no wonder people praise this game, it improves EVERYTHING from the first game and its expansions. from level design to character writing, this is undoubtedly an undefeated classic of the early 2000s.

on the other side, so much of this game couldve been put on the cutting room floor. i've noticed a pattern, usually Half Life games start out strong, then when it hits the second half (heh) of the game, it becomes a chore than an engaging experience. This only intensify when I reached "Follow Freeman," when the scripting bugged out no matter what I did, and I contemplated on giving up on the game. I'm thankful I just used console commands instead, and just went ahead and finished the last hour of the game. What a fantastic game, nonetheless.