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 enlarge | From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $14.61
You Save: $5.38 (27%)
New (11) Used (11) from $9.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 2226
Platform: Windows Xp
ESRB: Mature
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.1
MPN: 9850
Model: 09850
UPC: 014633098501
EAN: 0014633098501
ASIN: B000ID1AKI
Release Date: October 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Sealed Some Shelfwear
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| Customer Reviews:
 a gamer September 3, 2007
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
The review score of this game proves that you CAN NOT trust amazon reviewers. An average of 3??? Are you kidding me? You can't actually be serious. There is no way this game is mediocre and its not just me who believes this game is a great game. Go to any gaming website and this game would not get below an 80%. Most of the time its 90 and above. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE!
As Good As It Gets August 24, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Half-Life 2 is a game that made me believe in first-person shooters again. I have to admit, it's not my favorite genre of gameplay (run, jump, shoot everything, repeat). This game goes above and beyond what this genre can be.
Half-Life 2 comes across as a living breathing world, a world where extra-dimensional aliens have taken the Earth, and the remaining humans are living in internment camp/cities or joining the resistance. The character designs and voice-acting are top-notch, the controls are fluid and easy, and the Havok engine means you get to interact with almost every random object on the screen. I loved using the 'gravity gun' to hurl a can of paint at a head-hugger zombie, and having the paint make a nice splatter that remained on its torso while it pursued me, for example. Little real world details abound, from birds overhead, combine officers chatting off-camera, civilians muttering about their plights, trains in the distance, combine propaganda posters covered with graffiti, etc.
Don't expect enemies that expose themselves and just stand there, either. These enemies DO use cover, and WILL attempt to flank you.
Valve's Steam server is also a great addition if you're an avid gamer, BTW. They own a lot of great older titles (Deus Ex, The Longest Journey, Pirates!, to name a few) that you can download, and the server usually does a PC scan to optimize your graphics settings for the best gameplay. Plus you can delete them for space and re-download them anytime.
I used to use a NVidia 7300 LE graphics card, which is pretty basic, and this game still ran great.
 Great game, terrible ending August 21, 2007
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Half-life 2, even mroe so than its predecessor, is an incredible gaming experience. The storyline is completely immersive, the graphics are beautiful, and the game engine is the most impressive one I've seen to date. Despite meeting the minimum qualifications I did have some problems with my video card, which hindered somewhat my gaming experience: the flashlight didn't actually illuminate anything, and a couple times I endured some serious lag when the game was trying to do too many things at once. But I can't blame the game for the shortcomings of my own computer.
To some extent I had trouble thinking of this as Half-life 2, since the entire feel of the game is largely different from the original. It was sort of like watching the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, where you realize a lot of backstory has occured since the last time you participated in this universe. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the storyline for what it was, and actually found the level settings and environments to be more enjoyable than the original Half-life. Two levels in particular - an abandoned zombie-infested town and a prison complex - are outstanding gaming experiences.
After having so much fun in the first dozen or so levels, it's unfortunate that I have to take away a star for what is in my opinion a terrible, terrible ending to an otherwise incredible game. I found the last three levels to be aggravating rather than enjoyable, and kept playing only because I knew I was near the end as opposed to any real enjoyment. The last couple levels essentially involve you being shot at from all sides by constantly respawning enemies with very little cover (often forced to sit around waiting for a hole in the wall to appear so you can continue to progress in the game) and I found this to be boring rather than exhilirating. In addition, like most games involving NPC teammates, I found my teammates' AI at the end levels to be extremely frustrating: they would get in the way more often than not, had no sense of combat tactics, and were generally only good for drawing enemy fire as opposed to actually contributing something. Finally, the final levels in the omnipresent Citadel were largely anti-climatic, focused far more on concluding the story than on providing an enjoyable gaming experience. Some people love the final weapon you acquire in the Citadel levels, but I found it to be overpowerful and pretty dull, especially since, again, I spent the whole time being surrounded on all sides.
The weapons, in fact, were another one of my slight disappointments. The game introduces two excellent new weapons: the much-toted Gravity Gun (which allows you to pick up and throw most objects in the game) and the so-called Bug Bait (which puts an army of alien insects at your command). Given these outstanding new weapons, the rest seem somewhat pedestrian and disappointing, as they are essentially repeats of your original arsenal in Half-life 1. I would have liked to have seen more creative weapons in the game (for example, I'm surprised that at no point you are able to utilize Manhacks a la the Snarks in the original game).
