Half-Life 2 E3 2004 Preview Preview

E3 2004 has certainly been one of the most exciting experiences in the gaming industry for a very long time. With the revealing of two new handheld machines; the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS weâ??ve been completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of new offerings from all publishers and developers alike. However itâ??s all too easy to forget about some long-time overdue games that have been sitting on the back bench now for quite some time. What games spring to mind straight away? Well, Half-Life 2 should certainly be on top of your list of games to check out from E3 2004.

Although Half-Life 2 has seen troubled times with a number of release dates missed and leaked information that failed to impress as highly as Valve would like, Half-Life 2 is nearly there people and weâ??re very excited. So should you!

TVG was at a presentation held by Valveâ??s top guys including Gabe Newell, where we got to see the latest progress on Half-Life 2. Before the presentation began Newell reliably informed us that the code was almost complete, and that Valve is very happy with the game at present. All that is left for completion is minor bug testing and level design tweaks, although a release date was not confirmed, summer 2005 has been suggested.

Holding our heads up high we witnessed over 20 minutes of pure gaming ecstasy, and although itâ??s been a year since we last witnessed the game in motion it still manages to make us quiver like a bunch of babies. The varied environments and different styles of gameplay that were on demonstration simply opened our minds to the sheer level of detail on offer in Half-Life 2. As always the physics created by the Havoc engine shine through as one of the games strongest aspects; for once they donâ??t simply act as a purpose to look â??coolâ?? but can actually help your attack or defend from on-coming enemies. From using objects to block doors to throwing explosives back at guards there is simply a limitless supply of methods you can use to complete your objectives. The non-player-characters and enemy AI in Half-Life 2 is equally as impressive as everything else in the game. Characters that you interact with during the game actually have their own lives and will react to situations accordingly to the circumstances that they are in. Likewise you may be clever enough to hide behind an object to lose an oncoming enemy, they will use everything in their powers to hunt you down, trap you and ultimately kill you. Youâ??re not the only one this time that can use brain power to overcome difficult situations.

The visuals have in no way lost there edge since last year, and from what we have seen from the additional little tweaks Valve have added, make the game look even more realistic. The character models are some of the best we have seen in recent times, with incredible realistic facial animations that convey a whole host of emotions and feelings. Wait until you see the water in the video clips, once again some of the nicest effects we have seen in a game to date. However itâ??s just the level of detail in the environment, quite simply the most convincing environment weâ??ve yet seen in a videogame.

With every effort to make the game look and play as realistic as possible, it would be easy for the attention on other areas such as the sound to be overlooked. Thankfully, the background music and sound effects play just as big as a part as the graphics, helping to creating a stunning atmosphere throughout the game. With hard hitting sound tracks that feel so good, to eerie effects that make your hairs on your back stand up.