle of fish. While it has a great beginning, it quickly devolves into a hypercaffeinated sprint through maps you only dimly perceive (your attention being elsewhere), and there are few places in the game where you can stop and admire all the wonderful artwork. (And it is wonderful indeed.) The bad guys in the aptly named "root canal" early segment of the game are really, really annoying. More annoying than Barney the dinosaur. Like cockroaches in a dirty apartment, it doesn't matter how many of them you kill, new ones will almost instantly spawn in the same spots. Forever. There's not much sightseeing in this game.

My impression of the game is that it's pitched at a slightly younger crowd than the original game, and is meant to be a non-stop, mostly brainless shooter. Sure, there's a story, but it's not remotely of the same quality as the original game. And there are puzzles, but the main challenge is developing the dexterity to run/jump/climb through the rooms while killing the endless swarms of enemies that harrass you. The old paradigm is dead. Since the gameplay is identical to the original Half-Life, the only area of improvement is the graphics, which everyone agrees are pretty fancy. The sound is good too, when it's not stuttering. However, better graphics and sound don't counterbalance the absence of the same quality of fun the original game offered.

In short -- if you're looking for a game that's a real heir to the original Half-Life, look elsewhere.

More BS delays

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 29 / 59
Date: June 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I love how when you review a game on Amazon, it asks you how much fun it is based on 1-5 stars.
FUNNY HOW IT ISNT OUT YET, ONLY A SELECT FEW OF YOU MAY HAVE ACTUALLY PLAYED AN ADVANCED BETA COPY OF THE GAME, AND YOU'RE ALL GIVING IT 5 STARS!!!
Why not wait till you actually have a copy of the game in your hands (like that will ever happen any time soon) to write a review. Hell, if you're gonna review this game, while you're at it, you might as well write a review for HL 3 at the same time. Get a jump posting a pointless opinion on something else you've never played.
Wouldnt it be ironic if this game sucked as much as the infinite amount of pointless delays. Alright, Im bored with this. Im done. Enjoy reviewing your game.

My mouth is wide open.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 22
Date: November 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Half-life 2 is the only game you need if you're a shooter fan. It is state of the art in every conceivable way. The talented developers at Valve software have created a product that ushers us into the next plateau of gaming. You won't find a more engrossing gaming experience if you tried. Valves creativity and attention to detail is unbelievable. Textures are photo-realistic. The Character models are far beyond anything ever seen in a game. Even more impressive is the object physics. Every object has mass and weight. Materials that are flammable will burn. The modified Havoc engine makes bodies flop around and float in the water. Bodies do not disappear when they die. When you hit the dead head crabs with your crowbar they flop around like freshly plucked chickens. The story is secondary to the engine and gameplay but anything would look bad when you compare it to those aspects of the game.The game runs great on any DX9 card. That means more people can enjoy half-life 2 than any 1st person shooter produced this year. The only downside to Half-life 2 is that eventually it ends.

This was the single most frustrating and annoying game I've ever played

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 24 / 47
Date: December 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have to admit, I am utterly shocked and confounded by all of the positive reviews this game as gotten. It is one of the most highly-rated games on GameSpot's and IGN's websites, as well as many other places. It's called one of the best games ever made, and possibly the best FPS ever made. But I'm afraid I have to vehemently disagree with that opinion.

Before I talk about the game itself, let me just say this about the Steam engine: I don't like the idea of it at all, but having said that, installing the game and setting up an account was extremely easy and painless. It was just a normal installation as far as I'm concerned. There was nothing complicated about it. Those who had problems either had a different version, or made some mistakes, or maybe had something like AOL that was perhaps incompatible. I don't know, but don't let the whole Steam controversy deter you from trying the game.

Now for the game itself. First off, let me name the good things about this game: excellent graphics, excellent voice acting, nice level variation with vehicles mixed in, and the story develops in an interesting way (rather than cutscenes, the characters walk around and talk with you in the actual game world).

Having said that, I simply despised every minute that I played this game. In a way, I almost can't describe why I had such a strong negative reaction to what I was really hoping and expecting to be a great game. But some of the definite things I can say are these:

There are absolutely too many enemies! Right from the beginning (which is even worse, since you have fewer weapons) you are constantly bombarded by enemies all around you. You might think everything is clear, but suddenly there are two or three guys way ahead of you, so far ahead that you can barely see them, but they are pretty good at seeing and shooting you. On top of this, there are guys above you (on elevated areas) which are difficult to find, so you are always wondering what's shooting at you, and finally they'll appear behind you as well, even though you've already "cleared" the area behind you. And all of this happens *at the same time*! I'm all for an action-packed shoot 'em up, this is an FPS after all, but this is just too much. It was so overwhelming (and right from the start) that I was frustrated nearly every minute that I walked around in this game. I was constantly under fire and taking damage, and there was little I could do about it but try to shoot back -- that is, whenever I could finally find them all.

