Half-Life 2

We put the superb Xbox conversion of Valve's seminal FPS sequel through its paces. Is it really all that?

	Version Xbox, PC	Developer Valve	Publisher EA	Genre FPS

By Elysia Hughes

Now and again, a game comes along that changes videogames, something that expands or redefines the boundaries of the form in some way. Where Super Mario 64 brought gaming fully into 3D, Gran Turismo set new standards for the racing genre by introducing properly realistic handling and cars and Halo proved that the FPS can not only be made to work on consoles, but can be tailor-made for them.

When Half-Life 2 was released on the PC earlier this year, it joined these exclusive and varied ranks. It built upon the innovations of the original Half-Life to create what many would consider the perfect FPS, this reviewer included.

It had an exceptional story, a tensely immediate first-person viewpoint wherein the player never leaves the eyes of the protagonist even for a moment, a coherent and believable world, and it often provoked a sophisticated and palpable sense of fear. Such were its evolutions, but its revolution lay in its Havok physics engine, which created levels of interactivity and real-world correspondence that are still unrivalled.

The Xbox is privileged to be graced with such a title, but PC-to-console ports are notoriously difficult to pull off without harming the product. It's safe to say that anyone who has played Half-Life 2 already on a PC will find things to complain about in this console version, be it the lower frame rate or the lack of a mouse and keyboard. Aside from the those issues, though (and the lack of the multiplayer Counter-Strike co-product), Half-Life 2 on the Xbox is exactly the same exceptional single-player game as it was on the PC, and it doesn't suffer from the same control and bug issues as other PC-to-console ports of its type. With that in mind, it's only fair to treat this version of the game as a separate entity, as it is likely that anyone who would prefer to play this game on a PC will have already done so.

There are two immediately noticeable things about Half-Life 2. The first is the consistency of the first-person viewpoint; from the first moment to the last, you never leave the eyes of Gordon Freeman, and any information you gain about your environment, your circumstances or the game's plot is gained through observation of your surroundings. There are no story cut-scenes, no explanations, and often you'll find yourself feeling a little bit lost, unsure why things are happening all around you. The game's first hour of action really throws you in at the deep end, embroiling you in events of which you have little to no understanding and immediately throwing Freeman into life-threatening danger. You'll find no tutorials here.

The second thing you'll notice is that absolutely amazing physics engine. The first thing that any new player will do is pick everything up and throw it about a bit. The introductory sections seem designed for experimentation, with bottles, boots and boxes scattered around everywhere just begging to be hurled, smashed and climbed on. The physics will never cease for a moment to amaze you, from that first gleeful realisation that everything can be thrown around to the latest physics-based puzzles.

The way the world reacts is so impressive, in fact, that it necessitates different thinking to all other games. Where seasoned gamers would previously have been searching for a conveniently placed ladder or other specifically designed route through a section of a level, now they will be forced to think as if it were real life. If a ladder isn't there, try and find one; if there isn't one, stack things to make steps. There are none of the design conventions and signposts that one naturally expects from a videogame, just a world that feels entirely real and natural. Ten years of gaming hadn't prepared me for this leap in thinking, and the first time this game surprised me with its ingenuity felt like a miniature renaissance.

What's equally exceptional about Half-Life 2 is that is never [i]stops[/i] surprising you. From the first playground you encounter to the last gravity-gun-based puzzle, the game delights. Again, it's not often that a game comes along and redefines the boundaries; when it does, it tends to catch a lot of people off-guard.

Most of the time, though, Half-Life 2 doesn't give you much of a chance to play around. It is a tense and gripping game that sends you hurtling from one breathtaking set piece to another at breakneck speed, lulling you into a false sense of security before dropping another bombshell and forcing you to fight for your life. One moment, you'll be wandering around a building; the next, you'll hear an alarm in the distance and menacing footsteps behind you as the enemy closes in to flush you out. This is not a game for the faint-hearted. Its terrifying pace and frightening atmosphere test the nerves as much as the gaming reflexes.

Half-Life 2 is an uncompromising experience. It really challenges you to think and act on its terms, as if you were living it. The game is set in a vaguely 1984-esque controlled future where one organisation, the Combine, and its leader have complete control over everything and everyone. The plot is told largely through inference, but you are immediately made aware of how dangerous your environment is, from the scared murmurs of your scientist companions to the armed, omnipresent and disturbingly faceless military and the blood-spattered 'interrogation' rooms of the first building in which Freeman arrives. As you progress through the game, you gain a slightly better understanding of what's going on, but only slightly - all the information you get comes from your surroundings, and there's never any real way of knowing who's on your side.

And so, we come to that essential question: does it really work on the Xbox? Well, in this reviewer's opinion, it works as well as could possibly have been expected. Graphically, it's about as good-looking as a medium-end PC. The controls fit perfectly and there's a high enough customisation quotient to make it feel natural for everybody. The framerate has suffered, there's no denying it, but not to the point where the experience suffers. Indeed, it's difficult to imagine anything diminishing Half-Life 2's impact.