Half-Life 2

A well-intentioned, awkward shooter that wants to please so hard. “Here’s a gun that clumsily manipulates the environment! Here’s a vehicle that controls terribly! Don’t feel like using them? Too bad, we’ve structured entire levels around the use of both!” “Half-Life”’s greatest strength—not advertising the danger in the environment, allowing the player to take their time to come to the realization that they are screwed—is amplified here, and the rapport that develops between an NPC actually works really well. It all builds to a raging climax of a non-ending, because who engages with art for the payoff, anyway?

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