On top of this, throw a few helicopters and spaceships flying above you, constantly shooting you and dropping bombs on you, and for quite a while there is *nothing* you can do about it but take it. It's difficult to find a place to hide since there is so much going on, so you're pretty much at the mercy of a million things at once.

Add to this the most annoying enemy I have ever seen in any game I've ever played (that little creature with four "legs" that jumps at you). These things are everywhere and they are extremely quick and difficult to target. Until you get a more powerful weapon, they take a few shots to kill, but getting in more than one or two shots before they move again (and lunge at you) is difficult. I wouldn't mind so much if they only existed in one part of the game, but they are everywhere and they are unbelievably maddening to deal with.

I'm also not a big fan of driving vehicles in general, and I didn't really like the controls of the vehicles in this game. It didn't feel very precise to me, and often I would have to backtrack or slow down and figure out where to go. It didn't feel like it played out as quickly and as smoothly as it should have.

As far as the story goes, there isn't much of one. The way the story unfolds is interesting, as I mentioned above, but it's unfortunate that not too much is unfolding! For the first part of the game you're just told to move from one area to another. Finally a couple of scientists are kidnapped and you have to go rescue them, but I never felt like I was actually *in* this game at all. Of course, getting immersed in a game that is constantly aggrevating you is difficult to do.

I should also add, just to emphasize that my reaction to this game was so strong and so visceral, that this is the only game I've ever played where I've actually slammed my hands down on my desk, or thrown them up in the air, and shouted profanity and cries of frustration at the screen. More than once I actually shouted "I *hate* this game". I think it takes a lot to actually elicit that kind of involuntary reponse, but this game excelled at bringing it out of me. I truly hated every minute that I played it.

Now, given that it's gotten such great reviews, and that my hatred of it is almost too emotional to be valid for anyone else, I would encourage people to still try it. Certainly any game that receives near perfect scores should be experienced for yourself. Perhaps you'll find it much less frustrating than I did.

Activation Required

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 22 / 42
Date: November 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Be prepared, this game requires INTERNET activation to play any version, even single player.

Disappointed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 18
Date: August 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

To play this game you have to be connected to "STEAM' with a persistant internet connection. Why! Obviously it is a veiled attempt to spy on my play or perhaps even extract personal information off my computer. I see no other value. All I wanted was a game to play when I want, in the privacy of my home. I can accept going online to verify that I purchased the game legally, but that is the limit of intrusion I will allow. If you don't mind Big Brother watching you, buy the game. Otherwise, you don't need this kind of gameplay.

STEAM is a steaming pile of ....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 25
Date: June 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I never got around to running HL2. It's probably as great as the reviews say it is, but the installation, set-up and downloading via STEAM takes EONS and then only allows you to run the game online. Oh, they SAY there's an 'offline' game available, but just try to find out how to get to it!

I spent 3 HOURS loading this stupid game and downloading STEAM only to find that there would be a 90 MINUTE WAIT for a server to allow me to play the game! What the @$#^!!

I totally agree with the other reviewer who said this sort of customer abuse ought to be illegal.

I sent my copy back and will NEVER buy anything associated with STEAM again. And you shouldn't either.

P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 21 / 40
Date: November 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The least that someone expects after years in waiting is for the freakin cd rom to go in and install. No way, my highend PC cdrom makes weird noises and it has crashed the autoplay already twice. They are pathetic.

How can the consumer take so much crap from one company ?

And the saga continues....

I take the game back to the store, they give me a new one.
Go back home, finally it installs. Its 5 cds. Remember the number: FIVE (5). Successfull instalation.

Then the activation nightmare starts with valve.

I tried to create a new account over 100 times, perhaps even more. No way. Always I was getting back an error. It was evident that their servers were dying like flies dut to the huge load. After 30 minutes trying to call them I finally got a response by some guy somewhere deep in the great land of India.

I tell him the problem. And here is what he replies:

SIR, THE PACHAGE OF HALF LIFE 2 SHOULD HAVE 6 CDs NOT 5 AS YOU DESCRIBE, THATS WHY YOU CANNOT CREATE THE NEW ACCOUNT.

I told him to go to hell and hung up.

Afrer 100 more tries I managed to get the account registered.

And it goes on.

I then get prompted to enter the CD registration key. After 5 minutes of waiting a response I get a message that the transaction it was unsuccessfull but its ok, they will reply to me later and I can start unlocking the files.

After 30 minutes of unlocking my files it appears that the nightmare is finally over. Now I will start playing. I have already read on the web that the first bug has been discovered and valve is suggesting a solution. Lets see. If this is case the box goes back tonight.

Greatest game ever made. Period.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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

review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Game play and graphics are enjoyable even with all the new gen games coming out, this one still stand on its own. One of the few fps games that have a decent story line that enrich the game play.

The downside...it comes with a program called Steam which helps with support, download and purchasing of mods. Doesn't sounds too bad unless it doesn't work. If steam can't verify your code you can't play...support is almost non-existant. If you have dual processors it gives half-life 2 some trouble.

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