Poll: Challenging Half-Life's Praises

[Triangulon]

I have to start with the fact that HL and HL2 are two of my favourite games. I loved them when they were released and I love them now. I can't really explain exactly why but I have never been let down by them. The innovations they brought in gameplay, AI and graphics, the approach to storytelling. I found myself contantly challenged and excited about the next discovery. One thing stands out for me, where a lot of similar games seem to fall down. That is pacing. Valve seem to have an uncanny knack of varying the pace of the gameplay and story progression, just like a great film director. Many more recent games seem to think that they can get away with a constantly fast-paced (snd much shorter) experience.

I would also point out that I recently replayed Half-life and it is still great. Blast Pit still gives me shivers, I still get a feeling of betrayl when the marines turn on the scientists and I still get pissed off at Zen!

 

[redisforever]

Ok, here's my amazing thought. I had fun. Therefore, good game.

 

[Erttheking]

I tried to play it, and while it was far from horrible, I just couldn't get into it...then again I didn't like Halo CEA either, so maybe it's a sign that video games have moved forward and become more advanced, building off of Half Life's ideas into the more complex things that we see today. I think that the praise it gets is a combination of nostalgia and people thinking that modern games are generic clones, something I highly disagree with, and it gets a pass because it was "first". I still don't get why some people that that it floats head and shoulders above the entire gaming industry though.

Crappy cover systems, regenerating health, 2 gun limits, and even narrower hallways are more complex?

Besides that, this is another "I first played Final Fantasy 7 in 2008" issue. Yeah, the game was the greatest thing since Breaded Jesus in 1997, but if your first exposure to the game was 10 years later, you're not gonna get why it's such a big deal to so many people. Yes, now, compared to the 80000000000000000000000000000 360, PS3, and modern PC shooters that ripped off then dumbed down the good points of HL2 while slapping on some shinny next gen graphics, which let's face it that's all people care about these days, no it is not the glimmering God of games it was in 2004.

But ya know what? There's a lot of people that would go back and play HL2 one more time rather than touch all 700 of "Realistic war shooters" that were released in 2011. How many people are gonna be playing CODBLOPs 8 years from now?

It felt like I was just walking around shooting whatever happened to pop up in my face and it was as dull as it could get, there was no freaking suspense and the puzzels were gimmicky and out of place. I actually feel like I'm actually doing things in more modern games, I find that cover systems actually work pretty well, and I actually like regenerating health, and I don't throw a fit over having to only use two weapons are, because I honestly don't see the problem with that, what is a game ruined if you can't carry an arsenal?...cover systems regenerating health and two guns seems to be a fall back argument against modern games that I simply don't get, I think that it works really well. I think that it's not a very good argument to say that a game is good if it doesn't age well. BTW calm down, I don't like a game that you think is a holy grail, the hell do you care. BTW again, there IS a game with regenerating health narrow hallways and a two gun limit that people continue to play years after it's release. It's called Halo Combat Evolved

 

[hoboman29]

It is a good game but it's not the second coming people make it out to be. It being overrated is a problem to a new player expecting gold. In this context I'm shocked about how much modern games take off it. Still its worth a play.

 

[poppabaggins]

I always thought Half Life 2 was lame. Far Cry came out at the same time and was far superior (even including the disappointing second half).

 

[poppabaggins]

I always thought Half Life 2 was lame. Far Cry came out at the same time and was far superior (even including the disappointing second half).

 

[Korten12]

I played it recently, like last year, or maybe in 2010, and found it merely, okay. I played it with standards of back then and still found it boring. I couldn't care less for most of the characters and found the environments to be dull and the vechile sections horrid.

Plus the lack of enemy variety was bad, but it also didn't feel fun to fight any of them.

I played Halo 1 before it and I didn't even get to play that really until like 2 years ago and found it great. Lot better then HL2.

 

[Korten12]

, there IS a game with regenerating health narrow hallways and a two gun limit that people continue to play years after it's release. It's called Halo Combat Evolved

clearly shows that you never played the game? Narrow Hallways? Yeah for like 3 or 2 levels, and for the most part it had pretty open environments.

Also regen health? Yeah you didn't play Halo: CE because it had medkits.

 

[Savber]

Haha to me... the fact that people are DEBATING over whether Half Life is overrated is a sign of an GREAT game...

 

[repeating integers]

Haha to me... the fact that people are DEBATING over whether Half Life is overrated is a sign of an GREAT game...

Perhaps. After all, a lot of "great works" are divisive.

I do agree with a lot of the criticisms in this thread, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the game overall. Still, portal was better.

 

[Erttheking]

, there IS a game with regenerating health narrow hallways and a two gun limit that people continue to play years after it's release. It's called Halo Combat Evolved

clearly shows that you never played the game? Narrow Hallways? Yeah for like 3 or 2 levels, and for the most part it had pretty open environments.

Also regen health? Yeah you didn't play Halo: CE because it had medkits.

I do recall being forced to walk through tight copy pasted rooms when I was escaping the dawn, rescuing Keyes, trying to find the silent cartographer, facing the flood for the first time and going back to the dawn, all in all, I say somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the game was inside in tight quaters, the other half was wide open but then again I've played other games and they were never 110% hallways if that's what you meant. Yes it had medkits, but I never found them to be particular useful, it was mainly a differance of being able to take one or two extra shots after your shields went down...by the way your shields regenerate, that's what I meant and they were a Hell of a lot more durable.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

For it's time it was good, but with all the copycat shooters out there it now seems dull and lifeless, not the games fault.

 

[Swifty714]

cover systems regenerating health and two guns seems to be a fall back argument against modern games that I simply don't get

This seems to be another big argument for modern games vs Older shooters. Though this is more of an off-topic rant that is for another thread.

 

[Olas]

While Half-Life 2 will never hold up against my all time favorite game, Checkers, it's still way better than most of the muddled FPS' I've seen come out lately. It's clean, fun, never steals control from the player, has some of the best level design I know of, and never required DLC or patches.

 

[Skin]

With Halo, keep in mind it's strange development cycle and major change in platform. Bungie really, really lucked out that their product did not come out totally fucked up which it should have (and Halo 2 did).

So there are copy/paste rooms aplenty. I would say 3/5's of the game are just straight copy and paste with no noticeable difference whatsoever. But what Halo did right was get get a grand sense of scale. In levels like Halo, TnR and AotCR, when you were outside, you never felt like you were in a corridor, even though you were. And don't get me started on The Silent Cartographer, which was a level that is still ahead of our time.

So with all these expansive levels, you think that Valve would take note of it and try and incorporate it somehow. Nope. HL2 is one big corridor with puzzles blocking your way. I never felt any real sense of freedom, and having no other attachments with the game and the fact that I thought the original HL was superior, I was disappointed in HL2.

Although people could prefer the old school level design, so it comes down to a matter of opinion.