I just looked at this list over at ign, top 25 pc games of all time. (link) http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/101/1011624c.html#comments_top?p=1&s=ASC I could stomach 4 pages of comments and that was it. What caught my eye in the list was the omission of half life 2 (thank dear god) with Half life 1 in its place (my fave game of all time). Loads of people bleeting that hl2 wasn't in the list and some douche saying it was the best game of all time in his honest opinion. Thats fine thats fine everyone gets an opinion, but pls, since im in the minority in thinking that it really isnt very good and the only things keeping it above an 80% rating for me are the sound design, graphics and voice acting, someone tell me why it is so l33t omg zomg teh best game of all time lol oneeleven. Im old, I played mechwarrior 2 on release and the original settlers on the amiga. Ive seen games come very far. HL2 just isnt 'fun' nor is it really 'wow' the 2nd or 3rd time you see a scripted event. Half the levels are terrible. The sewer at the start (terrible openings of our time #17) and everything after the lighthouse were forgetable. The ending was a joke. Ignore the mods it spawned, ignore multiplayer, ignore that the engine lives on till this day creaking and wheezing in l4d2. Focus on the game. It wasnt fun then and it didnt have replay value, and it just looks worse now. I will willingly go toe-to-toe with anyone and argue this point. Its got pacing in spades and its slick. Its also soulless and p1ss easy. Crazy rant at 100%
All you said is "this is not good, not fun, there's no wow factor etc etc" What don't you actually like ? Could you try to at least put some content in your rant ? I don't mind that you don't like the game, but at least I would like to know why. There's nothing to argue to be honest. You didn't criticize any part of the game besides saying it's bad. What are we supposed to do ? Copy paste your whole post and replace 'bad' by 'good' ?
i could go on for many lines about the game. As you can see its mentioning as being good irks me. Its a sore point with me and occasionally something itches it. My post didnt go into detail because its a rant. furthermore my opinion of it is coloured heavily by having played hL1 around the time it came out and wanting to marry it. I'll visit back in the morning cos its very late here, and post back in detail. I can tell you something i did like, the radio squeal of combine when they die. And episode 1 and episode 2. I liked them alot. Strange eh?
Strange indeed. I thought you were including the two episodes in your rant as well. I, personally, would put the three episodes (you know what I mean) in the same basket and evaluate them as one big ass game. It's a game that has flaws, obviously, but it also has very strong points. Gordon doesn't talk and therefore you have no idea wtf you're doing all this time and that's annoying for the people who require the game they play to have a good story. I personally play for the gameplay and the entertainment and not a lot of single player game have given me this much fun (at least not recently). The gravity gun is a pure joy to use even if the wow factor has definitely worn off over the years. I like the music during action scenes, it makes a great contrast with the other moments when you're trying to solve a(n) (easy) puzzle [they're too easy, so -1point there]. I also like the classic Valve gameplay which is fast paced just the way I like it. Are you sure your love for HL1 is not somewhat over hyped by nostalgia ?
Rant –verb (used without object) to speak or declaim extravagantly or violently; talk in a wild or vehement way; rave: The demagogue ranted for hours. Saying that your post not going into detail because it is a rant... well, that's just a poor excuse for not providing specifics to why you don't like something. It's something that seems to also reek of troll. I think Half-Life 2 is a great game. It's fun, the characters are compelling, there are interesting mechanics with each section, and it strays away from standard sci-fi in a good way (RAVENHOLM). On top of it it produced a plethora of great mods, though you could argue that the source engine is great and not the game. But I must say, Half-Life 1 still holds my heart. By the way, do you know who ate all the donuts?
