I got hyped for Half Life 2.
I religiously and repeatedly watched the teaser videos and memorised every tidbit of information
that I could gather about it before its release.
I still have a special place in my mind for all of this pointless information.
All the warning signs were there: a game that promised to better the original and to push
the boundaries in every way.
A new game engine with real-life physics, photorealistic environments and with life-like
characters that were so far beyond the competition so as to render many future titles obsolete.
We didn't just expect Half Life 2 to be the best game ever.
We DEMANDED it.
It would have to change the world forever or there would be riots and chaos.
...and for once, the game delivered.
2004 was a good year for games.
The best there has ever been, perhaps.
It started with the disappointment that was Deus Ex Invisible War, then came Far Cry and
Doom 3, then Rome Total War and Half Life 2.
These were all big releases and yet Half Life 2 managed to overshadow all of them.
I'll never forget my first play-through.
Although Steam was the thing that would ultimately change the world, I overlooked it as I rushed
to download the game on my 512 kb connection.
And it didn't disappoint.
I let out an excited and somewhat embarrassing laugh of sheer excitement as Alyx picked me
off the ground as it dawned on me that the game was better than I could ever have hoped
for.
What followed was three days of bliss as I fought my way through the best game that I
had ever played.
I had memorised so much of the trailers that as I encountered various sections of the game
for the first time, they felt like old friends.
Every chapter was like a new present that changed the formula in some way, yet somehow
still felt like classic Half Life 2.
You were free to simply enjoy the gameplay if you wanted, but look a little deeper and
you were able to piece together the world around you and what exactly had happened since
the original game.
It was the little details that made it special.
The chilling ambient noises, the distant hills and city blocks and the propaganda from Dr
Breen filling every TV screen.
These things transformed this game into an immersive PLACE that you could get utterly
engrossed in.
Even the small detail of progressing the time of day just that little bit with each loading
screen helped to flesh out the world of Half Life 2.
It knew it didn't need to deliver explosion after explosion to be special.
It trumped all that came before it with its unique blend of set-pieces and non-scripted
events.
The variety of weapons served to give the game an almost sandbox feel and just when
you thought you had things sussed, the game would tip things on its head again.
In its playtime it delivers more ideas than 10 other games and manages to do each with
a style that few games have since managed.
Even the use of the looming citadel was inspired as the game lead you closer and closer to
this terrifying end-goal.
I'll never forget receiving the gravity gun for the first time and using it to play with
Dog, Alyx's robotic pet / friend.
My butt has never clenched so tightly as it did during the Ravenholm section.
I don't think it's ever been the same since.
I was more than happy to race away from that location in the vehicle that I was given soon
after.
I enjoyed exploring abandoned buildings during the coastal levels.
Each of these structures harboured grizzly secrets and surprising challenges, as though
the developers were playing with you every step of the way.
The bridge level was a particular highlight and to this day I love the feeling of scale
and vertigo it delivers as it shakes from the wind and trains passing over-head.
Or how about the section where you have to avoid the sand or face the ant-lions?
Or how they then become a valuable ally in the following sections as you attempt to reclaim
the terrible Nova Prospekt jail?
To this day that section of the game is among my favourite of any game ever.
As much publicity and attention as Half Life 2 received, I still feel that it deserves
more as even over a decade after its release, the gameplay remains modern and exciting.
Although there are fewer enemy types and the weapons are less imaginative than in the original
game, they have all been far better fleshed out and have special place in my heart.
At first I was confused by the limited ammunition that each weapon had but with hindsight it
was just another genius move by Valve to get you to mix your strategies, as well as to
utilise the gravity gun.
Despite the lack of regenerating health, the game never feels frustrating or unbeatable
thanks to how supply crates drop the resources you require to progress.
This is all testament to the mastery of game and level design that Valve had reached in
2004.
Imagine what they'd be capable of now...
The impact this game has had, both on myself and on the gaming industry in general, has
been profound.
And few first person shooters since have managed to trump the game in any area.
Even the episodes that have been released since have almost disappointed me.
Yes, they make the graphics a bit better and are of the same high quality as the original
game... but how can playing them possibly compare to experiencing Half Life 2 for the
first time?
The game is a victim of its own success.
People still excitedly look forward to Half Life 3, but what do they expect from it?
No other unannounced sequel has been anticipated so greatly.
It could be the best game ever.
It could push the boundaries like the second one did, but even that wouldn't be enough.
And to be honest... where would we go from there?
Half Life 2 is a game I still look up to and respect and I'll pity anybody who doesn't
see it for the landmark title that it is.
And let's not forget Half Life 2 DM, the free spin-off title that was released with it and
which let you exchange toilets at high-speed with your friends.
Or, of course Counter Strike Source.
Or the Source SDK that let you make your own environments for these titles!
Rarely has a game been such a great investment as Half Life 2 was.
When I first played the game, I treasured every friendly NPC like they were a real person
and enjoyed just watching the characters interact with each other during the more peaceful parts
of the game.
Now I've become a little more...
reckless with my play-throughs.
I send friendly antlions to their deaths for amusement, rage as friendly NPCs block my
way through the levels and get frustrated by the slow pace of the set-pieces.
But I still enjoy the combat and ingenuity of the gravity gun, and would happily smell
the ashes for the g-man any day.
So I urge you to boot it up again- or if you haven't played it before- uh, well of course
you have, everybody has.
But like I was saying, boot it up again.
Turn up the sound and dim the lights and remember just how far we haven't come since this game.
Let it remind you of everything you love about the fps genre.
Then take a step back and see how it was part of Valve's master plan.
How it single-handedly kick-started Steam, which has since changed the way we play games.
Don't hate Valve for turning their back on the Half Life series- they've already given
us more than most developers have.
Instead, just be annoyed by how they leave each title on a cliff-hanger.
There's nothing that I hate more than abrupt en