This is one of my favorite video game series, and my favorite FPS series next to TimeSplitters. I got into it in 2008 with HL2 in the original Xbox and have pretty much been obsessed with it since. (Though my first experience with Half-Life would be playing the HL Uplink demo in 2006 or 2007) My favorite would be a tie between Half-Life and Half-Life 2. It's honestly hard to explain why I loves these games (or any game I love really). They're just fantastic to me.
And feel free to talk about Portal as well.
INFO
WHAT'S HALF-LIFE?!
Half-Life is a first-person shooter series created by Valve. The first game was released in November 1998 for PC. It used the GoldSrc engine, a heavily modified version of the Quake II engine.
The series follows the adventures of theoretical physicist Dr. Gordon Freeman, an ordinary (and silent) man who is often forced to defend himself from hostile aliens and soldiers. He somehow always comes out on top despite having very little training in combat and the use of firearms.
WHERE CAN I GET THESE GAMES?!
Every Half-Life game except for Decay (which is only officially on the PS2 vesion of HL1) is on Valve's Steam service. There was also a PS2 port of HL1 on the PS2 with new character models and Half-Life Decay, a co-op game. The Half-Life 2 series is also on the Xbox 360 and PS3 on the Orange Box compilation. Half-Life 2 got a ported to the original Xbox as well though you're better off getting any other version.
There was also a Half Life 2 for the original XBOX. I never found the games to be awesome, but I did find them to be good. The original was one of my first PC games and it was fun enough. I had Half Life 2 for the original XBOX and I did enjoy it some but not as much as the first, maybe I would enjoy the PC version better ( i dunno ).
Keep checking Steam, Link-Hero. They have sales every week (weekend?), and you'll often find the original Half-Life and its expansions for a few dollars.
Anyway, regarding the topic at hand, I'd just like to take a moment to acknowledge the fact that Half-Life 2 (and its episodes) have probably the best voice acting I've ever heard in a video game. It's really quite perfect. With the exception of a stray, random NPC line here and there (though, I have to admit, even THOSE are mostly well-done), it's of a consistently high quality.
Dr. Breen, in particular, is one of my favorite characters in any game, and Robert Culp voices him masterfully. Consider how many changes of emotion that character must go through...and yet always remain collected and in command of himself. It's often painful to hear him struggle so much with the words he has to say. Compare the flatness of his Breencasts when you arrive in City 17 to his eventual berating of the troops at Nova Prospekt...or, especially, to his increasingly desperate (and pleading) broadcasts to you, directly, in the Citadel.
I know the game's pretty old by now but I won't risk saying any more for fear of spoiling even one person...but let's just say that the first time you see Breen face to face, he gets a little less successful at hiding behind his words...and I love him for it. RIP Robert Culp...you did such brilliant work here.
I played Half Life 2 on the X-Box 1 and also liked it. It is a good relief from all those WW2 FPS and I like the very interesting and varied locations. Oh, and I love the atmosphere from the Ravenholm level. I recently thought it is so good that I bought a used copy of Half Life 1 for the Playstation2 a few days ago just to get more of the same. I hope it's worth the 5 Euros.
I'm still only about halfway through Half Life 2; I wanted to finish Half Life (Source edition) first, but I have to say that the first game--while engrossing for the first many hours--eventually degrades into a seemingly endless string of repetitive, unimaginative battles in varying desert-like environments. It's sort of like a film that starts off with a sense of freshness and creativity but then ends up just being another big protracted battle like any other for the last half.
Now, Half Life 2 has been absolutely wonderful throughout, down to every last detail. The only reason I'm still only about halfway through (after playing it for about a year!) is that I only fire it up on occasions where I am fully prepared to become engrossed in the gameplay, hooking my laptop up to the big screen, shutting off all the lights, and settling in for a good time. I can't find enough good things to say about the game, and about how it lets you approach each fight in any number of creative ways using your gravity gun and environment; I've replayed several parts already, just in order to try a different approach or see what hilarious chain reactions I can set up for those headcrab zombies without every arming a gun. Good stuff.
Twitter is a good place to throw your nonsense. Wii FC: 8378 9716 1696 8633 || "How can mushrooms give you extra life? Get the green ones." -
I'm unaware if this was posted yet, but Half Life 2 and it's episodes are now Mac supported.
I originally purchased the first Half Life game when it came in a collection disc published by EA for twenty dollars (bit of history, the original series was published by Sierra, EA bought the publishing rights later, much later). Didn't enjoy the first game as I would of hoped, but it came with Team Fortress (the original), which I must say is a more technical version then it's sequel. My friend, who bought the second Half Life game went out and purchased the Orange Box when it came out later on. He gifted me his copy of Half Life 2 since he already owned the game. I really enjoyed the second game, so I went out and purchased the Orange Box. It is an incredible collection of games.
I'm still only about halfway through Half Life 2; I wanted to finish Half Life (Source edition) first, but I have to say that the first game--while engrossing for the first many hours--eventually degrades into a seemingly endless string of repetitive, unimaginative battles in varying desert-like environments. It's sort of like a film that starts off with a sense of freshness and creativity but then ends up just being another big protracted battle like any other for the last half.
