Half-Life 2 Review
I'm continuing my adventure into the vast back catalogue of video games I missed first time around with Half-Life 2 (2004). I bought the Orange Box late last year on PC and played through Portal. Frankly I was blown sideways by the unbridled genius of it. An almost flawless game in my opinion. So, after completing that game, I moved on to Half-Life 2 which I missed in '04 when it was first released. I hit the first loading point. The game crashes. I restart. I hit the next loading point. The game crashes AGAIN. I quickly give up.
Fast forward 7 months to this week and I've bought Orange Box for the Xbox 360. This time Half Life 2 doesn't crash.
I just finished the game today so I thought I'd write down a few of my thoughts about what is considered by many to be one of the greatest games of all time.
My first complaint is a major one. About halfway through the game I encountered a major glitch that meant I couldn't proceed at all. Basically a door that was supposed to open would not open. Eventually I had to start a new game from the previous chapter. There is no excuse for this kind of thing in my opinion. Do not release a broken game.
Secondly I thought the vehicle sections went on for too long and the control system was too fiddly. The car section consisted of long empty highways, then an occasional encounter where you'd have to get out on foot anyway. Why not remove the car entirely and just put all the encounters closer together? They felt tacked on to me.
Also there were a couple of occasions where I had to use an online guide to help me out, not because a section was too difficult but because I had no freaking clue where I was supposed to go next. Wandering around aimlessly for half an hour is not fun in anyone's book. Halo got around this problem by putting up a marker after a certain amount of aimless wandering, it's really an easy fix.
On the whole though, It held my attention sufficiently for me to play through to the end, which is rare these days and the wide array of weaponry gives you ample opportunities to pull off cool maneuvers. Also, as part of the Orange Box you really can't complain about the price. Definitely worth your time.
Fast forward 7 months to this week and I've bought Orange Box for the Xbox 360. This time Half Life 2 doesn't crash.
I just finished the game today so I thought I'd write down a few of my thoughts about what is considered by many to be one of the greatest games of all time.
My first complaint is a major one. About halfway through the game I encountered a major glitch that meant I couldn't proceed at all. Basically a door that was supposed to open would not open. Eventually I had to start a new game from the previous chapter. There is no excuse for this kind of thing in my opinion. Do not release a broken game.
Secondly I thought the vehicle sections went on for too long and the control system was too fiddly. The car section consisted of long empty highways, then an occasional encounter where you'd have to get out on foot anyway. Why not remove the car entirely and just put all the encounters closer together? They felt tacked on to me.
Also there were a couple of occasions where I had to use an online guide to help me out, not because a section was too difficult but because I had no freaking clue where I was supposed to go next. Wandering around aimlessly for half an hour is not fun in anyone's book. Halo got around this problem by putting up a marker after a certain amount of aimless wandering, it's really an easy fix.
On the whole though, It held my attention sufficiently for me to play through to the end, which is rare these days and the wide array of weaponry gives you ample opportunities to pull off cool maneuvers. Also, as part of the Orange Box you really can't complain about the price. Definitely worth your time.
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