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 games: half-life 2
Was the six years of development worth it? It's been a remarkable year for PC gaming fans of first-person shooters, with the arrival of not just two highly anticipated games – Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 – but also of the enormously impressive Far Cry. Developer Valve's 1995 title, Half-Life, was a benchmark in the genre, comparable to Doom in its premise, but more elaborate in its activities and storytelling. The hero of the piece, Gordon Freeman, returns for the sequel, once more donning his environment suit and wielding his trusty crowbar. But it’s a very different world you're guiding Gordon through.  The world is now a nightmare of Big Brother repression, populated either by citizens downtrodden by forces of the “Combine” overlords or by dangerous creatures. Many of the elements are familiar, but the trappings of the game are realized through some of the most impressive game graphics yet. The detail, lighting and general atmosphere of the diverse settings are impressive. And even though you're frequently confined to the old standby of gloomy corridors, you also get to whiz up canals on an airboat, drive up a desolate coastline, and fight house-to-house in a ruined city. The game even incorporates some squad-based sections which add an interesting dynamic, but can be frustrating as the AI isn't perfect and your comrades frequently get in the way. Further mild frustration arises from some repetition and some poor signposting, but on the whole this is a stupendous heir to its landmark progenitor.  However, I do wonder whether this year's PC FPSs offer anything genuinely new. Doom 3 was hugely enjoyable but was essentially an old-school action FPS with new school visuals, and while Far Cry offered some remarkable new environments that could be roamed fairly freely, it was still very linear. As is Half-Life 2. The visuals, the audio, the physics, the storytelling, it's all virtually immaculate, but I'm having trouble putting my finger on a factor that feels like a true innovation. This may feel like something of a disappointment considering the six years of development, but I do wonder where the story-based FPS genre can go next. Perhaps a game with more sense of choice. As it is, Half-Life 2 is a first-rate linear FPS, though whether it tops Far Cry for the accolade of the year's finest is a tough call.
Daniel Etherington
Half-Life 2 is out now on PC.
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