After discussing my increasing list of video distractions (Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Doom 3, and Winning Eleven 8 International) the other day, i made the offhand remark that i wanted to check out Half Life 2 as well, if only my poor home PC could handle it. Well, my curiosity got the better of me at Staples yesterday afternoon while shopping for printer ink, and i headed home with both that and a copy of HL2. It's been quite a while since i played any PC games ... i believe the last one was Red Faction 2. Much to my surprise, a staggering five cds fell out of the box when i opened it. Installation took the better part of a half hour. Moore's law dictates that the number of transistors developers can pack on a microprocessor will double every 18 months, and i heard someone remark recently that software developers will chew up that performance boost just as fast. That rang true here. Anyhow, no serious problems with installation so i fired up the game.

Holy god. I've become a console-only gamer in recent years, but Half Life 2 reminded me how a well-designed PC game can blow away its Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube competitors. The game opens with Dr. Gordon Freeman (protagonist of the first installment) arriving at the fascist state of City 17 on a train. As soon as you walk onto the station platform you're greeted with a fully-detailed environment, dominated by huge screens playing a propaganda film featuring the city's leader. Valve billed this game as featuring "AI actors" and they weren't lying ... all the character models boast ultra-realistic facial expressions and movements. Gameplay is fantastic as well ... perfectly intuitive without holding your hand. I felt brilliant when i realized i could shoot the fuel cans next to a group of enemies and blow them to kingdom come. So far the game is a triumph of technology and storytelling.

My only complaint is the load times between areas, but i can wait five or ten seconds when the payoff is this great.