Half-Life 2 plot
The basic plot of Half-Life 2 is pretty simple in concept, much as the first game was. The player is once again Gordon Freeman, but rather than being involved in the action by happenstance, he's placed there by the G-Man. Players of the first game will recall being given a "choice" at the end - work for him, or die horribly. Needless to say, the former was used as the springboard for a sequel.
Gordon was placed in some kind of stasis following the events in Half-Life, and is reactivated by the G-man to deal with a growing problem on Earth - aliens are running the show 1984-style, using Black Mesa's administrator, Dr. Wallace Breen, as a puppet/mouthpiece to control huamnity and maintain order. Gordon is teleported to City 17, an urban center (apparently in Russia, judging by the Cyrillic characters on some of the buildings and the names of some of the local people and places) where Dr. Breen has his main administrative center.
Fortunately, Gordon is not alone against the forces of the alien Combine - characters from Half-Life are working with a resistance movement and will be more than happy to help Gordon, who has become something of a mythical figure amongst the resistance members. Doctors Kleiner and Vance, scientists from Black Mesa, have been working on some high-tech aid for humanity. Barney Calhoun ("the" security guard from Black Mesa) has been working inside "Civil Protection," the oppressive police force of City 17, to keep the reisistance as safe as possible. New characters include Dr. Judith Mossman, an assistant of Eli Vance's, and Eli's daughter Alyx.
Half-Life 2 is comprised of 14 chapters. Since there's a lot to do and see in the game, as well as plenty of stopover areas in some otherwise fast-paced levels, the amount of time it takes to complete each chapter will vary based on the player's proclivity for exploration, perfection, sight-seeing, tomfoolery, hijinx, shenanigans and other sorts of goings-on. A relatively exploratory and skilled player can probably expect to spend 1 to 2 hours in each chapter on average, making for a pretty lengthy game.
Apart from City 17 and its various sub-environs (a canal, a zombie-infested urban wasteland and the streets themselves), game locations include a coastal highway beset by burrowing insect-aliens, labratories, a Combine prison and, of course, the massive Citadel at the center of the city.
Gordon was placed in some kind of stasis following the events in Half-Life, and is reactivated by the G-man to deal with a growing problem on Earth - aliens are running the show 1984-style, using Black Mesa's administrator, Dr. Wallace Breen, as a puppet/mouthpiece to control huamnity and maintain order. Gordon is teleported to City 17, an urban center (apparently in Russia, judging by the Cyrillic characters on some of the buildings and the names of some of the local people and places) where Dr. Breen has his main administrative center.
Fortunately, Gordon is not alone against the forces of the alien Combine - characters from Half-Life are working with a resistance movement and will be more than happy to help Gordon, who has become something of a mythical figure amongst the resistance members. Doctors Kleiner and Vance, scientists from Black Mesa, have been working on some high-tech aid for humanity. Barney Calhoun ("the" security guard from Black Mesa) has been working inside "Civil Protection," the oppressive police force of City 17, to keep the reisistance as safe as possible. New characters include Dr. Judith Mossman, an assistant of Eli Vance's, and Eli's daughter Alyx.
Half-Life 2 is comprised of 14 chapters. Since there's a lot to do and see in the game, as well as plenty of stopover areas in some otherwise fast-paced levels, the amount of time it takes to complete each chapter will vary based on the player's proclivity for exploration, perfection, sight-seeing, tomfoolery, hijinx, shenanigans and other sorts of goings-on. A relatively exploratory and skilled player can probably expect to spend 1 to 2 hours in each chapter on average, making for a pretty lengthy game.
Apart from City 17 and its various sub-environs (a canal, a zombie-infested urban wasteland and the streets themselves), game locations include a coastal highway beset by burrowing insect-aliens, labratories, a Combine prison and, of course, the massive Citadel at the center of the city.