It's been six years since the original Half-Life hit store shelves and redefined how first-person shooters would be designed. After a development period that suffered from major setbacks, including code-theft and litigations, their second masterpiece has finally been released. While it may not redefine the genre this time, it makes a meteoric impact that is sure to be felt in games to come.

It's been untold years since the main character, Gordon Freeman, was on a train heading nowhere and had to make a fateful choice with the mysterious G-man: Either work for him or die. It looks like Gordon chose to pick up a new career, and reappears on a train pulling into a type of detention center. It turns out this is not a prison camp, but the remnants of City 17 where the Black Mesa research facility used to be. To Gordon, no time has passed. The rest of the world was conquered by the Combine, who not only own the population but set up a suppression field to prevent them from reproducing. Additionally, they set up a puppet government in City 17 along with an augmented police force to keep the peace.

Before the player has a chance to fully take in what's going on, Gordon is rushed away to the underground resistance, where he meets up with his old acquaintance, Eli Vance. He dons his hazard suit, picks up his crowbar, and once again becomes one ass-kicking theoretical physicist! Apparently, Gordon has entered some sort of legendary status among the resistance, and soon sets out to prove his reputation. What follows are hours of non-stop action within a masterfully told storyline.

The stunning graphics bring the world to life. There is no doubt that Gordon is in a burnt out city. The characters the player comes across are almost frighteningly realistic in their look, animation, and excellent voice acting. Half-Life 2 has the most stunning graphics of any game to date. There are no cut-scenes involved here. Everything takes place from Gordon Freeman's perspective, and the player is free to move around and examine things as characters are talking. The changing facial expressions on the different characters top everything off; they can express everything from fear, to anger, to relief. There were times when we lost the sense of playing alongside animations. There are no static load screens either, every part of the city is interconnected. However, there are short load periods the player will experience while walking into a new area. Enemies react to where they are shot, and blood splatters onto almost every surface. None of the enemies, whether they are Combine storm troopers or head-crab zombies, ever seem to lose their menacing quality. There is extensive use of lighting, shadows, and sounds. There is nothing like the howl of an evolved head-crab zombie to completely freeze a player in his tracks. The giant spidery Striders never fail to be both threatening and awe-inspiring.

But it's not all about eye-candy. The powerful graphics pull the player into HL2's world, but the actual gameplay is equally impressive. The Havoc 2.0 physics engine opens up a whole new universe of possibilities which Valve fully exploits, most prominently with the "gravity gun" that can pick up virtually any object in the game and launch them great distances - including explosive barrels and circular saw discs. The laser-guided rocket launcher is as impressive as ever, as it sends bodies flying and make Striders recoil from the impact. The physics engine also changes where things fall, so even though the game's events are scripted, nothing plays out in quite the same way twice, and players are allowed a certain amount of creativity when they get stuck.

The enemy A.I. is excellent: it makes full use of cover, moves in formation, tosses grenades, and sometimes throws nearby objects at you. Other than these aspects, there are actually very few changes from the gameplay found in the original Half-Life, but why mess with something that works? There are more than a few puzzles to be solved, usually with a gravity gun or through lots of jumping. Half-Life 2 pulls off what very few shooters are able to do: Include jumping puzzles without being annoying. While some puzzles are more challenging than others, thankfully, none even closely approach the annoyance level of the final sequence of Half-Life. The puzzles also reinforce the main aspect about Gordon Freeman that separates him from all other video game heroes: He's just an ordinary guy. Sure, he has access to some high-tech toys and a hazard suit, but once the suit's power runs out, he's just as vulnerable as anyone else and has to rely on his wits to survive. The suit still doesn't charge by itself, so most players will be in desperate search for power cells and recharging stations. It also raises the tension level when you're low on health, with no shields, and a dozen zombies rise up to seek you out. Luckily, most levels have weapons and ammunition in abundance, so bullet conservation isn't as much of an issue on easy to normal difficulty levels.

Like in the first game, there are numerous characters to interact with while traversing the alienized earth. Many will help in one way or another, stepping up the immersion factor another notch. It also creates a sense of purpose because a good player can become attached to a good cast of characters. Near the end of the game, Gordon will take lead of a small group of rebels. Unfortunately, "leading" means simply being first in line or telling characters to "go there" when what you really want to say is, "Just stay out of my way and try not to die!" However, the help a few extra gunners provide cannot be underestimated in any way, especially when you are being attacked by waves of aliens.

The multiplayer component is its own game. Instead of trying to carry over aspects of the single player game to a multiplayer scale, Valve has developed Counter-Strike: Source. Counter-Strike was originally an independent Half-Life mod pitting terrorists against counterterrorists. Counter-Strike: Source takes the original mod and upgrades it with the source engine and modifies the maps to utilize the new physics engine. Making objects like desks and crates movable creates a whole new tactical means of playing. The inclusion of voice-chat improves gameplay. However, the experience will be very much like a trial by fire for beginners, as a whole gaming culture has developed around Counter-Strike, and the numerous servers carry dozens of seasoned veterans who have been playing since the component was released to the public, over a month before Half-Life 2's release. However, Counter-Strike is a fairly easy game to pick up, and even if you are killed quickly, you can still stay in as an observer. Most matches don't last very long anyway. While CS: Source is an excellent component, it's a shame that we couldn't see some real HL2 multiplayer action like the original title included. It means that people won't be flinging each other around with the gravity gun until someone designs a mod that includes it.

Half Life 2 is an immersive shooter that not only meets the bar for interactive storytelling, but surpasses it. This is a game that every video game fan hopes will come out in their lifetime. About the only weak point is the rather disappointing ending, which not only ignores the mysteries introduced in the first game, but leaves more questions than ever. But there will be plenty of time to make up for that too. Here's looking forward to Half-Life 3, whenever it may come out.

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