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It’s time. Half-life 1 is 10 times better than 2. 2 is average compared
- Thread starter Phil me in
- Start date
HL1 was revolutionary in the FPS genre due to the introduction of deep story line, revolutionary AI and great gameplay with equally great level design.
HL2 was an amazing tech demo for physics, shaders and facial animation, but it was overall just an upgrade of HL1 with some downgrades, mainly on enemies AI and somewhat a subpar vehicle gameplay.
HL2 Episode 1 was pretty much HL2 with better gameplay and updates to the Source engine.
HL2 Episode 2, however, is amazing. Too bad it was short as hell. But that was top tier Half Life gameplay.
HL2 was an amazing tech demo for physics, shaders and facial animation, but it was overall just an upgrade of HL1 with some downgrades, mainly on enemies AI and somewhat a subpar vehicle gameplay.
HL2 Episode 1 was pretty much HL2 with better gameplay and updates to the Source engine.
HL2 Episode 2, however, is amazing. Too bad it was short as hell. But that was top tier Half Life gameplay.
I have much fonder memories of HL1, I can get behind your arguments OP. I played HL1 numerous times through the years while only finishing HL2 once, so maybe it's a nostalgia thing.
Mostly agreed - Half Life 1 is superior.
While wowed by the physics, materials, and some of the set pieces in HL2, I could never get used to the weird "The FREEMAN!" player-as-messiah thing, where you're being talked to all of the time, supposed to make these relationships with Alex, et al, but are just a mute cameraman with a gun instead of a camera. Didn't bother me in HL 1.
And speaking of Half Life -an unofficial port of it is coming to the Oculus Quest next week! Can't wait to play it again but in VR.
www.lambda1vr.com
While wowed by the physics, materials, and some of the set pieces in HL2, I could never get used to the weird "The FREEMAN!" player-as-messiah thing, where you're being talked to all of the time, supposed to make these relationships with Alex, et al, but are just a mute cameraman with a gun instead of a camera. Didn't bother me in HL 1.
And speaking of Half Life -an unofficial port of it is coming to the Oculus Quest next week! Can't wait to play it again but in VR.
Lambda1VR - Official Page of the Dr Beef Xash mod capable of Playing Half Life 1 on Oculus Quest
Official home page of the modification of the Xash OpenGL engine for Oculus Quest using the OculusSDK
www.lambda1vr.com
The vehicle sections were great, helped emphasize the long journey, shown off some of the world outside of the City, and werent really that long .....
Half Life 1 is probably my GOAT, but those tram sections can get fucked.
Half Life 1 is probably my GOAT, but those tram sections can get fucked.
We can amputate that entire section and guess what: Sand Traps and Nova Prospekt still exist and are glorious.
It's time for a replay then. I'm replaying through it at 144fps and if anything it shows how modern FPS campaigns are decadent.
i played through part of it not that long ago, and the vehicle sections were simply bad on their own, loading screen or no loading screen. They dragged down the game. Modern FPS doesn't always get it right but I'll take a Titanfall 2 or a Doom 2016 over Half Life 2 any day of the week.
After the claustrophobia of Ravenholm, racing sand dunes is a happy reprieve. It's also a good thematic tool with the depleted ocean. Also beating the on coming train.
They're both awesome in different ways. HL2 has a great sense of adventure and atmosphere. And though the game encounters can be a bit small-scale, the sense of play and flow feels really great. It just asks you to play fast enough to not notice the dull AI, if that makes sense.
I never understood the complaints about the pacing though. The air boats and the cat are two of my favorite sequences in HL2.
But EP2 is God tier.
I never understood the complaints about the pacing though. The air boats and the cat are two of my favorite sequences in HL2.
But EP2 is God tier.
This was actually what I was just thinking about. It's a good spot. Like, the vehicle parts get a bad rap because they wear out their welcome. And no one wants to get out of the car to clear a wreck off the road.
I like the way you just throw out "The gravity gun and that robot might be cool and fun" as it is no big deal. Hl2 is a far, far better game than hl1, which is just shooting the same things over and over like it was a bethesda game.
But on the other hand hl2 episode 1 exists, so in the bigger picture you are absolutely correct.
But on the other hand hl2 episode 1 exists, so in the bigger picture you are absolutely correct.
Yup. Recently played through RAGE2. 15 years more modern. Vast wasteland terrain (a lot bigger), more sophisticated vehicles, physics. a hell of a lot more abandoned houses/bases/towers to "explore" but at no time did it feel anywhere close to what HL2 evokes when you explore the river gate outpost, the bridge, the lighthouse or the abandoned docks in HL2.
Too often it all feels so super gamified with the world being a giant Disneyland of sameish "Ubisoft-tower" activities. Have not seen a recent modern game that comes close to the road-trip qualities of HL2.
