HL 2 remains the pinnacle of environmental storytelling in games. And not just the way that you observe the environment but the ways in which you interact with it as well and no other game has come close since.
No other world has drawn me in like Half Life 2. I almost feel like everyone gives Half Life all the (deserved) credit and comparatively kind of overlooks the accomplishments of Half Life 2 (I know it's still one of the most revered games of all time, but I just love it so much)
It's like they took "show don't tell" as a design principle and I fucking love it.
Honestly the level of world building that's packed into everything is incredible. When you cobble all the little bits of info together, it's pretty fucking bleak and you actually start to wonder whether Dr. Breen really is making his best attempt at damage control because he knows that if they made an actual effort to, the Combine would wipe out humanity without even altering their overall logistics too much. They're nothing to the Combine.
Breen always came across as a guy that was in way over his head, trying his best to work within the system to keep humans around at least in some form
Also a giant nerd who probably smooth-talked his way into a cushy job administering a secret facility that gets fat government contracts and gets all of his moral lessons from The West Wing
all of his moral lessons from The West Wing
More like Neil de Grasse Tyson-style epic bacon pop science
In the office confrontation in the end he tries to convince Eli Vance by gushing about all the outergalactic intelligent fungi and other COOL science we could get to see by joining the combine
Man HL2 is such a weird artifact for me. This is the peak era for my gaming nostalgia. I really enjoyed Half-Life 1 and that related cluster of games. This is universally seen as a GOAT game.
But Half-Life 2 didn't do anything for me then and it faired so poorly on my most recent revisit. I really don't see what you guys see in it. It's strongest environmental story telling by far is in the first level and it's just okay. Multiple levels I actively disliked and I can't think of a real win. It's so incredibly dull.
I feel crazy when people act like it's the peak of fps games, it feels like a tech demo. As a tech demo it has some cool setpieces, but Half-Life 1 is so much better and I think even ages better.
The best I've ever seen half life 2 described was as a glorified tech demo. They're both overrated but the second one is held up to such a ridiculous degree when it's just a mediocre fps that relies heavily on physics as a gimmick.
Physics schmysics, it's the atmosphere, immersion and incredible character animation and performances that make the game so beloved
Perfect? Remove the hovercraft section then its perfect. Driving section can stay cos its got a few memorable locations
I only wish that Half-Life 2 didn't inspire so many also-rans to do abandoned rural ruins with rusty fences for the next few decades.
HL2 is a great game with terrible pacing. The big set pieces (the opening level, Ravenholm, and the ending) are all phenomenal, and 90% of what comes in between is just filler with no breaks. It's legitimately exhausting to play through outside of the set pieces.
I also kinda feel the same way about the new Dooms, but that might be more controversial.
