Half-Life 2 the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter

First-person shooter

First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...

 video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series

Half-Life (series)

The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....

. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, and linear. Developed by Valve Corporation

Valve Corporation

Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...

, it was initially released on November 16, 2004, following a protracted five-year, $40 million development cycle, during which a substantial part of the project was leaked and distributed on the Internet.

The game was developed alongside Source and Steam.