Final 12 months, Valve brought the original development team back together for a 20th anniversary Half-Life 2 update. It built-in the post-launch episodes, added a brand new developer commentary observe, introduced in Steam Workshop assist, and added a heap of map and gameplay updates. All of which was nice—aside from one progress-blocking bug it launched to the Entanglement degree.
Close to the top of Entanglement there is a setpiece the place you utilize turrets to defend Alyx whereas she resets a teleporter, then bounce in along with her to flee the waves of Mix troopers flooding in. Which labored tremendous, till the anniversary version. Probably because of mentioned replace fixing an present bug that might make the teleporter go away early, a brand new bug meant that typically you would not be capable to enter the teleporter after Alyx—and should you raced to get inside first, she would not comply with you.
Creative options to this drawback concerned leaping onto Alyx’s head, maybe by dropping a grenade at your toes or leaping off one of many turrets. Now, you will not should do both—or open up the console and fiddle with cheats—because the latest patch ought to have the sequence working as meant as soon as once more. It additionally prevents enemies from having the ability to shoot via a few of the degree’s partitions.
The opposite change on this replace is a tweak to the practice setpiece on Freeway 17. The place initially, when confronted with an oncoming practice whereas driving the buggy, you had a alternative between reversing the hell out of there or flooring it and escaping via a spot between it and one other practice (or dismounting the automobile solely, should you’re a buggy-hater). Successful the race turned a lot more durable when the muscle-car physics from Episode Two have been retroactively utilized to the buggy.
This one wasn’t truly right down to the anniversary replace, however an earlier patch. In case you performed Half-Life 2 at launch you most likely discovered it simple to beat the practice, however after it was patched you wanted to be on-point along with your boosting to face an opportunity. Now Valve has “Restored pace of the practice close to the top of Freeway 17 to raised match the unique shipped issue.”
I believe Half-Life 2 remains to be one of many best first-person shooters round, although whether or not that is as a result of it is a timeless basic or as a result of it is all been downhill since then is a matter of how cynical I really feel on any given day. Nonetheless, good to have an excuse to replay it once more.
Greatest PC gaming equipment 2025
