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.

 

[PCgamer81]

Half-Life is a religion and I'm 1 of the many worshipers. PEACE!

Would you say that for you it is the nostalgia or the game itself?

I would also ask you, if you had to go a month playing only one game, either 1 or 2, which one would you pick? The answer, in my opinion, indicates the better game.

 

[bystander]

Would you say that for you it is the nostalgia or the game itself?

I would also ask you, if you had to go a month playing only one game, either 1 or 2, which one would you pick? The answer, in my opinion, indicates the better game.

That depends on what qualifies as the better game. Is it the better of the two at release, or the better game today. I personally don't like playing games with overly dated graphics, but at the same time, my fondest memories are from games that would be horrible to play now.

If you took the criteria that the better game is the one you'd rather play today, old games always have a huge disadvantage. I wouldn't play either of them today.

 

[Stringjam]

No, it wasn't that at all.

The game in itself was a piece of art, it's just the title, which had nothing to do with Farcry, that somehow cheated people; they should have given it another name, and I am sure it wouldn't be so criticized today.

I agree with you there. I loved FarCry2. I would probably put it in my top 5 favorite FPS single-players. It was something very unique and interesting to play. A lot of the STALKER vibe of gameplay in a completely different atmosphere / scenario. I played it through all 45 hours, and honestly, I was kind of bummed out when I reached the end and it was over.

I wish more games would take a "human" approach to story like FarCry2 did.....there were no aliens, no monsters, no self-inflated attempts of trying to be "epic" every 5 seconds (not that I don't like any of those things...I loved STALKER, FEAR, Crysis, etc...), but its nice to play something different in the FPS genre.

 

[HEXiT]

as hl2 is my fave game of all time i cant see what any 1 would say halflife is better...
it was a good game of its time but hl2 took it and created something a lot better...
in fact hl2 and deus ex are 2 titles that most other games try to emulate in that genre. i dont know many that use original halflife as there inspiration, but i doubt its as many that used HL2
oh and the common mistake. hl2 isnt and fps game. its an action rpg. like masseffect, deus ex, oblivion and dragon age... all of which count HL2 as being among there inspirations

 

[PCgamer81]

as hl2 is my fave game of all time i cant see what any 1 would say halflife is better...
it was a good game of its time but hl2 took it and created something a lot better...
in fact hl2 and deus ex are 2 titles that most other games try to emulate in that genre. i dont know many that use original halflife as there inspiration, but i doubt its as many that used HL2
oh and the common mistake. hl2 isnt and fps game. its an action rpg. like masseffect, deus ex, oblivion and dragon age... all of which count HL2 as being among there inspirations

Well, I certainly appreciate your post and enthusiasm regarding my favorite game.

Sadly, I will have to respectfully disagree with your classifying of Half Life 2 as "action rpg". The furthest outside of the traditional "first person shooter" genre that I would venture to classify Half Life 2 as would be "first person adventure".

 

[deicidechaos]

I was too a bit young when i first played halflife, too fully admire it, Also i was too scared to play it LMAO. But halflife 2 to me it a timeless game, IMHO the source engine is by far the best engine ever created. It has aged beautifully, specially when applying the hi res texture packs or using the thousands of mods for it. The wait for episode 3 is killing me.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

as hl2 is my fave game of all time i cant see what any 1 would say halflife is better...
it was a good game of its time but hl2 took it and created something a lot better...
in fact hl2 and deus ex are 2 titles that most other games try to emulate in that genre. i dont know many that use original halflife as there inspiration, but i doubt its as many that used HL2
oh and the common mistake. hl2 isnt and fps game. its an action rpg. like masseffect, deus ex, oblivion and dragon age... all of which count HL2 as being among there inspirations

heavy on the action light on the rpg.
the other titles such as oblivion, mass effect, and dragon age were heavy on the rpg

 

[PCgamer81]

I was too a bit young when i first played halflife, too fully admire it, Also i was too scared to play it LMAO. But halflife 2 to me it a timeless game, IMHO the source engine is by far the best engine ever created. It has aged beautifully, specially when applying the hi res texture packs or using the thousands of mods for it. The wait for episode 3 is killing me.

Have you tried the cinematic mod 10? It looks pretty but they changed too much with the characters for me to even try it. Well, that, and the fact it's freakin huge.