Despite these disappointments, however, I found Half-life 2 to be an excellent game. The first time I played it the quality of the video and environments blew me completely away, but having played it so many times now I've reached a point where I take them for granted. That is the reason you need to play this game: it will (if not already has) become the standard by which all other first-person shooters will be judged.
P.S. I know a lot of people have had trouble with Steam. I personally only experienced one minor glitch that was fixed after a reboot, but the potential problems are something to be aware of. However strong the rationale behind Steam, it goes without saying that through Steam Valve has put themselves first and the customer second (I wonder, for example, if I can ever reinstall this game on another computer ever again). That being said, the sheer excellence of the gaming experience justify tolerating Steam.
 Class action lawsuit warranted August 19, 2007
5 out of 19 found this review helpful
I am seriously thinking about referring this issue to a group of lawyer friends. I am in the technology profession, and I've spent hours trying to get this game to run. And it looks like I am not the only one. Of course, we can't get a refund. How can any company think it's ok when so many folks are unable to use their product, offer little in the way of support, and won't give a refund. Unbelievable...
GREAT FPS! Steam is a PITA, but otherwise ... August 9, 2007
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Except for Steam, I'd call this about the best fps I've ever played. The artwork is fabulous, and the motion, the weapons, vehicles, overall responsiveness and realism is first rate. And the story line, while not the very best, is a realistic vehicle for a genuine message, like a good video game should be. Because this is a great work of art here, folks.
The overall theme of this game is of the rebellion, taking place around the world right now, of humanity against post-humanity. Kind of ironic since anybody educated and wealthy enough to possess the game and a computer to play it on is probably pretty good posthuman material anyway. But that's what it's all about. (Same with "Prey," really, but the Doom engine s#cks by comparison.) In the game it's all about a violent underground conspiracy against faceless half-human mandroids, who are gradually turning all humans into faceless creeps; where in real life it's all about disorganized lo-tech cults, or tribes, or ethnic groups, struggling (mostly) peacefully to preserve something of themselves as the forces of "civilization" close in and normalize us all. As Gordon Freeman, you are the "last free man," and sort of a heavily-armed messiah. Just as some modern terrorists may see themselves.
Meanwhile, the game interface is fabulous, the action is awesome, and the artwork is impressive. The vehicles are awesome, and just loads of fun. The weapons are great, original, and work smoothly.
I'm very impressed that they can do so much without requiring that much of a video card. I have no problem at all with my "mere" NVidia 5600fx card. You can't even play Doom 3 or Quake 4 with my card, really, and their graphics engine is cr@p by comparison to the half-life engine. Sure, IMO any vid card that costs $100 is an unnecessary luxury--but still, compared to what's required to play something like F.E.A.R., or Crysis, I'm really pleased somebody actually tried to make a game that isn't just a demo for the latest outrageously expensive video card. Let the other chumps buy the $400 vid cards and I'll buy them later for an eighth of that. You can actually make really good games with just a good plot, engaging characters, good artwork, and maybe sneaking some ideas in there. It also helps if your graphics engine does a fabulous job. I have a 2.4 ghz p4, 2g ram, and this game flies for me. So a serious gamer would probably say it is a good game for a slow machine.
The only real detractor for this game is the whole Steam process, which requires you to be online while you are playing, even if only single-player like this game was basically designed for. Essentially it's an ironclad piracy protection scheme to keep the game from being pirated to death like the original half-life was. (After all, only the best games get ripped off as much as half-life 1 was.) D@mned shame, really.
After reading all the reviews complaining about Steam, let me say this: The game is absolutely great. If you have a legit copy, a good internet connection, and a Pentium 4 as good as mine or better and a graphics card of decent quality, you will have no problems. If you have trouble installing or registering, do a little searching for solutions before giving up. I discovered among other things you have to install the "optional" other game that comes with HL2 before it will install properly, and then you can uninstall it at your leisure, or just ignore it. I think the guys at Valve have displayed kinda poor business judgment before, at least partly because their focus is on the artistic, or so I like to think. The whole Steam registration scheme is irritating, but with a little patience I got it all worked out and enjoyed the game massively, which is what really matters.
So for $20, as I see it priced here at Amazon, it's a steal. If you haven't tried it this is one of the best FPS games you can get, and the hardware requirements aren't outrageous. You may find yourself losing a lot of sleep playing this great game.
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