I just completed Half-Life 2 on the PS3. It's widely considered one of the greatest games of all time, so what did I personally think of it? Brilliant! :D
The premise is that humanity has been enslaved by an alien race called the Combine, and you play Gordon Freeman, humanity's only hope of freedom.
I haven't yet played the first Half-Life, but, obviously, it's not required to still enjoy this sequel. In fact, it very cleverly begins with implying that the Combine wipe people's memories, forcing Gordon to learn who he is from scratch.
Video games usually alternate between gameplay and cutscenes, but Half-Life 2 plays out entirely from an interactive first-person perspective, making you feel like you're wandering freely around this world as Gordon. At the time, that must have been groundbreaking.
The game's only detractor for me is that, being mainly a shooter, it is very heavy on combat – too much so for my liking. Playing this game, I came to the conclusion that shooters really aren't my thing. In fact, my favourite stages were always the parts that didn't involve direct combat, especially the point where you have an army of Antlions at your command – that was awesome!
I also have to confess that the enemies in this game… they scare the shit out of me! The alien creatures are more terrifying than anything I've seen in a horror movie! And I think the first-person perspective just enhances that.
There's too much to comment on while keeping it brief, but let's just say everything about this game is astounding: the premise, the enemies, the backgrounds, the Gravity Gun, the physics, the overall sense of realism… I can definitely say I love the game, but if it had just cut down on the shoot-'em-up aspect, it would have been perfect.
My rating: 95%.
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