Vroom Vroom
Water Hazard
Water
Hazard starts with an example of a staple feature of the Half-Life series -
little 'moments' in the game that the player can interact with, moments that
are somewhat picturesque and set themselves up from a bit of a distance. In
this case the 'moment' is the brief encounter with the abandoned (err...
infested) Resistance station in the little house just a little out of the way.
Of
course, it is entirely possible to just drive past it but there are two 'minor'
factors to egg the player into exploring it - the brief mention of it being
'round around the corner' by the Resistance soldier who readied the Airboat for
you and by the brief glimpse you can catch of the G-Man standing outside the
house, before he straightens his tie and walks inside.
As
mentioned before, the G-Man is almost akin to an organic 'Go Here' arrow in
several ways, often acting as an incentive to go in a certain direction or
explore an area. Thus, you are most likely going to get off the Airboat, climb
the ladder and head into the house, wherein you are greeted by two zombies who
gleefully welcome you by punting objects at you. There isn't much in the house
sans the zombies, a headcrab that attempts to startle you and a stash of
resources for you to collect. It's short, it's engaging and it keeps you
nose-deep in the game's atmosphere - and there are many moments like these in
the series, brief 'cinematic' moments that are completely playable and serve to
keep you in the world.
By all
means, the game could have just thrown extra resources at you in a 'standard'
fashion and let you get straight to the heart of this chapter's content
involving the Airboat, but instead chose to go down this route - and you will
find many instances like this throughout, be they slightly off the beaten track
or on the linear track you tread.
 |
| Stop! It's physics time! |
Talking
about the Airboat, there's two things to keep in mind about it - it's ridiculously
fast and ridiculously durable, and you will find that these two factors end up
being rather important as the majority of this chapter is spent zipping through
the canals with the Combine hot on your heels. Though there are several
excursions off the Airboat, where you have to go another way on foot for a
while before being reunited with your boat... though, despite the fact that
they still provide a 'break', the physics 'puzzles' do little but come in the
way by today's standards; though they do little to get in the way of the game's
impeccable pacing (arguably one of its strongest factors).
 |
| The Citadel continues to omnisciently loom in the distance. |
The
vehicle sections in Half-Life 2 are of the 'hate it, love it or just be okay
with it' variety, though I've found that I've actually become fonder of the
vehicle sections on subsequent times through. I feel that might have to do with
the fact that on your first time through the vehicle sections can feel like
something 'on the side', something that's just filling the gap till you can
continue focusing on the game's FPS heart - a desire that subsides after your
first time through, since you're now familiar with all the game has to offer.
That said, I did like the vehicles my first time around though I do remember
feeling that the Airboat overstayed its welcome a tad bit.
 |
| I wouldn't have it any other way. |
Talking
about the game's FPS heart, this is the chapter in which the firefights really
start to rack up in the enjoyment factor due to far reduced emphasis on the
environment (and conveniently placed explosive barrels) and more on the usage
of your resources. This is entirely thanks to two factors - the newest addition
to your arsenal, the Magnum and a Combine Hunter-Chopper that stalks you
through most of the chapter.
The
firefights (on Hard only; on Normal the damage done v/s damage taken ratio is
heavily skewed in your favour) lay emphasis on your positioning as well as your
ability to dance between weapons to use that which is most efficient for the
greatest threat at hand. And the chapter certainly tries to egg you to learn
the roles of each weapon when you are forced into firefights in areas that
leave you exposed to the Hunter-Chopper. The enemy AI also comes into play
here, as you will find that the Combine has some sense of self-preservation and
will generally not stand around and die, and will often try to flank you or
fall back if they take a fair bit of damage (the AI isn't brilliant though and
it's age can be seen - in fact it's entirely possible for you to 'learn' the
nuances of the AI and thus 'learn' how to fight with the Combine (though this
arguably makes you feel even more like the crowbar-wielding messiah of
humanity)). There were several moments where I was caught unaware by the
Combine and forced into exchanges unfavourable for me... though unfavourable
exchanges won't become terribly dangerous till a few chapters later (hint: Red
Eyes, Take shotgun).
 |
| Sweet stash. |
Secret
stashes of resources will continue to be your friend, especially since they
happen to be 'just right' when it comes to the factor of your continued
existence.
