Despite the game's mainly linear nature, much effort was put into making exploration rewarding and interesting many optional areas can be missed or avoided.Ī diverse set of enemies is present, which usually require being approached with different tactics: some coordinate in groups to out-maneuver or out-position the player others, such as the Manhack, fly directly at the player through small openings and tight corridors. The player also starts without items, slowly building up their arsenal over the course of the game.
It has similar mechanics to Half-Life, including health-and-weapon systems and periodic physics puzzles, except with the newer Source engine and improved graphics. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 is a single-player first-person shooter in which players control Gordon Freeman. Along the bottom of the screen, the player's health, suit charge level, and their ammunition is displayed. In 2020, after canceling several further Half-Life projects, Valve released the prequel Half-Life: Alyx.Ī screenshot of the player engaging a group of antlions with a pulse rifle.
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Half-Life 2 was followed by the free extra level Lost Coast (2005) and the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). It won 39 Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the best games of all time. Half-Life 2 was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, and received acclaim. A year before release, an unfinished version of the game was stolen by a hacker and leaked online the leak damaged team morale and slowed development. Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003, with a release date for that September it was delayed by over a year, triggering a backlash. They integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay, and developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation. Valve president Gabe Newell set his team the goal of redefining the first-person shooter genre. Development lasted five years and cost US$40 million. Half-Life 2 was created using Valve's Source engine, which was developed at the same time. Players control Gordon Freeman as he joins a resistance movement to liberate the Earth from the control of an alien empire, the Combine. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam retail editions were published by Sierra. Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game's virtual reality gameplay tools and components.Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve. Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it out the window.Ī set of Source 2 tools for building new levels is included with the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy through Half-Life: Alyx's Steam Workshop. Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Immerse yourself in deep environmental interactions, puzzle solving, world exploration, and visceral combat. VR was built to enable the gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life.
Valve’s return to the Half-Life universe that started it all was built from the ground up for virtual reality. Eli Vance.Īs founders of a fledgling resistance, you’ve continued your clandestine scientific activity-performing critical research, and building invaluable tools for the few humans brave enough to defy the Combine.Įvery day, you learn more about your enemy, and every day you work toward finding a weakness. Among them are some of Earth’s greatest scientists: you and your father, Dr. The Combine’s control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident has only strengthened as they corral the remaining population in cities. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series.