Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 logo
Studio	Valve Corporation
Publisher	Valve Corporation Vivendi Universal Sierra Entertainment Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent- lichung	Microsoft Windows: November 16, 2004 November 16, 2004 November 16, 2004 December 21, 2004 Xbox: November 15, 2005 November 28, 2005 Xbox 360: October 10, 2007 October 30, 2007 PlayStation 3: December 11, 2007 December 14 2007 December 20, 2007 macOS: May 26, 2010 Linux: May 9, 2013 Nvidia Shield: May 12, 2014
platform	Microsoft Windows , Linux , macOS , Xbox , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , Android
Game engine	Source Engine
genre	Ego shooter
Subject	Dystopia
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Keyboard , mouse , gamepad
system advantages preconditions	Windows (2004): Windows 2000 or newer 1.2 GHz processor 256 MB RAM DirectX 7 4 GB storage space Internet connection Windows (Steam): Windows XP or newer 1.7 GHz processor 512 MB RAM DirectX 8.1 6.5 GB storage space macOS: OS X Version Leopard 10.5.8 / Snow Leopard 10.6.3 to macOS Mojave 10.14.6 1 GB RAM NVIDIA GeForce 8 or ATI X1600
medium	CD-ROM , DVD-ROM , Blu-ray Disc , download
language	German , English , French , Spanish , Russian , Chinese , Dutch , Danish , Finnish , Japanese , Norwegian , Polish , Portuguese , Swedish
Current version	1.0.0.0 (Build 4216, May 24, 2010)
copy protection	CD key , Steamworks
Age rating	USK PEGI
information	German version cut

Official lettering

Half-Life 2 (also half-Life², HλLF-LIFE² or λ²; short HL2 ) is a computer game and the official successor to the first-person shooter Half-Life in 1998. The game was again by the US development studio Valve developed and manufactured at 16 November 2004 published worldwide by sales partner Vivendi Universal .

Half-Life 2 was next to the first-person shooters Doom 3 and Far Cry one of the most eagerly anticipated computer games of 2004. According to the manufacturer, over 6.5 million copies of Half-Life 2 were sold worldwide in retail outlets, over those of Valve Sales platform developed by Steam are unknown. Vivendi Universal also announced in January 2005 that 1.7 million Half-Life-2 copies had been sold in retail outlets worldwide in the first two months. The number of black copies of Half-Life 2 is not known, however, in the year of publication, around 50,000 accounts of the then new distribution platform Steam were blocked due to product piracy by Valve

The game

Game content

The world of Half-Life 2

Due to the events of Half-Life and a subsequent "portal storm", it was possible for an alien race called Combine to conquer the earth within seven hours, referred to in the game as the 7-hour war . Only the intervention of the Black Mesa administrator Dr. Wallace Breen as negotiator of the human race could avert the complete annihilation of the earth. Dr. Breen was appointed as steward of the earth for this reason, but he is only a puppet of the Combine.

After the conquest of the earth, the surviving people were resettled in metropolitan areas. For this purpose, numbered cities were formed from the remaining intact cities. People there are forbidden to reproduce, which is additionally supported by so-called inhibition fields. The alien dictators justify this by saying that the suppression of instinct should help people to reach the next stage of evolution . The generation living on Earth at the time of the Combine Invasion is threatened with being the last.

The main location of the plot of Half-Life 2 is a large city called City 17 , which is located near a coast and is located in Eastern Europe because of its architecture and because of the numerous Cyrillic lettering. As in other cities, the Combine built a citadel in the form of a 3.4 km high skyscraper, which is why life in the city is only possible under the control of the Combine.

The Combine armed forces consist on the one hand of synths , technically altered alien beings enslaved by the Combine, and on the other hand through the advancement of human technology such as helicopters, trains and automobiles. The Combine expanded their military might on earth through transhuman cyborgs , humans who have been technically altered through capture and made submissive under brainwashing.

During the dictatorship, an underground resistance movement against the Combine emerged, mainly from the former Black Mesa workers Dr. Isaac Kleiner, Barney Calhoun, Dr. Eli Vance and his daughter Alyx Vance. They are supported by the extraterrestrial vortigaunts and civilians.

The rest of the world outside the cities is devastated and with various types of alien creatures like Antlions (ant-lion) , headcrabs (head crabs) and parasite called Barnacles populated. If people are attacked by headcrabs, they develop into zombies.

action

Half-Life-2 -chapter (German chapter names in brackets)

Chapter 1: Point Insertion Chapter 2: "A Red Letter Day" ("A Day to Remember") Chapter 3: Route Canal (Canal Route) Chapter 4: Water Hazard Chapter 5: Black Mesa East (Black Mesa East) Chapter 6: "We Don't Go To Ravenholm ..." ("We're not going to Ravenholm ...") Chapter 7: Highway 17 (Highway 17) Chapter 8: Sand Traps (Sand Holes) Chapter 9: Nova Prospectus (Nova Prospectus) Chapter 9a: Entanglement (entanglement) Chapter 10: Anticitizen One Chapter 11: "! Follow Freeman" ( "Follow Freeman!") Chapter 12: Our Benefactors Chapter 13: Dark Energy

About twenty years after the events at Black Mesa , Gordon Freeman is awakened from his stasis by the G-Man . This tells him that he is now "the right man in the wrong place" again and that he has a new task to do. The picture changes to a moving train arriving in City 17 . From this point on, the player controls the protagonist Gordon. Gordon soon aroused the interest of the Combine and was only saved from arrest by Barney Calhoun, who snuck into the Combine's "civil security" and brought Gordon to Dr. Smaller laboratory sends. On the way there, however, Gordon is discovered again by the security forces and has to flee, with Alyx Vance coming to his aid and leading him to the hidden laboratory.

