Gabe Newell

It was with a bit of apprehension that I approached Half-Life 2: Episode 2. I had high hopes for the game, but I was afraid that Valve would again merely ride the series out on its established conventions rather than make substantive improvements. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, and Episode 2 has exceeded my expectations in nearly every respect.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

The question that lingered in my mind, naturally, was whether Half-Life 2 could possibly live up to the expectations I had for it. Is it truly the best game of its kind ever made?

Game Description: Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition compiles all the best elements of this incredible game, with all-new player options and even better graphics. Start out with Half-Life 2, where you return to the alien research facility called Black Mesa. The aliens are now pouring into our world and you'll join the resistance movement to stop them. Battle it out with friends in crazy, realistic mulitplayer action with Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. Then test your tactical abilities with Half-Life: Source—where the gaming kicks up a notch through the amazing Source game engine. With the Source engine, you get high-resolution textures, detailed character models, realistic physics and lighting, support for up to 64 players, shiny water effects & better objects—creating a more realistic gaming experience. The action continues in bigger, better form with Counter-Strike: Source.

I think that I'm impossible to please when it comes to video games. When I play a terrible game, I take an almost ecstatic glee in pointing out all the many, many ways in which the developers screwed up. When faced with a nearly perfect game, on the other hand, I start to nitpick, and search for tiny mistakes to grouse about, as if admitting that the existence of perfection somehow invalidated my worldview.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence

Anyone who reads GameCritics.com regularly will know that I'm not a big fan of first-person shooter (FPS) games. I don't hate them, but I don't think it's particularly fun to just run around and blast things, either. Most of the games tend to be very repetitious and unimaginative, and the genre has rarely captured my attention. Being the non-fragger that I am, I was particularly interested to check out Half-Life.

Trying to gauge which game was the first to blur the line between game and movie is a daunting task (and one sure to inspire more than a few arguments). However, the game that tends to stand out as one of the first to do it effectively is Half-Life—a classic PC game that is now making its debut on the PlayStation 2 gaming console.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Game Description: Half-Life features an integrated storyline with stunning visual effects and a huge, sprawling environment filled with aliens determined to hunt you down and kill you. You no longer just point and shoot—Half-Life is a dynamic, plot-driven, complex world where you need to play smart to survive. Monsters have a strong instinct for self-preservation. They will duck, jump, hide behind barriers to avoid gunfire, and even retreat if feeling threatened. Superior AI drives these behaviors and they are different for each species. Plus you can choose from 18 different weapons, ranging from a crowbar to laser-guided rockets.