Half-Life 2

You know the story; Gordon Freeman, research scientist for the Black Mesa research group inadvertently unleashes an alien invasion horde and then finds himself dead center of a three-way slugfest between alien invaders, a military death squad and Government assassins sent in to shut everyone up permanently. Winner: Gordon Freeman, but the victory comes at a price. Rather then find himself in the bellies of a horde of toothy critters, he instead agrees to work for a very strange yet powerful Government type.

Fast forward several years and Gordon is unleashed on an Eastern European city aptly named "City 17." City 17 is a burnt-out shell of a city where masked soldiers routinely beat and humiliate the populace and where a former Black Mesa researcher has made himself out to be all-out dictator. Gordon doesn't know what to do, or where he's supposed to go, but give our man an H.E.V. suit (Hazardous Environment) and a crowbar and you'll see exactly what makes him such a unique individual. This is officially the greatest Xbox title made to date.

"I said no door to door salesmen!"

With some of the finest graphics to date made for a console system Half-Life 2 makes me proud to be an Xbox owner. The facial expressions the characters feature actually emit emotion. You can see them speak and tell what kind of mood they are in merely by looking at them. They move with a deliberate motion that may not actually look like a real person but for a video game it simply doesn't get much better. But when the bad guys start running, you would think you were in the middle of an actual skirmish. It's real, it's not predictable and it's spilling out in front of you. The in-game architecture of the levels is also something to behold. Since the game has you starting off in a ravaged city, expect to see all sorts of garbage and rubbish and all those little things that make the ambience that much more real. Garbage blows by, makeshift walkways, structures and other items are strewn everywhere. Of course this being a Half-Life title, I don't want to spoil anything but you can expect some very strange and wonderful things to be graced on your screen. But my favorite will always be the monsters. Half-Life came up with some truly original and deadly creatures and this title builds on that, which has already been established. The little head crabs that gave you such a tough time in the first ones are now used as weapons. It's exactly what you would expect from a rogue government being given access to other species' technology.

I really can't express how well this game translates onto the screen. I played H.L.2 on the PC and I loved it. Well, I'm loving it even more on the Xbox, simply because I enjoy playing it in widescreen format with a kick-butt sound system. Now the only blip I could even mention about the graphics is that as you play, and you reach a loading point the game's framerate stutters, just for a second mind you, as if to say "Hang on, I'm warming up" but then all is good. If every game only had this problem, then the world would be a better place.

 
"No, I would not like a subscription to Monster weekly."

The game's soundtrack is an important part of the overall experience as well. And the reason I say that is because (and I wish more action game's would take advantage of this style), when you complete an action sequence (i.e.. just blew away a boatload of bad guy soldiers) the action music starts up and you feel like you are watching a movie as much as you are playing a game. It makes you feel like you've got to get going, like it's time to move and man, does it keep the game's pacing going full tilt. The folks over at Valve kept up with the quality and approached the game's voice talent much as if they were making a movie. There are credits that roll in the beginning and the voice work is simply perfect. At no point do the voices not match up to the character's faces, it's this kind of attention that elevates the good games to the great ones.

Now there are some folks out there that just don't think that a first -person shooter doesn't play correctly on a console system. Well, they need to stop their belly aching and simply try this one out. The game's controls are finely tuned and simply don't get any better. There is the slightest "auto-aim" push that is seamless and still makes you work for those good shots. Both thumbsticks are used much like the HALO setup and the weapon selection and H.E.V. suit functions are easily accessible. I can't tell you how much I enjoy playing this game. There are even some vehicles you must commandeer that, too, control wonderfully.

"Teleportation, when it absolutely, positively must be there in .2 gigaseconds."

I know that there are a ton of games out there bullying for your gaming dollar. Let me put it to you this way, when I play this game, I constantly keep telling myself, "OK, five more minutes" or "I'll just play until the next checkpoint" and this is at 3:20 in the morning. I'm exhausted, but I keep playing, knowing very well that I have to get up at 7:00 a.m. To me, that is the sign of a game that grabs you and demands that it be played. Buy this game and expect to be grabbed.

Gameplay: 9.7
It controls like a sportscar, it plays like a dream. Half-Life 2 is as fine a game you will ever control. Don't believe me? This title has already converted one of my friend's who is a die-hard PC gamer.  

Graphics: 9.8
The game throws little things at you that most games wouldn't or couldn't think of. Garbage blows by, monstrous tentacles dangle precariously, ready to trap you, but then the architecture looks kinda like a tentacle. To me, this is the monsters adapting to their environment, luring their prey. The weapons are first rate, the electrical effects, the water effects and any other effect you may run across, the game looks like a champ.

Sound: 9.6
Voice work is done by people who know what they are doing. The sound effects are completely believable and the action music makes you feel like you are the star of your own Hollywood big budget action movie.

Difficulty Medium/Hard
It's the kind of game that may have you pulling your hair out one moment but then beaming with pride the next. You can save anywhere you want thanks to some smart designing and I would recommend you do so often. When your health is up and your suit's power is at full, you need to save. When you beat a tough bad guy, you need to save. When you survive a particularly hairy scenario, you need to save.  Are you seeing a pattern here? Save often.

Concept: 9.5
It's a game that rivals good sci-fi movies. The plot is smart, the implementation is dialed in and the scares are often. You are running for your life, you are in a desperate situation and you are a happy gamer if you are playing this one.

Overall: 9.6
This is the game to have this year and possibly one of the finest Xbox games to date. I know that Microsoft is probably only going to support the Xbox through 2006, but this is a game you simply must play. It flat out rocks and is easily the best of 2005. Run, don't walk to your local store and buy this game, the world is depending on you to save it!