10 Reasons Why Half Life 2 Is Still A Masterpiece

3. Alyx Vance

It was hard to avoid the recent controversy surrounding the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, after it was rumored that Lara Croft was to be subjected to an attempted rape. This heinous act was allegedly intended to make you care more about Lara Croft. The stories have been clearly blown out of the water, and perhaps Crystal Dynamics will be successful in their attempts to make Lara more than a sex symbol, but if they want to make her a strong female character whom players will actually care about and admire, they should look to Half Life 2€™s Alyx Vance for inspiration. Directly helping Gordon as an ally of the resistance, Alyx Vance plays a crucial role in Half Life 2 and its two spin-off chapters. What€™s remarkable about Alyx compared to most computer controlled characters in games is just how utterly believable she is. With Valve€™s superb attention to detail when it comes to expressive character animation and Merle Dandridge€™s voice acting, Alyx becomes a living breathing creation who the player easily becomes attached to. She€™s also intelligent, funny and strong, making her a positive female role model in an industry that€™s often accused of over sexualising and objectifying women.
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Contributor

Cult horror enthusiast and obsessive videogame fanatic. Stephen considers Jaws to be the single greatest film of all-time and is still pining over the demise of Sega's Dreamcast. As well regularly writing articles for WhatCulture, Stephen also contributes reviews and features to Ginx TV.