souredcream
2008
i was too rude last time. i still think its bad but it has some really nice car designs that i think GTA 5 only started to surpass with the online additions of the last like ~6 years. idk how much of that is b/c of tech limitations on the 360 but the panel lines on 4's cars in particular look waaaay better than the 5 models. the reflections looked cool in 2013 but it is definitely not visually impressive by modern standards, while GTA IV's cars, simpler in texture tech they may be remain like, way more visually distinct to me IMO. Also the ragdoll physics are funny as hell & ive never seen my dad laugh so hard as when i just flattened pedestrians at like 60 mph on the sidewalk for 2 mins straight. i guess i also really like the very subdued nature of their palette here. i like it more than the like gta 3 games b/c im a zoomer at heart and idk while i do maintain that i dont really like the sluggish nature of movement in 4, i still prefer it to 3's feel.
1998
recently replayed on the dates marked, and i can safely say this game still holds up. i don't know what the heck valve was doing with weapon design in hl2, but their equivalents in this game (particularly the smg — only exception is the shotgun imo) feel infinitely better.
this might be my favorite world war II game. yes. im serious. it sits at the absolute peak of source aesthetics, the vanilla maps are amazingly fun, and if you're an extremely lonely fuck like me you can listen to the jovial prattling of 40 year old dudes who ripped this game when it was hot. it doesn't have as much content as the original, but it's both incredibly fun and incredibly charming. staved off my depression, would recommend, 8/10.
2005
played it all the way through in real time to see how the ai fights and had some pretty good fun. they navigate around their environment pretty well and, in the good encounters, they usually have at least one path to try and flank you from. would totally recommend giving it a try without the OP slo-mo if you haven't!
2008
met a bunch of furries on this game when i was a kid and never recovered. miss u guys
2020
i still prefer hl1 i think. aesthetically this is definitely not as strong as valve's work, but there's a lot of love packed into each stage and i really loved slowing down to appreciate it.
2015
power armor system is pretty cool