Poll: Half-Life, Why Everyone Finds it Wonderful?

[Kamikazi1231]

You really should play the first one too. It's old now but it's essentially the first part of the story leading up to Half Life 2.. obviously from the 2 part lol. A lot of people like the series too because of the engine and how easy it is to mod and create new maps. You can only play the story so much but a lot of people look to Team Fortress Classic, Team Fortress 2, and the Counter Strike games afterwards.

I guess with all that it's just really tough to explain. The series has been around for over a decade now so that probably helps the popularity quite a bit.

 

[MetaKnight19]

its ok, but i probably wouldnt rank it any higher than that. dont get me wrong its a good game just not as amazing as most people make it out to be

 

[cantthinkofausername]

You really should play the first one too. It's old now but it's essentially the first part of the story leading up to Half Life 2.. obviously from the 2 part lol. A lot of people like the series too because of the engine and how easy it is to mod and create new maps. You can only play the story so much but a lot of people look to Team Fortress Classic, Team Fortress 2, and the Counter Strike games afterwards.

I guess with all that it's just really tough to explain. The series has been around for over a decade now so that probably helps the popularity quite a bit.

Well, I am not the biggest fan of PC gaming and I got rid of my PS2 a long time ago. (Plus I watched all the cutscenes out of boredom one day.)

I like the game, but pancakes are irresistable!!!!!!

O.T. Seriously though, I've only ever played 2, episode 1 and episode 2 and it was so fun. The fact that it came with Team Fortress 2 and Portal made it that much sweeter =D. I can haz pancakez noawz?

(Tosses a pancake that lands on your face.) There.

 

[Arcanz]

*The fact that the whole story is told without a single cutscene, everything is from Gordons perspective of things.
*Alex is the most likeable AI I've ever seen.
*Graphics was incredible when it first launched.
*The story itself is one of the best I've seen.
*The fact that Half-Life 1 was one of the best games ever made, for some of the same reasons as the prequel.
*Gordons is a faceless hero wich could be you, if you where awesome enough though! ^^
*The weapons was unique
*Enemy AI was smarter than most FPS' out there

The list could just go on and on, but one of the key factors is the no cutscene part. The fact that everything is happening while you play, through the eyes of the main character of the story. And the last one is the headcrab pet of the Dr.Name-just-slipped-my-mind, I thought it was awesome. But this is just me, everyone has their own opinions ^^

Edit: The question is why everyone fins Half-Life so wonderful, and you realy should play Half-Life 1 to understand why the fans like it so much. Or, you could just wait for the Black Mesa mod for the PC, wich is a complete remake of Half-Life 1 in source graphics.

Trailer link to Black Mesa Offical Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGlhgVz5r6E&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eblackmesasource%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

Black Mesa Source, the mod site
http://www.blackmesasource.com/

 

[cantthinkofausername]

*The fact that the whole story is told without a single cutscene, everything is from Gordons perspective of things.
*Alex is the most likeable AI I've ever seen.
*Graphics was incredible when it first launched.
*The story itself is one of the best I've seen.
*The fact that Half-Life 1 was one of the best games ever made, for some of the same reasons as the prequel.
*Gordons is a faceless hero wich could be you, if you where awesome enough though! ^^
*The weapons was unique
*Enemy AI was smarter than most FPS' out there

The list could just go on and on, but one of the key factors is the no cutscene part. The fact that everything is happening while you play, through the eyes of the main character of the story. And the last one is the headcrab pet of the Dr.Name-just-slipped-my-mind, I thought it was awesome. But this is just me, everyone has their own opinions ^^

I actually kinda hoped I'd see Freeman say something at one point. Kinda like how despite the fact that Master Chief is faceless, you still here him talk. But Gordon can't really be considered faceless since you do actually see what he looks like.

..Close enough.

 

[Mewick_Alex]

First time I ever played any half life game was when the orange box came out, and I rank it right up there as one of my best gaming experiences. Can't really think of another game that has so many characters that I actually really cared about or had such an immersive storyline.

And the ending of ep 2 is one of the only moments in gaming to have really upset me.

*chokes back a tear*

 

[Arcanz]

Snip

Well, not in-game. Atleast if my memory doesn't play tricks on me. That's what I was supposed to say, and it's that wich I like ^^

 

[Bigeyez]

At the time it was definitely one of the better games out there. I don't think of it as the best game ever like a lot of people (especially here) do. It was a fine game for it's time.

