In Half-Life you take on the role of Gordon Freeman, a research associate in the anomalous materials lab. Everything takes place in a decommissioned missile base known as the Black Mesa Research Facility where a top secret project goes terribly awry in an attempt to open a portal to another dimension.

With the technology of the PlayStation 2 many PC games are crossing over to catch the gamers that didn't have the advantage of the PC. Sierra entertainment is one of the first to cross over from PC to PlayStation 2 and what better way to shoot for the top than with the Half-Life franchise. The PC version of Half-Life has won over fifty game of the year awards and was twice named "best PC game ever" by Imagine Media's PC Gamer Magazine (November 1999, August 2001) and has sold over 2.5 million copies world wide. I believe that this game has the potential to make the same impact on the PlayStation 2 as it did on the PC. Half-Life creates a realistic world where players need to think smart to survive. Gamers are given the opportunities to wreak havoc in true action game fashion but they are also able to explore and strategize. "Working with Sony to take full advantage of their technologically advanced next generation system, I believe we have set the stage for Half-Life for the PS2 to make another significant impact on the gaming world," said Mike Ryder President of Sierra Entertainment.

There are also some added bonuses on the PS2 version such as the Decay mode which allows you to a cooperative campaign with a friend or a computer controlled partner. This is a bonus because there are few games out there that let you and a friend play at the same time, on the same team, working toward the same objective. There is also a head to head mode for those of you who prefer it. This allows you to battle in any one of the Black Mesa battlefields. One thing I particularly liked on this game, and hope to see more of in future releases is a quick save mode. This allows you to stop where you are and quick save before you do something difficult. If you unsuccessful in your attempts and your life happens to expire then you will return to where you quick saved at. This will not save your game completely. For example if you turn off your console then it will not return you to where you quick saved when you decide to play again. For this you must save in the mid-game menu.

Although this game was highly enjoyable there are a few glitches in it. A few times while playing this game the side to side vision control would get stuck in one position. And a couple of times my character got stuck and couldn't move at all. I got around this by saving in the mid-game menu and then reloading where I left off. Though it was annoying when it happened it wasn't distracting enough to make me dislike it. I found this game highly enjoyable.

Game play - 7.5
Highly enjoyable but still has a few glitches in it.

Graphics - 8
Realistic people and environment.

Sound- 7
Authentic sounds of surroundings.

Difficulty - 8
Save the human race while avoiding death from aliens and humans.

Concept - 7
Not exactly a new idea.

Multiplayer - 9
Play  a cooperative campaign or go head to head with a friend.

Overall - 8
Challenging and enjoyable.