Current Events > I'm playing Half-Life for the first time! (SPOILERS!)

(+) Yeah! (+)

This game has character! I can see how it influenced later games such as Halo, with the way it seamlessly streamlines you through a narrative through gameplay instead of using cutscenes (I know Halo had cutscenes, but there was also a lot of dialogue during the missions so you found out a lot of the story that way too). Very immersive. Was Half-Life the first shooter to do this?

Currently playing Weve Got Hostiles. Just encountered my first human enemies. I can tell this game is going to be intense!

The original version or Black Mesa? I heard the latter is excellent.
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I think it was the first FPS game to do stuff like that yeah. That opening scene on the tram is one of the greatest introductions to a game ever.
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Sami1000 posted...

The original version or Black Mesa? I heard the latter is excellent.

Original.

Darmik posted...

I think it was the first FPS game to do stuff like that yeah. That opening scene on the tram is one of the greatest introductions to a game ever.

I agree.

I can never remember what Half Life did first versus GoldenEye, tbh. Anyway, HL is a foundational game-- one of the true classics. Enjoy!
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My only critique so far is combat feels very unrealistic with human enemies. Enemies take too many bullets to kill, yet they dont deal enough damage to me. A guy just unloaded half a fully-auto clip into my face at point blank range and I only lost like 6 health points. Fighting the alien things feels just right though.

Damn this magnum is slick tho.

Just wait until you get to Half Life 3

Oh wait..

lol
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That reminds me, I still need to check out Black Mesa. Did they ever add Xen?
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UnholyMudcrab posted...

That reminds me, I still need to check out Black Mesa. Did they ever add Xen?

If you pay for the game yeah. The free version on launch no

Play the Opposing Force and Blue Shift expansion packs afterwards.
Opposing Force was the new benchmark title for expansion packs, in a similar fashion to how Half-Life revolutionized the first-person shooter genre.
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Sami1000 posted...

The original version or Black Mesa? I heard the latter is excellent.

Black Mesa is great except for them deciding that jumping should be utterly useless, forcing you to crouch jump to do literally any kind of platforming.
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Opposing Force is the best HL game.
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The Xen levels aren't out yet.
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My only personal complaint with the games (again, personal complaint, not objective critique) is the very thing that makes them unique and groundbreaking: the uninterrupted flow of the game. While I recognized how cool it was while playing, I also found it exhausting to a degree, since there's little to no pause / downtime.

Other than that, loved 'em, especially the creative and seamlessly-integrated puzzle / problem-solving element.
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If you have access to it, I'd highly recommend Half-Life:Source over the original vanilla game (note: this is not Black Mesa Source). It keeps the exact look and feel but improves the lighting, sound effects, and some of the physics (which was annoying during the platforming sections).

Made a list of the changes in HL: Source here:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/43362-half-life/63641731
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Still my favorite FPS of all time.
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masterpug53 posted...

While I recognized how cool it was while playing, I also found it exhausting to a degree, since there's little to no pause / downtime.

I'd disagree with that. HL is pretty good about giving you pauses between combat sessions with puzzles or platforming.

HL2 has a pretty neat developer's commentary where they occasionally point out spots where they're doing this. They also cynically point out what aspects of Alyx Vance were designed to make you like her <_<
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i still liked 1 more than 2.

Definitely make a point of playing Opposing Force. It adds so much to the experience, and IMO is better than vanilla HL.

Basically it's another episode of the game that takes place during the same span of time, and you play as one of the special forces guys.
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Why do I keep hearing porn during random parts of the game?

If you play blue shift you play as barney the undercover combine guard in hl2.