The
final moments of the chapter have you duel the Hunter-Chopper that has been
stalking you, using a freshly added Pulse Cannon on your Airboat. The fight is
not challenging, and is more of a chance to enact sweet vengeance upon the
Chopper as it slowly begins to freak out and spew out bombs like confetti.
The
chapter ends with a bit of foreshadowing for what seemingly lies around the
corner, as you are led into a suspiciously generous storehouse before entering
the next chapter (after another super brief 'moment' where you plummet down a
waterless waterfall)...
Black Mesa East
 |
| Adieu, mon cheri. |
Turns
out the foreshadowing was a bit of a red herring, or rather a bit of preemptive
foreshadowing, as this is an entirely tranquil chapter during the course of
which you will not use a single bit of your resources (unless you decide to
randomly shoot nothing) as you explore Eli Vance's lab. This chapter is akin to
Point Insertion in the fact that it is peaceful (till the end) and gives you a
moment to just 'be' in the world. You get to interact with various characters,
enjoy chunks of humour and become engrossed in the world. There's a reason this
chapter deliberately takes its own sweet time - because the main purpose of
this chapter (pacing wise) is to cool you down after the frantic chapter prior
to it, and get you in a calmer, more peaceful state for the upcoming chapter. 
 |
| Oh Eli, watch your words. |
 |
| We get a glimpse into the aftermath of the first game and humanity's Seven Hour War with the Combine. |
This
chapter also introduces you to the Gravity Gun, which is perhaps the most
important part of your arsenal, the game and the entire Source engine when it
was introduced. It takes up environmental interaction up several notches, as
you get to dictate the positioning of objects (most of them at least) and
interact with things like explosive barrels in a more... extreme fashion.
 |
| Logic dictates that I am going to end up going there. |
Needless
to say, like any other peaceful moment things quickly turn to hell as the
Combine launch an attack on Eli's Hideout and, continuing the trend I mentioned
last time, you have to go somewhere a character name-dropped before (in this
case, name-dropped a few minutes ago), and it's great that you got the Gravity
Gun because it's certainly going to be helpful in a town that isn't sunshine
and rainbows...
 |
| This looks... |
 |
| ... foreboding. |
Arsenal
Magnum (Colt Python)
The Magnum's most obvious difference beyond it's small clip
size and low ammo capacity, is in the fact that is both incredibly accurate
(suffering from no spread) and powerful, though these are off-set by its slow
firing speed. The Magnum is capable of killing Civil Protection Combine in one
shot and Overwatch Soldiers in one headshot, a factor that is very important
during firefights as the Magnum becomes your go-to means to quickly eliminate a
high priority target or an enemy in your way (best seen in sections where you
are exposed to the Hunter-Chopper and try to run to safe spots, often blocked
by Combine soldiers best eliminated by a Magnum blast).
The
Magnum is an important addition to your arsenal as it gives you a powerful,
accurate ranged attack (that can even be aimed, but not fired, using the HEV
suit's zoom function). It increases your engagement range by a great deal and
gives you your first, efficient, method to deal immense damage in one-go. As
you progress through the game, the Magnum continues to be an important and
interesting part of your arsenal as the 'mid-point' of sorts between the
Shotgun and the Crossbow by doing both weapons' jobs, the Shotgun's burst of
immense damage and the Crossbow's range and 'sniping' functionality, rather
differently.
Grenades
More of a 'standard' addition to your arsenal, but a fun and
useful one nonetheless. Grenades fulfill a rather obvious role - to help deal
with bunched up enemies or enemies refusing to show themselves.
Not covering the Gravity Gun here, since it
was just introduced but not used.
Enemies
Nothing
new, and the Hunter-Chopper doesn't really have to be elaborated upon.
 |
| Now we have one of the game's most fondly remembered (for one reason or another) chapters. |
No comments:
Post a Comment