Others say...

"Jej, s^m st^f"
Yeah, it's been established that we have two different types of gamers: those who are appalled by those who use strategy guides, and those who think it's fun to check out extra stuff after playing the game. Whatever. Anyway, I'm a little sceptical on the thoroughness of this thing, because I noticed that it doesn't cover every G-Man appearance; and after I found one not listed, I noticed that unlisted sightings are all over the Steam forums. Hm, dubiety.

"If you have Half Life 2, you should have this guide"
This is a great guide. It is over 300 pages thick with detailed information about every location. It covers Half Life 2 as well as Counter Strike - Source. The entire guide is in full color and printed on heavy paper.

In addition to explaining gameplay details, the guide also covers some basic information that would normally be in a manual. Since HL2 does not come with a manual, this is very nice. It is not something I would normally expect from a strategy guide, but I appreciate that they went the extra mile there.

This is also the kind of game that makes a strategy guide important. HL2 is not a mindless shooter, so you are likely to get stuck at some point. This guide is a great tool and will help you out when you need it.

Note that this guide is not the same is the "Official Hint Book" that ships with the collector's edition. In fact, the booklet that ships with the collector's edition is really just an advertisement for this book. Get the real thing and ignore the collector's edition.

"Excellent guide!"
First let me say that the HL2 Guide does have tons of spoilers in it. So if you really want to be surprised don't look at it until you get stuck. But having said that it is a great guide. Also it is in glorious full color.

The HL2 Guide is broken into five sections:

First is an overview of all the weapons in the game. Full color illustartions and good info.

The second is an overview of all the characters you will encounter. Again, full color illustrations and good info.

The third section is the real meat of the book and contains the walkthroughs of each mission. What makes this section so nice is that a great map of the level is provided, which is better than the ones they did for Doom3, and full color screen shots that take you step by step through each mission. In addition, great tips and other goodies are highlighted for each level. If you get stuck on a level this is the place to look. Also, it is a great read AFTER you finish a level to pick up some tips and maybe see a few things you might have missed. It also narrates the story so you can actually read through this section almost like a book.

The fourth section of the guide covers Counter-Strike.

Lastly the book includes all the cheat codes you could ever want.

Overall it is a very well done guide that will help you through a few tricky levels and has excellent production values.

"Don't read before playing - Use it to find what you missed"
As is to be expected with any review guide, Prima's Half-Life 2 Strategy Guide contains **alot** of spoilers. In fact, most every plot detail is outlined within these pages. If you are still playing Half-Life 2, have a look at the first several chapters (detailing your adversaries and how to dispatch them) and then put it aside, referring to it only when you are hopelessly stuck on a puzzle or an action sequence.

However, once you've gone through Half-Life 2, you should read to your hearts content. Prima does an exhaustive job of detailing every nook and cranny of the game - from each appearance of the G-Man to each public service announcement made by Dr. Breen, from each ammo cache to each interesting newspaper clipping tacked to a wall. Its a fount of information and one of the few FPS strategy guides worth owning. This will help you get your money's worth out of Half-Life 2.

"Thanks Dude"
well....all i can say is thanks to the guy who totally blew a lot of the story....and thanks Prima for releasing this information to this stupid.....uh....*thinking of a "tame" word*....blabbermouth