/thread. No, seriously OP, enlighten us more, because what you've said seems very conflicted so far. The fact that you're talking down a game that without a doubt was and is one of the most important games of the past decade in terms of software technology has me somewhat confused as to why you might hate it so much. But then, so does anyone who hates the Apple computer company enough to rant about them for no reason other than to express their hatred for Steve Jobs, a man they've never met, the Mac OS, a system they have seldom or never used or any of the other Apple products they have no reason to hate other than doing so for the sake of it. Oh, and this: Is sad. It's a game. I don't like Eve or WoW but I don't go on the internet and rant about it every time my brother (who happens to like both but now only plays Eve occasionally) or one of my mates tells me how great it is or how much they enjoy playing it. I love playing half life 2. I love Half Life in general, and HL2 was the best game in the series at launch. That's my honest opinion. If it annoys you that I have that opinion, you're in for a shock because everyone has opinions about everything and every now and again someone is going to like something you don't. But again, seriously tell us about why you don't like it and we'll turn this into a discussion.
Feel free to say it's a bad game. Feel free to be wrong as well. That's it. I'm currently playing it through again and it still manages to get me. All single player games are just as bad tunnel-runs with scripted events, you can't really blame HL2 for that. Also while I don't really like doing this: http://www.metacritic.com/games/pc/scores/ you're of so tiny minority you better tell us some pretty darn good reasons.
I don't get how you can like Half-Life 1 but hate 2 when they're essentially the same game but with vastly improved storytelling in 2. I can see where you're coming from on the difficulty point though played through it on hard first times and it only got slightly challenging towards the end after and including the museum up until you eneter the citadel.
Although a lot of people seem to be annoyed byt the OP, I'm actually going to agree with him. Half-Life 2 was nothing compared to the original. As for the 'great' storyline, it didn't make sense to me considering the premise of the original; in fact, if the game had been a different series than Half-Life then I probably would've enjoyed it more. I was also irritated by the inclusion of the infinite ammo bins. Having said all of that, I've played through it about four times now, so as a game it is enjoyable (HLE2 is may favourite 'bit'). Also, the graphics and physics engine were a massive leap ahead at the time. Will I be buying Half-Life 3 (or whatever it is Valve is announcing) at release? Of course I will!
It is without a doubt one of the finest games you can buy. The physics-based puzzles, the narrative, the characters, the gravity gun, the bug-bait etc etc Not only that but the engine is wonderful - it looks good yet runs well on most systems, is multi-threaded and completely customisable.
The gravity gun is the greatest FPS weapon in FPS gaming ever as far as I'm concerned and I also think that the Ep2 end battle is one of the most satisfying battles I'm ever had. HL2 was a revelation when it came out and will always be a true milestone in FPS gaming, its one of the few true genre defining games for me. Sure it has flaws, every game does (Deus Ex had an appalling inventory system and the way the guards would ignore corpses was incredible), but it had so many great moments I ignored the bad parts. You are entitled to your opinion but I disagree and maintain that HL2 was and still is magnificent even after countless replays. Oh and by the way I still play MW2, I love the mission where I can trash a large number of enemy Mechs by shooting out the supports for the bridge they are on and the mission to find the drop ship on the fog planet is highly atmospheric.
I've just started playing through the Half-Life series again from scratch. I've just got to Half-Life 2 and I must say, right from the off, HL2 made me smile with the smoothness of the system and the easy-on-the-player interface in terms of walking you through the story. Sure, you know it's an on-the-rails shooter, but somehow, to me at least, the "rails" don't seem to be there, and going the way you're supposed to go just feels right and normal, as opposed to some other games that force you by either throwing enemies to make you go that way or putting you at an invisible wall or other item to force you to turn around. Half-Life 1 was a success that noone expected, and I love it because of that. When I was playing the original I was smiling almost all the way through... Until I hit Zen, and then the smile disappeared instantly. I remember WHY I rated it below HL2, and in all honesty? It's all because of the final sequence on the alien planet. HL2 is more my thing, as it doesn't go off on a tangent throwing you into a situation outside of what the HL world is, which to me is an alien invasion (and in HL2, oppression). Because of that, I feel HL2 is the better game of the series. The episodes only compound this and make me believe in it more and more. I for one, stand by HL2, and stare across at those standing by the HL1 flag and glare menacingly.
+1, . I think I've played through the HL2 series about 6 or 7 times now. The story is epic, the graphics still look pretty damn good even though its a good 6 years old now. Its one of very few games that I've played through again and again.
I totally agree, that let the game down for me completely although overall I still enjoyed it hugely.
