Half life 2

[Zildjin81]

So I am looking into buying half life 2 for myself and I was just wondering, would it make sense if I didn't play the first game first? would it still be fun/playable?

 

[[Gavo]]

I did without playing the original, but if you've got the cash, try to. I think it's $10 off of Steam.

 

[bmf185]

Yeah, it's still good. Get the Orange Box and go nuts.

 

[Hydrus]

I finished the first one completely and still found the second one confusing. They're quite...disjointed.

But don't let that stop you from buying, it's still made from awesome powder.

 

[Fenring]

Just read the plot of the first on Wikipedia, you'll do fine.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

There's no reason to buy half life one as well besides the fact that the the game wont. fucking. end.

But yeah you can easily play HL 2 without HL 1 of course you are going to miss a small reference here and there but that's to be expected.

 

[Vigormortis]

Yes, it would still be very fun. It's not one of the highest rated games ever made for nothing. However, if you want the whole story and to understand where some of the characters come from and why they act as they do, you owe it to yourself to play the original game as well.

 

[Shadow Law]

All I wanted to know from half life 1 is were the hell did those head crabs come from?

 

[Hydrus]

All I wanted to know from half life 1 is were the hell did those head crabs come from?

The dreaded resonance cascade thing-a-me. No doubt those crazies over at the LHC are currently planning their own inter-dimensional meltdown.

I'm stockpiling crowbars.

 

[Good morning blues]

All I wanted to know from half life 1 is were the hell did those head crabs come from?

Here, I'll give you the synopsis.

In the first game, you, Gordon Freeman, are a theoretical physicist at the top-secret Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. An experiment goes wrong and opens up a portal to an alien world, through which a number of alien lifeforms - including the headcrabs - start pouring. Eventually, the military shows up to clean up, and does so by killing everything alive that they see - alien or human. Eventually, some scientists manage to isolate themselves in a teleportation chamber and come up with a plan. They send you to the alien world of Xen, where you ultimately destroy a particular alien called the Nhilanth, who controls one of the major species that are pouring through. Throughout the game, you are followed around by a dour-looking man in a blue suit known as "The G-Man." The G-Man teleports you away from the battleground, and offers you a job; exactly what the job is or who you're working for is unclear. You're then left in some sort of 'limbo' dimension until the beginning of Half-Life 2.

 

[Sh4dowSpec]

Buy the first off Steam--it's really cheap. If you just want the story and not the 20+ hours of gaming so good it borders on eroticism, then use Wikipedia. It's your call.

 

[deletemeplease107]

After this week il be free from my homework shit load, so im looking forward to buying the Orange Box and SR2.

It shames me to say i have not played neither yet...

 

[Good morning blues]

Also note that the world of Xen was the last retreat for the creatures there as they were hunted by the Combine Empire. The opening of the portal to Xen drew the attention of the Combine which is how they found Earth.

This is all speculation, though, isn't it? The only bit of the Half-Life franchise I haven't played is Decay (although it's sitting on my computer waiting for me to have a friend to play it with) and none of this is stated outright that I can recall. It's implied that Nhilanth was somehow involved with the combine and it's probably Nhilanth's death that led them to Earth, but I don't recall any of this. The Combine also don't really care about the Xen aliens - aside from the Alien Soldiers and the Vortigaunts, they're all non-sentient. It would be like saying that wolves and bears were hiding from the Roman Empire on a specific island.

EDIT: The Black Mesa mod is supposed to come out this year, so all you people that haven't played the original Half-Life aren't going to have an excuse pretty soon.

 

[Hydrus]

Also note that the world of Xen was the last retreat for the creatures there as they were hunted by the Combine Empire. The opening of the portal to Xen drew the attention of the Combine which is how they found Earth. It is not sure how long after the events of the first half life it took for the Combine to invade Earth. When the Combine arrived the great 7 hour war began. Basicly all of Earths military was defeated in 7 hours leaving the old Administrator of Black Mesa Dr. Wallace Breen to negotiate a surrender of Earth to the Combine. Because of his efforts the Combine awarded him with the title of overseer of Earth for the Combine. About 20 years had passed since the events at Black Mesa, you'll see what happens {enter game}

Haha, I've finished HL2 twice, and loved every minute of it. But I had no idea about any of this!

 

[Johnnyallstar]

Get the Orange Box, play portal, forget HL2 imho. I couldn't get into it, but Portal is one of the best games ever.