Board 8 > Finally played through the Half-Life 2 trilogy [GFNW]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Its been on my backlog for 20 years LOL

God it's such a badass game all around. I'm mad it took me so long to get around to it, especially since I love Portal and L4D so much. HL2 has such good level design, enemy design, puzzle design, I just went through the entire game feeling like some badass genius. Theres no map, objective markers, lame cut scenes, complicated menus - it's just the player relying on themselves to intuitively get through some kickass levels. AND it's all one seamless experience too like new God of War, which is crazy.

AND the game just switches genres ever two hours. Like alright now it's a puzzle game, now it's a horror game, now it's a squad shooter, now it's Pikmin

Alyx Vance is very believable and likable, and I actually love Dr. Breen as a villain - he's such a pseudo intellectual dweeb, like the video game equivalent of jordan peterson or something

And like, that's just core HL2. Then there's Episode 1, which is cool - more classic HL content, but it's Episode 2 that really ratchets everything up to 100. Better graphics, new enemies, and just badass set piece after badass set piece. OG HL2 was one of those landmark games that changed how physics worked in games forever, but Episode 2 brings everything on par with Portal and L4D

And I can't BELIEVE that ending. Half-Life fans have just been sitting on this for 20 years? Holy shit, poor guys

Is HL2 an overall 10/10? I definitely think Portal is, but I'll have to think about it. It's very close though

Now I just need someone to let me borrow their gaming PC and oculus quest so I can play Half-Life Alyx

Replayed 2 and Episode 1 as part of the various GotM topics. Still very fun games that hold up pretty well overall. Haven't gone back to revisit Episode 2 again yet though.

That said, I think the Portal games still hold up better, though much of that has to do with them being puzzle games that will never be brought down by dated visuals or sparse environments.

It really does suck that we will likely never get an Episode 3. Perhaps I'll get to play Alyx one day; I hear it's great but I don't want to spend all that money on VR.

Also, have you played Black Mesa, the fan remake of the original? It's probably worth your time if you haven't.

That's crazy I just beat Half-Life 2 yesterday for the first time.

I just barely prefer Half-Life 1 but it was one of the finest FPSs I've played so far.

TomNook7 posted...

And I can't BELIEVE that ending. Half-Life fans have just been sitting on this for 20 years? Holy shit, poor guys

this makes me feel so old holy shit. I had basically this reaction when I first played these games. "Holy shit, you all have been waiting on this cliffhanger since 2007?"

That was back in 2010, fourteen fucking years ago.

Lol thanks for bumping this topic guyz. I was just gonna let this die like wow gamefaqs why do you hate gordon freeman so much?

I agree the Portal games hold up better tho. But HL2 is definitely still playable today, same as L4D. These games just had this old skool minimalist design, like Metroid Prime or something, where the core gameplay and world design are so strong, you cant help but be sucked in

Also I have not played Black Mesa, but i did beat HL1 on ps2 ages ago

pjbasis posted...

That's crazy I just beat Half-Life 2 yesterday for the first time.

I just barely prefer Half-Life 1 but it was one of the finest FPSs I've played so far.

Fuck yeah. And dont sleep on Episode 2! It honestly truly perfects the HL formula. Those expansions are only like 3-4 hours each so just keep the momentum going and just go for it imo