Now, Half Life 2 has been absolutely wonderful throughout, down to every last detail. The only reason I'm still only about halfway through (after playing it for about a year!) is that I only fire it up on occasions where I am fully prepared to become engrossed in the gameplay, hooking my laptop up to the big screen, shutting off all the lights, and settling in for a good time. I can't find enough good things to say about the game, and about how it lets you approach each fight in any number of creative ways using your gravity gun and environment; I've replayed several parts already, just in order to try a different approach or see what hilarious chain reactions I can set up for those headcrab zombies without every arming a gun. Good stuff.
Shame you didnt get on with 1. I love it. It changes as you play it. Once the military guys start attacking you it goes up a level. Then the fight with the helicopter thats chasing you. Excellent.
Actually, it was all the endless battles with the military personnel--interspersed with helicopter chase sequences--that I found so incredibly dull and repetitive. For me, the game lost all charm by that point, and felt like just another 1st-person shooter, albeit one with a bit more polish.
Twitter is a good place to throw your nonsense. Wii FC: 8378 9716 1696 8633 || "How can mushrooms give you extra life? Get the green ones." -
Halflife was the game that got me into gaming! That and crash bandicoot on playstation on christmas morning. Hah. Great game though, Halflife 1 and 2 were really awesome to complete
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him shall have eternal life.
So yeah, they finally added achievements to HL2, just as I had hoped. I had been putting off playing it again until they did and I'm glad. I got to Ravenholm last night and stopped there. I'm going for another Gravity Gun only run. I also brought Dog's ball for company...
I'm also going to reinstall Half-Life 2 Substance. Great HL2 mod. You can play as Metal Gear Solid characters!
I prefer Half-life 1 because it was the most brilliant game when it was released. Half-life 2 is still top notch as are episodes 1 & 2. They really dropped the ball with the episode content though since they have taken forever with Episode 3. Still Team Fortress 2 took about 8 years to come out but was still one of the best multiplayer experiences I've had.
I loves me some Half Life 2. There's only one real flaw I've noticed, and it's that the guns feel oddly insubstantial. Unlike other FPS titles you never get the feeling that you're firing anything with power (gravity gun excluded). It's a minor thing and maybe it's just me.
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
I see what you mean actually, except for the revolver and shotgun. Killing Combine with one shot at point-blank with the shotgun is very satisfying. Combine flipping from headshots with the revolver is great too.
HA!!! Everyone knows that Half-Life is dead! We should be talking about PORTAL 2!!! =D
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Half-Life's a good series, but I could never really get into them. The first game was too hard, and the second was terrifying, and wasted too much time with the stupid physics puzzle things and making use of the "Gravity Gun". I'd try the Episodes, but I'm already so lost as far as story goes for skipping the first that I don't think I could handle having skipped 4 freakin' games.
The physics puzzles and the GG are some of the best parts of HL2.
I played HL2 before I played HL1, and I was worried that I was missing out on important story stuff. Really though? I wasn't. The characters may say things like "Hey Gordon remember this from Black Mesa?" when whatever it is likely didn't happen in HL1. All playing HL1 will really tell you is how the Xen aliens got to Earth. Everything else you'd have to read up on the Internet. A lot of stuff isn't explained in HL2, I guess because the characters assume Gordon knows everything already.
Yeah, the voices in this game are amazing, I especially feel a lot of emotion from the Free Man's voice actor. Seriously though, the environments are amazing, the battles awesome, the story rich. The only thing is that it has a bit of an arcade-y feel to it and a couple of the guns don't really have much "impact". However, I find the game still looks amazing, even better than many games just coming out this year. So much detail.
Sean Aaron ~ "The secret is out: I'm really an American cat-girl." Q: How many physicists does it take to change a light bulb? A: Two, one to hold the light bulb, the other to rotate the universe.
The physics puzzles and the GG are some of the best parts of HL2.
I played HL2 before I played HL1, and I was worried that I was missing out on important story stuff. Really though? I wasn't. The characters may say things like "Hey Gordon remember this from Black Mesa?" when whatever it is likely didn't happen in HL1. All playing HL1 will really tell you is how the Xen aliens got to Earth. Everything else you'd have to read up on the Internet. A lot of stuff isn't explained in HL2, I guess because the characters assume Gordon knows everything already.
Not saying you shouldn't play HL1.
Yeah, that's what annoys me. Everyone talks like you already know everything that's going on, yet they still explain everything for the player's sake. I can't stand that. It doesn't really feel like I'm there, it just feels like I woke up in someone else's body in the middle of the freakin' holocaust. It's got a good story, yeah, but it's told in such an annoying way, and I can never really follow it.
Also, I felt that the physics puzzles didn't really add anything. Just wasted time. I guess the Gravity Gun was pretty good, but I prefer using an actual weapon over just chucking random crap.
Anywho, despite my qualms, I actually really liked Half-Life 2, and I was just about ready to call it the best FPS ever. Then I got to Ravenholm, and the whole thing went to hell. I had to quick save around every corner, and once I got to the fast zombies, I couldn't get anywhere. That pretty much did it in for me. Now that I think about it, I might want to try one of the later episodes, but I'll do that after I watch some lets plays of the first two games.
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