I wasn't old enough to play the original Half-life, so I found some old review and have quoted them below, I think you'll find my points are justified.MiloP said:Not really. It had a fine story, I wouldn't call it revolutionary. What's that? Some evil doer's have taken over the world and its time for a hero who can simply absorb bullets to try and stop them? Yeah, no, I think that's been done before, and I think to call a story revolutionary it should be original.D_987 said:Because it revolutionized storytelling and character based FPS's...MiloP said:Portal 2, I think I definitely enjoyed Portal more overall. I never really got why Half-Life won so many awards - it was just a linear shooter to me.
As I said its how it presents the story, not the story itself.Suffice it to say that Half-Life isn't a great game because of its story; it's a great game because of how it presents that story. From the opening moments of the game to the final showdown (and even beyond) all hell is continually breaking loose, and there is never a moment where you are not seeing things through Freeman's eyes. There are scripted events in the game. There are opening and closing scenes. But they all occur naturally within the game environment. It may sound simple, but it goes a long way toward helping create a believable world.
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife/review.html
By character based I meant the way the player interacts with NPC'S.The characters in Half-Life are incredibly modeled, and their animations and movements are very realistic. The scientists and security guards move like real humans. If a security guard comes upon an alien, he will raise his gun and help you out, attempting to blow it to pieces. Many times however, they are not so lucky, and the alien will rip the guard to shreds. The movements of the military personnel are very good. They move like a solder would, quickly and deadly, carrying a load of ammunition and other supplies on their back. The aliens in the game are one of the best aspects. They come in all different shapes and sizes, and are all modeled differently. The all move in different patterns, and in different ways. Half-Life's creatures have the highest polygon count in a action game to this day.
http://www.gamingexcellence.com/pc/games/3/review.shtml
It was a fantastic game that completely immersed the player.
I have yet to play a more immersive game period. From the word "go", I found myself completely engulfed into the pseudo world that is unfolded before your eyes.