On November 16, 2004, the world of gaming changed forever: Valve released Half-Life 2, the direct sequel to the fabulous Half-Life from '98, and the official return of Gordon Freeman, the theoretical physicist who became a conqueror of dimensions. Its story has continued in two additional episodes and a prequel (Alyx), but this time he will return to City 17 with an overdose of RTX, courtesy of Orbifold Studios and Nvidia. This DLC also updates the game's visual assets, and gives us plenty of reasons to once again face the Combine's tyranny…
One of the most surprising aspects of Half-Life 2 is that its original launch had truly chaotic moments. First, Valve had to admit its development delay: After announcing at E3 2003 that HL2 would be available on September 30, on the 23rd of that month it confirmed they couldn't meet that date. As if that weren't enough, that gigantic miscalculation was "recharged" by the leak of its code on the 19th (at the hands of a German hacker named Axel Gembe). Fans learned the real state of the game… and a year of work was still missing.
Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. Half-Life 2 made its official debut in November 2004… and blew our minds. The graphics, the physics, the characters, their movements, the dialogues, the gameplay. In essence, it was a new standard, an example to follow. Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Half-Life 2, and if anyone is thinking of returning to kick some Combine butt, a new option has emerged: Half-Life 2 RTX.
Half-Life 2 RTX: Much More Than a Couple of Lights
The folks at Orbifold Studios published (through the official Nvidia GeForce channel) a video sharing multiple details about the development of Half-Life 2 RTX, and I must admit that on the surface, it looks great. One of the main goals of this mod is not to radically change the gameplay, or rather, not to turn Half-Life 2 into something different. But one thing is to upgrade basic assets, and another is to work to avoid the limits of the original engine. The RTX Remix platform was essential in that process (Half-Life 2 RTX is also a way to promote Remix), however, there is still work to be done.
How will Half-Life 2 RTX arrive? In the form of a free DLC, so you will need to own the original game. The release date has not been confirmed either: It appears as "Coming Soon" on Steam, but we can already add it to our wishlist.
Official site: Click here