Once there, Gordon receives a HEV suit (protective suit) and is now to be teleported together with Alyx to Black Mesa East , where her father works. Alyx gets there, Gordon's teleportation fails due to Dr. Kleiner's pet, the head crab Lamarr, fails, which is why he is outside of Dr. Smaller laboratory ends up. From Barney he gets the crowbar known from the first part and sets off on his own for Black Mesa East .

With the security police on his neck, Gordon works his way through the sewers of City 17 and meets a group of rebels who equip him with an airboat so that he can continue his way through the water channels more quickly. After receiving a weapon for his boat at a small rebel base and using it to assert himself against a combat helicopter, he arrives at Black Mesa East .

There Gordon receives some information about the circumstances of City 17 and receives the Gravity Gun from Alyx . After a little training with Alyx's robot Dog on how to use this weapon, Black Mesa East is attacked by the Combine. The only remaining escape route is a tunnel to Ravenholm . At the request of the others, Gordon flees through the tunnel to stop the Combine.

After various fights against zombies, Gordon, with the help of Father Grigori in Ravenholm, reaches the surface of a tunnel through a mine and finally comes across the Shoreside Point base of the resistance fighters. There he also learned by radio from Alyx that Dr. Vance and Dr. Mossman were captured by the Combine and are being held in the maximum security prison in Nova Prospect . Therefore, Gordon receives a scout buggy with which he drives along the Antlion-populated coast to meet Alyx Vance in Nova Prospect for a rescue operation. On the way he helps the rebel bases New Little Odessa and Lighthouse Point to defend themselves against attacks by the Combine. From a defeated Antlion Guard (ant lion guard) he receives pheropods , with which he can now control the Antlions and let them fight for him.

Arriving in Nova Prospect , Gordon fights his way through the old prison area of ​​the complex with the help of the Antlions, which was heavily secured by the Combine to ward off the Antlions. Finally he reaches the newly built part and meets Alyx there, with whom he finally Dr. Vance finds. When they look for a teleporter, they learn that Dr. Vance's assistant Dr. Mossman with Dr. Breen cooperates and sabotage herself and Dr. Teleported Vance to the Citadel.

Two cosplayers disguised as members of the Combine Guard, known from the game.

Alyx and Gordon teleport to Dr. Smaller laboratory. Due to a mistake, the teleportation process takes a week, which the two experience in a few seconds. During this time, their activities in Nova Prospect sparked an armed riot in City 17 . While the people openly rebel against the Combine, Gordon can use the chaos to invade the citadel.

With the help of a transport capsule, he reaches Dr. Breen, where Gordon is also on Alyx, Dr. Vance and Dr. Mossman hits. Dr. Breen tries to convince Gordon to use his efforts for "good" and end the rebellion. Dr. However, Mossman locks the doors and opens Dr. Breen that she only infiltrated the Combine to end his rule. Gordon and Alyx pursue the fleeing Dr. Breen, while Dr. Mossman brings Eli Vance to safety. To prevent Dr. Breen flees with the teleporter, Gordon detonates the citadel's reactor. At this moment the G-Man stops the time and thus stops the explosion for the time being. He congratulates Gordon Freeman on his good work and wants to put him back into stasis.

Engine

→ Main article : Source Engine

Half-Life 2 uses the Source Engine developed by Valve itself . This engine enables the characters to have realistic facial animations and movement sequences. A total of forty different facial muscles are simulated in order to create lifelike facial expressions. The computer characters can also move their eyes and follow the player with their gaze.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Source Engine improved. Depending on the situation, the opponents attack or withdraw, surround the player and fall in the back. They coordinate in teams. Enemy soldiers sometimes even give themselves fire protection and seek cover behind walls or objects .

From Max Payne 2 known Havok - physics engine is a modified version used. It enables different materials to behave differently and realistically in terms of weight, hardness, friction, and fragility. In addition, the physics engine makes objects drop even more realistically and evokes appropriate reactions when hits on different areas of the body . Valve CEO Gabe Newell gave the following example:

"If something looks like wood, it also sounds like wood and splinters like wood when it is shot at."

Gameplay

The gameplay of Half-Life 2 is largely the same as that of Half-Life . Like its predecessor, Half-Life 2 is divided into chapters, which in turn are divided into smaller sections in order to shorten the loading breaks. However, the charging time is longer and thus something only on old machines high-end - PCs or Xbox 360 with comparably short loading times like Half-Life to play. In the Xbox 1 version, when there are a large number of opponents, “stutters” often occur, which slow down the game and result in an unstable frame rate.

The plot is linear. In order to make the game and its atmosphere more varied, there are often new things to see, various tasks, different types of opponents and thus separate combat conditions. So you fight your way through industrial areas, manageable sunny landscapes, a gloomy ghost town , urban or futuristic rooms, districts destroyed by war and climb along the steel frame of a large railway bridge over an abyss.

particularities

As usual in Half-Life and most other first-person shooters, the game contains some puzzles, but in Half-Life 2 they mainly consist of physical brain teasers. For example, the player has to convert a seesaw into a ramp by weighting down one end with concrete blocks, or he can use the concrete blocks to build a simple staircase.

