Is Half-Life 2 worth my time?

[Belvadier]

So I got "The Orange Box" on Steam one time maybe a year or so ago because it was on SUPER sale but the main reason I bought it was 1) For TF2 and 2) So I had a Source engine game to get mods for. After beating Deus Ex Human Revolution for a second time I find myself without a single player game to really play and I see that Half-Life 2 just sitting there in my list of Steam games...

Is it really good? Does it hold up as a great game still today 4 or so years after it's release? Also, about how long would it take me to complete (on average) all of the Half Life 2 content from The Orange Box. I say this because I will be starting a new job in about a week that will severely hamper the amount of time I have to play games and I'd like to determine if I can beat all of the HL2 stuff before I have to start...

 

[MisterShine]

Because lots and lots of people like it, that means it has to be good.

However, I was in a similar boat to you about a year ago, figured hey, it has shooting, puzzles, physics puzzles, a cute sidekick and it's freakin' Sci-Fi. What could go wrong?

But it did go wrong. Horribly wrong.

Just don't go in expecting the masterpiece everyone talked about in 2004, its not that game anymore for us. Kinda like Deus Ex, if you weren't there when it happened, its just not the same.

Give it a shot though, maybe I'm just insane.

 

[Weaver]

It wholly depends on a lot of things about the player. The story isn't told to you, you must intuit it from your surroundings. If you're incapable of doing so the game will lose a lot of it's magic.

 

[Granny Smith 07]

It's a really good game, for me it started slow and was hard to get into but by the time I was finished I was about to explode from happiness

EDIT: it's gonna take some time to beat the original game probably takes 8+ hours if you haven't seen people playing it before and don't use a guide and both episodes can take about 3+ hours each. If you use a walkthrough then it won't take terribly long

 

[Belvadier]

I played HL1 when I was a kid and enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite thing. When HL2 came out I just didn't have a good computer which is why I missed it. Any comments on the length of the game? about how long does it take to complete?

 

[Giest4life]

I think HL2 is worth it. I find it a great example of the best of what games have to offer. Just like King Kong (the original) is a milestone in motion picture entertainment, HL2 has is one for games in terms of how to tell a story in an interactive medium.

In all honesty, there will be some parts that I forced myself to like, so it's not perfect. But is it worth it? Hell fucking yes.

I played HL1 when I was a kid and enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite thing. When HL2 came out I just didn't have a good computer which is why I missed it. Any comments on the length of the game? about how long does it take to complete?

The FPS parts are pretty standard, so that shouldn't give you much trouble. Some of the puzzles can be tricky if you go in expecting a standard FPS, but all-in-all, it shouldn't take you more than 4 hours of genuine gameplay to complete each episode.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Why don't you simply play the game you already bought instead of making a thread about whether you should play the game you already bought?

 

[superstringz]

Yes. Play it. /thread

 

[DEAD34345]

Kinda like Deus Ex, if you weren't there when it happened, its just not the same.

Well... I'm actually playing through the original Deus Ex for the first time right now (currently in Paris), and it seems pretty damn good to me so far.

As for Half Life 2 though, certainly give it a try, many people swear it's one of the greatest games of all time. I've never got it for some reason, but I'm definitely the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Judgement101]

It's a good game and the people that say that gaming would be better without it are what I like to call, wrong. Seriously, the game has one of the highest Metacritic scores ever and it is really fun with a long playtime. Also, it is about as close to linear FPS perfection as possible. Oh and don't play it if you don't like physics.

 

[Woodsey]

Is it really good? Does it hold up as a great game still today 4 or so years after it's release?

It was released in 2004 - although if that's a common thought it might explain why so many people play it now expecting it to be exactly the same as modern shooters.

In short: great story telling, writing, and characters, solid gameplay, although you'll probably find it a bit "outdated" if you're used to modern shooters.

Definitely a game everyone should play. It really is an exquisite example of how to tackle storytelling in games.

 

[Mister Man]

Yes, I think it is very much worth your time. Besides, what else would you spend it on? Curing all the worlds diseases? I don't think so.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

If you've decided to make a thread about it...probably not.

Why not just buy more games and make threads about whether you should play them or not?

 

[thiosk]

I liked it, and still like it. But its really the modifications and the episodes that make it worth it. Ep1 is good, Ep2 is great, but

Minerva is a fantastic, and difficult free modification for HL2 that carries on the story from a very, very different perspective.

 

[Delsana]

I think I liked Episode 2 more than Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 Episode 1.

 

[Hamish Durie]

speaking as some1 who made a thread like this before, well your probably not going to be to imoressed by half-life at this point but it is good for killing a couple of hours and I can vouch for the story

 

[Da Orky Man]

I played it last year for the first time. And it was brilliant.