Half Life 2 has been on the market now for several years, but still I feel a sense of awe whenever I step into that terrifying universe. The scope of the story, the immersive visuals, the characters – all of it combining to form an incredible gaming experience. But its as a narrative that I find the game most interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr Breen’s rants against the “dangers of magical thinking” – a rich allusion to the struggle between rationalist and romantic ideologies. Beyond this, I find it fascinating the way they resolve the natural tension that exists between gaming as a narrative medium – and the exigencies of narrative structure itself. In most cases they limit the choice of the character so that there is one and only one path to follow at any given time. This allows Valve, the game’s creators, to guide the player through their carefully crafted narrative – at the expense of player freedom. Nevertheless, I was able to find one part of the game, where they allowed the player more choice than even they suspected. The result is a scene that they didn’t intend for you to see.