Those with long memories, or access to a decent video store may well remember the film, A Fish Called Wanda. In a memorable scene, stuttering, long suffering Ken (played by Michael Palin) hops into a steamroller, intent on running down his tormentor, Otto (Kevin Kline). "Oh n-n-n-no! It's K-k-k-ken coming to k-k-k-kill me!", Otto laughs, until he realises that he is stuck fast.

Ultimately, stuttering boy does indeed flatten the fast talking, better looking, slick Otto. And in a way, that is what Valve Software have done to one-time mentors id Software here. For in the best FPS of the year stakes, Doom 3 has been relegated to a distant second place, comprehensively squished by Half Life 2.

To be fair to Texas based id, they aren’t as cocky or arrogant as Otto was, but here was a shade of hubris about Doom 3. Their stated focus was on making a single player game first and foremost. A game that was a first person survival horror game almost. The scant multiplayer options didn’t enamour themselves with some of the very core of their fanbase – the legions of keen multiplayer gamers who “grew up” online with the Quake series.

They delivered largely on what they promised – the best looking FPS ever – in fact the best looking videogame ever, period. It sold (and is still selling) absolute boat loads. And as anticipated, the multiplayer was dry and uninspired, and we’re still waiting to see the mods that will push Doom 3 beyond being a big 2004-sized flash in the pan.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on Valve, the stuttering Ken of the games industry. Their game Half Life (ironically based on id’s technology) was in the right place at the right time, and sold a gazillion copies, most of which could be arguably attributed to the release of Counter-strike as a mod for it. Since then Valve have been working on projects like their online game distribution system, Half Life 2, and sexying up mods with their new Source engine. I was further going to add that they are busy developing Team Fortress 2, but when you consider that TF2 was originally meant to be an add-on for Quake 2, and still hasn’t seen the light of day, that kind of speaks for itself.

But you know what? All is forgiven. Because Half Life 2 is finally here, and it’s good enough to forgive most of the angst. It’s late, it’s not perfect, and there’s room for improvement, but it is the best FPS of 2004.

There’s a call bound to raise some hackles, but the criteria is surprisingly simple. First the game has to be a leap forward in looks from the competition. Cop a look at this game in action. That’s a big tick. The way the game plays has to be advanced. Look at how the Source engine transforms in game physics from a gimmicky, “obvious” use technology to an integrated, manipulate almost anything function. And above all, the game has got to have long term potential. Across the board here, Half Life 2 is a winner. And if you disagree, stay tuned as GameArena will be polling YOU for your opinions on the best games of the year early in December.

A further note: this review is devoted to Half Life 2. Counter Strike: Source and the other hyped up mod variants are all well and good, but we’re talking about Half Life 2 – the game. The box, the thing you buy on steam, whatever. Don’t worry about deathmatch for now, we will ***** about it later, trust me.

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