G-pinions

It's really a shame that Half-Life 2 was released so late in the Xbox's life. Had Valve taken six months more to port it to the 360 instead, episodic expansions included, it would be a lot more of a landmark release for console shooters. As it stands, it's simply a shockingly impressive port of a brilliant PC game that will be ignored by and large by Xbox owners, and the annals of console shooter history. I know that I chose an odd time to pick it up, but we're in an ugly 360 gap until March 7th, and hey, it can only make Black feel all the more different right?

We all know why the game is great - the most realistic, gameplay-affecting physics ever, a great story (that you'll actually care about) with great in-game exposition, fantastic pacing where every second looks and feels unique (like RE4), and the gravity gun. However, I will say that for all of it's brilliant physics and resulting level design prowess, the basic engine and world still don't feel as tangible as Halo; it feels incredibly real and complete, but the sensation of basic movement and environmental interaction, while visually sensible, just doesn't feel as immersive as Bungie's world. I guess that's just a nasty side-effect of it's mouse/keyboard origins, and to be fair, no other game lives up to Halo in that regard either. It's just the slightest bit disappointing considering how seamless the experience is otherwise.

That's really the only complaint I can level against it though. There are plenty of reviews singing it's praises, I just wanted to chime in with one more positive impression, and not just relative to it's port status. It's EASILY the best Xbox game of last year, and worth buying/keeping the system for.