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{{Short description|2004 video game}}
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{{Infobox video game
| align=center colspan=2|<font size="2">'''''Half-Life 2'''''</font>
| title = Half-Life 2
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| image = Half-Life 2 cover.jpg
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| caption = Box art featuring ]
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| developer = ]
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| publisher = Valve
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| writer = ]
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| composer = ]
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| series = '']''
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|], ]
| released = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|November 16, 2004}}|'''Windows'''{{Video game release|WW|November 16, 2004}}'''Xbox'''{{Video game release|NA|November 15, 2005|EU|November 18, 2005}}'''Xbox 360'''{{Video game release|NA|October 10, 2007|EU|October 19, 2007|AU|October 25, 2007}}'''PlayStation 3'''{{Video game release|NA|December 11, 2007|EU|December 14, 2007|AU|December 20, 2007}}'''Mac OS X'''{{Video game release|WW|May 26, 2010}}'''Linux'''{{Video game release|WW|May 9, 2013}}'''Android'''{{Video game release|WW|May 12, 2014}}}}
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|Game modes:
|], ]
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|Mature (M)
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|], ] or ] download
|}
'''''Half-Life 2''''' is a ] ] and the highly anticipated sequel to '']'' developed by ]. It received mainstream media attention when the game's ] was leaked to the ] in ]. Valve sent a ] to its publisher, ], on ], ]; the game ] on ] and was released on ], 2004. ''Half-Life 2'' became available nearly 6 years after the original game's November 1998 release date. A 1CD demo was released on ] 2004 at Valve's partner ]'s web site.


'''''Half-Life 2'''''<!--Do not add stylization in this since it's only used in box art and title screen.--> is a 2004 ] game developed by ]. It was published by Valve through its distribution service ]. Like the original '']'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. Players control ] as he joins a resistance movement to liberate the Earth from the control of an alien empire, the ].
== Overview ==
=== Singleplayer===
{{spoiler}}
In the original ''Half-Life'', researchers at a remote underground laboratory called the ] accidentally open a doorway into an alien world, unleashing strange and deadly creatures into the facility. The player acted as ], one of those research scientists, and guided him in his attempt to escape the facility. ''Half-Life 2'' picks up the story ten years after the Black Mesa incident in a futuristic Eastern European 'City 17'.


''Half-Life 2'' was created using Valve's ], which was developed at the same time. Development lasted five years and cost {{USD|40}}{{nbsp}}million. Valve's president, ], set his team the goal of redefining the first-person shooter genre. They integrated the ], which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay, and developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation.
At the start of the game Gordon Freeman is spoken to by the mysterious ]. He then finds himself riding a train into City 17, unarmed and without his HEV suit. It soon becomes clear that City 17 is under the rule of a ] Administrator, ], who, incidentally, is the former administrator of the Black Mesa Research Facility. He enforces his rule through armies of intimidating ] soldiers. Freeman meets up with some old friends from Black Mesa and soon becomes caught up in the struggle against the Combine.


Valve announced ''Half-Life 2'' at ], with a release date for that September. It was delayed by over a year, triggering a backlash. A year before release, an unfinished version was stolen by a hacker and leaked online, which damaged team morale and slowed development.
Throughout the game the player fights a mixture of human and alien foes, ranging from insect-like ]s, ]s, and ], to elite Combine soldiers and towering, three-legged Striders. The player drives an airboat through swamps and an armed buggy along highways, has to solve puzzles with the help of the gravity gun, and occasionally commands a squad of ] fighters.


''Half-Life 2'' was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, and received universal acclaim. It won 39 ] awards and has been cited as one of the ]. By 2011, it had sold 12 million copies. ''Half-Life 2'' was followed by the free extra level '']'' (2005) and the ] sequels '']'' (2006) and '']'' (2007). In 2020, after canceling '']'' and ], Valve released a prequel, '']''.
As in the previous game in the series Freeman never speaks, and is never seen from an external angle or in a mirror. There are no cutscenes in the game - all of the plot exposition is viewed through the player's eyes. This has drawn criticism from some fans of the series, because they believe Freeman would have a great deal of curiosity as to what has happened since the Black Mesa incident. Furthermore, Gordon's colleagues seem to believe Gordon knows where and why he is here, even though he has not aged a day since the Black Mesa incident - although this may in fact be an intentional plot point.


== Gameplay ==
There has also been concern for the plot of ''Half-Life 2''. Because Gordon is mute, and his allies assume he already knows his situation, there is little in the way of conventional plot exposition. While some claim this was intended - to have the Player's confusion mirror Gordon's - some fans expected a section of the game where Gordon and the Player are brought up to speed. Interestingly, a recent ''Half-Life 2'' book revealed that an area of the game was originally much longer, answering many questions players have asked about the plot. The removal of any direct explanation of the game's back-story does appear to have been a deliberate artistic move by the developers, however, and a surprisingly large amount of information is imparted through other, more subtle means, such as newspaper clippings on notice-boards, graffiti on walls and the chatter from various non-player characters.
] with a pulse rifle. Along the bottom of the screen, the player's health, suit charge level, and their ammunition is displayed.]]
Like the original '']'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' is a single-player ] in which players control ]. It has similar ] to ''Half-Life'', including health-and-weapon systems (though with less overall weapons) and periodic physics puzzles, except with the newer ] engine and improved graphics. The player also starts without items, slowly building up their arsenal over the course of the game. Despite the game's mainly linear nature, much effort was put into making exploration rewarding and interesting; many optional areas can be missed or avoided.


A diverse set of enemies is present, which usually require being approached with different tactics: some coordinate in groups to out-maneuver or out-position the player; others, such as the Manhack, fly directly at the player through small openings and tight corridors. Others use predictable but powerful attacks, while others hide before swiftly attacking the player. Gordon can kill most enemies with his weapons, or make use of indirect means, exploiting environmental hazards such as explosive pressurized canisters, gas fires or improvised traps. In chapter 10 and 11 of the game, Gordon can be joined by up to four armed Resistance soldiers or medics and can send his team further from him or call them back.
What offends some gamers, interestingly, is that ''Half-Life 2'' ends almost identically to the original. Gordon, after completing a major task, is 'removed' from the area by the infamous G-Man. As in the original, little is answered directly.


Many of the game's new features utilize the source engines's detailed physics simulation. Two sections of the game involve driving vehicles. Instead of button-oriented puzzles from ''Half-Life'', environmental puzzles are also introduced with makeshift mechanical systems, revolving around the player's new ability to pick up, move, and place objects. Solutions involve objects' physical properties, such as shape, weight, and ]. For example; In chapter three, "Route Kanal", the player is required to stack cinder blocks on a makeshift see-saw ramp to proceed over a wall. Alternatively, the player can build a crude staircase with the blocks, so the puzzle may be solved in multiple ways.
=== Multiplayer ===
When ''Half-Life 2'' was released, its only multiplayer component was '']''. On November 30, 2004, Valve released the ''Half-Life 2'' ] component (HL2DM), along with the full ], as a free download to all ''Half-Life 2'' owners.


Part-way through the game, Gordon acquires the ], which allows him to draw distant objects towards himself or forcefully push them away, as well as the ability to manipulate larger and heavier objects that he cannot control without the weapon. These abilities are required to solve puzzles later in the game, and can also be used to great effect in combat, as any non-static object within proximity to the player has the potential to be used as a makeshift defense, such as a file cabinet, or a deadly projectile, such as a gasoline can or ] blade. The player can learn this through cleverly placed hints in the environment.
''Half-Life 2: Deathmatch'' currently has two official maps, dm_overwatch and dm_lockdown, which are both based on areas from the single-player game. Valve currently is running a Deathmatch Map Making Contest.


The game never separates the player with pre-rendered ]s or events; the story proceeds via exposition from other characters and in-world events, and the player can control Gordon for the entirety of the game. Much of the backstory to the game is simply alluded to or told through the environment. Even tutorials are mostly placed in the environment or in dialogue. The few pop-ups that actually appear only tell the player keybindings for actions.
The goal of Deathmatch is for the player to kill as many other players as possible, using a variety of means. The player ] with a gravity gun, pistol, sub-machine gun and grenades. All weapons aside from the pheropod and crowbar are available to be collected around the level. Players can be killed by gunfire, explosions, or by being hit by objects fired using the gravity gun.


== Plot ==
Some players have expressed disappointment in HL2DM, specifically concerning the Gravity Gun. The two official maps for HL2DM are filled with items which can be carried by the gravity gun, leading to their near-exclusive use. This is compounded by the damage these items can deal when hit by them, which is arguably far greater than a conventional weapon. Instead of being deathmatch, these players <!-- WHO? Link, please! ] 02:23, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC) --> argue, HL2DM is an exercise in "lifting and chucking."
''Half-Life 2'' takes place approximately twenty years after the incident at the ] from the first game, in which scientists accidentally opened a portal to the hostile dimension Xen. The game begins with ] being awoken from stasis by the mysterious ]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Joe Grant |title=Half-Life: Prima's Official Strategy Guide |date=November 25, 1998 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7615-1360-5}}</ref> (]) who reveals that the Black Mesa incident attracted the attention of a multidimensional empire called the ], which conquered Earth in seven hours. The Combine have implemented a brutal ] by biologically assimilating humans and other species, including the peaceful Vortigaunts (] and ]). The G-Man inserts Gordon into a train arriving at ], the site of the ], where ] (]), the former Black Mesa administrator who negotiated Earth's surrender governs as the Combine's ].


After eluding the Combine forces, Gordon joins a resistance led by former Black Mesa scientist ] (]), which also includes Vance's daughter ] (]), former Black Mesa security guard ] (Shapiro), who works undercover as a Civil Protection officer, and another Black Mesa scientist, ] (]). After a failed attempt to teleport to the resistance base, ], from Kleiner's makeshift laboratory, Gordon progresses on foot through the city's canal system. The teleportation attempt accidentally alerts Breen and the Combine to Freeman's return, leading to them sending forces to attack him. He obtains an ] and battles through sewers and rivers.
=== Game engine ===
For ''Half-Life 2'' Valve developed a new ] called '']'', which handles the game's visual elements, as well as licensing and implementing the '']'' engine, which handles the game's environmental physics. As usual, to utilize the new graphics and visual effects, players require fairly recent ]s, giving ] manufacturer ] an opportunity to partner with Valve on a joint product release , which, unfortunately, was spoiled by the product delay. The game engine's interactivity promised to tie emergent gameplay with the scripted sequences that ''Half-Life'' was already known for. Valve has licensed the Source engine to other developers, on the condition that their games are delayed until the release of ''Half-Life 2''.


