Half-Life 2
95PurrfectSadkitty Score
95KitSuperintelligent review
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Gordon Freeman wakes up in City 17, an occupied city run by an alien empire, and fights his way out with a crowbar and a gun that throws physics objects. It made realistic physics a core part of play and set the bar for story told without a single cutscene.
Kit's verdict · 9.5/10
Twenty years on, it's still the shooter every other shooter gets measured against.Kit · Sadkitty Games
Loved
- The Gravity Gun turns every room into a toy box
- Brilliant pacing that keeps changing what you do
- Faces and acting that still hold up
Not so much
- The vehicle sections run long
- The ending leaves you hanging for the episodes
Play it if anyone who wants a tightly built single-player shooter with real variety.
Skip it if players who want open worlds or loot instead of a guided ride.
Cheats & codes
Every Half-Life 2 cheat we know
Turns on cheat commands. Enter this first.PC · Enable the developer console in Options > Keyboard > Advanced, press ~ and type it.
God mode.PC · Type it in the console after sv_cheats 1.
Gives all weapons you've unlocked so far plus full ammo and armor.PC · Type it in the console after sv_cheats 1.
Fly through walls.PC · Type it in the console after sv_cheats 1.
You take damage but can never drop below 1 health.PC · Type it in the console after sv_cheats 1.
Enemies ignore you.PC · Type it in the console after sv_cheats 1.
Single-player only. Cheats can turn off achievements and some saves; use them on a spare save.
Tips
Play it better
- In Ravenholm, pull saw blades off the walls with the Gravity Gun and fire them through zombies to save ammo.
- Grab enemy grenades with the Gravity Gun and fling them straight back.
- Sprint, flashlight and underwater air all drain the same suit power bar, so don't sprint just before a swim.
- The rocket launcher is laser-guided. Steer rockets in a wide arc, because gunships shoot down rockets fired straight at them.
- Crossbow bolts fly slowly and drop, so lead moving targets and aim a little high at range.
- Once you get the bugbait, squeeze it to send antlions charging at whatever you point at.
Secrets & unlockables
Hidden in plain sight
Tap a secret to reveal it.
Did you know?
Trivia
- The game's source code was stolen and leaked in 2003, part of why it slipped from its planned 2003 launch to November 2004.
- It was the first big retail game that required Steam to play, which pushed Steam into millions of homes.
- Its physics run on a heavily modified version of the Havok engine inside Valve's new Source engine.
Member reviews
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