Half-Life 2 was originally intended to be a far darker game based on far grittier artwork where the Combine were more obviously draining the oceans for minerals and replacing the atmosphere with noxious, murky gases. The book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar and the numerous leaked files revealed many of the game's original settings and actions that were either cut down or removed entirely from the final game. Main article: Half-Life 2 original storyline While ' Half-Life 2 Beta' is often used for convenience, it is somewhat incorrect, since the leak files cover several stages of the game's development, spanning over years, and since no information about their different development stages is known except the engine build number.