The use of physics also affects the battle with the Gravitron. This novel weapon plays a crucial role in the game and allows the player a variety of creative uses. It can be used to pick up objects and throw them at opponents, hold them in front of the player as an improvised shield , pick up ammunition and medicine that are out of range, throw back enemy grenades and build improvised bridges. After the weapon has been irradiated towards the end of the game, the opponents themselves can be thrown around using the Gravitron.

Vehicles are another addition to the gameplay. During the course of the game, the player can control three vehicles: an airboat that travels through a network of canals, a buggy that takes the player to a lighthouse and, in Episode Two, a Dodge Charger that takes you to the White Forest missile base got. The airboat is initially unarmed, but later receives an alien weapon from a crashed helicopter. The buggy is armed with a Gauss cannon- dew gun, similar to the weapon from the original Half-Life . A protective suit called the HEV suit should provide a comprehensible design for the more abstract play element of life energy and regenerative armor. By protecting the character with various functions and providing medical care, the player can, for example, receive several projectiles and still fight normally.

Narrative form

The game's protagonist , Gordon Freeman, portrayed by a cosplayer.

Half-Life 2 deliberately does not contain an intro in which the history of the game is explained. In cutscenes show the dialogues and events in the absence of the protagonist Gordon Freeman, was also omitted so that the unified perspective of the players and the game character is not canceled. Since Gordon does not seem to know what has happened in the last twenty years, the player does not know either and only learns about the background of the events later in the game. All of this should contribute to better identification with the main character.

For this reason, a separate tutorial was omitted. Since the player, like Gordon, has to learn certain things depending on the situation, Half-Life 2 integrates tutorial tasks into the actual story and includes on-screen instructions for the game controls so that one can get used to the game mechanics and weapons (the same way were already in the Quake series tutorials integrated into the game). Some examples of this are an early event in the game where the player has to “pick up” a can and “throw” it into the trash can or the introduction to the use of the Gravitron by Alyx Vance.

During the game, Gordon always remains mute, so that the player can slip into his role better because he does not have to adopt any pre-set behavior patterns and points of view and can thus design the character interpretation relatively freely.

Non-player characters

The interpersonal relationships between Gordon Freeman and the non-player characters ( NPC ) like Alyx Vance have been improved over Half-Life . In the predecessor, in certain situations you met Black Mesa employees who helped the player or needed help themselves. However, these NPCs did not play a decisive role in the further course of the plot. In Half-Life 2 , however, you are often supported by the same people, which Gabe Newell calls the idea of ​​a single player co-op (single player cooperation ). In several chapters you will be accompanied by Alyx Vance or Barney Calhoun. The statements, facial expressions and behavior of these characters make it clear that the familiarity between them is growing. Towards the end of Half-Life 2 and in Episode One , Alyx shows concern or starts joking with Gordon.

But not only in the interpersonal area, but also on the behavior of the non-player characters was worked on. Since the characters should appear more human, they were given different character traits and were made more emotional. For example, Barney is a dude who's always up for a joke. An example of showing emotions is Alyx, who first needs a break, leans against a wall and takes a deep breath before she can move on after surviving a train derailment with Gordon .

If the player is not accompanied by one of the main characters, up to four rebels support him in two chapters, who actively intervene in the fighting and supply the player with medicine and ammunition.

background

development

The game developer Valve began developing Half-Life 2 in June 1999. According to economic experts, the development costs for Half-Life 2 amounted to around 40 million US dollars. The investment in the Steam distribution platform is included in the development costs for the game.

The original release date of Half-Life 2 was September 30, 2003. On July 29, 2003, publisher Vivendi Universal announced in a press release that the game would not appear until the fourth quarter of 2003. The postponement of the game was initially denied by Valve. However, a week before that date, Valve postponed the release indefinitely. Reasons were not given, but Christmas 2003 came into question as a possible alternative date.

On October 1, 2003, Valve announced surprisingly that the source code of Half-Life 2 was unauthorized copied and brought into circulation. After even a playable alpha version appeared on the Internet, Vivendi Universal postponed the release of the game to April 2004; in February 2004 the game was postponed to summer. This decision was justified with the fact that parts of the game had to be rewritten. Valve later admitted in a statement that the game would have had to be postponed even without the leak because the original date could not be met. Finally, the “preload” was announced for August 19, which officially began on August 26, 2004. With the preload, the first game data was transmitted online to your own PC.

public relation

Half-Life 2 requires an internet connection to the internet sales platform Steam .

In May 2003 Valve presented Half-Life 2 at the E3 computer game fair at the sponsor's ATI booth . In a small room, visitors were admitted every thirty minutes to watch a presentation on the game personally led by Valve's CEO Gabe Newell . Visitors to E3 were able to experience another performance in May 2004, at which Valve was represented with its own booth. As in the previous year, in addition to a trailer, a presentation was shown in which the physics engine contained in Half-Life 2 and its capabilities as well as the improved artificial intelligence were demonstrated.

In connection with the postponements, Half-Life 2 was viewed by critics as a vaporware product, as a possible date has not yet been officially confirmed. The game therefore received the Vaporware Award 2003 from the US magazine Wired . Just a few days before the announced release date in September 2003, Valve held on to this date on joint PR meetings with ATI. ATI paid several million dollars to PR partner Valve to advertise their graphics cards with the supposedly almost finished game.