At Black Mesa East, Gordon is reintroduced to Eli and meets another resistance scientist, ] (]). Alyx introduces Gordon to her pet robot, ], and gives him the ], an instrument that can manipulate large objects. When the base is attacked by Combine forces, Eli and Mossman are captured and taken to the Combine detention facility ]. Separated from Alyx, Gordon detours through the zombie-infested town of Ravenholm, aided by its last survivor, ] (]). Escaping the town, Gordon discovers a resistance outpost. He uses a customized ] to travel a crumbling coastal road to Nova Prospekt, fighting off alien antlions, and helping the resistance fend off Combine raids.
Like with its predecessor ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'' is expected to become a base for many modifications, or ]s. Many of them are sequels of original ''Half-Life'' mods. Valve has also included ''Counter-Strike: Source'' (''Counter-Strike'' for ''Half-Life 2'') in the retail version of ''Half-Life 2''. '']'' will also be released, and is currently being pre-sold with premium ''Half-Life 2'' Steam packages.


Gordon breaks into Nova Prospekt and reunites with Alyx. They locate Eli but discover that Mossman is a Combine informant. Before they can stop her, Mossman teleports herself and Eli back to City 17's Citadel. The Combine teleporter explodes moments after Gordon and Alyx use it to escape Nova Prospekt.
One of the more notable features of ''Half-Life 2'' is the unique ability of the characters to simulate emotions and facial speech movements ]. The ] technology is language independent, with facial features being created automatically based on audio files and speech transcripts. According to Valve, forty-two "facial muscles" are simulated for this. Another feature, courtesy of the Havok physics engine, is the increased interactivity of the levels with every object having unique mass, density, buoyancy, and other properties which make its interaction with the player, other objects and the environment more realistic.


Returning to Kleiner's lab, Gordon and Alyx learn that the teleporter malfunctioned and that a week has passed. In their absence, the resistance has mobilized against the Combine. With the aid of Dog and Barney, Gordon fights his way inside the Citadel. A security system inadvertently supercharges Gordon's gravity gun, allowing him to fight his way up the Citadel.
== Steam content delivery system ==
Integral to ''Half-Life 2'' is the ] content delivery system developed by Valve Software. This allows customers to purchase games (or any other software) directly from the developer and have it downloaded directly to their computer. This system also allows "micro updates" to games - games are continually updated and only the most recent version is allowed to be run. This makes it much harder to hack the game to introduce cheats or to play online with a free 'pirated' copy. All users playing a single game must also have an account on the Steam servers to play the game. Steam is also used for finding and playing multiplayer games.


Gordon is captured in a Combine transport pod and taken to Breen's office, where he and Mossman are waiting with Eli and Alyx in captivity. Breen explains his plans to further conquer humanity with the Combine, contrary to what he told Mossman.<ref name="darkenergy while-face-to-face2">{{Cite video game |title=Half-Life 2 |developer=] |publisher=Valve |platform=], ], ], ], ] |level=Chapter 13: Dark Energy |date=November 16, 2004 |quote='''Dr. Breen''': Having both of you in my keeping ensures I can dictate the terms of any bargain I care to make with the Combine.}}</ref> Angry, Mossman frees Gordon, Alyx, and Eli before Breen can teleport them off-world. Breen tries to escape through a teleporter, but Gordon destroys its reactor with energy orbs launched from a gravity gun, killing Breen. Just as the reactor explodes, the G-Man reappears and freezes time. He praises Gordon's work and mentions offers for Gordon's "services", before placing him back into stasis.
A 1 GB portion of ''Half-Life 2'' became available for pre-load through Steam on August 26, 2004. This means that customers could begin to download encrypted game files to their computer before the game is released. When the game was released in the shops, customers were able to pay for the game through Steam, unlock the files on their hard drives and play the game immediately, without having to wait for the whole game to download. The pre-load period lasted for several weeks, along with several subsequent portions of the game being made available, to ensure all customers had a chance to download the content before the game is released.


== Release problems == == Development ==
] in 2007]]
On November 16, 2004, ''Half-Life 2'' was officially released. While the launch was mainly regarded as successful, a significant number of buyers (both through Steam and retail) initially found themselves unable to play the game, due in part to the overloading of Valve's Steam system.
Development of ''Half-Life 2'' began in June 1999, six months after the release of the original '']''. It was developed by a team of 82.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Geoff |first=Keighley |author-link=Geoff Keighley |title=The Final Hours of Half-Life 2 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-final-hours-of-half-life-2/1100-6112889/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226173658/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-final-hours-of-half-life-2/1100-6112889/ |archive-date=December 26, 2019 |access-date=November 30, 2019 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> With voice actors included, this number is 100.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Musgrove |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52849-2004Nov15.html?nav=rss_technology |title=Half-Life 2's Real Battle |newspaper=] |date=November 16, 2004 |accessdate=September 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Musgrove |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86018623/northwest-herald/ |title=Tougher life |newspaper=] |page=16 |date=November 29, 2004 |accessdate=September 27, 2021 |via=]}}</ref> Valve's president, ], wanted to redefine the FPS genre, saying: "Why spend four years of your life building something that isn't innovative and is basically pointless? If ''Half-Life 2'' isn't viewed as the best PC game of all time, it's going to completely bum out most of the guys on this team."<ref name=":0" /> Newell gave his team no deadline and a "virtually unlimited" budget, promising to fund the project himself if necessary.<ref name=":0" /> The game was built with Valve's new in-house ], ], developed simultaneously.<ref name=":0" />


Whereas ''Half-Life'' was set in a single location, the Black Mesa research facility, Valve wanted "a much more epic and global feel" for the sequel. One concept had the player teleporting between planets, which was discarded as it would make continuity between levels difficult. At the suggestion of the Bulgarian art director ], the team settled on a city in an Eastern European location. In this early concept, players would start the game by boarding the ''Borealis'', an ] bound for the city.<ref name=":0" /> ] was conceived as a small rail depot built on an old prison in the wasteland and grew from a stopping-off point to the destination itself.<ref name="raisebar2">{{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=David |title=Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar |publisher=Prima Games |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7615-4364-0}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2022}}
Ideally, a user would install ''Half-Life 2'', and then authorize his or her copy of the game, and be able to play. However, the skepticism by many gamers was proven true, and the Steam authorization servers suffered from high load, similarly to servers of ]s. Regardless of purchasing the game retail or through Steam, users found themselves unable to play a game they had purchased.


After observing how players had connected to minor characters in ''Half-Life'', the team developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation. The animator Ken Birdwell studied the work of psychologist ], who had researched how facial muscles express emotion.<ref name=":0" /> The writer ] created family relationships between the characters, saying as it was a "basic dramatic unit everyone understands" rarely used in games.<ref name=":0" />
While many players and reviewers complained about Valve's use of ], they were generally more tolerant to it than to ]'s ] scheme or ] ] DRM.


The team integrated the ], which simulates real-world physics,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stanton |first=Rich |date=November 16, 2014 |title=Half-Life 2: 10 years on |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-16-half-life-2-10-years-on |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726132459/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-16-half-life-2-10-years-on |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |access-date=December 1, 2019 |website=Eurogamer |language=en}}</ref> to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay.<ref name=":0" /> To experiment, the team created a minigame, Zombie Basketball, in which players used a physics-manipulating gun to throw zombies through hoops.<ref name=":0" /> In mid-2001, to test the engine, Valve built a street war between rioting citizens and police, featuring tanks, ]s, hand-to-hand fighting, and looting. The designer John Guthrie described it as "an early attempt at getting something ''–'' anything ''–'' in the game that used non-player characters and physics".<ref name=":0" />
Another blemish on HL2's release record was the "No ''Counter-Strike''" install error. If a user does not wish to install ''Counter-Strike: Source'', he or she will encounter an error approximately 80% of the way into the installation procedure. Only if the user installs ''Counter-Strike'' will the installation complete (after which it can be specifically uninstalled). Note that not all users experienced this error.


In late 2001, Valve began creating a ], hoping to demonstrate it at ] 2002.<ref name=":0" /> For several months, Newell let the team work without his input so he could provide unbiased feedback, and focused on developing ], Valve's upcoming digital distribution service. The team presented the showreel to Newell, showcasing physics, environments such as the ''Borealis'', and a dialogue-heavy scene with the scientist character Dr. Kleiner. Newell felt the showreel did not adequately show how the physics would affect gameplay and that the Kleiner scene was overlong. Reflecting on the failure, Laidlaw said: "The dramatic scenes with the characters are important, but they have to be in service of the interactivity and gameplay."<ref name=":0" />
Additionally, some users have reported game crashes when HL2 initiates its auto-save feature, as well as audio stuttering. A patch was released by Valve, but while it corrected the audio stuttering, it also forced many players to have reduced performance, either in lowered frame-per-second or lowered resolution. Despite this, the game can still run surprisingly smoothly on a machine matching the modest recommended minimum specifications.


In September 2002, the team completed a second showreel, featuring a buggy race along the City 17 coast, an encounter with headcrabs on a pier, an alien strider attacking the city, and a greatly shortened Kleiner sequence. In October, Newell told the team they would announce ''Half-Life 2'' at E3 2003 and release it by the end of the year.<ref name=":0" /> As with the original ''Half-Life'', the team split into "cabals" working on different levels. Designers created levels using placeholder shapes and surfaces, which then were worked on by the artists.<ref name=":0" />] Valve announced ''Half-Life 2'' at E3 2003, with demonstrations of the characters, animation, and physics. The reaction was positive, and the game won the E3 Game of the Show award.<ref>{{cite news |title=E3 2003 wiki |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/E3_2003 |access-date=January 2, 2021 |agency=IGN |issue=June 8, 2003}}</ref> Newell also announced a release date, September 30, 2003, hoping this would motivate the team. They worked long hours to meet the deadline, but by July it had become clear they would miss it. Rumors spread of a delay, but Valve made no announcement until September 23, when they released a statement targeting a "holiday" release, leading to fan backlash.<ref name=":0" />
However, even on the best of systems the auto-save feature can cause a significant "freeze" when it is triggered, often at important points of the game - during this time the game saves all applicable information about the player's current progress in the game so they can start off from the same point. This lag can be quite disruptive to play, and the developers have unfortunately not seen fit to include any option to turn off or disable the auto-save feature, even though there is already a "quick save" feature (F6) and a "quick load" feature (F9). (Edit: There actually is a way to disable the Autosave feature, which involves editing the config.cfg file using notepad. The config.cfg file is located at "C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\<username>\half-life 2\hl2\cfg\" where username is your steam account name. After opening Config.cfg in notepad, simply add "sv_autosave 0" to the bottom of the file, and save. This now disables the autosave function.)