 

[Stringjam]

I think large part of the reason for the success of HL is because there is some good writing involved.........a good story and unique, interesting characters. Those two things are what I'm always looking for in FPS, and too often are riding in the backseat. A good single-player game hinges on whether or not you're able to connect to and get drawn in to what is going on. That's why I can't get into squad-based military shooters like BF and COD...the stories are as lifeless and uninteresting as the characters involved, so I don't care if everybody dies. Boring (except for the MP, which I love in BC2 and BF3... 😉 )

As a side note...as much as I think HL2 is great and deserves attention, I think F.E.A.R. doesn't get half the respect it should. That was the game that made me really think AI was going to go somewhere.

 

[PCgamer81]

I think large part of the reason for the success of HL is because there is some good writing involved.........a good story and unique, interesting characters. Those two things are what I'm always looking for in FPS, and too often are riding in the backseat. A good single-player game hinges on whether or not you're able to connect to and get drawn in to what is going on. That's why I can't get into squad-based military shooters like BF and COD...the stories are as lifeless and uninteresting as the characters involved, so I don't care if everybody dies. Boring (except for the MP, which I love in BC2 and BF3... 😉 )

As a side note...as much as I think HL2 is great and deserves attention, I think F.E.A.R. doesn't get half the respect it should. That was the game that made me really think AI was going to go somewhere.

FEAR definitely had good AI. I think for me the thing that killed FEAR was the horror element. I never was big on horror in games - although I make an exception for Metro 2033.

To me, I also thought the ability to slow down time was a little gimmicky and took the difficulty out of the game.

Multiplayer, I was constantly getting fragged - especially after they opened it up as free to play.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

i wouldnt necessarily call metro 2033 a horror game..... i guess there is a little scary stuff in it, but i never got the feeling i was playing a horror game. amnesia on the other hand... omg talk about swamp ass the entire time i played

 

[PCgamer81]

i wouldnt necessarily call metro 2033 a horror game..... i guess there is a little scary stuff in it, but i never got the feeling i was playing a horror game. amnesia on the other hand... omg talk about swamp ass the entire time i played

Metro 2033 is my second favorite shooter of all time. I like it better than STALKER, Crysis, you name it ... save for Half Life 2.

It is by far and away the most atmospheric shooter I have ever played.

 

[rocky41]

i wouldnt necessarily call metro 2033 a horror game..... i guess there is a little scary stuff in it, but i never got the feeling i was playing a horror game. amnesia on the other hand... omg talk about swamp ass the entire time i played

The best thing about Metro 2033 was its atmosphere and the creatures that we never saw anywhere before. I am still waiting for Metro 2034.

Fear was good but it didn't have the fear factor at all. There were parts in which i was fractionally scared but i was disappointed from Fear on the whole.

I have to add Resident Evil 4 and Dead space in the list of horror games that made my mind go to another level.

 

[rocky41]

Metro 2033 is my second favorite shooter of all time. I like it better than STALKER, Crysis, you name it ... save for Half Life 2.

It is by far and away the most atmospheric shooter I have ever played.

Well if it has to be about atmosphere then my pick will be Fallout 3. It was far better than STALKER,Metro and same goes to the creatures of Fallout with all those mutants with heavy machine guns.

 

[PCgamer81]

Well if it has to be about atmosphere then my pick will be Fallout 3. It was far better than STALKER,Metro and same goes to the creatures of Fallout with all those mutants with heavy machine guns.

Fallout 3 had the atmosphere. But in my humble opinion Metro 2033 totally and irrevocably blows it out of the water in every way possible.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Metro 2033 is my second favorite shooter of all time. I like it better than STALKER, Crysis, you name it ... save for Half Life 2.

It is by far and away the most atmospheric shooter I have ever played.

I will have to agree with you. Metro hit a note with me. I know it had its flaws but it was so engrossing and immersive for me I've been through it 3 times. It also for me only is beaten by HL2. The first crysis is probably in my top 5 as well, I played it over and over and over when I got my rig upgraded to play it.

 

[rocky41]

Fallout 3 had the atmosphere. But in my humble opinion Metro 2033 totally and irrevocably blows it out of the water in every way possible.