Graphics cards of the XT series from ATI and certain other manufacturers (e.g. Asus ) came with vouchers for the game at the end of 2003. Up until the release date of Half-Life 2 more than a year later, voucher holders could play the beta version of Counter-Strike: Source for free on Steam . However, the vouchers had to be redeemed through an American mail order company.

publication

Half-Life 2 is available through the Steam distribution platform and in retail stores. Those who buy the game in stores also need an internet connection to register Half-Life 2 . This means that owners without an internet connection cannot legally play the game.

On the night of August 27, 2004, the “preload” began for online customers via Steam . The first game data was transmitted online to one's own PC, which was finally released for play after the fifth preload phase. At the same time, there was a legal dispute between Valve and the publisher Vivendi Universal over the new parallel distribution channel Steam. The planned release date of Half-Life 2 was not significantly delayed by this.

On November 16, 2004 at 9:00 am CET , Half-Life 2 was released together with Counter-Strike: Source . On December 2nd, at the insistence of the community, a previously unannounced and actually unplanned " Deathmatch " mode was released, along with the complete software development kit .

A Collector's Edition followed on December 3, 2004, which, in addition to the game, also includes a T-shirt, a reading sample of the solution book and the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar . Raising the Bar describes the development of Half-Life 2 . In Europe, in contrast to the American cardboard box , the Collector's Edition is delivered in a metal box. In Germany, however, the Collector's Edition is only available as an import version, as it contains the source version of the US Half-Life, which was previously indexed in Germany .

After a legal dispute over the licensing of Half-Life 2 to Internet café operators, Valve and Vivendi Universal terminated their partnership on August 31, 2005. Since the separation was already established in April, Valve was able to find a new distribution partner in July 2005 with EA Games , who published the Game of the Year Edition on October 27, 2005 , which, in addition to Half-Life 2, also Counter-Strike: Source , Half - Includes Life: Source and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch . Since November 2, 2006 there is the Half-Life-2-Christmas-Collection, the Half-Life-1 Source, the Half-Life-2-main game, Half-Life-2-Deathmatch as well as the episode 1 contains. On 8 November 2006 also appeared Half-Life 2 Platinum Collection , in addition to the contents of the GOTY edition still Episode One and Day of Defeat: Source offers

Half-Life 2 was released on November 15, 2005 after porting by EA Games for the Xbox . At a press conference held by the distribution partner on July 13, 2006, Gabe Newell announced that Half-Life 2 (including Episode One , Episode Two , Team Fortress 2 and Portal ) will also be available for the new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles . This game package was to appear for both consoles at the same time as the release of Episode Two for the PC, which happened on October 30, 2007 for the Xbox 360 in the form of the "Orange Box".

Leak

In the period around September 19, 2003, a cracker was able to gain access to Valve's internal network through a security hole in the Microsoft Outlook XP e-mail program and thus copy the source code of Half-Life 2 . Gabe Newell officially confirmed this in a report on October 1 of the same year.

Five days after the illegal publication of the source code, a playable alpha version of Half-Life 2 appeared. This was compiled from the source code and, together with the half-finished map tree that was also stolen, showed an unfinished version of Half-Life 2 . It was also possible to create your own maps and mods with her . This version even appeared professionally packaged on the black market in Russia.

Gabe Newell therefore called on the Half-Life fan community to help identify the perpetrators, whereupon thousands of clues were received. Valve and Vivendi Universal also postponed the game's release date; allegedly only because they wanted to help the FBI with the investigation and because the source code allows cheaters an unplanned knowledge advantage, which is why parts would have to be rewritten. Valve later admitted that the actual release date could not have been met anyway.

In June 2004, Valve announced in a press release that the FBI had arrested a number of people who were suspected of the source code leak . The investigations revealed that Half-Life 2 was probably published illegally by "Axel G.", an alleged cracker from Germany with the nickname "Ago". In the USA, the manufacturer and the investigative authorities first tried to lure the hacker into the country and arrest him there by offering to work as a security advisor. After receiving information from the German authorities, Axel G. was arrested by the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office . This was after the arrest, among other things, that he with other crackers Trojans programmed "Agobot" and "Phatbot" and using the Sasser - computer worm had spread.

According to estimates by US investigative authorities, the damage caused by the leak amounts to more than one hundred million US dollars (assuming, however, that the delay in the release was solely due to the leak). At the trial in Germany in November 2006, however, it turned out that the person concerned had not published the code himself, but that the access he discovered was used by others who then distributed the code as a torrent .

Litigation between Valve and Vivendi Universal

During the making of Half-Life 2 , Valve and Vivendi Universal accused themselves in public of having delayed the development and thus the delivery of the game. The fact that the two parties had been involved in a legal dispute since August 14, 2002 was only made public on September 20, 2004 through the website Gamespot.com. The main focus was on licensing to internet café operators. After all, this is of greater importance for the Asian market in particular, as internet cafes are very popular there, partly because of the lack of broadband internet access for private households outside of the big metropolises such as Hong Kong .

According to Vivendi Universal, the sales contract signed with Valve also includes internet cafes. According to this, Vivendi Universal would have the rights to the distribution in Internet cafes and not Valve via its distribution platform Steam. However, in his ruling on November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas S. Zilly of the United States District Court in Seattle prohibited Vivendi Universal from distributing Valve games directly and indirectly to internet cafes under the existing distribution agreement between the companies.