Newell had been hesitant to announce a delay without a new release date. He said later: "We were paralyzed. We knew we weren't going to make the date we promised, and that was going to be a huge fiasco and really embarrassing. But we didn't have a new date to give people either."<ref name=":0" /> The ] manufacturer ] had arranged a promotional event on ] to coincide with the planned release of ''Half-Life 2''; Newell, unable to pull out of the event, gave a prepared speech, demonstrated the Source engine, and left without addressing questions.<ref name=":0" />
During the night of November 30, 2004, an update was released which inadvertently prevented scores of customers from launching the game. The update included the ability to play the multiplayer Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, which was noticeably absent from the original release.


On September 19, the ''Half-Life 2'' ] was obtained by a German hacker, Axel Gembe, who had infiltrated Valve's internal network months earlier. According to Gembe, he shared it with another person, who leaked the code online in early October.<ref name=":1" /> Fans soon ] a playable version of ''Half-Life 2'', revealing how unfinished it was. The leaks damaged morale at Valve and slowed development.<ref name=":0" /> In March 2004, Gembe contacted Newell and identified himself, saying he was a fan and had not acted maliciously. Newell worked with the ] to invite Gembe to a fake job interview, planning to have him arrested in the United States; however, police arrested him in Germany.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Parkin |first=Simon |date=May 25, 2014 |title=The boy who stole Half-Life 2 |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-02-21-the-boy-who-stole-half-life-2-article |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128020137/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-02-21-the-boy-who-stole-half-life-2-article |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |access-date=December 1, 2019 |website=Eurogamer |language=en}}</ref> In November 2006, Gembe was sentenced to three years' ].<ref name=":1" />
On December 10, 2004, over a steam update, Valve solved the disc in drive incompatibility error by removing the Securom disc check routine, as well as allowing users to play the game without the game CD or DVD in their drives.


In 2004, the development team returned after Christmas to long hours, stressful working conditions, and no guarantee that the game, which was costing $1 million a month to develop, would be finished soon. However, Newell felt that progress was speeding up, with the team producing about three hours of gameplay per month. In March, they created the first version playable from start to finish and stopped production for a week to play through the game. Major changes by this point included the cutting of the ''Borealis'' sequence, the replacement of the jet ski with a hovercraft, and the physics-manipulating gravity gun being introduced earlier in the game. Feedback was positive across the company. Newell recalled: "The fact that you could go from one end of the game to the other was a really big thing for us. Then we knew it just had to get better ''–'' but it was all there."<ref name=":0" /> After several months of bug fixes and ], ''Half-Life 2'' was completed on October 13, 2004.<ref name=":0" />
To play the game it is necessary to register your account on ], a process which only took a few seconds. However, this requires internet access, meaning anyone without the internet was effectively barred from playing the game. Although a majority of players will have internet access, it still affects a significent number of prospective consumers.


=== Post-release piracy === == Release ==
Valve made a 1GB portion of ''Half-Life 2'' available for download in an encrypted format through Steam on August 26, 2004. On the day of release, Steam customers were able to pay, unlock the files, and play the game immediately, without having to wait for the game to download.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=David |date=August 18, 2004 |title=Gabe Newell on CS: Source, HL2 Preloads |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/540/540054p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113161546/http://pc.ign.com/articles/540/540054p1.html |archive-date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=September 21, 2008 |website=]}}</ref> In retail, distribution of the game was handled by ] through their ] subsidiary.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-industrys-steam-powered-war/1100-6112757/ |title=Game industry's Steam-powered war |date=November 9, 2004 |website=] |access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref>
On the day the game was released a ] version which did not require Steam or a CD appeared on the Internet. Despite being a single-player game, normal copies of ''Half-Life 2'' require online activation through Steam in order to play. This enabled Valve to track users by their authentication key. On ], a week after the game's release, that they had disabled 20,000 Steam accounts that had used a key that was being distributed by ] sites on the ]. On ], a ''further'' 30,000 Steam accounts were disabled, as announced on another .


''Half-Life 2'' was simultaneously released through Steam, CD, and on DVD in several editions. Through Steam, ''Half-Life 2'' had three packages that a customer could order. The basic version ("Bronze") includes only ''Half-Life 2'' and ''Counter-Strike: Source'', whereas the "Silver" and "Gold" (collector's edition) versions also include '']'' (ports of the original ''Half-Life'' and ''Day of Defeat'' mod to the new engine). The collector's edition/"Gold" version additionally includes merchandise, such as a baseball cap, a ] and CD containing the soundtrack used in ''Half-Life 2''. Both the disc and Steam versions require Steam to be installed and active for play to occur.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Autrijve |first=Rainier |date=October 6, 2004 |title=Blow Off Some Steam and Pre-Order Half-Life 2 (PC) |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/half-life-2/554654p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006131105/http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/half-life-2/554654p1.html |archive-date=October 6, 2008 |access-date=October 3, 2008 |website=GameSpy}}</ref> The retail copies of the game came in two versions, standard and Collector's Edition. The Collector's Edition differed from the physical items in the "Gold" edition, and included a T-shirt and sample of the Prima strategy guide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=David |date=September 29, 2004 |title=Half-Life 2 Packages Revealed |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/09/29/half-life-2-packages-revealed |access-date=May 31, 2022 |website=IGN}}</ref>
== Development controversies ==
=== Source Code Theft ===
''Half-Life 2'' was merely a rumor until a strong impression at ] in May 2003 launched it into levels of hype only equalled by '']'' at the time. It was forecast to come out in ] ], but it was delayed several times. This pushing back of HL2's release date came in the wake of the ] of Valve's internal network, through bugs in ], resulting in the theft of the game's ] in early September 2003.


A ] version with the file size of a single CD was made available in December 2004 at the web site of ] manufacturer ], who teamed up with Valve for the game. The demo contains a portion of two chapters: ''Point Insertion'' and ''"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."''. In September 2005, ] distributed the ''Game of the Year'' edition of ''Half-Life 2''. Compared to the original CD-release of ''Half-Life 2'', the ''Game of the Year'' edition also includes ''Half-Life: Source''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life 2 Demo now available |url=http://ati.amd.com/gitg/promotions/halflife2demo/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206061933/http://ati.amd.com/gitg/promotions/halflife2demo/index.html |archive-date=December 6, 2008 |access-date=October 3, 2008 |website=ATI}}</ref>
The source-code theft had more of an effect on morale for the developers than it did on the schedule - it was later revealed by both Valve CEO ] and PR man Doug Lombardi that the September 2003 release date was 'aggressive' and could not have been met even if the theft had never occurred. Many gamers were not surprised by the early delays, recognizing that Valve's first public mention of the game came just four months before its intended release date.


The soundtrack was written by ]. ''The Soundtrack of Half-Life 2'', containing most of the music from ''Half-Life 2'' and many tracks from the original ''Half-Life'', was included with the ''Half-Life 2'' "Gold" edition and sold separately from Valve's online store.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2013 |title=Half Life 2 Packages Revealed |url=http://ie.ign.com/articles/2004/09/29/half-life-2-packages-revealed |website=IGN}}</ref> Valve released a ] in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=David |date=December 1, 2004 |title=Half-Life 2 Deathmatch Released |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/01/half-life-2-deathmatch-released |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108095226/http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/01/half-life-2-deathmatch-released |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2014 |website=]}}</ref>
In June ], Valve Software announced in a press release that the ] had arrested several people suspected of involvement in the source code theft.


=== Beta leak === === Cyber café dispute ===
On September 20, 2004, '']'' reported that Sierra's parent company, ], was in a legal battle with Valve over the distribution of ''Half-Life 2'' to ]. At this time, cyber cafés were important for the Asian PC gaming market where PC and broadband penetration per capita were much lower (except Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feldman |first=Curt |date=December 15, 2004 |title=Valve vs. Vivendi dogfight heats up in US District Court |url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/news_6107712.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930145805/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/news_6107712.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |access-date=September 21, 2008 |website=GameSpot}}</ref>
Roughly at the same time as the source code leak, a ] of HL2 was leaked to the net. Initial claims that the leak was a hoax turned out to be in error as the beta quickly spread widely and was verified to exist by a large number of people. The beta reportedly contains parts of the game in a playable state, as well as some of the tools used to create game content.


According to Vivendi Universal Games, the distribution contract they signed with Valve included cyber cafés. This would mean that only Vivendi Universal Games could distribute ''Half-Life 2'' to cyber cafés&nbsp;— not Valve through the Steam system. On November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas S. Zilly, of ] in Seattle, Washington, ruled that Vivendi Universal Games and its affiliates are not authorized to distribute (directly or indirectly) Valve games through cyber cafés to end users for ] activities according to the parties' current publishing agreement. Also, Judge Zilly ruled in favor of the Valve motion regarding the contractual limitation of liability, allowing Valve to recover copyright damages for any infringement as allowed by law without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 30, 2004 |title=Half-Life 2 maker wins legal case |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4054643.stm |url-status=live |access-date=October 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208192206/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4054643.stm |archive-date=February 8, 2009}}</ref>
=== Going gold hoax ===
On ], ] a forum post by Gabe Newell from Valve Software said "going gold on Monday". "Going gold" means that the game is finished and simply needs to be pressed onto DVDs and packaged into boxes. This caused much excitement among ''Half-Life 2'' fans but it later turned out that the post was a hoax and was posted by someone who had guessed Gabe's password ("gaben").


On April 29, 2005, the two parties announced a settlement agreement. Vivendi Universal Games would cease distributing all retail packaged versions of Valve games by August 31, 2005. Vivendi Universal Games also was to notify distributors and cyber cafés that had been licensed by Vivendi Universal Games that only Valve had the authority to distribute cyber café licenses, and hence their licenses were revoked and switched to Valve's.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Valve cyber café program |url=http://store.steampowered.com/?area=cybercafespPublisher=Valve |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921205315/http://store.steampowered.com/?area=cybercafespPublisher%3DValve |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |access-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref> Valve subsequently partnered with Electronic Arts for the retail distribution of its games, including the forthcoming Xbox version of ''Half-Life 2''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ea-to-publish-half-life-2-xbox-distribute-valve-pc-titles |title=EA to publish Half-Life 2 Xbox, distribute Valve PC titles |first=Rob |last=Fahey |date=July 19, 2005 |website=] |access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref>
=== Breach of contract with Vivendi ===
On September 20, 2004, it was revealed by that Vivendi Universal Games is in a legal battle with Valve Software over the distribution of ''Half-Life 2''. According to VUG, the contract they signed with Valve did not include distribution of ''Half-Life 2'' over Steam. The trial to settle the dispute is scheduled for March 2005.


