While the original Half-Life revolutionized the FPS genre with its ingenuous storytelling and incredible atmosphere, the sequel is more or less a generic sci-fi shooter.
The game departed with its promise of" a story not told through cutscenes, but through the environment" and now characters talk 5 minutes straight.
I'm not averse to long cutscenes (one of my favorite games is Yakuza: Like A Dragon) but the "cutscenes" in this game is just standing still listening to characters talk about things that can be conveyed through gameplay and doesn't really serve the plot that much.
The first couple of chapters have you fight the same Combine soldier and those annoying as hell Manhacks on repeat, with a couple of Headcrabs and Zombies sprinkled here and there.
The game also overdid it with the seesaw puzzle. I get that they have to show off their new physics engine, but it was only fun the first time.
Then you get to the Water Hazard chapter (the one with the Airboat). This chapter took way too long and the Air boat doesn't really control that well.
I also didn't like how the environments aren't all that different and just consist of the same generic post-apocalyptic scenery with a lot of empty space in between.
The game doesn't really start to get interesting until the Ravenholm chapter. This is hands down the best chapter in the game. The atmosphere and enemies were a return to the roots of the original, and you finally get the shotgun. Coupled with the Gravity Gun, which may be the best thing the game has to offer, the chapter offered creative ways to finish off the enemies. (My fear of spiders really kicked in because of those black headcrabs, so I was relieved when the chapter was finally over)
After that awesome chapter, we now get to Yet Another Vehicle-based Chapter. You now have to control the Buggy, although I liked it more than the Airboat. This chapter also took way too long.
Then we have Sandtraps. It was a fairly short chapter and controlling a horde of Antlions was cool, so I didn't mind it that much.
A point to note is that while the original offered something new each chapter, and there was not a single boss fight that was duplicated, Half-Life 2 has you fight the same Hunter-Chopper, like, 10 times or something, and sometimes you have to fight 2 of them at the same time. They are not really difficult, but it just felt repetitive having to fight them the exact the same way every time.
This becomes especially pronounced from Chapter 9 onwards. In Entanglement, there will be a time where you'll have to set up a barricade and fend off the oncoming soldiers. There will three barricades in this chapter alone.
In chapter 11, you'll have to fight, like, 6 Striders and each one of them takes too many rockets to defeat.
The last 2 chapters were fairly short and had a cool weapon and were a nice conclusion to the game, especially that ending.
I just expected more of one of the most highly acclaimed games, it's a shame really that they opted for a more safe and generic experience other than attempting something new and revolutionary like its predecessor.
The game departed with its promise of" a story not told through cutscenes, but through the environment" and now characters talk 5 minutes straight.
I'm not averse to long cutscenes (one of my favorite games is Yakuza: Like A Dragon) but the "cutscenes" in this game is just standing still listening to characters talk about things that can be conveyed through gameplay and doesn't really serve the plot that much.
The first couple of chapters have you fight the same Combine soldier and those annoying as hell Manhacks on repeat, with a couple of Headcrabs and Zombies sprinkled here and there.
The game also overdid it with the seesaw puzzle. I get that they have to show off their new physics engine, but it was only fun the first time.
Then you get to the Water Hazard chapter (the one with the Airboat). This chapter took way too long and the Air boat doesn't really control that well.
I also didn't like how the environments aren't all that different and just consist of the same generic post-apocalyptic scenery with a lot of empty space in between.
The game doesn't really start to get interesting until the Ravenholm chapter. This is hands down the best chapter in the game. The atmosphere and enemies were a return to the roots of the original, and you finally get the shotgun. Coupled with the Gravity Gun, which may be the best thing the game has to offer, the chapter offered creative ways to finish off the enemies. (My fear of spiders really kicked in because of those black headcrabs, so I was relieved when the chapter was finally over)
After that awesome chapter, we now get to Yet Another Vehicle-based Chapter. You now have to control the Buggy, although I liked it more than the Airboat. This chapter also took way too long.
Then we have Sandtraps. It was a fairly short chapter and controlling a horde of Antlions was cool, so I didn't mind it that much.
A point to note is that while the original offered something new each chapter, and there was not a single boss fight that was duplicated, Half-Life 2 has you fight the same Hunter-Chopper, like, 10 times or something, and sometimes you have to fight 2 of them at the same time. They are not really difficult, but it just felt repetitive having to fight them the exact the same way every time.
This becomes especially pronounced from Chapter 9 onwards. In Entanglement, there will be a time where you'll have to set up a barricade and fend off the oncoming soldiers. There will three barricades in this chapter alone.
In chapter 11, you'll have to fight, like, 6 Striders and each one of them takes too many rockets to defeat.
The last 2 chapters were fairly short and had a cool weapon and were a nice conclusion to the game, especially that ending.
I just expected more of one of the most highly acclaimed games, it's a shame really that they opted for a more safe and generic experience other than attempting something new and revolutionary like its predecessor.