Using the classical Hero's Journey model (the underpinning structure of every adventure story and fairytale you've ever read), Half-Life 2вЂ™s set-pieces, story developments and action-escalation are a carefully structured set of trials and learning experiences вЂ“ as emotional as they are mechanical - which develop the player/Gordon from isolated outsider to accepted but over-faced rebel, to proto-warrior to leader to borderline messiah. Through Half-Life 2, Valve insightfully, invisibly sculpts the player a mould in which to pour their own unconscious character development. It is the playerвЂ™s lack of comprehension. In fact, pushed forward through time and space by at least 10 years and a good few miles, GordonвЂ™s initial bamboozled shock and awe doesnвЂ™t just reflect the playerвЂ™s lack of comprehension. Unlike the original Half-Life, which casts the player as an established Gordon in a world he knows, the sequel avoids any such player/character disconnection by having the experience and knowledge of one directly mirror that of the other throughout. ItвЂ™s about more than letting the player fill in the gaps. His dearth of dialogue not a failing of narrative, but rather a deliberately hollowed conduit through which the player threads their own persona into Half-Life 2вЂ™s hostile world, Gordon is a container for the playerвЂ™s experiences, reactions, and internalised responses. Unlike in most action games, youвЂ™re not playing the hero character. I very deliberately say вЂњyouвЂќ rather than вЂњGordonвЂќ there, because thatвЂ™s the genius stroke that really amplifies City 17вЂ™s palpable realness. City 17вЂ™s railway station might be defaced by the brutal deco surrealism of Combine technology, but in every other sense itвЂ™s a familiar place. ThereвЂ™s just an unsettlingly alien normality. No lengthy вЂIn a time of warвЂ¦вЂ™ cinematic, detailing a bombastic tale of humanityвЂ™s fall in lurid detail. ThereвЂ™s something obviously different about Half-Life 2 from the opening moments. ThatвЂ™s why itвЂ™s still the best, and thatвЂ™s why IвЂ™m still playing it. The fact is that Half-Life 2 still executes its concepts, conceits and mechanics more effectively, deftly, and powerfully than almost any of its imitators have in the 10 years since. ItвЂ™s no aged benefactor, thanked yearly at the annual commemoration ceremony before being shuffled off back to the care home.

You see while Half-Life 2 undeniably laid the foundations for a staggering proportion of the then-future of game design - genre be damned вЂ“ it is no mere historically lauded precursor. See Orb Jumping.I say this not with nostalgia, or spurred on by a curmudgeonly knee-jerk against the smoky linearity of the modern military shooter (in truth, a dominant genre now only in the minds of those still affronted by its last-gen ubiquity). It also has the ability to boost the player vertically. It allows to quickly kill groups of enemies with one shot. This weapon is very useful, because of it's Secondary fire.

Best place to get it in speedrun: d1_town_05.

Best used against: Combine soldiers, Combine elite, antlions.

Alternate fire damage: Instant death (vaporization).

Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (AR2)

Best place to get it in speedrun: d1_canals_03.

Best used against: Metrocops, Combine soldiers, Antlions.

Reserve capacity: 225 rounds and 3 grenades.

Alternate fire damage: 40 per direct hit with grenade.

Best used against: Combine soldiers, Combine elite, Leapers, poison zombies.

Max damage: 225 per round for a headshot, 75 for a body shot.

Ammunition for the 9mm is fairly easy to find, so you may use it often to get rid of obstacles or blow fuel barrels. With good aim, this weapon can dispatch even the mighty Combine Elite with relative ease. While not very powerful, this weapon can has a fast firing rate, allowing a rapid discharge of its 18-round magazine.

Best place to get it in speedrun: d1_canals_02.Best used against: Metrocops, headcrabs (all types), zombies.Very useful weapon, can be used for Damage Boosting with explosive props or non-explosive props for Gravity Jumping. Best place to get it in speedrun: d1_eli_02.Best used against: Obstacles, headcrabs (all types), zombies, Combine soldiers, manhacks, antlions.Max damage: Zero-Instant kill/Instant kill.Zero Point Energy Manipulator (Gravity Gun) Best place to get it in speedrun: Skipped.Best used against: Obstacles, headcrabs (all types), zombies, manhacks.Max damage: 10 per whack (headcrabs die in 1 hits regardless of type).2.10 Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher (RPG).2.6 Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (AR2).2.2 Zero Point Energy Manipulator (Gravity Gun).

Half life 2 crossbow