=== Ports and updates ===
In November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas S. Zilly, of U.S. Federal District Court in Seattle, WA, ruled that Sierra/Vivendi Universal Games, and its affiliates, are not authorized to distribute (directly or indirectly) Valve games through cyber cafés to end users for pay-to-play activities pursuant to the parties' current publishing agreement. Valve games such as Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the recently released Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source are all popular in cyber cafés. In addition, Judge Zilly ruled in favor of the Valve motion regarding the contractual limitation of liability, allowing Valve to recover copyright damages for any infringement as allowed by law without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.
In 2005, Valve released an extra level, '']'', as a free download to anyone who purchased ''Half-Life 2''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pinckard |first=Jane |date=October 27, 2005 |title=Lost Coast Out Now |url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3145123 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031171241/http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3145123 |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=November 20, 2008 |publisher=1UP}}</ref> On December 22, Valve released a ] version of the Source engine for ] processor-based systems running ], ], ], or ]. This update enabled ''Half-Life 2'' and other Source games to run natively on 64-bit processors, bypassing the ]. Newell said it was "an important step in the evolution of our game content and tools", and that the game benefited greatly from the update.<ref name="amd64">{{Cite web |date=December 22, 2005 |title=Valve unveils 64-bit source (TM) gaming technology developed in conjunction with AMD |url=http://store.steampowered.com/news/496/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418034254/http://store.steampowered.com/news/496/ |archive-date=April 18, 2010 |access-date=March 23, 2006 |website=Steam Powered}}</ref> Some users reported major performance boosts, though technology site Techgage found stability problems and no notable ] improvement.<ref name="techgage">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Rob |title=Review: Half-Life 2: 64-Bit&nbsp;— Reason to get excited? |url=http://techgage.com/article/half-life_2_64-bit_-_reason_to_get_excited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116010914/http://techgage.com/article/half-life_2_64-bit_-_reason_to_get_excited |archive-date=November 16, 2006 |access-date=March 23, 2006 |website=Techgage}}</ref>


In 2006, Valve partnered with ] to release ''Half-Life 2: Survivor'', an ] version for the Japanese market.<ref name="gamespot">{{Cite web |date=November 29, 2005 |title=Half-Life 2 to hit Japanese arcades |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-to-hit-japanese-arcades/1100-6140527/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411135522/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-to-hit-japanese-arcades/1100-6140527/ |archive-date=April 11, 2017 |access-date=April 10, 2017 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gantayat |first=Anoop |date=February 17, 2006 |title=AOU 2006: Half-Life 2 Survivor Debuts |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/02/17/aou-2006-half-life-2-survivor-debuts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411061306/http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/02/17/aou-2006-half-life-2-survivor-debuts |archive-date=April 11, 2017 |access-date=April 10, 2017 |website=]}}</ref> Valve rereleased ''Half-Life 2'' as part of the 2007 compilation '']'' for Windows, ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 18, 2007 |title=Orange Box packs action, value |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/marcsaltzman/2007-10-18-orangebox_N.htm |url-status=live |access-date=October 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106051332/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/marcsaltzman/2007-10-18-orangebox_N.htm |archive-date=January 6, 2009}}</ref> On May 26, 2010, ''Half-Life 2'' and its two episodic sequels were released for ].<ref name="osx announce">{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2010 |title=Valve to Deliver Steam & Source on the Mac |url=http://store.steampowered.com/news/3569/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826011221/http://store.steampowered.com/news/3569/ |archive-date=August 26, 2013 |access-date=March 8, 2010 |publisher=Valve}}</ref> In 2013, Valve ported the game to Linux,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2013 |title='Half-Life 2' Hits Linux, Available on Steam |url=https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/05/half-life-2-steam-linux |access-date=March 2, 2021 |website=OMG! Ubuntu! |language=en-GB}}</ref> and released a free update adding support for the ] ] headset.<ref name="Polygon: Valve gives">{{Cite web |last=Blagdon |first=Jeff |date=May 10, 2013 |title=Valve gives 'Half-Life 2' official Oculus Rift support |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/10/4317926/half-life-2-gets-official-oculus-rift-support |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607044302/http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/10/4317926/half-life-2-gets-official-oculus-rift-support |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |access-date=May 10, 2013 |website=] |publisher=]}}</ref> An ]-exclusive port for ] was released on May 12, 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salov |first=Vlav |date=May 12, 2014 |title='Half-Life 2' and 'Portal' arrive on Android, but only for the Shield |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/12/5709518/half-life-2-and-portal-arrive-on-android |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102040929/http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/12/5709518/half-life-2-and-portal-arrive-on-android |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |access-date=March 16, 2017 |website=]}}</ref> In January 2022, a new UI designed for the ] was released through an update in the beta branch.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Subhan |first1=Ishraq |title=Half-Life 2's UI is getting Steam Deck ready |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-27-half-life-2s-ui-is-getting-steam-deck-ready |website=Eurogamer |access-date=February 28, 2022 |language=en |date=January 27, 2022}}</ref>
== Motion sickness and field of view ==
Some complained that playing ''Half-Life 2'' resulted in ] and many attributed the problem to the game's low ], which defaults to 75 degrees instead of the more commonly used 90 degrees. While players can increase the FOV through console commands, it can take away the realism, as staring at a monitor about a foot away (the recommended distance) is 75 degrees. Additionally, when using 90 degrees, the character's face will get distorted and the levels will seem larger with the player moving through it at high speed.


== Reception ==
Interestingly, when the player enters either of the vehicles the FOV is switched to 90 degrees, yet that is where most complained that they experienced motion sickness.
{{Video game reviews
| MC = 96/100 (PC)<ref name="MC-PC" /><br />90/100 (Xbox)<ref name="MC-Xbox" />
| 1UP = A+<ref name=1UP>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/reviews/half-life-2_4 |title=Half-Life 2 Review |first=Andrew |last=Pfister |date=January 17, 2005 |access-date=September 20, 2022 |publisher=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402222427/http://www.1up.com/reviews/half-life-2_4 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>
| Edge = 10/10 (PC)<ref name="edgereview" />
| EuroG = 10/10 (PC)<ref name="europc" /><br />9/10 (Xbox)<ref name="euroxbox" />
| GamePro = {{rating|5|5}} (PC)<ref name="gameproreview" />
| GSpot = 9.2/10 (PC)<ref name="gamespotreview" />
| GSpy = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="gamespyreview" />
| GRadar = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="gamesradarreview" />
| IGN = 9.7/10 (PC)<ref name="ignreview" />
| MaxPC = 11/10<ref name="maximumpcreview" />
| PCGUS = 98%<ref name="pcgamerreview" />
| VG = 10/10<ref name="vgreview" />
| rev1 = '']''
| rev1Score = {{rating|4|4}}<ref name="cincin" />
| rev2 = '']''
| rev2Score = Positive<ref name="nytreview" />
}}


''Half-Life 2'' has an aggregate score of 96/100 on ]. Sources such as ],<ref name=1UP/> ],<ref name="gamespyreview">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life 2 review |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/half-life-2/566585p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428054001/http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/half-life-2/566585p1.html |archive-date=April 28, 2006 |access-date=May 20, 2006 |website=GameSpy}}</ref> '']'',<ref name="cincin">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life 2: A Tech Masterpiece |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/games/reviews/120204_half-life2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316101825/http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/games/reviews/120204_half-life2.html |archive-date=March 16, 2006 |access-date=May 20, 2006 |website=Cincinnati Enquirer}}</ref> '']'',<ref name="nytreview">{{Cite news |last=Herold |first=Charles |date=November 25, 2004 |title=A Big Sequel That's Worthy of Its Lineage |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/technology/circuits/a-big-sequel-thats-worthy-of-its-lineage.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 20, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020103350/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/technology/circuits/a-big-sequel-thats-worthy-of-its-lineage.html |archive-date=October 20, 2016}}</ref> and ''VideoGamer.com''<ref name="vgreview">{{Cite web |last=Dick |first=Robert |date=December 14, 2004 |title="Half-Life 2" Review |url=http://www.videogamer.com/pc/hl2/review.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120537/http://www.videogamer.com/pc/hl2/review.html |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |access-date=May 26, 2015 |website=VideoGamer.com}}</ref> gave it perfect scores, and others, such as '']'',<ref name="pcgamerreview">{{Cite journal |date=December 2004 |title=Half-Life 2 |journal=PC Gamer |page=48}}</ref> '']'',<ref name="ignreview">{{Cite web |title=''Half-Life 2'' Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/15/half-life-2-review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524133916/http://pc.ign.com/articles/566/566202p1.html |archive-date=May 24, 2006 |access-date=May 20, 2006 |website=IGN|date=November 15, 2004 }}</ref> '']'',<ref name="gamesradarreview">{{Cite web |last=Brandon |first=John |date=December 18, 2007 |title=''Half-Life 2'' Review |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/half-life-2-review/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527000046/http://www.gamesradar.com/half-life-2-review/ |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=May 26, 2015 |website=]}}</ref> and '']'',<ref name="europc">{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Kristan |date=November 18, 2004 |title=''Half-Life 2'' PC Review |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_half-life2_pc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624192250/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_half-life2_pc |archive-date=June 24, 2015 |access-date=May 15, 2015 |website=]}}</ref><ref name="euroxbox">{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Kristan |date=November 21, 2005 |title=''Half-Life 2'' Xbox Review |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_halflife2_xbox |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518085033/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_halflife2_xbox |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |access-date=May 15, 2015 |website=]}}</ref> gave near-perfect scores. It was the fifth game to receive ten out of ten from '']''.<ref name="edgereview">{{Cite web |title=Reviews Database |url=http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429124358/http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/ |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |access-date=September 3, 2006 |website=Edge Online}}</ref> Critics praised the advanced graphics and physics.<ref name="gameproreview">{{Cite magazine |title=Half-Life 2 - Australian Review (Reviews) |url=http://www.gamepro.com.au/index.php/id;1181166017;fp;2;fpid;36 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917115121/http://www.gamepro.com.au/index.php/id%3B1181166017%3Bfp%3B2%3Bfpid%3B36 |archive-date=September 17, 2008 |access-date=May 21, 2006 |magazine=GamePro}}</ref><ref name="nytreview" /> '']'' awarded ''Half-Life 2'' 11 on their rating scale which normally peaks at 10, calling it "the best game ever made".<ref name="maximumpcreview">{{Cite journal |date=January 2005 |title=Half-Life 2 Review |url=http://dl.maximumpc.com/Archives/MPC0105-web.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Maximum PC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401052137/http://dl.maximumpc.com/Archives/MPC0105-web.pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2010 |access-date=March 13, 2010}}</ref>
Valve's Bill Van Buren responded to a question on this asked by a fan on the forums () with this response:
<blockquote>
We've been rigorously playing and testing Half-Life 2, Counterstrike Source and Half-Life Source for a long time now - and we've found nothing to suggest that the FOV change is a significant factor in causing motion sickness. We have, however, put a great deal of work and attention into reducing the motion sickness that can be experienced in the vehicles in Half-Life 2. During our early playtests, many of us were experiencing motion sickness from driving the buggy and the airboat - especially the airboat. We've done a lot of work on tuning the experience to reduce any ill effects - especially looking at how we manage the players head/view in relationship to the movement of the vehicles. Interestingly, for all of the vehicle sequences we revert back to FOV 90 so that you have more peripheral vision which is helpful when moving at these faster speeds. Even so, some people still do experience some motion sickness effects from long stretches in the vehicles - personally, I find that I am most affected by the intense jarring that occurs when you slam into something in the airboat at high speed - like when you miss a jump or something.
</blockquote>


