Is Half life 2 week at Ars Technica! This Saturday, November 16, marks 20 years since the launch of Half life 2—a game of historical importance to the artistic medium and technology of computer games. Every day until the 16th, we will publish a new article analyzing the game and its impact.
The time has finally come to close one of the most notable gaps in my gaming history. Despite more than a decade writing about video games and even more years enjoying them, I never got around to playing them. Half life 2.
Not only have I not played it, but I have managed to stay in the dark about almost everything having to do with it. I always assumed that one day I would be able to play this classic, and I wanted the experience to be as close as possible to what it would have been in 2004. So my only knowledge of Half life 2 before starting this project it was 1) the game is set in the same universe as Portala game I love, 2) the protagonist is named Gordon Freeman and looks uncannily like a silent, bespectacled young Hugh Laurie, and 3) there's something called Gravity Gun.
That's all. He didn't even know exactly what the Gravity Gun did, just that it existed.
So, it's time for you to learn what all the fuss is about. I have cataloged my spontaneous reactions as well as my more analytical thoughts about Half life 2as an independent project and as a catalyst to establish new standards in design. But if you're looking for the TL;DR of whether I think the game holds up, my answer is: it depends.
Starting a classic with a thud
A day with red letters! It's time to experience this iconic piece of video game history. I spend most of the intro sequence at the train station soaking up the atmosphere of dystopian City 17. However, a few minutes later, I think I'm supposed to sneak past a guard. Because I'm a fugitive trying to escape this weird Big Brother building, and I swear Barney told me to avoid detection. Instead, the guard sees me immediately and hits me on the head for not throwing a bottle in the trash. Not an auspicious start.