During this process Vivendi Universal filed a counterclaim against Valve, in which the Half-Life-2 developers were accused of dishonesty and deception. The 2001 new contracts stipulated that Valve can take over online sales itself and has the sole rights to games such as Half-Life 2 . Valve did not inform Vivendi Universal about the plans for the Steam distribution platform, which is why the company felt disappointed - after all, Vivendi Universal did not receive any money for games that were bought directly via Steam.

On April 29, 2005, the two developers agreed on a settlement in this case , which included the termination of the cooperation between the two companies on August 31, 2005 in addition to the Vivendi Universals sales stop at Internet cafés. Since then, Valve games have only been allowed to be used commercially by Internet café operators if they participate in the Valve Cyber ​​Café Program , which is based on Steam . EA Games has been Valve's new distribution partner since July 2005.

Warning from the Federal Association of Consumers

The umbrella organization of consumer advice centers in Germany, the Consumer Federation, the Valve and Vivendi Universal in January 2005 in connection with Half-Life 2 reprimanded has. The consumer advocates mainly accused the two companies of the fact that the game's packaging did not state that an internet connection and a Steam account are required to install the first-person shooter. So it was written in the warning letter:

"The average consumer understands the term 'Internet connection' only to mean that, as with all common single-player games, the game can be operated from any Internet connection."

According to the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, this was only partially the case with Half-Life 2 , because Steam would also be forcibly installed with the game and important game data would be downloaded via the Internet, which could be tedious for users without broadband Internet access. Another point of criticism was the Steam associated with online registration, which is compulsory for everyone and making the Half-Life 2 - serial number 'll be bound to one person. The consumer advocates criticized the fact that this deprived buyers of the opportunity to resell the game or to purchase it used. The warning said:

"There is no reference to these serious extraordinary restrictions on the packaging of the game."

With the assumption that half-life 2 could only be installed on one computer, the consumer advocates were wrong, as Steam allows one account to be used on several computers as long as the program is not accessed from different PCs at the same time. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations also criticized the general validity of the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) because they were only written in English. The consumer advocates, however, cited that the understanding of the terms and conditions presupposed that they were written in German. In addition, a clause in the Steam Subscriber Agreement would suggest to the buyer that the terms and conditions are still valid, but that this is ineffective.

By means of a declaration of cease and desist in the warning , the consumer association, the Federal Association of Valve and Vivendi Universal, requested that the points of criticism mentioned in the warning be corrected. The two companies therefore faced a contractual penalty of up to € 6,000 per game sold if they were disregarded . In March 2005 Vivendi Universal signed part of the cease and desist declaration and thereupon drew more attention to the necessary internet connection on the packaging. Valve responded with a limited transferability of the Steam accounts.

Censorship and protection of minors

Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 originally received USK approval without any cuts or changes . Only episode 2 was censored. The blood there is colored gray and killed enemies disappear immediately. In the meantime, episode 1 has also been partially cut, so that killed opponents disappear immediately.

Steam support states that these changes were necessary to meet the requirements of the federal testing agency for media harmful to minors. The German version available in Austria and Switzerland is also censored, as only a German-language version was produced for cost reasons (foreign versions - e.g. from Great Britain - can be switched to the German soundtrack using the Steam setting ). However, buyers from Austria and Switzerland can have the Orange Box converted to the uncut version upon presentation of the invoice and the registration key upon request from Steam Support.

Continued through episodes

The three episodes are referred to as stand-alone titles because they can be run without the main game. In an interview with the British gaming portal Eurogamer , Gabe Newell confirmed that the three episodes are the sequel to Half-Life 3 . The developers decided on this idea because they didn't want the fan base to wait six years for a sequel. In each of the three episodes, the player takes on the role of Gordon Freeman. The main plot of Half-Life 2 is continued and explained in each of the three episodes. Gabe Newell and his development team have specialized in the episodes in the post-combine world.

Half-Life-2: -Episode-One -chapter (German chapter names in brackets)

Chapter 1: Undue Alarm (Don't Panic) Chapter 2: Direct Intervention Chapter 3: Lowlife (Underground) Chapter 4: Urban Flight Chapter 5: Exit 17 (Exit 17)

Episode One

→ Main article : Half-Life 2: Episode One

Half-Life 2: Episode One was released worldwide on June 1, 2006 for PC . On April 8, 2005 the game was officially announced in the UK edition of PC Gamer under the game title Half-Life 2: Aftermath . In February 2006, Valve renamed the game Half-Life 2: Episode One . The game continues the events of the main game and leads the player back to the citadel. The player guides the protagonist Gordon Freeman through a total of five chapters that have to be solved with the help of Alyx. The innovations include the used HDRR technology and the extended animation system of the characters. In addition, the developers have built in a Commentary Mode , which shows the player some information at certain points.

The game was received differently by the trade press. The German computer game magazine PC Games describes the game as an " inspired remix of the best game elements from Half-Life 2 ". The game editor of PC Action criticizes the short playing time of six hours. Furthermore, the “unchanged” locations, opponents and weapons are used as points of criticism.