In the United States, ''Half-Life 2''{{'}}s PC version sold 680,000 copies and had earned $34.3 million by August 2006. It was the country's 17th best-selling PC game between January 2000 and August 2006.<ref name="edgesales">{{Cite magazine |date=August 25, 2006 |title=The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/top-100-pc-games-21st-century/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017165955/http://www.edge-online.com/features/top-100-pc-games-21st-century/ |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |magazine=]}}</ref> It received a "Platinum" sales award from the ] (ELSPA),<ref name="platinumelspa">{{Cite web |title=ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum |url=http://www.elspa.com:80/?i=3944 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515224703/http://www.elspa.com/?i=3944 |archive-date=May 15, 2009 |website=]}}</ref> indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.<ref name="gamasutrasales">{{Cite web |last=Caoili |first=Eric |date=November 26, 2008 |title=ELSPA: ''Wii Fit'', ''Mario Kart'' Reach Diamond Status In UK |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112220/ELSPA_Wii_Fit_Mario_Kart_Reach_Diamond_Status_In_UK.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918063107/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112220/ELSPA_Wii_Fit_Mario_Kart_Reach_Diamond_Status_In_UK.php |archive-date=September 18, 2017 |website=]}}</ref> '']'' reported on February 9, 2011, that the game had sold 12 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chiang |first=Oliver |date=February 28, 2011 |title=The Master of Online Mayhem |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/technology-gabe-newell-videogames-valve-online-mayhem.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213025041/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/technology-gabe-newell-videogames-valve-online-mayhem.html |archive-date=February 13, 2011}}</ref>
Others attribute the motion sickness to the default ] setting of 60Hz.


In a review of ''The Orange Box'', IGN stated that although ''Half-Life 2'' has already been released through other media, the game itself is still enjoyable on a console. They also noted that the physics of ''Half-Life 2'' are impressive despite being a console game. However, it was noted that the graphics on the Xbox 360 version of ''Half-Life 2'' were not as impressive as when it was released on the PC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Hilary |date=October 9, 2007 |title=The Orange Box Review |url=http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/826/826062p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418163632/http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/826/826062p1.html |archive-date=April 18, 2010 |access-date=May 29, 2010 |website=IGN}}</ref> GameSpot's review of ''The Orange Box'' noticed that the content of both the Xbox 360 releases, and PlayStation 3 releases were exactly alike, the only issue with the PlayStation 3 version was that it had noticeable frame-rate hiccups. GameSpot continued to say that the frame rates issues were only minor but some consider them to be a significant irritation.<ref name="gamespotreview">{{Cite web |last=Ocampo |first=Jason |date=December 12, 2007 |title=The Orange Box Review for PlayStation 3 |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-orange-box-review/1900-6183951/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302002221/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-orange-box-review/1900-6183951/ |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |access-date=May 29, 2010 |website=GameSpot}}</ref>
== Weapons ==


Several critics, including some that had given positive reviews, complained about the required usage of the program Steam, the requirement to create an account, register the products, and permanently lock them to the account before being allowed to play, along with installation difficulties and lack of support.<ref name="nytreview" />
*'''Crowbar''': the melee weapon of Half-Life, and also the first weapon available. Does not expend ammo.
*'''Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (a.k.a. Gravity Gun)''': A "]"-like weapon that heavily utilizes Source's physics engine, and does not use any ammo. The primary fire can repel most inorganic objects (including cars) with a sparkling burst of energy, and use these objects to harm enemies. The burst itself can also harm some weak enemies, such as ]s. The secondary fire can attract mostly inorganic objects (excluding cars and heavier objects): these can then be launched by using the primary fire. In deathmatch, the objects that the Gravity Gun can launch can usually kill instantly. Late in the singleplayer game, it receives an infusion of "Dark Energy" from a beam used by the Combine to confiscate items from captured prisoners. From that point on, it can also grasp or repel organic matter (killing instantly), and pull heavier inorganic objects. The Gravity Gun was originally a tool used by the developers to experiment with and test the Source physics engine.
*'''USP Match 9mm''': the first gun available. It has an 18 round magazine, with a maximum of 150 rounds in reserve.
*'''.357 Magnum Revolver''': the second handgun available, with 6 rounds chambered, 12 in reserve. Quite powerful and accurate; coupled with the zoom feature, the Magnum can function as a sniper weapon.
*'''MP7A1 Submachine Gun''': The first rapid-firing weapon received: with a 45 round magazine, 225 rounds in reserve, as well as 3 contact grenades.
*'''Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle''': A powerful assault rifle used by Combine soldiers. Primary fire launches a burst of gunfire. Secondary fire shoots an energy orb. The orb bounces around the environment for 4 seconds, disintegrating enemies on contact, before exploding. The Pulse Rifle uses a 30 clip. It carries 60 rounds in reserve and 3 energy cores.
*'''Shotgun''': Like any shotgun, this weapon sprays pellets across a wide field of fire, making it useful against zombies and other close range enemies. It has 6 rounds loaded with 30 rounds in reserve. This weapon is modeled after the ].
*'''Stun baton''': Without cheating, this weapon is only available to Combine Civil Protection units. The stun baton is present at the beginning of Half Life 2, and inflicts no damage initially, although it alters the player's view temporarily - causing it to wobble and go red. It seems that in the future the stun baton will be available in deathmatch, as does the crowbar.
*'''Crossbow''': Can only load one bolt at a time, and can store 10 rounds. Mainly used as a sniper and underwater weapon, it is the only weapon that can be fired when zooming. Also, when firing at distant targets, the player must compensate for gravity's downward pull on the bolts. It can be used to pin dead enemies against a surface.
*'''Rocket launcher''': Can hold one rocket in the firing chamber, and two in reserve. After a rocket is fired, a laser pointer must be used to guide it in flight. Unlike the RPG launcher from ''Half-Life'', the Rocket launcher does not have a non-laser-guided mode.
*'''Grenade''': Standard explosive weaponry that can be thrown in an arc. Good for taking out hiding enemies. The player can have up to 5 in reserve. Interestingly, when thrown at the player by enemies, grenades can be manipulated with the gravity gun.
*'''Pheropod ("Bug Bait")''': These are small pods of pheromones which can be used by the player to command swarms of ]s. While the primary fire throws the pods and commands the antlions to go to the target, the secondary fire squeezes the pod to recall the antlions. Pheropods cannot be used against the larger, more aggressive antlion warriors. When used against Combine soldiers, it stuns them for aprroximately 5 seconds.
*'''Rapid-firing Gauss Cannon (vehicle-mounted)''': This armor-piercing, airboat-mounted weapon is used near the end of the Route Kanal sequence, and can destroy Combine vehicles. It constantly replenishes its own ammo at a rate slightly slower than its firing rate.
*'''Tau cannon (vehicle-mounted)''': This weapon, attached to the buggy, functions similarly to the Tau Cannon from ''Half-Life''. By pressing and holding the secondary fire button, the player can charge up the Tau cannon, exactly as in the first game. The Tau cannon is not available as a hand-held weapon.


== Reviews == === Awards ===
''Half-Life 2'' earned 39 ] awards,<ref name="valve">{{Cite web |title=Valve Awards |url=http://www.valvesoftware.com/awards.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108083038/http://www.valvesoftware.com/awards.html |archive-date=January 8, 2014 |access-date=September 22, 2008 |website=Valve}}</ref> including Overall Game of the Year at ''IGN'', ''GameSpot'<nowiki/>''s Award for Best Shooter, ''GameSpot'''s Reader's Choice&nbsp;— PC Game of the Year Award, "Game of the Year" from the ] and "Best Game" with the ], where it was also given various awards for technology, characters, and writing.
*] - 96%.
*] - 98%.
*] - 97%.
*] - 96%.
*Gamesmaster UK - 96%.
*Edge - 10/10.
*] - 9.2/10.(Editor's Choice)
*] - 9.7/10.
*] - 5/5.
*1UP - 9/10.
*] - 10/10.
*Eurogamer - 10/10.
*Boomtown - 10/10
<!-- Check out the nofrag.com video on Half-Life AI. They give some review stats in the beginning :))) -->


The editors of '']'' nominated ''Half-Life 2'' for their 2004 "Single-Player Shooter of the Year" and overall "Game of the Year" awards, although it lost to '']'' and '']''. They wrote, "''Half-Life 2'', everyone's default pick to win this year, is indeed a fantastic roller coaster of a ride, not as great as the original but still leagues above most other shooters."<ref name="cgwpremier2004">{{Cite magazine |date=March 2005 |title=2004 Games of the Year |magazine=] |issue=249 |pages=56–67}}</ref>
== Awards ==


''Edge'' awarded ''Half-Life 2'' with its top honor of the year with the award for Best Game, as well as awards for Innovation and Visual Design. The game also had a strong showing at the 2004 ], picking up six awards, more than any other game that night, with awards including "Best Game" and "Best Online and Multiplayer."<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news |date=March 1, 2005 |title=Half-Life 2 sweeps Bafta awards |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4308315.stm |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051113120121/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4308315.stm |archive-date=November 13, 2005}}</ref> '']'' named ''Half-Life 2'' the fourth-best computer game of 2004. The editors call it "a masterful single-player experience that plays a constant game of one-upmanship with itself." It won the magazine's "Best Technology" (beating out '']'') and "Best Writing" awards, and was a runner-up in the "Best Sound Effects", "Best AI" and "Best Voice Acting" categories.<ref name="cgm14th">{{Cite magazine |date=March 2005 |title=The Best of 2004; The 14th Annual ''Computer Games'' Awards |magazine=] |issue=172 |pages=48–56}}</ref>
*Spike TV Video Game Award 2004:
**Best PC Game
**Best Graphic
*Gamespy 2004 Game of the Year:
**Best PC overall
**Best PC action
**Best PC Graphic
**Best Character (Dog)
**Silver for Overall (Cross-platform)
**Gamer's Choice
***PC Action
***PC Multiplayer
***PC Overall
*Gamespot Best and Worst of 2004
**Best Graphic, Artistic
**Best Shooter (cross-platform)


