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Half Life 2 - First Look Preview

Stephen Leyton

11/05/2003

Is Half Life 2 the refreshing break we need from FPS games? We definitely think so!

Half Life 2 is coming very soon, and I donât think I need much more of an introduction to get your mouths wateringâ¦.

For those of you that have been living under a large rock with a little Lepracon sat on top for the last few years, Half Life is one of the most successful FPS franchises in gaming history; it shook the world with its release and subsequent update disks. The action was fast and different, the story was superb akin to a Stephen King book, and for its time the visuals were some of the best on the market.

Speed on over 4 and half years, and Half Life 2 is closely approaching us, the game has apparently been in development since Valve Software (the developers behind the game) finished the original, so hopefully the developers have missed nothing - could this be the perfect FPS that the industry is crying out for?

Recently Valve uncovered for the first time a selection of images from in game, hence to say readers from around the world were totally shocked and amazed. With a demonstration shown to select Journalists from around the world, Valve announced a few details that we should expect from the game with its release later this year.

Half Life 2 is a true sequel to the original; you continue your adventure as Gordon Freeman, and the plot it driven by events that took place in the original Half-Life. This time however there is something completely different acting strangely, and youâll end up teaming with some of the Xen aliens to combat this new opposing force. A large section of the game will take place in a European inspired city named City 17, there will also be a large selection of additional locations that you will explore later on in the game. Whilst we do not know at this stage the purpose of your missions, we do know a little on the people thatâll be accompanying you, at least two of the scientists from the original game, with the daughter of one of them she is called Alyx, who apparently will have a significant roll to play.

With todayâs technology powering the games behind the scene, itâs possible to include incredibly realistic features into a game. Valve have spent a considerable amount of time with the character models used in Half Life 2 and their facial animations they apply, creating what Valve hope to be the closest thing youâll get to experiencing emotions for the characters you interact with during the game. Recently programmers and designers, have given characters within games more freedom, by developing them with full skeleton systems; thus walking looks like walking, with the muscles and limbs reacting accordingly. However to this date the technology hasnât really been passed onto the facial area, Valve are set to demonstrate new standards again where every little bit of detail has been included from the head to the foot. Valve gave a demonstration of this technology to a group, showing one of the characters puckering up for a kiss and attempting to talk at the same time. The pucker broke off to allow for the words to get out and you could see the two actions compromising.

The graphics are simply superb, and to really see how spectacular they are you simply must see it in action. Every little bit of detail has been covered from the character models, the environments, the water effects, explosions and vehicles to name a few. Using Valveâs new technology know as the Source engine, we will have the opportunity to witness some of the best gaming moments to date when Half Life 2 ships later this year.

E3 2003 is closely approaching us, and so we shall hopefully be able to get our hands on the keyboard and give this game a try. However before we leave you, check out these gameplay moments that were witnessed from a recent press day:

Scene #1

Gordon is being chased through a canyon by an 8 feet tall creature that looks like something out of Strarship Troopers. Eventually Gordon hides within some rocks. The creature being too big to fit in decides to try and poke his claw to get at Gordon, with no luck however. As its tries to find another way in, Gordon runs out the opening and gets a bit of distance when the creature discovers Gordon has gone and gives chase once again. However the creature then discovers a group of soldiers standing next to an armoured vehicle, the group panic and jump inside the vehicle, only to get the creature bashing the sides trying to push it over a nearby ledge. They call in for reinforcements and shortly after the creature is gunned down by an airship.
Scene #2

Gordon is walking along a pier, and a zombie approaches from the shore. The zombie grabs something that is sitting on the pier and throws it at Gordon. The zombie whilst moving his way to Gordonâs direction demonstrates his ability to overcome any type of terrain include uneven objects and debris, he also has the ability to survey the surroundings and determine what can be used to cause harm to Gordon. We have been informed that all of the characters within the game will take physics into account, if they see an object that can be blown up or moved to harm Gordon they will likely perform that task, whether it works is another matter.