Instead of just blowing a hole in the chest of the nearest enemy, you can knock him off the rooftop and into the rotor blades of a helicopter below you. Not on a roof? Well then, you could roll a trio of explosive barrels near him, jump into your swamp buggy and skim away to a safe distance, then send the whole place to Hell and back with a single, well-placed shot. There's also a sort of gravity gun that enables you to hoist practically anything. Early footage of the game showed the player using this weapon to grab a metal radiator, carry it like a shield, deflecting bullets, then launch it like a missile right into the breadbasket of the enemy. Not only can you do that, but there's also much, much more.

Like the original Half-Life, this sequel has cinematic presentation and a better-than-Hollywood plot written by a legit science fiction author. There are memorable, well-written characters, such as the beautiful scientist Alyx and your friend, Dog. We can't spoil it, but watch for him. Plus, there's a presence in this game; it inspires an ominous unease. Half-Life 2 has an artistic but militaristic feel, and there are some genuinely scary moments, especially if you have any sort of headcrab phobia.

There are a few bugs in the Xbox Half-Life 2 that aren't actually invading aliens. Pauses to load the next area sometimes hang longer than they should, and the on-screen action sometimes stutters and chugs briefly, like soup passing through a sieve.