by MattW - December 11, 2005

Ah, another year, another Half Life 2. Valve has been busy over the past year porting their award-winning title over to Xbox, and for many gamers it was worth the wait. Doubts as to whether or not the game would fit and run well on the console have mostly been dispelled - indeed, everything that made Half Life 2 a joy to experience on the PC has been brought over, mostly with positive results. However, the blatant lack of any multiplayer, split-screen or otherwise, makes the final package an interesting one. Still, for a single-player experience, it doesn't get any better than this. Step aside, Master Chief. It's time for Xbox owners to see what all the talk is about.

*As of press time, media from Valve was unavailable. For the time being, please refer to our affiliate's profile of the game for screenshots. We apologize for the inconvenience*

For those of you who are completely in the dark, refer to my review of the PC version for the full scoop, since the majority of this review will focus on the quality and differences of the Xbox port.

In the year between the PC release and this version, not much as changed, and that's a very good thing. Players again assume the role of our silent protagonist Gordan Freeman, survivor and unlikely hero of the original Half Life, the end of which saw him being "hired" (the alternative of which was death) by the mysterious figure known only as the G-Man. HL2 opens with the G-Man waking Gordon up and depositing him on a train going into City 17, and the story then unfolds completely through dialogue and other clues littered throughout the game. As it turns out, an estimated 10 years has passed since the first game, and an an alien race known only as the Combine has imprisoned the citizens of Earth within their own cities, taking Earth�s resources for themselves and exploiting the remaining population. Following the 7-Hour War in which the Combine took over most of the planet, negotiations were made by a Dr Breen, the former head of Black Mesa, to "save" the planet. Instead, Breen lives a comfortable life high in a menacing Citadel in the center of City 17 while the rest of humanity is enslaved, experimented on, or killed. Gordon is quickly sucked into the resistance movement, running into both old and new friends, and eventually climaxing into... well, I won't spoil it for the few people who still haven't had the pleasure.

In terms of gameplay, one of the biggest problems faced with porting from the PC to a console is accomodating for the controls (just ask any Knights of the Old Republic fan). I'm admittedly not a fan of many console first-person shooters for that very reason, an exception being the surprisingly intuitive Metroid Prime series. Rest assured, fellow skeptics, that even an often biased PC gamer like myself found the controls to be fluid and reliable, and I admittedly felt right at home with them within minutes of the game's beginning. It's an undeniable fact that dual analog control will never afford the same level of precision as a mouse and keyboard, but once you adjust to the differences, it actually helps the game in a lot of ways. Veterans of the PC version might recall the basic starting pistol being useful throughout the game because it was so freaking accurate, sometimes even being preferred at large distances. The less precise control actually helps balance out the weapons better by sacrificing that deadly accuracy without hurting the gameplay much, although using laser-guided rockets to distant targets is a pain at first and it never feels as reliable as it should. The other problem is that developers often compensate this problem with auto-aiming assistance, but this is kept to an extreme minimum. In fact, the only areas of the game where'll even encounter it are in the boating and driving sequences with the mounted gun, which is somewhat welcome. Speaking of those sequences, ever play Need for Speed on the PC using the keyboard? Did it suck? I thought so. Gamepads are usually much preferred for fast-paced games which require fast reflexes, and although I had no problem with the keyboad controls for the boat or driving sequences in HL2, I must say that the ride in both is much smoother when using dual analogs. Buttons and commands are well mapped, and the weapon cycling is superb. Instead of scrolling through a bevy of weapons just to get to the one you want (ala Doom 3), they are grouped together based somewhat on design or power and mapped to one of the four directions on the d-pad (similar to the aforementioned Metriod games). Weapon switching is a breeze and I look forward to seeing this style shamelessly emulated by other developers, because it works extremely well. Other than these obvious differences which are necessary for the platform, the game is otherwise completely in tact. Weapons are still balanced beautifully, with the strongest weapons having the least ammo, nothing being overly powerful, and the Gravity Gun is as fun as ever (as well as worth the price of admission).

A Few Changes, But You Probably Won't Notice

Graphically speaking, we encounter the biggest differences between the original and the port. Someone like myself who enjoyed the original at 1600 x 1200 with the textures, shaders, and water details all maxed out with 16x anti-aliasing is going to notice every cut corner and graphical difference, but there are 2 very important points to be made: first, even at it's lowest settings on a low-end PC, HL2 is a beautiful game; second, only the harshest of critics will find the need to complain, because this game strikes a great balance between visuals and performance. I was disappointed to see that some of the newspaper clippings, weathered posters, and other small details that were only seen with high-res textures on the PC didn't make it onto the port, because they fuel the immersiveness of the game as well as give insight into what's been going on for the past 10 years. Once you get past the small details, though, you realize that the characters, enemies, and environments all maintain their look and feel, with some of the bricks and dry-wall looking practically lifelike. Between the excellent character models and the physics system, there's a lot to appreciate, and the changes made to fit it on the Xbox do not in any way detract from the gameplay. Whether you're a first time player or just haven't played the PC version in 6 months, you're going to walk away impressed.

