Source: PlanetHalfLife

GameSpy has put online several great articles covering multiple aspects of Half-Life 2. From the game itself to the available books and more. First of GameSpy tested Half-Life 2 on a 50 inch HDTV. Here some words:

Once I had Half-Life 2 up and running, I can say that this was, by far, the best any game has looked on this TV to date, and that includes DOOM3 and Halo 2. The game's crisp textures, colorful settings and highly detailed characters translated well, although I did have to turn up the brightness a little. Bright outdoor areas generally looked the best, such as the opening scenes in the City 17 courtyard, the buggy ride down Highway 17, and the strider battles late in the game.

This article can be read in full here. Next up they took a look at Half-Life: Source:

The biggest change is that the game now supports the same physics engine as Half-Life 2, and a few other things like upgraded water effects. Otherwise, it's the same as Half-Life -- we've jumped into a few levels and, aside from bodies bouncing around a bit more, it looks and plays the same as it did six years ago.

Want to know more about Half-Life: Source then read the rest here. After you're done with that one, GameSpy offers you a look at all the available editions of Half-Life 2, both the Steam and Retail versions:

The DVD is the package's lone redeeming quality, but not for $80. It's a shame Vivendi didn't simply release a "regular" DVD edition here in the US (if you really want, you could try importing the UK version, which ships on DVD). As for the Steam "Gold" Package, that really depends on how important discs are to you -- and whether you want to pay $90 for all the swag.

Still not sure which one to get? Well maybe this article can help you. But there is more to Half-Life 2 then just the game. Prima Games also released several books about the game and GameSpy also takes a look at those:

The book also contains lots of material that didn't make it into Half-Life 2: discarded enemies, levels, even story bits that got cut at one point or another. Several short stories and plot fragments written by Half-Life 2 writer Mark Laidlaw are included, which were originally given to the development team for design inspiration. In some places, they provide deeper background for the story in Half-Life 2; in others, they show how some plot elements developed and how others were eventually scrapped.

Check the full article about the books here. Last but not least is the article Postcards from City 17, which is a photo (Screenshot) tour of City 17:

Over the next few pages, we've put together a visual tour of sorts depicting various parts of the adventure. Don't worry about spoilers: we've done our best to keep the good parts to ourselves.

Check it all out here at GameSpy.