 

[Blurbl]

Keep in mind HL2 is several years old now and is starting to age.

HL2 EP2 though, is one of my favourite games of all time. The set-pieces and combat balance (you feel powerful and vunerable at the same time) make it awsome.

Edit: One good set piece was the quick zombie intro in Ravenholm. I had no ammo and just a sawblade with my gravity gun. "Hey, that zombie isn't very fast. Jeez, it's not even - ARGH MY FACE WHERE THE HELL'S THE SAWBLADE GONE ARGH"

 

[cantthinkofausername]

I know i am completely alone on this but i didn't find any joy in the Gravity Gun

Well, I didn't find it as special as everyone else either actually. Still, it's fun to take random objects and launch them very far away into a giant wall and watch them break.

 

[space_oddity]

Never played the games so I can't say. Though, I do hope to get the Orange Box since I just got a 360.

Get it on PC. You'll have over 9000% more fun.

Over 100 scientists agree!

Half Life? Its pretty good. It got a little repetetive at times, the "random exploration with puzzle, then encounter" got a bit formulaic towards the end.
Good fun though.

 

[Outamyhead]

one of the few shooters that made you think as well as shoot crap, and Half-Life was one of if not the first to use the WSAD key config.

 

[Jimbo1212]

It has great realistic characters along with excellent gameplay. Gravity Gun. Best weapon ever.

I would disagree. The characters were realistic, but also very forgettable and as Gordon is a silent hero, there is limited interaction with these characters. When compared to Halo 2 which came out in the same month, it felt worn and dated for a new game, and apart from a gravity engine, it did not do anything special.
But then that's just my opinion and im sure people will disagree for good reasons.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I know i am completely alone on this but i didn't find any joy in the Gravity Gun

Well, I didn't find it as special as everyone else either actually. Still, it's fun to take random objects and launch them very far away into a giant wall and watch them break.

You must have found it at least a little bit special during the final sequence. I mean... come on. Ragdoll bludgeoning. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrievousHarmWithABody]

 

[hazabaza1]

I'd also like to add that Ravenholm is one of the scariest levels in gaming.

I don't mean to seem agro-ish, but how exactly was it scary? To me, it just seemed like an annoying section where you get less ammo with a few shocks.

 

[BoxCutter]

Half Life has a great story and interesting characters. Thats why I enjoy it, nothing more nothing less.

Good games deserve some praise.

 

[cantthinkofausername]

I'd also like to add that Ravenholm is one of the scariest levels in gaming.

I don't mean to seem agro-ish, but how exactly was it scary? To me, it just seemed like an annoying section where you get less ammo with a few shocks.

NoMoreSanity said it. This must mean something.

 

[Kikosemmek]

The hype didn't start with HL2. It started with HL1, and you can always expect game hype to translate onto the sequel.

Half-Life came out in 1998, and at that time the genre of FPS consisted of simple shooting and walking. Half-Life hit the shelves like Katrina hit New Orleans and basically spun the genre into what it is today. In HL1 you had varied, specialized weapons, intelligent enemies (I don't think I've ever seen an improvement over the squad tactics of the soldiers and commandos), and an emphasis on puzzle-solving that was largely missing from most FPS titles, and that added a great dimension to the game. To me, however, what took the cake was Half-Life's focus on psychological pressure. Things were scary without being cheaply startling. The environment was claustrophobic, some of the monsters could kill you in two hits, the level design was so that it seemed dangerous and challenging to walk accross a simple catwalk.

Combine all that with impeccable pacing and an interesting story and you have what comes out to be arguably the best FPS ever made. (the graphics, of course, seem worse as time moves on, but you can't hold that against a game)

HL2, in my opinion, is not as great as the first, but does solid justice to its predecessor. Your ally(ies) are much improved in their character and AI, the graphics are still great even 5 years after the game was out, and the whole game played out a grand, arching storyline. To me, Episode 2 is what you should be playing to recapture the kind of quality HL1 had. It is my favourite installment of the new HL series.


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Aside from that, the game is made by Valve, and since Valve have come out with other fantastic titles like Team Fortress 2, Portal and Left 4 Dead, not to mention the creation and maintainance of Steam, it's easy to see why fans want to praise anything made by Valve.