wow. what a really pleasant surprise. some of the writing is a bit wonked, the pop culture references that show up from time to time can be a bittttt too goofy and cringe-inducing, and some of the acting isnt superb. but wilson is seriously good, and he is a completely optional character you can bring along that only appears a little less than midway through. a lot was keeping me from putting the game down but wilson was the primary reason, his character was VERY likable and i wanted to take him to the end of the game no matter what happened, which led to some surprising emotional beats that i thought were pretty effective.
speaking for the gameplay portion, with some tinkering this is legitimately good enough to be a full on official valve release. the level design is strong, environments are cohesive and great, the gunplay is PUNCHY and incredibly fun, and theres a really good bit of challenge to the whole experience without ever feeling too brutal. the final boss fights in particular are a huuuuuuge step up from the final boss fight in EZ1 which was not good at all. matter of fact, EVERYTHING about EZ1 is improved greatly here (minus the voice acting lol). the biggest issue would be that the friendly AI tends to get up on your ass a bit too much, and in the case of the driving section it gets REALLY annoying with the friendly hunter constantly bumping up into you and basically holding your hand everywhere. that's about it though.
in general i dont have many complaints about this at all. its a captivating and nostalgic 8hr romp with fan-service and personality, it feels very sincere and like the people behind it treated it like a true labor of love. it cost nothing, it does everything hunt down the freeman claimed it would do but better, it is THE half life 2 mod, the absolute BEST one out there. might go so far as to say this is my GOTY, it gave me that valve touch that i hadnt felt since portal 2. play it.
speaking for the gameplay portion, with some tinkering this is legitimately good enough to be a full on official valve release. the level design is strong, environments are cohesive and great, the gunplay is PUNCHY and incredibly fun, and theres a really good bit of challenge to the whole experience without ever feeling too brutal. the final boss fights in particular are a huuuuuuge step up from the final boss fight in EZ1 which was not good at all. matter of fact, EVERYTHING about EZ1 is improved greatly here (minus the voice acting lol). the biggest issue would be that the friendly AI tends to get up on your ass a bit too much, and in the case of the driving section it gets REALLY annoying with the friendly hunter constantly bumping up into you and basically holding your hand everywhere. that's about it though.
in general i dont have many complaints about this at all. its a captivating and nostalgic 8hr romp with fan-service and personality, it feels very sincere and like the people behind it treated it like a true labor of love. it cost nothing, it does everything hunt down the freeman claimed it would do but better, it is THE half life 2 mod, the absolute BEST one out there. might go so far as to say this is my GOTY, it gave me that valve touch that i hadnt felt since portal 2. play it.