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Half-Life 2
Sign in to saveAlso known as HL2, Half Life 2, Half-Life II
2004 first-person shooter video game
Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter video game where players control a character navigating through a fictional world filled with combat and puzzles. The game is widely regarded as influential in video game design and helped establish standards for storytelling and gameplay mechanics in the shooter genre.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Game data
Metacritic 96- Released
- 2004-11-16
- User rating
- 4.48 / 5
- Genres
- Shooter, Action
- Platforms
- PC, Android, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox
- ESRB
- Mature
via RAWG
Game details · IGDB
1998. HALF-LIFE sends a shock through the game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. NOW. By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around them, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.
- Released
- 2004
- Genres
- Shooter
- Platforms
- Xbox, PlayStation 3, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox 360
- Game modes
- Single player
- Engine
- Source
- Franchise
- Half-Life
- Developer
- Valve
- Publisher
- Valve, NVIDIA Lightspeed Studios, Electronic Arts, Sierra Entertainment
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve's digital distribution service, Steam. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 is played from a first-person perspective, combining combat, puzzles, and storytelling. It adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. The player controls Gordon Freeman, who joins a resistance effort to liberate Earth from the alien Combine empire.
Half-Life 2 was created using Valve's Source game engine, which was developed simultaneously. Development lasted five years and cost US $40 million. Valve's president, Gabe Newell, set his team the goal of redefining the FPS genre. They integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the sense of presence and create new gameplay. They also developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and animations.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Half-Life 2” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.