'']'' awarded ''Half-Life 2'' the world record for "Highest Rated Shooter by PC Gamer Magazine" in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. Other records awarded the game in the book include, "Largest Digital Distribution Channel" for Valve's Steam service, "First Game to Feature a Gravity Gun", and "First PC Game to Feature Developer Commentary".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Snow |first=Blake |date=January 28, 2008 |title=Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition comes Mar. 11 |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/158708/guinness-world-records-gamers-edition-comes-mar-11/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219133531/http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/158708/guinness-world-records-gamers-edition-comes-mar-11/ |archive-date=February 19, 2009 |access-date=September 22, 2008 |magazine=GamePro}}</ref> In 2009, '']'' put ''Half-Life 2'' 5th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that "With ''Half-Life 2'', Valve redefined the way first-person shooters were created".<ref name="gi best">{{Cite magazine |date=December 2009 |title=The Top 200 Games of All Time |magazine=] |issue=200 |pages=44–79 |issn=1067-6392 |oclc=27315596}}</ref>
==Related topics==
*]


''Half-Life 2'' was selected by readers of '']'' as the best game of the decade, with praise given especially to the environment design throughout the game. According to the newspaper, it "pushed the envelope for the genre, and set a new high watermark for FPS narrative". One author commented: "''Half-Life 2'' always felt like the European arthouse answer to the Hollywood bluster of '']'' and '']''".<ref name="guardian1">{{Cite news |last=Stuart |first=Keith |date=December 17, 2009 |title=The Gamesblog 50 games of the Noughties: number one |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/dec/16/games-events2 |url-status=live |access-date=March 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104210109/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/dec/16/games-events2 |archive-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref> ''Half-Life 2'' won ]'s Game of the Decade<ref name="crispygamer1">{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2009 |title=Game of the Decade: Championship Round |url=http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2009-12-11/game-of-the-decade-championship-round.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421081351/http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2009-12-11/game-of-the-decade-championship-round.aspx |archive-date=April 21, 2010 |access-date=April 2, 2010 |website=CrispyGamer}}</ref> tournament style poll. It also won ]'s,<ref name="reviewsontherun1">{{Cite web |title=Best Games of 2004 |url=http://www.reviewsontherun.com/index/index/vid_id/20429/rp/10 |access-date=April 5, 2010 |website=Reviewsontherun}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=Al83tito |fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite web |url=http://www.spike.com/articles/jhwbki/video-game-awards-video-game-awards-2004-winners |title=Video Game Awards |date=December 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223172214/http://www.spike.com/articles/jhwbki/video-game-awards-video-game-awards-2004-winners |archive-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref> ''IGN''{{'}}s<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |title=Best Games Overall |url=http://uk.ign.com/decade/best-games-decade.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619022832/http://uk.ign.com/decade/best-games-decade.html |archive-date=June 19, 2010 |access-date=April 5, 2010 |website=IGN}}</ref> Best Game of the Decade and ] 2012 Game of the Decade.<ref name="spikeaward">{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2012 |title=Backstage with Game of the Decade and Game of the Year Winners |url=http://www.spike.com/video-clips/wek7t4/video-game-awards-backstage-with-game-of-the-decade-and-game-of-the-year-winners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622045721/http://www.spike.com/video-clips/wek7t4/video-game-awards-backstage-with-game-of-the-decade-and-game-of-the-year-winners |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |access-date=May 21, 2015 |website=]}}</ref> In December 2021, ''IGN'' named ''Half-Life 2'' the ninth-best game of all time.<ref name="I. G. N. Staff">{{Cite web |author=I. G. N. Staff |date=December 31, 2021 |title=The Top 100 Video Games of All Time |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all-time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406155741/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all-time?amp=1 |archive-date=April 6, 2022 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
==External links==
*
*
*
* - For Half-Life 2 mod developers
*
* - Largest Half-Life 2 Community
* - A popular Half-Life 2 fansite
*
*
* - Gamespot's pre-release story


===Ingame Screenshots=== == Mods ==
{{See also|List of Source engine mods|Source SDK}}
*
*
*
*


Since the release of the Source engine ], a large number of ] (mods) have been developed by the ''Half-Life 2'' community. Mods vary in scale, from fan-created levels and weapons, to partial conversions such as ''Rock 24'', ''Half-Life 2 Substance'' and ''SMOD'' (which modify the storyline and gameplay of the pre-existing game), ] and '']'' (which allow the player to experiment with the physics system in a ] mode), to ] such as '']'', '']'', ''Zombie Master'' or '']'', the last of which transforms the game from a first-person shooter into a real-time strategy game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Tom |date=January 27, 2006 |title=Source Forts |url=http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Reviews.Detail&id=13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711071737/http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Reviews.Detail&id=13 |archive-date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=June 3, 2010 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Francis |first=Tom |date=December 19, 2006 |title=Garry's Mod Review |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/152602/reviews/garrys-mod-review/?site=pcg |magazine=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607042507/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/152602/reviews/garrys-mod-review/?site=pcg |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |access-date=June 3, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some mods take place in the ''Half-Life'' universe; others in completely original settings. Many more mods are still in development, including ''Lift'', ''The Myriad'', ''Operation Black Mesa'', and the ] single-player mod '']''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 8, 2006 |title=Half-Life 2 Minerva mod |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/144068/interviews/half-life-2-minerva-mod/ |magazine=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303040203/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/144068/interviews/half-life-2-minerva-mod/ |archive-date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=June 2, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Several multiplayer mods, such as '']'', a predominately sword-fighting game; '']'', which focuses on realistic modern infantry combat; and '']'' have been opened to the public as a beta.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Thomas |date=February 18, 2014 |title=Pirates, Vikings, & Knights II Beta 2.0 |url=http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HLMotw.Detail&id=194 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304143009/http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=HLMotw.Detail&id=194 |archive-date=March 4, 2008 |access-date=June 3, 2010 |website=]}}</ref><ref name="insurgencywebpage">{{Cite web |title=Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat |url=http://www.insmod.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210045223/http://www.insmod.net/ |archive-date=February 10, 2008 |access-date=February 4, 2008 |website=Insurgency Team}}</ref> As part of its community support, Valve announced in September 2008 that several mods, with more planned in the future, were being integrated into the ] program, allowing the mods to make full use of Steam's distribution and update capabilities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 22, 2008 |title=Steam News Update Friday, September 26, 2008 |url=http://storefront.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/message/1843/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928091100/http://storefront.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/message/1843/ |archive-date=September 28, 2008 |access-date=September 22, 2008 |website=] |publisher=]}}</ref> In Sept 2022, after a decade of development, a fan made full-VR mod was released titled "Half life 2: VR". <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-01 |title=Half-Life 2’s Excellent VR Mod Is Almost Too Good To Be True |url=https://kotaku.com/half-life-2-vr-mod-alyx-pc-valve-steam-gordon-freeman-1849603782 |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref>
]

== Sequels ==
''Half-Life 2'' was followed by two ]: '']'' (2006) and '']'' (2007).<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Marks |first=Tom |date=March 23, 2020 |title=Valve Explains Why Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Was Never Made |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/valve-explains-why-half-life-2-episode-3-was-never-made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323171744/https://www.ign.com/articles/valve-explains-why-half-life-2-episode-3-was-never-made |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |access-date=March 23, 2020 |website=]}}</ref> After canceling '']'' and ],<ref name=":3">{{Citation |title=Details of Multiple Cancelled Valve Projects Revealed, Including Half-Life 3 - IGN |date=July 9, 2020 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/half-life-3-left-4-dead-3-details-cancelled-valve |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713154054/https://www.ign.com/articles/half-life-3-left-4-dead-3-details-cancelled-valve |language=en |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Valve released a prequel, '']'', in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=November 18, 2019 |title=Valve's Half-Life series continues with Half-Life: Alyx for VR |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/18/20970733/half-life-alyx-vr-release-date-valve-announcement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119134619/https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/18/20970733/half-life-alyx-vr-release-date-valve-announcement |archive-date=November 19, 2019 |access-date=November 21, 2019 |website=Polygon}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{Portal inline|Video games}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="MC-PC">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life 2 |url=http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/half-life-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817224301/http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/half-life-2 |archive-date=August 17, 2010 |access-date=September 22, 2008 |website=Metacritic}}</ref>

<ref name="MC-Xbox">{{Cite web |title=Half-Life 2 (Xbox) |url=http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/half-life-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830150538/http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/half-life-2 |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |access-date=September 12, 2011 |website=]}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|En-Half-Life 2.ogg|date=December 22, 2006}}
* {{Official website|https://www.half-life.com/en/halflife2}}

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Revision as of 23:27, 14 December 2022

2004 video game

2004 video game
Half-Life 2
Box art featuring Gordon Freeman
Developer(s)Valve
Publisher(s)Valve
Artist(s)Viktor Antonov
Writer(s)Marc Laidlaw
Composer(s)Kelly Bailey
SeriesHalf-Life
EngineSource
Platform(s)
Release November 16, 2004
  • Windows
    • WW: November 16, 2004
    Xbox
    • NA: November 15, 2005
    • EU: November 18, 2005
    Xbox 360
    • NA: October 10, 2007
    • EU: October 19, 2007
    • AU: October 25, 2007
    PlayStation 3
    • NA: December 11, 2007
    • EU: December 14, 2007
    • AU: December 20, 2007
    Mac OS X
    • WW: May 26, 2010
    Linux
    • WW: May 9, 2013
    Android
    • WW: May 12, 2014
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. Players control Gordon Freeman as he joins a resistance movement to liberate the Earth from the control of an alien empire, the Combine.

Half-Life 2 was created using Valve's Source engine, which was developed at the same time. Development lasted five years and cost US$40 million. Valve's president, Gabe Newell, set his team the goal of redefining the first-person shooter genre. They integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay, and developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation.

Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003, with a release date for that September. It was delayed by over a year, triggering a backlash. A year before release, an unfinished version was stolen by a hacker and leaked online, which damaged team morale and slowed development.

Half-Life 2 was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, and received universal acclaim. It won 39 Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the best games ever made. By 2011, it had sold 12 million copies. Half-Life 2 was followed by the free extra level Lost Coast (2005) and the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). In 2020, after canceling Episode Three and several further Half-Life projects, Valve released a prequel, Half-Life: Alyx.

Gameplay

A screenshot of the player engaging a group of antlions with a pulse rifle. Along the bottom of the screen, the player's health, suit charge level, and their ammunition is displayed.

Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 is a single-player first-person shooter in which players control Gordon Freeman. It has similar mechanics to Half-Life, including health-and-weapon systems (though with less overall weapons) and periodic physics puzzles, except with the newer Source engine and improved graphics. The player also starts without items, slowly building up their arsenal over the course of the game. Despite the game's mainly linear nature, much effort was put into making exploration rewarding and interesting; many optional areas can be missed or avoided.

A diverse set of enemies is present, which usually require being approached with different tactics: some coordinate in groups to out-maneuver or out-position the player; others, such as the Manhack, fly directly at the player through small openings and tight corridors. Others use predictable but powerful attacks, while others hide before swiftly attacking the player. Gordon can kill most enemies with his weapons, or make use of indirect means, exploiting environmental hazards such as explosive pressurized canisters, gas fires or improvised traps. In chapter 10 and 11 of the game, Gordon can be joined by up to four armed Resistance soldiers or medics and can send his team further from him or call them back.

Many of the game's new features utilize the source engines's detailed physics simulation. Two sections of the game involve driving vehicles. Instead of button-oriented puzzles from Half-Life, environmental puzzles are also introduced with makeshift mechanical systems, revolving around the player's new ability to pick up, move, and place objects. Solutions involve objects' physical properties, such as shape, weight, and buoyancy. For example; In chapter three, "Route Kanal", the player is required to stack cinder blocks on a makeshift see-saw ramp to proceed over a wall. Alternatively, the player can build a crude staircase with the blocks, so the puzzle may be solved in multiple ways.

Part-way through the game, Gordon acquires the Gravity Gun, which allows him to draw distant objects towards himself or forcefully push them away, as well as the ability to manipulate larger and heavier objects that he cannot control without the weapon. These abilities are required to solve puzzles later in the game, and can also be used to great effect in combat, as any non-static object within proximity to the player has the potential to be used as a makeshift defense, such as a file cabinet, or a deadly projectile, such as a gasoline can or buzzsaw blade. The player can learn this through cleverly placed hints in the environment.

The game never separates the player with pre-rendered cutscenes or events; the story proceeds via exposition from other characters and in-world events, and the player can control Gordon for the entirety of the game. Much of the backstory to the game is simply alluded to or told through the environment. Even tutorials are mostly placed in the environment or in dialogue. The few pop-ups that actually appear only tell the player keybindings for actions.

Plot

Half-Life 2 takes place approximately twenty years after the incident at the Black Mesa Research Facility from the first game, in which scientists accidentally opened a portal to the hostile dimension Xen. The game begins with Gordon Freeman being awoken from stasis by the mysterious G-Man (Michael Shapiro) who reveals that the Black Mesa incident attracted the attention of a multidimensional empire called the Combine, which conquered Earth in seven hours. The Combine have implemented a brutal police state by biologically assimilating humans and other species, including the peaceful Vortigaunts (Louis Gossett Jr. and Tony Todd). The G-Man inserts Gordon into a train arriving at City 17, the site of the Combine Citadel, where Dr. Wallace Breen (Robert Culp), the former Black Mesa administrator who negotiated Earth's surrender governs as the Combine's puppet ruler.

After eluding the Combine forces, Gordon joins a resistance led by former Black Mesa scientist Dr. Eli Vance (Robert Guillaume), which also includes Vance's daughter Alyx (Merle Dandridge), former Black Mesa security guard Barney Calhoun (Shapiro), who works undercover as a Civil Protection officer, and another Black Mesa scientist, Dr. Isaac Kleiner (Harry S. Robins). After a failed attempt to teleport to the resistance base, Black Mesa East, from Kleiner's makeshift laboratory, Gordon progresses on foot through the city's canal system. The teleportation attempt accidentally alerts Breen and the Combine to Freeman's return, leading to them sending forces to attack him. He obtains an airboat and battles through sewers and rivers.

At Black Mesa East, Gordon is reintroduced to Eli and meets another resistance scientist, Dr. Judith Mossman (Michelle Forbes). Alyx introduces Gordon to her pet robot, Dog, and gives him the gravity gun, an instrument that can manipulate large objects. When the base is attacked by Combine forces, Eli and Mossman are captured and taken to the Combine detention facility Nova Prospekt. Separated from Alyx, Gordon detours through the zombie-infested town of Ravenholm, aided by its last survivor, Father Grigori (Jim French). Escaping the town, Gordon discovers a resistance outpost. He uses a customized dune buggy to travel a crumbling coastal road to Nova Prospekt, fighting off alien antlions, and helping the resistance fend off Combine raids.

Gordon breaks into Nova Prospekt and reunites with Alyx. They locate Eli but discover that Mossman is a Combine informant. Before they can stop her, Mossman teleports herself and Eli back to City 17's Citadel. The Combine teleporter explodes moments after Gordon and Alyx use it to escape Nova Prospekt.

Returning to Kleiner's lab, Gordon and Alyx learn that the teleporter malfunctioned and that a week has passed. In their absence, the resistance has mobilized against the Combine. With the aid of Dog and Barney, Gordon fights his way inside the Citadel. A security system inadvertently supercharges Gordon's gravity gun, allowing him to fight his way up the Citadel.

Gordon is captured in a Combine transport pod and taken to Breen's office, where he and Mossman are waiting with Eli and Alyx in captivity. Breen explains his plans to further conquer humanity with the Combine, contrary to what he told Mossman. Angry, Mossman frees Gordon, Alyx, and Eli before Breen can teleport them off-world. Breen tries to escape through a teleporter, but Gordon destroys its reactor with energy orbs launched from a gravity gun, killing Breen. Just as the reactor explodes, the G-Man reappears and freezes time. He praises Gordon's work and mentions offers for Gordon's "services", before placing him back into stasis.

Development

Valve president Gabe Newell in 2007

Development of Half-Life 2 began in June 1999, six months after the release of the original Half-Life. It was developed by a team of 82. With voice actors included, this number is 100. Valve's president, Gabe Newell, wanted to redefine the FPS genre, saying: "Why spend four years of your life building something that isn't innovative and is basically pointless? If Half-Life 2 isn't viewed as the best PC game of all time, it's going to completely bum out most of the guys on this team." Newell gave his team no deadline and a "virtually unlimited" budget, promising to fund the project himself if necessary. The game was built with Valve's new in-house game engine, Source, developed simultaneously.

Whereas Half-Life was set in a single location, the Black Mesa research facility, Valve wanted "a much more epic and global feel" for the sequel. One concept had the player teleporting between planets, which was discarded as it would make continuity between levels difficult. At the suggestion of the Bulgarian art director Viktor Antonov, the team settled on a city in an Eastern European location. In this early concept, players would start the game by boarding the Borealis, an icebreaker bound for the city. Nova Prospekt was conceived as a small rail depot built on an old prison in the wasteland and grew from a stopping-off point to the destination itself.

After observing how players had connected to minor characters in Half-Life, the team developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation. The animator Ken Birdwell studied the work of psychologist Paul Ekman, who had researched how facial muscles express emotion. The writer Marc Laidlaw created family relationships between the characters, saying as it was a "basic dramatic unit everyone understands" rarely used in games.

The team integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay. To experiment, the team created a minigame, Zombie Basketball, in which players used a physics-manipulating gun to throw zombies through hoops. In mid-2001, to test the engine, Valve built a street war between rioting citizens and police, featuring tanks, Molotov cocktails, hand-to-hand fighting, and looting. The designer John Guthrie described it as "an early attempt at getting something anything in the game that used non-player characters and physics".

In late 2001, Valve began creating a showreel, hoping to demonstrate it at E3 2002. For several months, Newell let the team work without his input so he could provide unbiased feedback, and focused on developing Steam, Valve's upcoming digital distribution service. The team presented the showreel to Newell, showcasing physics, environments such as the Borealis, and a dialogue-heavy scene with the scientist character Dr. Kleiner. Newell felt the showreel did not adequately show how the physics would affect gameplay and that the Kleiner scene was overlong. Reflecting on the failure, Laidlaw said: "The dramatic scenes with the characters are important, but they have to be in service of the interactivity and gameplay."

In September 2002, the team completed a second showreel, featuring a buggy race along the City 17 coast, an encounter with headcrabs on a pier, an alien strider attacking the city, and a greatly shortened Kleiner sequence. In October, Newell told the team they would announce Half-Life 2 at E3 2003 and release it by the end of the year. As with the original Half-Life, the team split into "cabals" working on different levels. Designers created levels using placeholder shapes and surfaces, which then were worked on by the artists.

A square in City 17, showing the Source engine's lighting and shadow effects

Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003, with demonstrations of the characters, animation, and physics. The reaction was positive, and the game won the E3 Game of the Show award. Newell also announced a release date, September 30, 2003, hoping this would motivate the team. They worked long hours to meet the deadline, but by July it had become clear they would miss it. Rumors spread of a delay, but Valve made no announcement until September 23, when they released a statement targeting a "holiday" release, leading to fan backlash.

Newell had been hesitant to announce a delay without a new release date. He said later: "We were paralyzed. We knew we weren't going to make the date we promised, and that was going to be a huge fiasco and really embarrassing. But we didn't have a new date to give people either." The graphics card manufacturer ATI had arranged a promotional event on Alcatraz to coincide with the planned release of Half-Life 2; Newell, unable to pull out of the event, gave a prepared speech, demonstrated the Source engine, and left without addressing questions.

On September 19, the Half-Life 2 source code was obtained by a German hacker, Axel Gembe, who had infiltrated Valve's internal network months earlier. According to Gembe, he shared it with another person, who leaked the code online in early October. Fans soon compiled a playable version of Half-Life 2, revealing how unfinished it was. The leaks damaged morale at Valve and slowed development. In March 2004, Gembe contacted Newell and identified himself, saying he was a fan and had not acted maliciously. Newell worked with the FBI to invite Gembe to a fake job interview, planning to have him arrested in the United States; however, police arrested him in Germany. In November 2006, Gembe was sentenced to three years' probation.