Episode Two

Half-Life-2: -Episode-Two -chapter (German chapter names in brackets)

Chapter 1: To the White Forest Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil Chapter 3: Freeman Pontiff (Pontifex Freeman) Chapter 4: Riding Shotgun (Mobile Shotgun) Chapter 5: Under the Radar Chapter 6: Our Mutual Fiend Chapter 7: T-Minus One

→ Main article : Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Half-Life 2: Episode Two was released for a fee on October 10, 2007 via Steam. The official retail version is included in the The Orange Box game collection . In addition to the main game and the two episodes, this game collection also contains the puzzle game Portal and the multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 . The versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 appeared in Europe on November 16, 2007. The standalone game continues the events of the first episode and leads the player through a total of seven chapters, each of which is structured differently. The developers focused on variety when designing the levels. In contrast to the first episode, the player controls the character through more outside areas, which convey a lively impression through the use of the modified source engine. The source engine has been optimized in the areas of lighting and shadows. In addition, optimized physics has been added that allows large explosions to be displayed with lots of detail and without any major loss of frame rate .

Episode Three

Not much is known about the content of Episode Three . In an interview with the CEO of Valve, he only hinted that the G-Man and the relationship with him will play a bigger role and that the plot could partly take place in the Arctic. The course of the game in Episode Two reveals that in the third episode a former research ship from Aperture Science (the same company carries out the tests in Portal ), the Borealis, must be destroyed to prevent a portal to the Combine world from being reopened can be. In Portal 2 there is a hidden corridor that leads to an abandoned dry dock with life tires labeled Borealis . The ship has disappeared, however, as it is already explained to the player in Episode Two. The spring 2009 release date initially announced for Episode Three could not be met.

Newell spoke about the development of Half-Life 3 (or Half-Life 2: Episode 3) in a conversation with the American daily Washington Post . He explained why there has not been a new offshoot of the Half-Life series every year. The Valve employees responsible for the Half-Life series could well have had success with a continuation of the series. But the programmers of the Half-Life series wanted to deal more intensively with multiplayer games. This was made possible by the flat hierarchy at Valve. Thanks to her, the employees at Valve have extensive freedom and can therefore decide for themselves when they want to work on which project. In addition, the hope for a third part is still expanded. Valve has secured the trademark rights to Half-Life 3 from OHIM, a European authority for the protection of trademark rights. The English-language website Gematsu was allegedly able to take a look at an internal Valve project database. According to Gematsu, there are two development teams to be found there. One team for "Half-Life 3", and another for "Half-Life 3 Core". According to this, 46 project members are working on Half-Life 3 and ten more on Half-Life 3 Core. But none of this confirms the development of the game. Valve has not yet commented on whether the game is even in development.

On March 24, 2020, one day after the prequel Half-Life: Alyx was released , developer Dario Casali spoke to IGN Entertainment about Episode Three. Valve realized that the original plan to publish a new episode every year could not be implemented because the developers were too ambitious and the development effort increased. Valve also wants to focus on the development of the Source 2 Engine in order not to have to handle both projects at the same time.

Multiplayer mode

At the time Half-Life 2 was first released , the game did not include a multiplayer mode. On November 30, 2004 Valve released Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, the official multiplayer mode for Half-Life 2, on Steam . The multiplayer mode is installed separately and contains the game modes Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch as well as two weapons that were subsequently integrated with an update and not included in the main game: the electric baton of the Combine cyborgs and a land mine, which can either be remotely detonated or triggered if someone gets through her laser barrier moves. The players have the option of playing with their character as a rebel or on the side of the Combine.

The multiplayer mode only contained two maps on the release date, additional maps were submitted with updates. Valve also organized a mapping competition in which the top three participants could win a total of US $ 11,000 in prize money and the transfer of their maps to multiplayer mode.

Arcade version

Two Half-life 2: Survivor arcade machines in a Japanese amusement arcade

The Japanese game developer Taito developed Half-Life 2: Survivor, an arcade version of the main game for the Japanese market , especially for arcades . The arcade machines were announced by Taito in November 2005 and launched in June 2006. In addition to a version of the arcade machine advertised as a deluxe version with a built-in seat and 5.1 multi-channel sound system , there was also a more compact version without these two functions. The player can move and aim with two joysticks and crouch and crawl with two pedals.

In addition to a version of the single player mode adapted for the Japanese market, the machines could also be connected via network in order to play against each other in a class-based deathmatch mode or with each other in a co-op mode . The deathmatch mode can be played against each other with two teams of four players each, while the co-op mode is limited to a maximum of four players. In November 2007, Half-Life 2: Survivor was updated to version 2.0, which added new classes, weapons, and multiplayer maps to the game.

The players were able to use a memory card to save their game progress and the game character, which can be changed in multiplayer mode, on a server. This service was discontinued on January 1, 2010.

Playable technology demo

On October 28, 2005, the playable technology demo Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was released on Steam . The demo shows the high dynamic range rendering process (HDRR) that has been newly implemented in the source engine , which enables realistic lighting effects in the game. The playable level, which should occupy the player for around 20 minutes, should originally be a section in the main game and lie between the chapters Highway 17 and Sand Holes . In the course of development, however, the level was removed from the main game and reused for the technology demo.

For Half-Life 2: Lost Coast the player needs at least an Nvidia Geforce 6xxx or 7xxx, or an equivalent ATI Radeon (from 9xxx) as well as 1 GB of RAM and a processor with 2.2  GHz clock frequency. Since the source engine renders the entire scene in one go and therefore no blending is necessary and the tone mapping can take place in the shader , HDR rendering is also possible on SM 2.0 graphics cards. During the entire level, the player can optionally display comments from the developers. These comments explain the possibilities of HDRR technology using examples.