Well i loved Metro but i have to disagree with you. Metro was really good and is in my top 10 list too. But the magic that FO3 had we can't get from Metro possible due to shorter campaign and the poor enemy AI.

 

[rocky41]

I will have to agree with you. Metro hit a note with me. I know it had its flaws but it was so engrossing and immersive for me I've been through it 3 times. It also for me only is beaten by HL2. The first crysis is probably in my top 5 as well, I played it over and over and over when I got my rig upgraded to play it.

Well Crysis Warhead was better than Crysis for me. In Crysis sometime i used to get lost and it was obvious to happen in Crysis 1. The game was very good and both Crysis games are in my top 5 list. But Crysis Warhead hands down!!!!!!!!!

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Well i loved Metro but i have to disagree with you. Metro was really good and is in my top 10 list too. But the magic that FO3 had we can't get from Metro possible due to shorter campaign and the poor enemy AI.

FO3 was undeniably great, and Is a top game in my book, but in atmosphere metro wins for me. I like them for different reasons and wouldn't compare the two, it wouldn't be fair to either game to compare them as FO3 is a longer game due to type. Metro is a slowly paced corridor shooter, as fallout is an expansive, RPG with action and shooting elements.

 

[rocky41]

FO3 was undeniably great, and Is a top game in my book, but in atmosphere metro wins for me. I like them for different reasons and wouldn't compare the two, it wouldn't be fair to either game to compare them as FO3 is a longer game due to type. Metro is a slowly paced corridor shooter, as fallout is an expansive, RPG with action and shooting elements.

No actually i am not comparing Metro's campaign with Fallout 3. But it was short as i was wishing the game should never end. The enemy AI was poor they used to try to cover on our side making a large opening for us. The best parts were out side on land when we have to escape those mongoose type creatures with less ammo and have to get the air filters too. With everything fainting, man it was awesome.

 

[PCgamer81]

FO3 was undeniably great, and Is a top game in my book, but in atmosphere metro wins for me. I like them for different reasons and wouldn't compare the two, it wouldn't be fair to either game to compare them as FO3 is a longer game due to type. Metro is a slowly paced corridor shooter, as fallout is an expansive, RPG with action and shooting elements.

I agree with you. While Fallout 3 is great, it is really so far removed from Metro 2033 in style that comparing the two is kind of pointless. I think I am also a little bigoted against Fallout 3 for one huge reason in particular.

I feel it is a disappointment as it is nothing like Fallout and Fallout 2 - save for it's atmosphere. While Fallout and Fallout 2 are classic western rpg-style Baldur's Gate-esque classics, Fallout 3 is more like an Oblivion clone - with a dumb combat system (VATS) to keep a similar feel.

That was bad.

 

[PCgamer81]

No actually i am not comparing Metro's campaign with Fallout 3. But it was short as i was wishing the game should never end. The enemy AI was poor they used to try to cover on our side making a large opening for us. The best parts were out side on land when we have to escape those mongoose type creatures with less ammo and have to get the air filters too. With everything fainting, man it was awesome.

Yeah, Metro 2033 was short. But to be honest, I had rather have a blast for 5 hours that be bored for 40.

And to me, no offense, Fallout 3 was boring.

I could not get into it at all. I got to that part where you are in that big tanker - you know with the draw bridge and the beggar wanting water. I got to about that point and lost interest.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

Yeah, Metro 2033 was short. But to be honest, I had rather have a blast for 5 hours that be bored for 40.

And to me, no offense, Fallout 3 was boring.

I could not get into it at all. I got to that part where you are in that big tanker - you know with the draw bridge and the beggar wanting water. I got to about that point and lost interest.

fallout3 was alot of fun for me, but new vegas was painful to play. It was so bad.

 

[PCgamer81]

fallout3 was alot of fun for me, but new vegas was painful to play. It was so bad.

I have never played New Vegas. I don't think the whole Vegas thing would appeal to me, much.

I think gambling in games is retarded. It's not much of a gamble when there's a quick save/quick load button 3 inches away, lol.

 

[rocky41]

Fallout 3 was really addicting and travelling was the best part in that game with the wind sound in background was awesome. There were some very interesting things in game and the whole setting was incredible.

New vegas was letdown from FO 3 but still i played it, didn't enjoy that much but the game was ok.