Along the bottom of the screen, the player's health, suit charge level, and their ammunition is displayed. In 2020, after canceling several further Half-Life projects, Valve released the prequel Half-Life: Alyx.Ī screenshot of the player engaging a group of antlions with a pulse rifle. Half-Life 2 was followed by the free extra level Lost Coast (2005) and the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). It won 39 Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the best games of all time. Half-Life 2 was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, and received acclaim. A year before release, an unfinished version of the game was stolen by a hacker and leaked online the leak damaged team morale and slowed development. Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003, with a release date for that September it was delayed by over a year, triggering a backlash. They integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay, and developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation. Valve president Gabe Newell set his team the goal of redefining the first-person shooter genre. Development lasted five years and cost US$40 million. Half-Life 2 was created using Valve's Source engine, which was developed at the same time. Players control Gordon Freeman as he joins a resistance movement to liberate the Earth from the control of an alien empire, the Combine. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam retail editions were published by Sierra. Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve.

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