Half-Life 2 for Xbox Reviews by Gamers

I found HL2 to be almost as good on the Xbox as for the PC.

Pros: Faster load times compared to the PC. All of the content. It is as easy to use the Xbox controller as a keyboard, although not as swift for turning. Graphics are about as good as they get for Xbox. Only BLACK looks better.

Cons: Not as crystal clear as the PC, but PCs cost a lot more than Xbox. There are some frame rate issues that may not occur on the PC, but those are not that noticeable. I noticed that the graphics are similar to Far Cry Instincts in that the area immediately surrounding you is very clear, but things in the distance seem less sharp than on the PC.

Other thoughts: I have to say that the only reason people have given this game a rating lower than 9 or 9.5 is because it has no multiplayer and because it was released on the PC already. This is certainly the case with Gamespot's review. If the order of release were to be reversed they undoubtedly would have given the Xbox version 9. something and the PC version an 8 or so. Still it is a great game. If you love Sci-Fi and you love FPS games there are really very few that are better than this. As a matter of fact I am not aware of any better for the Xbox. Halo 2 is not as good as this game for its single player mode. Halo really wins because it has online play. Even if HL2 had online it would not be as good.

To be honest, I really don't like First Person Shooter games. Halo 2 bored the heck out of me. I'm an RPG fan, so maybe it's no surprise that Halo 2 came across to me as all flash and no substance. Half-Life 2 is NOT like that. It has a story that's actually interesting, great physics, a good balance of action that keeps it from becoming frustratingly hard but keeps it challenging, and some nice puzzles thrown in. And the graphics are pretty darn good too. I gave this game a 10 because I have never enjoyed an FPS before, let alone enjoyed one this much, and it gives me hope for the whole genre. All hail the One Free Man.