Making Great Games

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HALF-LIFE 2

 

Half-Life 2, released in 2004 by Bellevue, Washington-based Valve Corporation, has proven to be one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time. The highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 release Half-Life, Half-Life 2 garnered over 40 ‘PC Game of the Year’ awards in 2004 and has been hailed as one of the best games of the decade by multiple publications, including IGN.

A first-person shooter, initially launched for Windows-based PCs, Half-Life 2 has received accolades across a broad spectrum of disciplines, from technical feats such as the physics engine and artificial intelligence of the game's Non-Player Characters (NPCs), to the game's novel animation techniques as well as more design-centered areas, such as ...