Two sections of the game involve driving vehicles. Many of the game's new features utilize its detailed physics simulation. For some portions of the game, Gordon can be joined by up to four armed Resistance soldiers or medics and can send his team further from him or call them back. Gordon can kill most enemies with his weapons, or make use of indirect means, exploiting environmental hazards such as explosive pressurized canisters, gas fires or improvised traps. Others use predictable but powerful attacks, while others hide before swiftly attacking the player. Despite the game's mainly linear nature, much effort was put into making exploration rewarding and interesting many optional areas can be missed or avoided.Ī diverse set of enemies is present, which usually require being approached with different tactics: some coordinate in groups to out-maneuver or out-position the player others, such as the Manhack, fly directly at the player through small openings and tight corridors. The player also starts without items, slowly building up their arsenal over the course of the game. It has similar mechanics to Half-Life, including health-and-weapon systems and periodic physics puzzles, except with the newer Source engine and improved graphics. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 is a single-player first-person shooter in which players control Gordon Freeman. A prequel, Half-Life: Alyx, was announced in 2019. It was followed by the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). It won 39 Game of the Year awards, and has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. Half-Life 2 received acclaim for its advanced physics, animation, sound, AI, graphics, and narrative. A year before release, a hacker stole an unfinished version and leaked it online. Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003 and released it through its new distribution service Steam after delaying it by over a year.

Valve president Gabe Newell set his team the goal of redefining the FPS genre, focusing on advanced physics systems and non-player characters. Development lasted five years and cost US$40 million.

The game was created using Valve's Source engine, developed alongside. Players control Gordon Freeman, who fights against the alien Combine with allies including resistance fighter Alyx Vance, using weapons such as the object-manipulating gravity gun. Like the original Half-Life (1998), it combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed and published by Valve.

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