Modifications (mods)

With the software development kit (SDK) published by Valve and the Hammer Editor it contains , over five hundred mods for Half-Life 2 were developed by fans in 2005, according to Gabe Newell . A developer has to pay Valve $ 200,000 plus a license fee if they put the respective mod up for sale.

In September 2012 the free mod Black Mesa was released, which is a remake of Half-Life in the current game engine of Half-Life 2. This evolved into an early access third party half life title available on Steam.

Merchandising

With the release of Half-Life 2 , textiles such as t-shirts, sweaters, and baseball caps came out mainly. Furthermore, a limited edition of mouse pads was produced. With Raising The Bar , a book about the development of Half-Life 2 was also published. Initially, the products were only available in the USA, which is why interested parties from other countries had to import the goods. Valve now has officially licensed partners in Europe who produce and sell merchandising items.

Additional items are used as a lure for the purchase of a Half-Life 2 collection or higher-quality Steam accounts. For example, users who buy a € 105.63 gold pack will receive a gold account for Steam and will be sent a gold package containing three posters, stickers and the soundtrack for the game in addition to the conventional merchandising items.

Response and success

Financial success

Sales figures

In November 2008, Valve published official sales figures for Half-Life 2 for the first time . According to the manufacturer, 6.5 million copies of the game were sold, the Orange Box, which contains Episode One , Episode Two , Portal and Team Fortress 2 in addition to Half-Life 2 , sold 3 million times. However, the figures relate solely to retail sales; Steam sales figures are not included.

Valve's financial record

In fiscal 2004, Valve posted profits of $ 55 million and in 2005 of $ 70 million. The software company has also achieved over 80% return on sales on Steam downloaded games since 2005 and a 36% profit margin on retail copies. As Valve's flagship product sold over four million times, Half-Life 2 had largely contributed to the above data, but exact numbers were not disclosed.

Almost everyone who worked on Half-Life is still employed by Valve today. During the development and sales process of Half-Life 2 , the number of employees at the software company increased from 84 to over 100. The developers of Counter-Strike also received jobs at Valve so that they could create the new version Counter-Strike: Source for the company .

Half-Life 2 received wide media coverage. Even well-known print media such as the New York Times and the Stern deal with the game.

criticism

Rating mirror
Average rating
source	rating
Metacritic	96
More reviews
source	rating
GameStar	93
PC Games	96%
PC PowerPlay	94%
PC action	94%
4players	93%
Games world	94%

Half-Life 2 received mostly positive reviews from critics and editors of the leading print magazines. The game's strengths are the varied gameplay and the credible staging of the game world. Furthermore, the graphics and physics engines are highlighted as positive aspects of the game. On the negative side there are mostly minor flaws such as logic errors in the main plot.

With a Metascore of 96 points, Half-Life 2 still leads the list of the best-rated computer games of all time. The game also achieved high ratings in German-language specialist magazines. So it got from GameStar with 93 points, the highest time of the test vote, which was served basis for an action game. The PC Games rated Half-Life 2 with 96%, the highest rating since Wing Commander 3 (1995).

The practice that you have to register the game online via Steam after installation and activate it with additional downloaded data before the game can be selected was rated negatively . This had never been the case for a single player game before and led to lengthy update processes , especially for analog modem owners . Valve and Vivendi Universal were therefore warned by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations. Many PC game magazines (including PC Games and GameStar ) were only able to point out this fact after it was published, as Half-Life 2 was only published shortly before the magazine went to press.

Many buyers also initially complained about the insufficient payment method when purchasing a game on Steam. The games offered there could only be paid for with a credit card. Since August 2006 you can also pay through PayPal and use the direct debit procedure.

Another point of criticism is the equipment of the game box - it only contains the game DVD and a slip of paper with the most important keyboard assignments, not a comprehensive manual. According to Valve, this was done in order not to disadvantage the Steam customers compared to the buyers of the shop version. A separate strategy guide is available.

“Action game fans have been waiting a long time for this game - so long that the high expectations can only be disappointed. But Half-Life 2 fulfills all the promises of an exciting plot and breathtaking graphics. The computer game press is rolling over their ratings. "

- Peter Zschunke ( Spiegel Online )

“Half-Life 2 is a brilliantly designed game, a first-class experience. Anyone who starts with it can say goodbye for the next few days - you will be drawn into an irresistible spell. But: Half-Life 2 also throws stones in your way. The problems with the frame rate slow down the game in many sections and make some firefights a test of patience. So you should definitely play it briefly: If you don't mind the technology even after the first five minutes, you will have a lot of fun with Half-Life 2 - guaranteed! "

- Bernd Fischer ( GamePro )

“My expectations seemed unattainably high, but the end product easily exceeded them. Half-Life 2 not only sets new standards for graphics technology and physics. The love for detail with which high tension is built up in the first few minutes is the purest lesson. In addition, there are human characters who seem so believable that you would like to invite them over to coffee. "

- Heinrich Lenhardt ( PC Games )

A more critical review sees the positive reports primarily as a consequence of the media hype surrounding the game :

“There isn't much left of the many advance praise and possibilities that the game should offer, and so it is definitely not: 'The best shooter of all time', as many other publications promote it. (...) There is actually nothing that has not already been experienced in a similar form in other games and others simply offer a little more than a 'tied' overall package. "

- Andreas Kemnitz (Yiya)

Awards

• Half-Life 2 received nine Interactive Achievement Awards in 2005 in the following categories:

