Media Meditation #4, Half Life 2, We don't go to Ravenholm anymore

This game has been out for quite some time, but I have unfortunately only just been exposed to it. Half Life 2 is one of the best and most well made games I have ever played. You take the role of a man named Gordon Freeman, a scientist with a degree in theoretical physics.

This is your character, Gordon Freeman. Image from pwned.com

I’m sorry to say I haven’t played the first game in the series, but there isn’t an edition of it released for Xbox 360. From what I gathered, Freeman created a portal to another world. The inhabitants of that other world did not take kindly to it, and took over earth. Freeman went to that other world and was imprisoned. Half Life 2 starts with Freeman being released and brought back to earth. You then play as Freeman, trying to take back the planet in an underground resistance movement.

One of the best aspects of this game is the way it’s played. For the most part, it is a first person shooter. Every once in a while though, the game changes pace throws puzzles at you to get to the next level. There has not been a puzzle that has not impressed me yet. For example, there’s a mission where you have to get to another resistance base by way of boat. There’s one instance where you need to make a ramp to get over an obstacle by putting weight on a piece connected to a ramp to make it high enough.

Half Life 2 incorporates a number of production techniques into the story and game play. Because you play as Gordon Freeman, you are a symbol. Everyone knows you in the game as the one who started this whole ordeal, and as the person who can put a stop to it. Fear is another big aspect of the game. After an attack breaks up a meeting with your allies, you have to escape through a zombie-infested area called Ravenholm. Videogames have been a significant part of my life since middle school, and this game was one of the first games to actually instill fear in me. Group dynamics also play a role in this game. After defeating a massive alien (called an antlion) leader, you get to control the smaller peons.

This is one of the antlions you get to control. Image from giantbomb.com