Was that train bit bugged at some point? I remember on my first playthrough I had plenty of room, years later the same bit would either kill me or slightly knock the back end of the buggy, very narrow margins.
Also -
HL2 convinced me that maybe I actually did like FPS games after all. I played HL1 afterwards and liked it, too.
But the art direction and audio design of HL2 makes it no contest for me.
But the art direction and audio design of HL2 makes it no contest for me.
Regardless of how remarkable they are s technical accomplishments, in the end, the player doesn't really care how much work went into what they're playing. They're just concerned with whether or not they're having a good time. Dog doesn't really stand out as a major gaming highlight for me.
I might not have replayed it through while carrying a fucking garden gnome like I did with ep. 2 if they'd asked me to.
I'm lying I absolutely would've.
I absolutely loved Half Life 1 and played it a number of times when it came out. I still haven't gotten around to finishing HL2. I just get bored part-way through.
That might be because I didn't play HL2 when it was "new" and fresh, though. I was in an area without internet at the time so I couldn't play my friggen game that I bought in a store (granted, I knew this already when I bought it) until I shoved my tower in my luggage when I went home to visit my parents that holiday season.
That might be because I didn't play HL2 when it was "new" and fresh, though. I was in an area without internet at the time so I couldn't play my friggen game that I bought in a store (granted, I knew this already when I bought it) until I shoved my tower in my luggage when I went home to visit my parents that holiday season.
I just hated losing the distance you had compared to the constant sidekick of Ep2. The loneliness of HL2 was one of the most shocking things about it then. Especially compared to the other contemporary competitors like Far Cry and Doom 3.
The robot sure, did nothing. But the gravity gun?
It is like saying portal was a really bland walking simulator. I mean the portal gun was fun but the environments seemed mostly the same.
Half-Life 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. I didn't play the original until some time after that so my experience is skewed as such. When I did play Half-Life I really enjoyed it, and have since played through Black Mesa as well. I prefer HL2 but I imagine if I had played HL first it would be the preferred choice.
I can def understand how some would think HL2 has aged poorly. It would be sweet if they would go back and improve the pacing of the vehicle sections or remake the game so that the world streams in and has no loading.
I can def understand how some would think HL2 has aged poorly. It would be sweet if they would go back and improve the pacing of the vehicle sections or remake the game so that the world streams in and has no loading.
That's fair. It's something they did well with in HL1, too.
Gravity gun had two sections where it shone: Ravenholme and the Citadel. Unfortunately... I feel like those two chapters sort of plumbed the entirety of its depths. The gravity gun, while definitely cool, has sort of limited scope. The portal gun was a different sort of revolutionary. I saw the first workplace training style video they revealed Portal 1 with and I was immediately sold, HARD. At no point has the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device really felt like it was getting long in the tooth to me.
I will say though, I'll always treasure my memory of using a harpoon to one-shot the ant lion queen in Sandtraps. Good times.
GTA4Metacritic.jpg
Half Life 1 is the GOAT single player fps imo, even with Xen being below par compared to the rest of the game.
Half Life 2 is still an amazing game but the story was very flawed and felt like they never truly knew where they were going with the whole thing.
However the tech in Half Life 2 was incredible and the gameplay loop was very satisfying imo.
Half Life 2 is still an amazing game but the story was very flawed and felt like they never truly knew where they were going with the whole thing.
However the tech in Half Life 2 was incredible and the gameplay loop was very satisfying imo.
I mean, I think most people liked it... just not as much compared to the base game or Episode 2.
I think leaving things up in the air at the end of Ep.1 like they did with HL2 was fucking ace.
Idk I felt like we were finally get all the answers in episode 3
Sigh
You can't spell GRAVITY GUN without DOG. Well... technically you can but that wouldn't be fun. Playing Ball with Dog felt like next-next-gen.
I don't understand, both Half-Lifes are two of the most important games in any genre and Half-Life 1 completely redefined what FPS could be after years of "Doom clones".
The atmosphere alone in Half-Life 1 is what makes it the best out of the series for me. No FPS has ever come close to matching the suspense and dread that the corridors of Black Mesa made me feel and I always feel like I can return and play it any time I want, whereas with Half-Life 2 I find it a struggle to make myself play through the first few chapters.
They are both alright. I enjoyed playing 1 more than 2 tho
(I played both for the first time within the last year)
(I played both for the first time within the last year)
You are not wrong.
I think HL2 is an amazing game in its own right, but I agree it absolutely pales in comparison to HL1 in nearly every single way.
I've mentioned this numerous times across several threads.
I think HL2 is an amazing game in its own right, but I agree it absolutely pales in comparison to HL1 in nearly every single way.
I've mentioned this numerous times across several threads.