• game of the year
• Game of the year / PC
• Best animation
• Art Direction
• Best Video Game Voice Actor (for Robert Guillaume as Dr. Eli Vance)
• Best gameplay
• Visual engineering
• Best innovation / PC game
• Best action game from a first-person perspective

• According to the manufacturer and publisher, Half-Life 2 was named Game of the Year by over 35 organizations worldwide .
• In the Spike Video Game Awards 2012 was Half-Life 2 as a game of the decade award.

literature

• Prima Temp Authors and David SJ Hodgson: Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar . Prima Games, 2004, ISBN 0-7615-4364-3 (English)
• Martin McEachern: Larger than Half-Life. In: Computer Graphics World, Vol. 27, No. 3, March 2004 (English)

Web links

• Official website
• Official Valve Developer Wiki (English)
• German article about the game world of Half-Life 2

Individual evidence

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3. ↑ Sasan Abdi: Valve blocks pirate accounts. In: computerbase.de. November 23, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Andreas Frischholz: Half-Life 2: Updates and new account blocks. In: computerbase.de. December 25, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
5. ^ David Hodgson: Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: Prima Games, 2004, ISBN 0-7615-4364-3 , p. 166
6. ^ David Hodgson: Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: Prima Games, 2004, ISBN 0-7615-4364-3 , p. 88
7. ^ David Hodgson: Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: Prima Games, 2004, ISBN 0-7615-4364-3 , p. 90
8. ^ David Hodgson: Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: Prima Games, 2004, ISBN 0-7615-4364-3 , p. 127
   
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25. ↑ ^{a b c} Holger Bleich: Phatbot author caused great damage. In: golem.de. May 14, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
26. ↑ Holger Bleich: Suspected Phatbot developer arrested near Lörrach. In: golem.de. August 5, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
27. ↑ Holger Bleich: Phatbot developer on the loose again. In: golem.de. May 14, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
28. ↑ Curt Feldman: Valve vs. Vivendi Universal dogfight heats up in US District Court. In: gamespot.com. December 15, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
29. ↑ Christian Klaß: Half-Life 2 - Valve and Vivendi argue about Steam. In: golem.de. August 22, 2004, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
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32. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Sasan Abdi: Half-Life 2: Valve and Vivendi warned. In: computerbase.de. January 28, 2005, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
33. ^ Christian Klaß: Half-Life 2: Vivendi has to change packaging. In: golem.de. March 14, 2005, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
34. ^ Censorship report on the German version of Half-Life 2: Episode Two . schnittberichte.com, accessed on February 25, 2020 . 
35. ^ Censorship report on the German version of Half-Life 2: Episode One . schnittberichte.com, accessed on March 25, 2015 . 
36. ↑ Daniel Boll: Steam support for censorship in the Orange Box. In: gbase.ch. September 19, 2007, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
37. ^ ^{A b c} Tom Bramwell: Opening the Valve: Interview. In: eurogamer.net. August 8, 2007, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
38. ↑ PC Games 07/06, pages 76 to 81
39. ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode One. Review. (No longer available online.) In: PC Action . July 16, 2006, archived from the original on September 10, 2012 ; accessed on February 29, 2020 . 
40. ^ Adam Doree: Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi, Page 3. In: games.kikizo.com. September 13, 2008, accessed March 25, 2015 . 
41. ↑ Sal Romano: Valve trademarks Half-Life 3 in Europe. In: gematsu.com. September 1, 2013, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
42. ^ Valve Explains Why Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Was Never Made - IGN. Accessed March 27, 2020 (English). 
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44. ↑ Marcel Hegewald: Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is being expanded. In: Games Aktuell . February 14, 2005, accessed February 27, 2020 . 
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47. ↑ ^{a b c} Half-Life 2: Survivor V2.0 Game introduction. (No longer available online.) In: hl2survivor.net. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010 ; accessed on February 25, 2020 (jp). 
48. ↑ Half-Life 2 to hit Japanese arcades. In: GameSpot . December 2, 2005, accessed February 27, 2020 . 
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51. ↑ ^{a b} Victoria Murphy Barret: It's A Mod, Mod Underworld, Page 1. (No longer available online.) In: forbes.com. December 12, 2005, archived from the original on September 19, 2012 ; accessed on February 26, 2020 (English). 
52. ↑ Victoria Murphy Barret: It's A Mod, Mod Underworld, Page 2. (No longer available online.) In: forbes.com. December 12, 2005, archived from the original on November 7, 2012 ; accessed on February 26, 2020 (English). 
53. ↑ Max Falkenstern: Black Mesa: Half-Life-Remake as Download - Torrent and Mirrors now online. In: gamestar.de. September 14, 2012, accessed February 26, 2020 . 
54. ↑ Michael Bonke: Black Mesa: Half-Life-Remake appears soon as a paid game with optimizations. In: gamestar.de. November 20, 2013, accessed February 26, 2020 . 
55. ↑ Half-Life 2 in the Gamezone test. In: gamezone.de. November 18, 2004, accessed February 26, 2020 . 
56. ^ Charles Herold: A Big Sequel That's Worthy of Its Lineage. In: nytimes.com. November 25, 2004, accessed February 26, 2020 . 
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65. ↑ New payment options in 2 weeks! In: hlportal.de. August 26, 2006, accessed February 25, 2020 . 
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67. ↑ GamePro issue 02/06, pages 40 to 41
68. ↑ PC Games issue 12/04
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