New Impressions: Oh…My…God…
In 1998 Valve Software revolutionized the First Person Shooter genre with Half-Life. Featuring impressive production values and seamlessly integrated cinematic events, Half-Life went on to become one of the most popular games of all time, and established a hardcore fan base of epic proportions.
Five years in the making, Half Life 2 finally arrived on the PC last year, and it was everything gamers were hoping for. The darling of critics and fans alike, it was good news for Gabe Newell and the crew at Valve to be sure, but even better news (for console gamers anyway) is that it’s coming to Xbox this summer. Players everywhere rejoice; because as demonstrated by its PC cousin, Half Life 2 is poised to set the console world on its ear as well with incredible visuals, stellar play mechanics, and unprecedented physical realism.
HL2 sees the return of Gordon Freeman, the hero scientist from the first title. The new game takes place 10 years after the events of Half Life, in and around a hellhole called City 17, and is penned by author Mark Laidlaw. HL2 also sees the return of supporting characters from the first game, including everyone’s favorite security guard Barney, as well as introduces new faces, like Gordon’s partner Alyx Vance (the daughter of one of your fellow scientists killed at Black Mesa Labs in the first title). City 17 is clearly a bleak place, under the big brother like control of The Combine and its overlord Breen. As Gordon, you’ll hook up with a resistance group and fight against the invaders across crumbling neighborhoods and the war-torn remnants of human society, all the while attempting to solve the enigma of the true nature of the beings with a chokehold on mother earth. You’ll face creepy, masked Combine stormtroopers, as well as other beasties and inhuman creatures, many of which appear in the now infamous Ravenholm level. Overall, expect Half Life 2 to be an epic gaming experience with a massive story and compelling environments that atmospherically compliment the sweeping narrative.
The developers at Valve are passionate about bringing something completely fresh to the table this time around, and their enthusiasm is well warranted. Half Life 2 stretches the envelope in terms of realistic visuals, and its physics and gameplay mechanics are so completely over the top, they virtually defy description. All of this looks to be retained well in the Xbox port, though clearly at only 64MB of RAM some of the textures will have to be downgraded. However, as evidenced by the recent visually and aurally stellar Doom 3 port, there’s a lot of power left in Microsoft’s machine, so chances are the console version will hold up well to the original PC game. In fact, sources indicate that the development team has actually been able to improve the visuals in the Xbox version with dynamic and specular lighting, due to better control over the GPU. All of the fantastic physics and weapons remain, and the entire 4GB PC game (sans the multiplayer – no CounterStrike for Live. Sorry folks, but take heart – new levels may be available for download at some point) has made the port, so the complete experience will be there for Xbox gamers to wallow in. It’s also presented in 480p, so if you have a hi def set and 5.1, you’ll really get the best out of this version of Half Life 2.
Using a home brewed game engine named Source, the artists and programmers at Valve have crafted gaming for the new century, with a huge emphasis placed on reactive, realistic environments and scripted events that are completely subjective. In other words, the team has enabled the AI to integrate scenarios and reactions that are completely dependent on the player’s course of action. In this way, even the more cinematic moments of the game are rife with player choice and freedom of interaction.
Consider the following excerpt of gameplay. As Gordon moves through stunningly realistic environments, we see a shootout in progress. From the rooftop, Gordon looks down into a freight yard. Seeing 6 or 7 guards milling about the area, he targets a huge steel beam that’s hanging against a wall on the far side of the blacktop. Scoring a hit, the beam proceeds to sweep across the yard, knocking over scaffolding, fuel barrels, and smashing most of the guards into pulp. Any that remain standing are floored when the beam swings back across. All stunningly rendered, with completely realistic physics evident in every frame.
Another astounding sequence shows Gordon escorting allies through a raging street-to-street battle in the ruins of City 17. As he advances down the pavement using demolished cars, piles of rubble, and bombed out buildings for cover, Gordon blows away foes with eerie realism. Using weapons ranging from a wicked looking assault rifle, to devastatingly powerful hand grenades, he protects and covers his AI comrades, all the while choosing the path for them to follow. Shooting one soldier from atop a 20-story observation platform, the Source engine’s command of physics is fully realized, as he plummets with utter realism to the ground below.
Everything from the incredible electro-magnetic gravity gun that can be used to pick up and hurl all manner of metal objects, to a rocket launcher Gordon uses to dramatically battle a flying hunter-cruiser on a lonely highway (culminating in the smoking husk of the downed ship hurtling straight toward you) are yours to wreak havoc with. The ability to commandeer vehicles and take them for a spin presents itself at various points in Half Life 2, and these sequences also prove to be an exercise in gaming nirvana. Every movement, every bump, every spinout, is presented with the utmost clarity, and gamers are in for a wild ride they most likely haven’t experienced since they grabbed that first Warthog in Halo. Something to look forward to for Xbox fans, no doubt.
Half Life 2 spans 12 missions set in and around City 17. Of course, as in the first game, these will be presented as one long series of seamless events, with scripted sequences propelling the narrative along. Considering the powerhouse that Microsoft’s console is, Xbox gamers everywhere should get a version of HL2 that’s mostly as cutting-edge as its PC counterpart.
