Reflecting on Half-Life 2
If you were to make a Mount Rushmore of PC games; four incredibly identifiable and important titles that define the platforms history of games- what would the four be? Wolfenstein? Doom? A Civilization title? Perhaps a CRPG? Perhaps I have no place to say this because I’m extremely new to PC gaming, but I feel like Half-Life 2 has a decent argument for being on that Mount Rushmore.
Half-Life 2 had inadvertently spawned the biggest meme in hardcore gaming history- Half-Life 3. Half-Life 2 is one of those pieces of media that casts a shadow bigger than it actually is. It’s one of those things that makes you cross your arms and go “Okay, how good is this actually?” when you boot it up. It’s like when somebody presses play on the first episode of The Sopranos or Breaking Bad; there’s an inherent bit of skepticism.
After recently finishing Half-Life 1 via the fanmade Black Mesa remake; I felt like the game was an extremely refreshing and unique experience all these years later. Genius level design, no obnoxious NPC telling me how to progress or play, no cutscenes ripping me from the controller- Half-Life 1 was a seamless joy. With having loved Half-Life 1 so much, what could Half-Life 2 do to really impress me?
Released six years after the original game (borderline unheard of at the time), Half-Life 2 begins with Gordon Freeman being pulled from his ethereal statis. He’s been taken from Earth and human reality and basically been asleep for twenty years. When he wakes up, Earth isn’t really the way we’d expect. Granted, in HL1 we didn’t really see any sort of civilization. We spent he majority of the game in a top secret laboratory, deserts, and an alien planet. We never really got to see a neighborhood.
The first hour or so of Half-Life 2 might be my favorite sequence in the game. Honestly one of my favorite in any game. We start off in City 17, with architecture inspired by Eastern Europe and a touch of Brutalism. Unlike the first game which takes us about an hour or two to reach human enemies, HL2 very quickly throws us into an escape from Civil Protection, the overbearing authorities of City 17. You’ll be shooting baddies while also doing the typical Half-Life searching for nooks and crannies to sneak into and progress.
The combination of the architecture and color palettes of City 17 are burned into my minds eye. It’s quickly become one of my favorite cities in gaming history. It feels like no detail was chosen haphazardly. Even when you’re underground in the sewers, every little shine of light gives off this enchantingly blue tint. It’s interesting to note that the original design for City 17 was something much darker and dystopian, which was changed because the designers were afraid the player would grow fatigued of such an atmosphere. I really like that early version of City 17, but I can’t understate how much I love the version we got.
Half-Life 1 felt consistent in its vision. With exception of a brief stint in a desert and an admittedly long stretch on alien planet Xen, HL1 feels very industrial. You’re almost constantly surrounded by machines and running down tunnels. It also never strays from it’s mix of shooting, puzzle solving, and “nook and cranny searching” (for lack of a better term). Half-Life 2 feels almost like a slideshow of ideas. Each hour seems to present the player with a new central gameplay mechanic or theme.
The first hour is your typical shooting, running, and puzzle-solving.
The second hour has the player riding an airboat on water, with brief stints on land for shooting and puzzles.
The third hour has us in the fan favorite Ravenholm, which gives players the Gravity Gun and many fun ways to use it. Ravenholm also feels quite dark and abandoned when compared to the rest of the game.
The fourth hour has us using a land vehicle this time.
The fifth hour has us controlling a bunch of creatures called Antlions as we search for an important character in an abandoned prison.
The sixth hour has us leading human units instead of Antlions back in City 17.
Of course, this is just a truncation of the actual events of the game. Even with the more notably different sections like the vehicles ones, the game feels connected with it’s classic shooting, light puzzles and genius environmental design. I think this is a glass half full or empty situation. Some people may see this shifting gameplay as the game keeping itself fresh. Others may see it as a distraction from what they’re really here for- shooting.
As mentioned before, Gordon wakes us from his statis twenty years later and realizes that Earth has been taken over by an extraterrestrial group known as The Combine. There was a “Seven Hour War” in which Earths forces were wiped out in less than half a day. Dr. Wallace Breen helped Earth concede to The Combine in exchange for a position of power. Gordon Freeman has become a sort of legend; his very name signifying the hope humans have in this oppressive world- being free men. I love this idea so much, but much like with Half-Life 1, I would’ve loved just a tiny smidge of exposition somewhere. Maybe even a handful of notes to read. I understand that the Ethos of the series is to interrupt the player as little as possible; but there’s so much cool lore within the series that it’s a shame I have to go on YouTube to learn about it. Possible my favorite moment in the game is when you first get the iconic Gravity Gun and are playing fetch with a robot named Dog. You’re in a little courtyard behind a laboratory with secondary protagonist Alyx Vance. The sky is starry. The vibes are positive. It’s rare moments like this I wouldn’t mind Half-Life giving me a bit more.
The weapons were mostly your standard fair; assault rifles, pistols, crossbows, and shotguns. My favorites were the Pulse Rifle due to its amazing secondary fire and of course the Gravity Gun. Much like with Half-Life 2 itself, it’s hard to understate the reputation of the Gravity Gun. The greatest weapon in gaming history? Many would claim it is! The GG allows you to pull random items towards you and launch them back at enemies. This includes chunks of rabble, wooden boards, explosive barrels, enemy grenades, giant saw blades, etc. I was only seven years old when Half-Life 2 released, and I am currently twenty-nine as I’ve beaten the game for the first time. I only say this because the important of the Gravity Gun within the realm of gaming history and technology is lost on me. But nonetheless, I still found it fun and creative all these years later.
Twenty-two years later and Half-Life 2 still stands as one of the biggest and loneliest titans in gaming history. No games feel quite like it in terms of gameplay, level design, atmosphere, and lore. Half-Life 2 is one of those games nobody dares to even attempt to iterate or improve upon. Seemingly….not even Valve themselves…
