Why do people often say that Half Life is better than Half Life 2?

[PCgamer81]

Why do people often say that Half Life is better than Half Life 2?

I understand looking at it from the perspective of the era it debuted in; what Half Life brought to the table, the innovation, the entertainment level, etc. Simply put, the original Half Life was/is an amazing game. It no doubt utilized the Quake engine far better than any game before it, arguably even surpassing Id Software's "Quake".

But...

Half Life 2 and the Source engine was revolutionary. From the gravity gun and real time physics calculations, to the Combine, weapons, sound, and AMAZING graphics; every facet of Half Life 2 screamed epic. This was the game that ushered in the current generation of interactive entertainment. This was the game that really opened up PC gaming, blowing everyone away in the process.

For anyone to even remotely insinuate that Half Life is superior to it's sequel is indicative of a severe lack of gamer appreciation.

I am old enough to remember both games well. I have played both games. Half Life, was an absolute blast at the time, but Half Life 2 totally and completely took my world by storm. Half Life 2 is STILL the best first person shooter out there today. Half Life 2 is so good, that it has totally spoiled me from enjoying other shooters. When playing other shooters, I say to myself, "I am playing this (insert shooter), when I could be playing THIS (Half Life 2).

This is not merely a matter of opinion. Anyone with a working pair of eyes can see it.

Half Life 2 far surpasses Half Life.

Thanks.

 

[professorprofessorson]

When playing other shooters, I say to myself, "I am playing this (insert shooter), when I could be playing THIS (Half Life 2).

This is not merely a matter of opinion. Anyone with a working pair of eyes can see it.

Half Life 2 far surpasses Half Life.

Thanks.

There is something wrong with you, clearly. First, you need to downsize. Replace your current rig for a nice Athlon XP 2500+/Radeon 9800 Pro/Nforce 2 Ultra combination. It could take care of all your Half-Life 2 needs. You wont be running Bioshock3 or MW3 on that machine, but hey, who needs to when they got Half-Life 2.

Second, instead of constantly reminding yourself of just how bored the other games are making you, just stop buying them. With my Half-Life 2 Two Step Program, you'll be on your way to Half-Life 2 24/7 glory in no time. My two step program I just told you about, it cost like $30 bucks, so like, whenever you're ready to paypal me the money, lmk, k? You wont need the extra cash to buy moar games anyway, you have Half-Life 2, remember?

Thanks.

 

[Herr_Koos]

^Not particularly helpful...

I prefer to take each game on its own merits. Yes, HL2 broke some new ground in the use of physics, and it is one hell of an impressive game in many aspects. Having said that, the original probably had a bigger impact on the world of PC gaming as a whole. Half-Life was the game that almost single-handedly dragged the shooter genre out of the formulaic "Run, shoot, kill boss, find key, go to next level" recipe that was unchanged since the days of Wolfenstein.

 

[PCgamer81]

There is something wrong with you, clearly. First, you need to downsize. Replace your current rig for a nice Athlon XP 2500+/Radeon 9800 Pro/Nforce 2 Ultra combination. It could take care of all your Half-Life 2 needs. You wont be running Bioshock3 or MW3 on that machine, but hey, who needs to when they got Half-Life 2.

Second, instead of constantly reminding yourself of just how bored the other games are making you, just stop buying them. With my Half-Life 2 Two Step Program, you'll be on your way to Half-Life 2 24/7 glory in no time. My two step program I just told you about, it cost like $30 bucks, so like, whenever you're ready to paypal me the money, lmk, k? You wont need the extra cash to buy moar games anyway, you have Half-Life 2, remember?

Thanks.

I do not need to downsize. I get about 150-300 frames a second in Half Life 2, why should I want less?

And I do play other games, as well. Like Metro 2033 and Crysis. I do enjoy the hell out of them. I am sorry if I gave the impression that I don't play other shooters at all. I do play other shooters, but I don't particularly appreciate them to the degree that I do HL2. The wow factor is just not there, anymore. And I must confess that I spend a lot more time playing Half Life 2 than I do any of the other shooters.

For me, it takes a lot to really move me after experiencing Half Life 2. That is what I was trying to convey.

And you totally missed/ignored the point. I am not comparing HL2 to modern shooters, but rather explaining why I think HF2 is far better than HL.

 

[PCgamer81]

^Not particularly helpful...

I prefer to take each game on its own merits. Yes, HL2 broke some new ground in the use of physics, and it is one hell of an impressive game in many aspects. Having said that, the original probably had a bigger impact on the world of PC gaming as a whole. Half-Life was the game that almost single-handedly dragged the shooter genre out of the formulaic "Run, shoot, kill boss, find key, go to next level" recipe that was unchanged since the days of Wolfenstein.

I can certainly appreciate the impact that Half Life made in the world of video games. I even stated that in my original post.

I think for me, it also comes down the the initial impression I got with both games, followed closely by how both of these games hold up today.

