Half-Life was a pleasant surprise. I haven't played many FPS games, mostly because I've found myself getting bored with them after a while. The few I have enjoyed, like Metroid Prime and BioShock 2, were fun because they had engaging stories and exploration.
Half-Life doesn't have much exploration, but it doesn't matter because the pacing is excellent overall. The only times I felt it stumbled was chapters 6-8 and the entirety of Xen. The former had too much backtracking and the latter had repetitive alien fights and extremely annoying platforming in low gravity. In addition, there were several times I was confused on where I was supposed to go and had to consult a walkthrough. Whoever decided to make the player slip past fans in "We've Got Hostiles" and "The Blast Pit" needs to be punished.
Those bumps aside, I was hooked during the Black Mesa Incident. I was constantly thrown into a variety of situations that not only tested my shooting skills and situational awareness in different ways, but also fit the setting perfectly. When the credits rolled, I reflected on how far I had come. It was then that I realized I was in control for basically the entire game. With almost no cutscenes to take control away from me, I was allowed to put myself in Gordon Freeman's shoes to escape Black Mesa and stop the alien threat. To say this was immersive would be an understatement.
Valve truly made something special with Half-Life. A work of art that bridges the gap between the player and the game. This is something anyone interested in the medium should experience. Not necessarily finish, but experience.
Half-Life doesn't have much exploration, but it doesn't matter because the pacing is excellent overall. The only times I felt it stumbled was chapters 6-8 and the entirety of Xen. The former had too much backtracking and the latter had repetitive alien fights and extremely annoying platforming in low gravity. In addition, there were several times I was confused on where I was supposed to go and had to consult a walkthrough. Whoever decided to make the player slip past fans in "We've Got Hostiles" and "The Blast Pit" needs to be punished.
Those bumps aside, I was hooked during the Black Mesa Incident. I was constantly thrown into a variety of situations that not only tested my shooting skills and situational awareness in different ways, but also fit the setting perfectly. When the credits rolled, I reflected on how far I had come. It was then that I realized I was in control for basically the entire game. With almost no cutscenes to take control away from me, I was allowed to put myself in Gordon Freeman's shoes to escape Black Mesa and stop the alien threat. To say this was immersive would be an understatement.
Valve truly made something special with Half-Life. A work of art that bridges the gap between the player and the game. This is something anyone interested in the medium should experience. Not necessarily finish, but experience.