exactly ... so many game people deeply love don't hold up years later. Every game is a product of it's time and is at it's released compared to what was there before. HL2 was, at it's time, a astonishing game, so was HL1. But between then and now many other great games have been released that improved on concepts HL2 introduced and had new concepts. But that does not diminish what HL2 did when it was released.

Exactly. And this doesn't make HL2 any more of a "bad game" than OoT or any other game that slots into 'All-Time Greatest Games'.

People making such bold claims like "HL2 sucks" are forgetting context....

...and context isn't important, right?

@magzine: It's always about context and understanding things are almost always a product of their time.

I never understood why people feel the need to say HL2 isn't a good game after so long. It's like saying Super Mario had lackluster narrative or Legend of Zelda OoT had poor level design and lousy lock-on.

Well I would have said the story has no substance to it, vapid characters, and merely builds connective tissue to Half-Life 1 and makes 1984 references because that's what you play from when you want oppressive.

But yeah dated gameplay is certainly a real killjoy.

I'm not a particularly a huge fan of that game either but a bad game it is not.

The one thing I don't like about Half Life anymore is that some of it is just archaic now. If they were to simply put in iron sights, then I may like it like I once had. It's something some may see as minor, but it can help a lot. Half Life 2 was certainly a lot better around the time it came out, but in 2007, I played through the Orange Box, and I didn't enjoy it as much as other games that came out around that time.

It was unfortunate because previously, Half Life 2 wasn't only my favorite shooter, it was one of, if not my favorite game of all time. There's still a lot of impressive stuff in it though, it's just the way you shoot without iron sights, and the sprinting is kind of awkward, little things really that add up. I loved the original Half Life 2, but by the time the two episodes came out, I was kind of past Half Life 2 in some ways, and those from a setting perspective initially disappointed me.

When it comes to the original Half Life, I didn't particularly like the shooting in that, and while I loved Black Mesa, there were more areas in the game that were dull and unpleasant than entertaining. I hated the moment where you get the crossbow in the game, the environments were kind of ugly there. The Half Life games in my opinion though are in no way bad or mediocre, they just need to get with the times some while being unique at the same time.

I finished HL2 at about a year or two ago and I really enjoyed my time with it without the hype that surrounded its release.

I did not play HL2 when it first came out, so I can't really know whether or not its a bad game really. When I tried playing it myself a couple years ago, it just felt boring. Oddly enough, I actually kind of enjoyed the sequence where you were jumping from metal sheet to metal sheet in that desert. But otherwise there wasn't really anything to grab my attention, and for a while it felt like I was having an audio bug, because there was no music, or sounds really, and music actually can be a real deal breaker for me in certain games. It also started to seem like I was getting scripting bugs at some point, because the game wasn't progressing, and I had no indication of what to do or where to go and there were all these damned snipers who I couldn't shoot and GAH!

That all said, I will believe the whole "it changed everything" narrative. I just could not get into it after the fact. I've been told that the narrative stuff gets more interesting in Episodes One and Two, so I'll try playing those at some point. But yeah, honestly the only Valve property I have any real interest is Portal. People keep saying that "Valve has never made a bad game" which yeah, I'll agree on the principle that none of their games are bad. But I don't really like most them. I don't know why I'm posting really; it's a thread, on the internet, here is my voice.

rawr!

The end was cool, but yeah, I didn't really like the game. Too long, too boring.

It's definitely a product of its time, but I played it like a year or two after it came out and I still wasn't impressed.

@beforet: You couldn't shoot those snipers 'cause you either have to run past them, or use a grenade (which in one spot is required).

Yeah. Nowadays, FPSes are pretty much long enough to end before they wear out their welcome.

Half-Life 2, much like Half-Life 1, is a museum piece unless you're really into that type of FPS, more a showcase of what the genre was like during its time than a game that can stand up with modern titles.

Disagree. I can't stand being lost for hours because I can't find the key cards. It's pretty easy to see why FPSes changed focus from exploration to combat.

I don't know if I agree with the bolded part. There are games that hold up. The Halo trilogy, for example, are great to play because of how focused the combat experience is, and Super Mario Bros. is still a great platformer to this day.

I've been thinking back on HL2 and kind of don't like what I'm remembering, but I'll have to go back and play it.

Essentially what I'm seeing here is a discrepancy between what is a "good game" and what is a timeless game.

I'm more into HL than any shooter that is essentially an on-rails movie with "press A to continue" prompts.

Why do I come to this site.

not that this has anything to do with your post, .. but I've noticed that when some people say "the weapons feel bad" in a PC shooter what they mean is "wwwwaaaaaah! this game doesn't auto-aim for me like deh haloz!".

I'm not a huge fan of the half-life series either but I thought the weapons were great. They hold up well today, especially some of the sounds.

I had a lot of fun with the boat sequences too. the jumps were fun.

Yeaaaaah.... no. You may not like it, but that doesn't make it bad. So, end of story.

I disagree with your overall sentiment, but yeah, that boat part was a bit ridiculous.

No it isn't, you just don't like it. Which is A-OK, you shouldn't like it. It has aged out of relevancy as an FPS.

No! Shut up! you're not allowed to have a different opinion than me

Bad opinion. Bad you

B-but I just played it again for the trading cards thing and I really liked it. I was really surprised how well it still holds up.

Bravo

Don't want to upset you but every single game that qualifies as one of the greatest of all time is still going to suffer to the passage of time. Its was groundbreaking, its not magically immune to changes. That being said, HL2 holds up way better than most 2004 FPSes. Same with HL1 actually.

The fact that people are still talking about, playing and enjoying and almost 10 year old game indicate that it is pretty fucking good - and amazing for its time.

Being really good game doesn't mean there aren't some faults.

Threads like this are just big 'LOOK AT ME!' signs.

So why am I posting in it...

EDIT: Just had a quick look and there are 6 threads along the lines of this one on the first page alone......

I remember the crazy hype around this game when it came out and I totally agree with you. The boat section is where I stopped playing years ago, and it's where I stopped playing when I went back to try to figure out why people were nuts about this game. I don't get it.

To be honest, I thought the game was absolutely nothing special. The level design is simple and the all-so-praised atmosphere felt like that of most other shooters. I got bored and never finished it.

@circlenine: you need to work on your writing skills. 75% of your post is merely recapping what happens and isn't a very compelling argument.

Burn the witch.

Seriously speaking its quite alright to have differing opinions. Personally I think that Half-Life 2 is a masterpiece which defined the fps genre but its perfectly fine if some people dont like it:).

For example I havent played any zelda games or owned a Nintendo console. My first computer was C64 and after that my primary gaming platform was pc. So my fondest gaming experiences are mostly playing pc based games.

It was a good product for its time with awesome physics fun and gorgeous textures.

I found HL2 pretty boring too. The plot seems interesting, but there isn't much variance in the gameplay, whuich makes the game repetitive.

HAVE YOU NEVER USED A BOAT IN REAL LIFE NO YOU HAVE NOT HAVE YOU

I can imagine Half Life 2 was revalatory for it's time, but as someone who played it long after it came out I didn't much care for it either. I respect it, but didn't like it.

Strangely enough I adore the first game.

I loved the boat section. Even felt like a ride at times, I thought it that good. I went and played it again and allowing for the date, I still enjoyed it. What got me was the jump in graphics between HL2 and Episode 1.

Please don't respond to long dead threads. Locked.