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Can only speak for Half Life 2, but to me it‘s actually good. Sure the graphics are can‘t keep up with today‘s titles, but the gameplay and story immersion is absolutely amazing
The first one isn’t the best anymore but half life 2 is actually great
The first is good, accessible, and quite east to finish in a short period of time. The second, I would argue, could be released today as a surprise indie hit.
Both games were huge leaps forward in regards to technical proficiency, immersion, gameplay and storytelling in video games.
The second is a masterpiece with physics and gameplay mechanics that are still superior to a lot of games released today.
In my 30 years+ of playing games, nothing compares to the amount of sheer amazement that was Half life 2.
I played it in 2014, and found it pretty fun and immersive, but I’ve never cared about graphics.
Fun and gameplay are all that matters to me.
I think it’s worth playing, but if you don’t enjoy it, you can always drop it.
as far as i know, half life was quite ahead of its time. No matter if we talk about HL1, 2 or Alyx.
But maybe, instead of the old one you can try the fan-remake authorized by valve.
It’s actually good
much like system shock 1& 2, and Dues Ex they were revolutionary in their time.
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now they would be a above average game as modern games basically took everything they did and ran with it.
The thing to keep in mind about the original Half-Life is it broke the mold and changed how games are looked at and designed to this day. Many things you’ll encounter in a playthrough are old hat now, but they were groundbreaking in Half-Life. It did all this and managed to tell a good story while doing so.
Most games that tell a good story don’t also innovate. Most games that innovate don’t tell a good story. That’s because they focus on one over the other, sacrificing one. Half-Life did each of them very well at the same time.
That’s the reason it’s remembered so fondly. It’s one of those rare games that gets almost everything right.
Is it the best ever? No, but is it the best of its generation? Probably.
Will you enjoy it? That depends on you. Will you be in for a good ride? Yes, very much so.
Edited to fix autocorrect.
Black Mesa is a more modern cleaned-up version of the original. If you want to try it, that’s the version I’d pick up.
The game was really good at the time, but a lot of the things that made it really good have just become part of videogames, so it will probably feel more clunky than impressive if you pick it up now. The game did do a really good job of making scenes exciting, establishing little puzzles, and setting up a world that’s rewarding to pry into, and those parts hold up, but the gunplay and combat scenarios will feel dated.
I was actually just watching a friend stream his first ever playthrough of it. It was better than I expected it to be, and he commented several times that it felt like how games used to be, really good story and excellent level design
There is Black Mesa, it’s actual Half Life but on the newer engine. If you want to start with first HL, take the Black Mesa. As a fan, I’m too biased to answer if it is ‘really’ good.
I played Half Life for the first time a couple of years ago, it is now my second favorite game series
So yes, it is actually good
Play Black Mesa, yeah the gameplay is still great. It’s old school so no taking cover or any of that stuff.
And remember to quicksave.
So Half-Life 1 was revolutionary for the time for 1st Person Shooters. I would say the original doesn’t hold up the best nowadays, but if you play Black Mesa (HL1 remade in the Source Engine) you’ll get the story and fun without the jankiness of the original.
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Half-Life 2, however, is still a GREAT game that holds up very well, as well as HL2: Episode 1 and 2. If you have VR, Half-Life Alyx is also AMAZING.
As someone who played them all for the first time within past 2 years, yes play them very worth it.
YES and yes.
Also, If you get a chance play Half-Life:Alyx. Would say that it’s as groundbreaking as Half-Life 2.
Played it again a couple years ago. Nostalgia glasses are very rose tinted for sure, but, it is still a solid game. I remember one…boss like encounter that was just frustrating. I’m a cylinder type room, oddly vertical and just I think badly designed and the end is kinda, rough. Not hard. Just. Rough.
But overall worth playing to understand the hype. Not over hyped to the point you shouldn’t bother.
I haven’t played the vr game yet and really want to but just not really into vr yet myself
It will feel dated now, even expected. At the time it was revolutionary. Virtually everything you experience in Half-Life 1 that makes you think, “So what’s the big deal?” was the first time those things had ever been done. It’s a bit like asking if Steamboat Willie was actually good.
I didnt have the same feeling playing Black Mesa (remake of hl1) because they changed level designs and ambiances a bit but it does an amazing job if you may be reluctent about graphics. If you don’t care about graphics, play hl1, there is something truly special about it still that will remain in your cells forever.
Hl2 is not the same, you don’t have boss and puzzle are easier, still a great game youve got to play as well with portal 1/2 on the side. Then alyx, there is a mod for non-vr users, great game but i played it in vr so it feels like the best (vr) game of all times.
This IP changed my life when I was a kid, made me a video-game artist and made me know that I would see video-game as the best artistic medium for the rest of my life.
Nb : hl1 changed a lot of things and the history around it, especially modding, may interest you to look at it for its influence on the whole medium.
It’s absolutely top tier.
I played it for the first time in 2014 after having never played a Valve game other than Portal, so i had zero nostalgia, and I absolutely loved it. I’m surprised how great the gunplay still feels.
Like most artforms, it may not age well because you lose the context of the zeitgeist. I’m not sure if this is accurate, but I remember Half Life being one of the first (if not the first) games to have scripted sequences during gameplay and lip synch.
It was groundbreaking when it came out like 25 years ago.
If you play HL1 you will notice a common feature of games from back then, which is the difficulty level is pretty unforgiving, but not in the same way as modern games. You have health and it doesn’t come back, you have to find health kits. Same with ammo. It’s fully possible to find yourself “screwed” in a save because you are facing a tough fight and don’t have enough health and ammo.
I think coming from modern games that’s one of the main things that could feel bad.
The late great author Terry Pratchett has this quote about *Lord of the Rings*, and the effect it had on fantasy literature:
>“J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.”
Basically, I see it this way: What Tolkien is to fantasy novels, or what Mt. Fuji is to classical Japanese art, Half-Life is to the First-Person Shooter genre. If it feels generic now, it’s because it’s full of tropes that every shooter since has copied to varying degrees. Tropes that, when Half-Life came out, were unlike anything we had played before.
Half-life multiplayer was some of the most fun I have ever had online. It was also a go-to for my friends and I at LAN parties. The campaign was a lot of fun too.