Hey, everyone! Welcome to Source Code, one of the two miniseries that will be running throughout nostalgic November (and some of December!) As I go through a game that has been deemed as "game of the decade" by the Video Game Awards. Is this game all that is cracked up to be?
I mean, there are quite a lot of games out there, releasing the 2000's!
Let's find out!
FUN FACT: did you know that the original half-life was originally to be ported to the ill-fated Sega dream cast console? The game's first expansion Blue Shift was originally to be a Sega dream cast exclusive?
The game has been very well received by gaming publications, at the time of its release, and received multiple game of the year awards. The game received two expansions, blue shift and Opposing Force, which tells the story of half-life in whole new perspectives. Fast forward to E3, 2003, as co-founder of the company, Gabe Newell announced that the sequel to the original half-life is in active development, with a whole new game engine to boot. The Source Engine, the focal point of this review series.
The games development did not exactly go smoothly. First off, a hacker from Germany used a security exploit and Microsoft's email service, Outlook to infiltrate valve's computer network and steal the entire source code of this game, the prerelease version of the game was leaked online. So, Valve had to delay the game, once again. The game finally got released in 2004.
The game is set 20 years after the first entry of the series. Earth is still smelling the Ashes after the Black Mesa Incident, and the resonance cascade resulted from this. Earth is now under the occupation of an interdimensional Empire, known as The Combine. Humanity was reduced to a slave race, governed by the former administrator of Black Mesa, Dr Wallace Breen.
You play as MIT graduate, Gordon Freeman. You find yourself out of stasis, caused by the mysterious G-man, and the middle of Combine-controlled earth capital, City 17. It was up to you to join the human resistance, fight back against the combine, and take Breen down!
The access ability scores are as follows –
Visibility 7
First off, which start off with the negatives. There is no colourblind mode support in this game. To make matters worse, the switches are normally colour-coded. Green means that the switch is on, red means that it's off. As I have said, time and time again, red and green is a definite no-no when it comes to colourblind people.
But, there are other indicators, such as this, which is position should give you an indication. So, although a serious issue exists, the game is still playable for a player with a visual impairment.
Audibility 11
This game has closed caption support, which means that even sound effects are subtitled. This means that a player with a hearing impairment can use imagination to build a mental picture to immerse him or herself into the action as the story progresses.
Mobility 9
In the version of Half-Life 2, we are using to test this game(Half-Life 2:Update). This has better gamepad support. The game has connected, and the controller option is enabled, gamepad controls can be used in a "co-pilot" fashion. You can use your keyboard and mouse to navigate through most of the game when you're on foot. But, you can use your gamepad for the vehicular sections like the water boat section, in Water Hazard and the Dune Buggy section Highway 17.
The controls, and button layouts when using a controller can be completely customised, when using a gamepad, you can not customise the stick layout. The same goes with the console version, which is backwards compatible on your Xbox one, or Xbox series X. So, this revamp of the PC version of this game would be the best way to go, when playing this game.
Gameplay 9.5
As I have said in the introduction of this review, Half-Life 2 has been hailed as a "game of the decade". Now, there are other games released in this particular decade which, in my opinion, is better. But, this game still is a modern-day classic more or less. The story is interesting and engaging.
Also, the setting is excellent for a sci-fi action game, the depressing, dark deemed of Combine controlled Earth is a great way to immerse you into the game's rich lore.
However, when you complete the game, that's it. There is no additional content, apart from the Half-Life 2: Deathmatch to keep you playing. But, this is the standard for an OG Xbox/PS generation game, online play on the console was few and far between.
After all, the multiplayer element on the orange box is Team Fortress 2. Single only games are a rare, and dying breed. Nowadays, there are very few games out there, apart from fall out and The Elder Scrolls that are single-player only story experiences.
In summary, Half-Life 2 is an excellent single-player only experience. However, the label "game of the decade" would have gone for Halo 3, as it has more online multiplayer capabilities, both online multiplayer, and corporative. This game is also playable on PC via the Master Cheif collection.
However, Also, in terms of system requirements, this game does not require a lot of horsepower in your PC to play.
If you own the orange box, either on PC, or 360 (it is backwards compatible on your Xbox One, or Xbox Series X). You will also have access to the follow-up games, episodes 1&2, which expands the story, like an expansion, or story DLC. Hence the reason why we will not be reviewing these two games individually.
if you are looking for a cheap single-player only game to play on the run-up to Christmas or saving up for a presence, food, decorations. You get the picture, This game is an excellent choice.
OVERALL SCORE 91.25%
And Source Code is off to a high start. See you guys in the next review, which Tails is going to be reviewing the definitive edition of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
SpartanCommander1990 out!
Roll out, Spartan Legion!
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