Valve keeps Gordon silent to try and help make the world immersive, as though you really are Mr. Freeman, and what would an immersive game be without excellent audio? From the opening sequence with the G-Man and the chatter of the Combine soldiers over their radio all the way to the credits, the sound (and sometimes lack of it) is superbly executed. The voice acting on recurrent NPC's (especially Alex and Eli) is believable and well-done, helping add yet another dimension to these already life-like characters. Music is used sparingly, usually during climatic or intense sequences - think boss battles - and the effect is nothing short of fantastic, not to mention that the music is some of the best to ever be scored for a video game. When the music is absent, you'll listen to the bustle of trains and people, the whine of your combat car shooting across abandoned highways, or headcrab-zombies shrieking as they burn alive. There are some games I can enjoy (or even prefer) with the sound off, but this is not one of them. As a standalone product, it doesn't get any better than this. As a port, I have a few minor comments: first, Combine-controlled areas are often subject to Dr. Breen's speeches being broadcast throughout, and on the PC version you often hear them in the distance, lending to the 1984-ish "big brother is watching" feeling of the game. Unfortunately, for some reason on the Xbox you usually only hear Breen when you get right up next to the monitors or speakers, taking away slightly from the experience - another minor difference that new players will neither notice nor miss. The only other thing I can say is that it's too bad that surround sound systems are less common and more costly for consoles and televisions, because this is definitely a game that should be enjoyed with a 5.1 system or above. If you have one, use it - you won't be disappointed.

In case you haven't realised it yet, HL2 is quite entertaining - it's one of those games that, even if it isn't #1 on your list, you'll be hard pressed to find someone who outright dislikes it. Some games get the gameplay down, but then they lack in another department and the game - good as it may be - suffers because of it, and maybe that's what makes HL2 so enjoyable. It's usually a bad sign when a game recieves delays and set-backs (cough, Daikatana, cough), but you can really see where the 6 years of development have gone, because every single aspect of HL2 has been crafted with loving detail. As a stand-alone single-player experience on the Xbox, it's unrivaled, with the only truly disappointing moment being when it ends. After the credits roll, it reverts back to the title screen, leaving you with the options of starting a new game or simply turning it off. As a player who's completed the single-player campaign multiple times, I can say that HL2 has more replay value than other FPS which lack multiplayer because of sheer ingenuity - it's like a favorite movie that's worth owning and just has to be watched every few months because it's so incredibly good.

The only consistent complaint I have (and it was present in the PC version, just not as big a deal) is the save game system. It doesn't have a profile system, and the auto-saves overwrite themselves every 2 or 3 saves. So, let's say you play for awhile relying only on the auto-save function and then turn it off. Then your roommate or little brother decide to start a game, and before you know it your auto-saves have been replaced by theirs. Not cool. I made my roommate promise me he wouldn't play until I'd finished it since I was on a deadline, but honestly, that type of thing shouldn't even be necessary. If the Xbox used memory cards like the PS2 or GameCube, this would be excusable, but a game with such a high level of detail should not have such an archaic save system.

A Very Specific Audience

Since Half-Life 2 is arguably one of the best games ever made, it only makes sense that such a capable port is going to be equally excellent - and it is. The only real thing that should stand between you and the Xbox port is whether or not you have a PC that can run the game, and, if your answer is yes, how important is it for you to play online. Currently with the PC version of Half-Life 2, you get Counterstrike: Source (a selling point for plenty of gamers), Half Life 1: Source, and the deathmatch for plain old Half Life 2, and it currently costs $10 less. For anyone with a PC capable of running it, the obvious choice is the cheaper version with better graphics, multiplayer, patches, and not to mention the unusually active mod community providing tons of content, often for free. Keep in mind, the lack of multiplayer doesn't necessarily mean that the game is lacking in content, and this is one of the few single-player games that will keep you coming back for more again and again. It seems that Valve has made this port for a very specific audience, that being the strictly console gamers who can deal with limited (or in this case completely absent) online functionality. If you fall into that category, then by all means, take this opportunity to experience one of the most important games to ever be released.