HL2, Come and Gone
So I finished Half Life 2. Ironically, I never actually completed the original, but I've been excited just like any other gamer over these past few months about what the six-year-development cycle has done for the game in question.
How has this gestation period treated the game? Very well. It seems that two things are apparent to me as I made my way through the connected, fluid universe of Half Life 2:
One: Valve are masters of atmosphere. While Doom 3 had its moments, it was mainly atmosphere in the form of no atmosphere. The lack of a true outdoor environment (albeit a small one with high rock ledges around and a fast-moving sky) prevented it from truly sinking in the idea that this is a living breathing world and more of a series of spooky outposts.
Half Life 2, on the other hand, truly delivered in the atmosphere environment. Everything is as it shouldn't be, which is to say totalitarian and controlled, from the first moment of the game you are subjected to the mindless droning of the Omnipresent Master along with the suddle and barking tones of the Military Component. It's enough to make you creeped out. And in a good way. Not in a Monster Closet (my code name for Doom 3) way.
Two: The female character of Alex was masterfully done. Never have I truly cared for, nor even felt better just being in the presence of, such a character before. She brought a calming effect that is truly unmatched by any other thing in the game.
I believe I have noticed something of First Person Shooters here recently, something that I was speaking with my friend Jon about. I call it the Waking Nightmare syndrome. There is a level of stress that the latest FPS's put on you by taking as much control and normalcy away from you. Whether this be Monster Closets (regarding both the mechanic of "boo scares" with doors and the game Doom 3 itself), or spooky towns filled with baddies or buggy rides through the open (and dangerous) road, these games want you on edge.
And frankly, this type of gaming is scary and nerve-wracking. It makes me not want to play.
Yet, it does want me to play. But the difference is in the amount of which I can take at any given time. With Doom 3, I honestly just stopped playing it. There reached a point where I realized that the game had determented into Monster Closets, where you would either pass a locker and it would shoot out a monster, or one would simply crawl out after you passed to sneak up on you soon after. Either way, it got to be distracting, formulaic, and yes, even a bit scary. But not creepy scary, like those really good Japanese horror movies. In fact, it never reached horror. It reached scary, and that's nowhere near horror.
Now Half Life 2, on the other hand, reached something very close to horror, but never quite got there. It presented a world out of control, yet the way that world came to be was never explained, even in the very beautiful and psycho-centric last levels. Now that would be true horror, the ability to build this world then show the awful unmaking of the world you were used to.
I would also like to note that the finale was grand, but the ending was awful. Fine, Valve, you didn't want to "end" it by any Movie Sense. But we basically just played through one, albeit in a first person point of view, yet you gave us a Kubrick-like (or Twilight Zone) one and expected us to enjoy it. Amused, yes. Enjoyed, no.
Regardless, it is highly recommended. The game, when it works, even in Waking Nightmare style, is beautiful stuff. There are plenty of levels, locations, and characters that make the trip worth it. I believe the bonds between the characters of Barney, Alex, and the rest were established well, but I do hope that next time they spend more time working on those bonds (or perhaps putting the co-stars in real danger, you know the kind that kills people) and actually -gasp- make repurcussions as a result. And by that I don't mean a "You lost key personnel. Restart." (which is what happens now) What I mean is that the story adapts to such a move. Yes this means that these endangered characters may be minor ones. Nevertheless. Make a puzzle harder. Make a little twist in the outcome. Just one of these moves can improve the replay of a game by 200% (or at least that level sequence), and can really each the industry that it can, and perhaps should, be done.
Kudos Valve. You gave me a great game, a good 10+ hours of gameplay (those who say 16 hours are high or something), and a wonderful version of Counter Strike to waste time with.
What can I say, it's no Star Chamber, but few are. Go play Half Life 2, and I'll see you in a few days when you finally tear yourself away after beating the damn thing like I did.
PS - One thing. There's a fantastic (and very underrated) game called Freedom Fighters that is very much like a majority of the gameplay seen in the later levels of Half Life 2. If you enjoyed "fighting in the resistance" and making a difference between the rebels and the Powers That Be, you will LOVE this game.
