December 2004 issue of PCGamer - HL2 98%

[Garipedo]

I found this on the GameSpy PC forums -

Do they like it? Chuck Osborn gushes over the game saying things like “It makes Far Cry weep and smacks Doom III with its own flashlight” and “It raises the bar for interactive entertainment, and then uses that bar to club all other games into submission.” At the end of the review Osborn gives Half-Life 2 a 98 percent, Editor’s Choice verdict saying it “Surpasses (the original) Half-Life in every way. Arguably the best game ever made.”

What don’t they like about it? Not much, obviously. The “Lows” in the Final Verdict are “Squadmates sometimes get in your way; low-res textures in huge outdoor scenes.”

What’s the story? Gordon Freeman is back to lead a resistance against those strange creatures from Xen that have taken over the earth. In other words, Freeman didn’t get the job done in the first Half-Life. Hardly original sci-fi, yet Osborn assures his readers that the story, like almost everything else, is great.

Does the game include scripted sequences? Yes.

What are the graphics like? Osborn describes the game as a “visual smorgasbord” with lots of detail. No surprise, there.

What are the weapons like? The crowbar is back along with “conventional” weapons such as a .357 magnum, machine gun, and a crossbow “your sole sniping weapon.” However, Osborn stresses that you can use almost any object as a weapon. Finally, the “Gravity Gun” is said to be perhaps the best weapon and can attract and hold objects then shoot those objects as projectiles. The Gravity Gun’s ability to manipulate objects also makes it a useful tool.

What’s the gameplay like? Osborn says it never gets boring, and you’re doing something different on each level. You fight alongside squadmates comprised of either “Ant Lions” or humans. You can issue orders to either type of allies.

What’s multiplayer like? Half-Life 2 includes a copy of Counter-Strike Source which is Counter-Strike dressed up with the new engine.

What’s Half-Life Source like? If you get the collector’s edition of Half-Life 2, then you get a copy of Half-Life updated with the new engine. Osborn says it looks much like the original Half-Life except for better physics and water textures. Nevertheless, Valve says that modders will provide all-new textures and visual effects for Half-Life.

What are the system requirements? Oddly, the review does not mention the system specs, so I turned to an article at the end of the magazine called “Hardstuff: 12 Things You Need to Know About Running Half-Life 2 on Your PC.” Gary McTaggart, from Valve Software, recommends a 256 MB graphics card to turn up all the graphics settings, so I interpret that as stating that a 128 MB card is OK with the lower settings. He says that PCI Express won’t make the game run much better than AGP, you’ll need at least a 1.2 GHz CPU to run the game, and that they prefer 512 MB RAM but “more certainly won’t hurt.” (The minimum RAM needed is 256 MB.)

So there you have it. Half-Life 2 is getting high praise already, but as I hope most of you are aware, reviews can’t tell you if YOU will like the game, and you’ll never really know unless you play it yourself. I plan to buy a copy, and I think I’ll like it, but frankly I’m skeptical that it’s as good as Osborn says. The first Half-Life had its share of imperfections, but the reviewers still shouted its praises.

He said its arguably the best game ever made. I think it just beat Halo 2.

 

[eiric]

I found this on the GameSpy PC forums -


He said its arguably the best game ever made. I think it just beat Halo 2.

Very very old! But thx anyway.

 

[UKchaos2]

. I think it just beat Halo 2.

Funny, i havent seen any Halo 2 reviews yet.

 

[Platinum]

wow old ... thx

 

[silverstealth89]

i swear we dont need anymore people telling me especially that HL2 is a good game we got it already

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Where are the Halo 2 reviews? magazine reviews? any scores/ percentages anywhere?

 

[silverstealth89]

the reason why we dont have anyhere is because hte website is called halflife2.net

 

[Hectic Glenn]

yes but are there any? that was my question...you dont have to tell me, but you could do if you are a nice enough person. Thank you for your hospitality towards me...

 

[Garipedo]

Official Xbox Magazine gave it a 9.7/10. Thats 97% [for those of you who aren't smart].

 

[Ownzed]

Official Xbox Magazine gave it a 9.7/10. Thats 97% [for those of you who aren't smart].

Hah! Halo 2 sucks. Lol jk...But HL2 is better..

 

[Asuka]

Lol i got that mag a month ago

 

[Adrien C]

I have it too, looks good. Huge spoiler on one pic, you have to see it well touhg.

 

[tkato]

I really think that HL2 is much better then H2 and the ppl who review halflife 2 and halo 2 so it's like HL2 rase the bar for video gaming and now when they play it and see that it's a very good game they say that H2 is better because he didn't made so much noise and fuzz and still a good game...

OMG
im just gonna stop now :\.

 

[Ownzed]

I really think that HL2 is much better then H2 and the ppl who review halflife 2 and halo 2 so it's like HL2 rase the bar for video gaming and now when they play it and see that it's a very good game they say that H2 is better because he didn't made so much noise and fuzz and still a good game...

OMG
im just gonna stop now :\.

Yes, HL2 will be MUCH better than H2 hands down...

 

[Subatomic]

No spoilers really. What are you thinking?

Dog was already shown/announced on many websites.

 

[Adrien C]

On the first pics, look really well, in one you see a boss.

 

[SilentKilla]

Hah! Halo 2 sucks. Lol jk...But HL2 is better..

Halo does suck in my opinion. I always here people saying, LETS GO PLAY HALO, OMFG, HALO. Why.. I'd rather play with MYSELF.

 

[phantomdesign]

Where are the Halo 2 reviews? magazine reviews? any scores/ percentages anywhere?

The reason they didn't release Halo 2 to magazine reviewers early is because they didn't want to kill the baseless Halo2 hype. All the magazines would have been saying "Uhhh...there's a few new weapons and a couple new vehicles....but it's more of the same." Remember most companies are in the buisness of sales $$$.

 

[Prone]

Aaaargh, could y'all stop talking about Halo 2...?

Nice score but old somewhat...

@phantom: playing through Halo 2 at the moment (yes, the press got it of course) I'd not say it like that but this shouldn't be a Halo thread again.