So much internet culture and entertainment has roots in this game, and even now I can understand how I'd be so impressive, but also this game is mid.
The world and campaign of HL2 is so strong, so much of the game feel desolate and hopeless. Gordan Freeman really is a messiah for what he'd accomplished in a few days when every outpost and cache made by the resistance is either skin and bones or filled with death. Your trek is filled with stops and starts of needing to clear a narrow path against an overwhelming force. Or at least until the end where out of nowhere the resistance rises in just a week and overthrows City 17.
And with the main writing and direction there's the massive weight of being a 20 year old game. So many of the things that would be impressive like vehicles and physics puzzles seem cool until they end up tedious or jank. Another thing is that there's only like, 4 enemy types. Yes many of them function differently, but the game only really having Combine, Head Crabs, and Zombies alongside other miscellaneous things makes a ton of encounters boring. This is probably the worst in the last chapters of the game when you're running around a grey city fighting waves and waves of Combine with the only exceptions being repetitive rocket launcher fights. There are more boss enemies in then game and set pieces, but it really feels like the budget and smoothness of the game dropped out at the last minute.
Looking into the development of Half Life 2, I can kinda get why that is with a different build being leaked and them restarting development along with advancements in the larger industry making games like these quaint. But also, I don't think there's enough meat here for me compared to the other shooters I've played.
The world and campaign of HL2 is so strong, so much of the game feel desolate and hopeless. Gordan Freeman really is a messiah for what he'd accomplished in a few days when every outpost and cache made by the resistance is either skin and bones or filled with death. Your trek is filled with stops and starts of needing to clear a narrow path against an overwhelming force. Or at least until the end where out of nowhere the resistance rises in just a week and overthrows City 17.
And with the main writing and direction there's the massive weight of being a 20 year old game. So many of the things that would be impressive like vehicles and physics puzzles seem cool until they end up tedious or jank. Another thing is that there's only like, 4 enemy types. Yes many of them function differently, but the game only really having Combine, Head Crabs, and Zombies alongside other miscellaneous things makes a ton of encounters boring. This is probably the worst in the last chapters of the game when you're running around a grey city fighting waves and waves of Combine with the only exceptions being repetitive rocket launcher fights. There are more boss enemies in then game and set pieces, but it really feels like the budget and smoothness of the game dropped out at the last minute.
Looking into the development of Half Life 2, I can kinda get why that is with a different build being leaked and them restarting development along with advancements in the larger industry making games like these quaint. But also, I don't think there's enough meat here for me compared to the other shooters I've played.