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All parent reviews for Half-Life 2
AGE
Prior to the player getting the crowbar and pistol are not a good example of gameplay:
...but after the first weapons are obtained and enemy soldier encounters begin, one may begin to judge if the player is capable of handling the game. My 9 year old loves the story of the Half Life series. He knows the violence is not real, but that real violence has consequences. The only trouble younger players might have is some of the puzzles can be a bit tricky. Enemy health and skill can be lowered using the game difficulty settings, but the puzzles are consistent. It is somtimes hard to find where the player needs to go next due to some large open space areas of certain maps, and maze-like buildings and structures. Though it is mostly straight-forward, "point A to point B" navigation. As mentioned in other reviews, "Ravenholm" leans more toward the horror genre than the rest of the games science fiction theme. The town has been intentionally overrun with "zombies" by the main enemy. The single surviving townperson is the priest "Father Gregory" who leads you along with words of encouragement. All-in-all, if the player is mature enough to handle fictional gun-violence, some forboding scenarios, and alien invasion themes, then this game is perfectly acceptable.
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AGE
A wonderful a game, depicts some violence, but 13+ should be just fine.
This is a wonderful game. I love this site, I use it myself to look up a few specifics concerning ratings - but violence and gore is one you really have to watch out for, here. As they tend to overexaggerate a great deal with that, specifically. Half-Life 2 follows the path of a Gordon Freeman, a former scientist who's found himself caught up in playing a key role in what may very well be the salvation of human kind. The world as we know it has been taken over by an alien controlled "Combine" government, and it is implied that they can be brutal, cruel, and unjust towards the human population. However - this is NOT depicted in a ridiculous, in-your-face, "for the sake of it" manner. It is depicted in a very emotional and story-relevant manner. You will in your travels through the game, run across some corpses. Some apparently burned, some just dead comrades fighting for the same thing you are.
But, while realistically depicted, it is not depicted for the sake of violence - but for the sake of a very moving and solid storyline. It is immersive, and when you see it - you don't think "OH MY GOD, THIS IS VIOLENT." You think "Poor guy. The combine is ruthless, and needs to be stopped."
90% of the actual battles in the game do not consist of hardly any blood or gore. There are some zombies, and they obviously look like zombies partially covered in blood and a few of them can be chopped in half - but again, it is not inappropriately done for the sake of violence, only realism. Most of the time, you're fighting combine soldiers, and you're lucky to see a blood splatter. You just shoot, they fall (or fly back against a wall), and that's that. Not bloody, not gory.
It is a realistic depiction of an oppressive and potentially violent system, but it is a very involving and mature presentation of it. Any violence you encounter will be relevant to the storyline and to the world you're involved in, and I would argue that games like this are WELL within the scope of what anyone over the age of 13 should be exposed to. They'll see a hell of a lot worse on TV, or your average movie cover. This isn't your average "shooting game", this isn't close to Doom 3. This is something entirely different. Something I wouldn't want an 8 year old to see, but something your 14 year old son or daughter should be able to get involved in if they really want to.
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AGE
Amazing
I don't care if you say it's not suitable for kids, that would be why there is a restricted sticker on the front cover. Just because you say it's bloody etc it doesnt deny the fact it is a great game, you dont mention much, if not anything about the physics engine either, which actually merges science with a shooter producing surprising educational value when in comes to the lawa of physics. The graphics are simply mind blowing, it has the best visuals of any game out.
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AGE
Definitely worth playing.
Very good game, but takes some time loading because you must have a really good graphics card and sound card, and the loading times in this game are incredibly slow that it takes at least 5 minutes to load a little tiny part of the game. The violence is brutal, the music is exciting and the graphics are exceptional. What I loved about this game is that this game goes on and on, as in there's no level loading. Only at the beginning when you start playing. 5 out of 5.
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AGE
Awesome game for grown-ups; not for kids
This is an extremely well-crafted game -- story, , graphics, gameplay, enemy AI are all very well done. If you are a shooter enthusuast, it's simply a "must play." But defintely do so after you have put the kids (< 17 y/o) to bed. It is very violent.
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AGE
Interesting fun
Challenging game play, sometimes fustrating, but overall rewarding experience.
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AGE
Beautiful Looking Disturbing Images
First Off, this is a great game. The story is good. The graphics are gorgeous. The Gravity Gun is amazing. Unfortunatly, this game is extremely disturbing. There is a whole lot of blood, but it is not usually created by the player. It is usually there already. The head-sucking aliens (zombies) are also extremely disturbing. The levels that they're in have a bunch of gore and things like a room filled with people sawed in half, someone's lower body impaled on a spike and hanging from a tree, and people impaled on spikes and lit on fire. The head-sucking aliens also keep their hosts alive, but not in control of movement, so you here their victims horrorified crying and if you light them on fire their muffeled screaming of "oh my God I'm on fire help me!" Parents please beware of this game. It's very well done in all aspects, including horror.
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AGE
Hello people
This game takes things to another level. I just played it for the first time to test the waters, and you need to see it. The graphics, physics engine, and entire set is beatiful. The only part that may be bad is the zombies, but they're actually not crazy for zombies. Resident Evil zombies are crazy, these aren't. Do not judge until you've played. Simply amazing world that you, a phyicist, travel through.
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AGE
Dear, dear, how can a game as beautiful as Half-Life 2 be given no stars? Sure, it's dark and occasionally gory, but there is nothing kids over 14 shouldn't be able to handle. Like me, they will be left breathless by the graphics and presentation of this game.
I think that the rating underestimates the intelligence of older children who will usually love the game.
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AGE
Not for Kids
You might want to consider this for somebody 15+. Not as many puzzles as the first one (about 2 that I actually got stuck on for more than 5 minutes) and too much running, shooting, and killing.
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AGE
overall it is a pretty fun game and here and now there a perplex puzzels
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AGE
Game of The Year
This game was simply amazing. Everything was perfect; the graphics, the sound elements, the Source engine, the gameplay, and the characters. The violence simply added to the atmosphere of the game. I am under 17 and I didn't think that it was too scary for kids my age either.
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AGE
Awesome game
Half-life 2 is a must for any PC FPS fan, the violence is a neccesity to the plot. What is Gordon suppose to do, fight the Combine peacefully? How about he stages a hunger strike, or locks arms with a Mawman? Yeah, that will work. I think that mr. SPAS 12 works the best.
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