 

[Herr_Koos]

HL doesn't hold up well in terms of visuals today, while HL2 is still very pretty for an 8-year old game. I think the main reason for this is that the graphical improvement curve has flattened considerably in recent years. In gameplay terms though, I don't think you can fault HL1 even after all this time.

 

[NoobNeb]

Cause people be hipsters

 

[PCgamer81]

HL doesn't hold up well in terms of visuals today, while HL2 is still very pretty for an 8-year old game. I think the main reason for this is that the graphical improvement curve has flattened considerably in recent years. In gameplay terms though, I don't think you can fault HL1 even after all this time.

No, Half Life is still a blast to play. I would consider it more of a corridor shooter, while Half Life 2 had the appearance of being more opened ended.

Also, you said that Half Life almost single-handedly dragged the shooter genre out of the traditional "run, shoot, kill boss, find key, etc..." recipe that defined shooters up to that point. I will agree with that. I also believe that Half Life really made it to where a good story was essential to having a good shooter. And if there is one area that I think the original Half Life holds up well in when compared to it's sequel, it is in the story.

 

[PCgamer81]

Cause people be hipsters

I think there is more truth to this statement than most people would care to admit. I think people try to appear sophisticated and thoughtful by going against the mainstream. I am seeing it more and more.

 

[Gothams Finest]

There is something wrong with you, clearly. First, you need to downsize. Replace your current rig for a nice Athlon XP 2500+/Radeon 9800 Pro/Nforce 2 Ultra combination. It could take care of all your Half-Life 2 needs. You wont be running Bioshock3 or MW3 on that machine, but hey, who needs to when they got Half-Life 2.

Second, instead of constantly reminding yourself of just how bored the other games are making you, just stop buying them. With my Half-Life 2 Two Step Program, you'll be on your way to Half-Life 2 24/7 glory in no time. My two step program I just told you about, it cost like $30 bucks, so like, whenever you're ready to paypal me the money, lmk, k? You wont need the extra cash to buy moar games anyway, you have Half-Life 2, remember?

Thanks.

What an idiot.

 

[Gothams Finest]

And you totally missed/ignored the point. I am not comparing HL2 to modern shooters, but rather explaining why I think HF2 is far better than HL.

Don't waste you time reasoning and explaining yourself to an idiot, you'll get no were.

I love both, I have great memorys playing both games when I was younger and I still enjoy playing them now, also they were both very revolutionary for FPS games and revolutionary games will always remain popular to certain people.

And to answer your question, I think a lot of people do like Half Life for the nostalgia.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Agreed, nostalgia value is a very powerful motivator. I still play C&C95 from time to time, and it's not for the graphics, let me tell you.

 

[Gothams Finest]

I still play C&C95 from time to time, and it's not for the graphics, let me tell you.

lol, I never played C&C95 but I loved the original Red Alert. Age of Empires has to be the most nostalgic RTS game for me.

 

[Herr_Koos]

lol, I never played C&C95 but I loved the original Red Alert. Age of Empires has to be the most nostalgic RTS game for me.

Too bad. I tend to think the original C&C shaped RTS into what it is today, in much the same way Half-Life redefined the FPS genre. It truly is a brilliant game.

 

[Gothams Finest]

Too bad

No not really seeing as how C&C95 and Red Alert are more or less exactly the same.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Gameplay and graphics, yes. Storyline and single-player, no. I love Red Alert, and I had hours of fun with it, but the C&C single player camplaign has something special about it.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I've played all of the HL series. Although the graphics and physics in HL2 were awesome for their time (same as HL), HL was one of the first shooters to have an immersive story line. For once, you were killing for a reason other than because they are there. The AI was top notch for that time period (HL) too. I've enjoyed all the games in the series equally, although EP1 and EP2 were a lot shorter than what I was accustomed to.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Well, EP1 and 2 were short because they were episodes, not full stand-alone games. I'm still a bit miffed that they never finished EP3, and probably never will now.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I understand that EP1 and EP2 were supposed to be part of a larger story, but in terms of HL1 and HL2, they didn't even seem 1/3 as long. These were more like movie shorts than episodes.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Fair enough. Valve tried something that clearly didn't work as well as expected. Here's hoping they are actually working on HL3.

 

[rocky41]

Half life one was boring and the starting par where we have to travel for around 30 min in that skycar or something like that made me giveup HL1, but HL2 was really good. I don't care about others, i liked HL2 more than HL1.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Half life one was boring and the starting par where we have to travel for around 30 min in that skycar or something like that made me giveup HL1, but HL2 was really good. I don't care about others, i liked HL2 more than HL1.

Did you ever finish HL1?

 

[rocky41]

I played the game about 25% it was good but starting made it much boring for me to tolerate that game. The game was good though but when compared to HL 2 my vote goes for HL 2.

 

[Herr_Koos]

Then you missed all the exciting bits....

 

[Eldd]

As a matter of fact, when HL 1 was released, that game was so very different, in a good way, from every shooter available at the time, that it's hard to believe people wouldn't like it. But sure, everyone has their own standards; I still liked HL 2 as well, but something from HL 1 approach was lost somewhere on the way, though.