In 2004, the development team returned after Christmas to long hours, stressful working conditions, and no guarantee that the game, which was costing $1 million a month to develop, would be finished soon. However, Newell felt that progress was speeding up, with the team producing about three hours of gameplay per month. In March, they created the first version playable from start to finish and stopped production for a week to play through the game. Major changes by this point included the cutting of the Borealis sequence, the replacement of the jet ski with a hovercraft, and the physics-manipulating gravity gun being introduced earlier in the game. Feedback was positive across the company. Newell recalled: "The fact that you could go from one end of the game to the other was a really big thing for us. Then we knew it just had to get better but it was all there." After several months of bug fixes and playtesting, Half-Life 2 was completed on October 13, 2004.

Release

Valve made a 1GB portion of Half-Life 2 available for download in an encrypted format through Steam on August 26, 2004. On the day of release, Steam customers were able to pay, unlock the files, and play the game immediately, without having to wait for the game to download. In retail, distribution of the game was handled by Vivendi Universal Games through their Sierra Entertainment subsidiary.

Half-Life 2 was simultaneously released through Steam, CD, and on DVD in several editions. Through Steam, Half-Life 2 had three packages that a customer could order. The basic version ("Bronze") includes only Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source, whereas the "Silver" and "Gold" (collector's edition) versions also include Half-Life: Source (ports of the original Half-Life and Day of Defeat mod to the new engine). The collector's edition/"Gold" version additionally includes merchandise, such as a baseball cap, a strategy guide and CD containing the soundtrack used in Half-Life 2. Both the disc and Steam versions require Steam to be installed and active for play to occur. The retail copies of the game came in two versions, standard and Collector's Edition. The Collector's Edition differed from the physical items in the "Gold" edition, and included a T-shirt and sample of the Prima strategy guide.

A demo version with the file size of a single CD was made available in December 2004 at the web site of graphics card manufacturer ATI Technologies, who teamed up with Valve for the game. The demo contains a portion of two chapters: Point Insertion and "We Don't Go To Ravenholm...". In September 2005, Electronic Arts distributed the Game of the Year edition of Half-Life 2. Compared to the original CD-release of Half-Life 2, the Game of the Year edition also includes Half-Life: Source.

The soundtrack was written by Kelly Bailey. The Soundtrack of Half-Life 2, containing most of the music from Half-Life 2 and many tracks from the original Half-Life, was included with the Half-Life 2 "Gold" edition and sold separately from Valve's online store. Valve released a deathmatch mode in 2004.

Cyber café dispute

On September 20, 2004, GameSpot reported that Sierra's parent company, Vivendi Universal Games, was in a legal battle with Valve over the distribution of Half-Life 2 to cyber cafés. At this time, cyber cafés were important for the Asian PC gaming market where PC and broadband penetration per capita were much lower (except Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan).

According to Vivendi Universal Games, the distribution contract they signed with Valve included cyber cafés. This would mean that only Vivendi Universal Games could distribute Half-Life 2 to cyber cafés — not Valve through the Steam system. On November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas S. Zilly, of U.S. Federal District Court in Seattle, Washington, ruled that Vivendi Universal Games and its affiliates are not authorized to distribute (directly or indirectly) Valve games through cyber cafés to end users for pay-to-play activities according to the parties' current publishing agreement. Also, Judge Zilly ruled in favor of the Valve motion regarding the contractual limitation of liability, allowing Valve to recover copyright damages for any infringement as allowed by law without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.

On April 29, 2005, the two parties announced a settlement agreement. Vivendi Universal Games would cease distributing all retail packaged versions of Valve games by August 31, 2005. Vivendi Universal Games also was to notify distributors and cyber cafés that had been licensed by Vivendi Universal Games that only Valve had the authority to distribute cyber café licenses, and hence their licenses were revoked and switched to Valve's. Valve subsequently partnered with Electronic Arts for the retail distribution of its games, including the forthcoming Xbox version of Half-Life 2.

Ports and updates

In 2005, Valve released an extra level, Lost Coast, as a free download to anyone who purchased Half-Life 2. On December 22, Valve released a 64-bit version of the Source engine for x86-64 processor-based systems running Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows Vista x64, or Windows Server 2008 x64. This update enabled Half-Life 2 and other Source games to run natively on 64-bit processors, bypassing the 32-bit compatibility layer. Newell said it was "an important step in the evolution of our game content and tools", and that the game benefited greatly from the update. Some users reported major performance boosts, though technology site Techgage found stability problems and no notable frame rate improvement.

In 2006, Valve partnered with Taito to release Half-Life 2: Survivor, an arcade game version for the Japanese market. Valve rereleased Half-Life 2 as part of the 2007 compilation The Orange Box for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. On May 26, 2010, Half-Life 2 and its two episodic sequels were released for Mac OS X. In 2013, Valve ported the game to Linux, and released a free update adding support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. An NVIDIA Shield-exclusive port for Android was released on May 12, 2014. In January 2022, a new UI designed for the Steam Deck was released through an update in the beta branch.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic96/100 (PC)
90/100 (Xbox)
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comA+
Edge10/10 (PC)
Eurogamer10/10 (PC)
9/10 (Xbox)
GamePro (PC)
GameSpot9.2/10 (PC)
GameSpy
GamesRadar+
IGN9.7/10 (PC)
Maximum PC11/10
PC Gamer (US)98%
VideoGamer.com10/10
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The New York TimesPositive

Half-Life 2 has an aggregate score of 96/100 on Metacritic. Sources such as 1UP, GameSpy, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The New York Times, and VideoGamer.com gave it perfect scores, and others, such as PC Gamer, IGN, GamesRadar, and Eurogamer, gave near-perfect scores. It was the fifth game to receive ten out of ten from Edge. Critics praised the advanced graphics and physics. Maximum PC awarded Half-Life 2 11 on their rating scale which normally peaks at 10, calling it "the best game ever made".

In the United States, Half-Life 2's PC version sold 680,000 copies and had earned $34.3 million by August 2006. It was the country's 17th best-selling PC game between January 2000 and August 2006. It received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Forbes reported on February 9, 2011, that the game had sold 12 million copies worldwide.

In a review of The Orange Box, IGN stated that although Half-Life 2 has already been released through other media, the game itself is still enjoyable on a console. They also noted that the physics of Half-Life 2 are impressive despite being a console game. However, it was noted that the graphics on the Xbox 360 version of Half-Life 2 were not as impressive as when it was released on the PC. GameSpot's review of The Orange Box noticed that the content of both the Xbox 360 releases, and PlayStation 3 releases were exactly alike, the only issue with the PlayStation 3 version was that it had noticeable frame-rate hiccups. GameSpot continued to say that the frame rates issues were only minor but some consider them to be a significant irritation.

Several critics, including some that had given positive reviews, complained about the required usage of the program Steam, the requirement to create an account, register the products, and permanently lock them to the account before being allowed to play, along with installation difficulties and lack of support.

Awards

Half-Life 2 earned 39 Game of the Year awards, including Overall Game of the Year at IGN, GameSpot's Award for Best Shooter, GameSpot's Reader's Choice — PC Game of the Year Award, "Game of the Year" from the Interactive Achievement Awards and "Best Game" with the Game Developers Choice Awards, where it was also given various awards for technology, characters, and writing.

The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Half-Life 2 for their 2004 "Single-Player Shooter of the Year" and overall "Game of the Year" awards, although it lost to Painkiller and World of Warcraft. They wrote, "Half-Life 2, everyone's default pick to win this year, is indeed a fantastic roller coaster of a ride, not as great as the original but still leagues above most other shooters."

Edge awarded Half-Life 2 with its top honor of the year with the award for Best Game, as well as awards for Innovation and Visual Design. The game also had a strong showing at the 2004 British Academy Video Games Awards, picking up six awards, more than any other game that night, with awards including "Best Game" and "Best Online and Multiplayer." Computer Games Magazine named Half-Life 2 the fourth-best computer game of 2004. The editors call it "a masterful single-player experience that plays a constant game of one-upmanship with itself." It won the magazine's "Best Technology" (beating out Doom 3) and "Best Writing" awards, and was a runner-up in the "Best Sound Effects", "Best AI" and "Best Voice Acting" categories.

Guinness World Records awarded Half-Life 2 the world record for "Highest Rated Shooter by PC Gamer Magazine" in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. Other records awarded the game in the book include, "Largest Digital Distribution Channel" for Valve's Steam service, "First Game to Feature a Gravity Gun", and "First PC Game to Feature Developer Commentary". In 2009, Game Informer put Half-Life 2 5th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that "With Half-Life 2, Valve redefined the way first-person shooters were created".

Half-Life 2 was selected by readers of The Guardian as the best game of the decade, with praise given especially to the environment design throughout the game. According to the newspaper, it "pushed the envelope for the genre, and set a new high watermark for FPS narrative". One author commented: "Half-Life 2 always felt like the European arthouse answer to the Hollywood bluster of Halo and Call of Duty". Half-Life 2 won Crispy Gamer's Game of the Decade tournament style poll. It also won Reviews on the Run's, IGN's Best Game of the Decade and Spike Video Game Awards 2012 Game of the Decade. In December 2021, IGN named Half-Life 2 the ninth-best game of all time.

Mods

See also: List of Source engine mods and Source SDK

Since the release of the Source engine SDK, a large number of modifications (mods) have been developed by the Half-Life 2 community. Mods vary in scale, from fan-created levels and weapons, to partial conversions such as Rock 24, Half-Life 2 Substance and SMOD (which modify the storyline and gameplay of the pre-existing game), SourceForts and Garry's Mod (which allow the player to experiment with the physics system in a sandbox mode), to total conversions such as Black Mesa, Dystopia, Zombie Master or Iron Grip: The Oppression, the last of which transforms the game from a first-person shooter into a real-time strategy game. Some mods take place in the Half-Life universe; others in completely original settings. Many more mods are still in development, including Lift, The Myriad, Operation Black Mesa, and the episodic single-player mod Minerva. Several multiplayer mods, such as Pirates, Vikings and Knights II, a predominately sword-fighting game; Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat, which focuses on realistic modern infantry combat; and Jailbreak Source have been opened to the public as a beta. As part of its community support, Valve announced in September 2008 that several mods, with more planned in the future, were being integrated into the Steamworks program, allowing the mods to make full use of Steam's distribution and update capabilities. In Sept 2022, after a decade of development, a fan made full-VR mod was released titled "Half life 2: VR".

Sequels

Half-Life 2 was followed by two episodic sequels: Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). After canceling Episode Three and several further Half-Life projects, Valve released a prequel, Half-Life: Alyx, in 2020.

See also

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