Sorry if late, I know it's a couple months old, but I didn't see any thread with this before.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx4qXl8kPBI[/media]
TL:DW - The main argument is that HL2 lacks in combat variety and the story elements become a drag several replays later.
It's certainly a question worth considering, I've kinda been feeling there's something about Half-Life that the sequels have never captured. I thought it just might've been the atmosphere, but the points here are equally fair.
Half Life 2's world, characters and storytelling makes it way better for me personally.
HL1 has more more enemies than HL2 but overall HL2 is better for sure.
If only we got some of the enemies from HL1 and HL2 beta then the game would def. be a little bit more interesting.
Also HL1 may have more variety in enemies but the Combine are probably one of the most awesome bad guy factions in the industry.
They are seriously scary dudes. They are basically the perfect mix of Lovecraftian horror and Nazis, I seriously don't find the HL1 soldiers memorable at all compared to them to be honest.
The hell? Does anyone feel a bit uneasy about how many Half Life related videos have popped up in the last week or so?
Regarding the video's contents: Half Life 1 clearly had some better combat, but Half Life 2 had better atmospheres in general.
Having played Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2 both fairly recently, I can see where you might come to that conclusion.
Half-Life 1 has a combat focus and that gameplay holds up surprisingly well for a game nearing 20 years old, Half-Life 2 tries to do a lot more with stuff like the brand new engine and narrative. Frankly IMO Half-Life 2's narrative doesn't hold up [I]that[/I] well, the graphics aren't incredible anymore, and the physics engine isn't nearly as revolutionary as it once was.
I'm not saying HL1 is flat out better or anything but with what both of the games were going for in mind, I think HL1 was bound to end up [I]aging[/I] better.
I should probably mention that I've played HL2 and its mods a lot more than I have HL1, so it's entirely possible I was just sick of HL2 when I got to this last playthrough.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;52520287]The hell? Does anyone feel a bit uneasy about how many Half Life related videos have popped up in the last week or so?
Regarding the video's contents: Half Life 1 clearly had some better combat, but Half Life 2 had better atmospheres in general.[/QUOTE]
because of the recent marc laidlaw news probably
[QUOTE=GrizzlyBear;52520282]Also HL1 may have more variety in enemies but the Combine are probably one of the most awesome bad guy factions in the industry.
They are seriously scary dudes. They are basically the perfect mix of Lovecraftian horror and Nazis, I seriously don't find the HL1 soldiers memorable at all compared to them to be honest.[/QUOTE]
The aliens are the 'main enemy' in half life 1, not the grunts, whereas the combine are the main enemy in half life 2.
I've personally never been a huge HL2 fan due to how unnecessarily long some sections are (coast, airboat levels). To me, HL1's level and combat design are much more direct and well-proportioned in comparison.
[QUOTE=GrizzlyBear;52520282]Also HL1 may have more variety in enemies but the Combine are probably one of the most awesome bad guy factions in the industry.
They are seriously scary dudes. They are basically the perfect mix of Lovecraftian horror and Nazis, I seriously don't find the HL1 soldiers memorable at all compared to them to be honest.[/QUOTE]
Combine are pretty neat from a narrative/design point of view, but the HECU were fucking terrifying in gameplay. I don't know what it was about them, maybe the instantaneous reaction times with their laser accurate hitscan guns- they just felt [I]lethal.[/I] The Combine are kind of spooky on hard at least but I think HL2's hard mode was kind of poorly balanced, a few of the guns just aren't worth using because they don't do enough damage.
Half-Life 2 is still a solid game, but the more gimmicky approach to map design and the improved narrative often getting a bit too much focus causes it to actually mull over more awkwardly rather than create the invigorating variety they intended. Half-Life 1 is laser-focused in comparison between lots of shooting with a lot of guns, enemy types / situations and overall gameplay.
It doesn't help that for as neat as the Combine are, they're pretty much murdered by the dozens in a way that even the Marines can't quite compare to. It sort of makes the fights come off less as battles for survival and more like trying not to get ambushed as you slaughter the next squad yet again. And this goes on basically all game long unless it's Antlion/Zombie time.
One of the problems with HL2 is that it seems to be designed (at least in parts) specifically to show off the physics and now that nobody cares about physics anymore, they just come off as a gimmicky waste. The gravity gun gameplay is still great though.
I've thought about this too. I love them [I]both[/I] but I've found that I enjoy going back to play HL1 moreso than HL2. HL1 has more of that old school FPS run 'n gun feel to it, you just sit back and blast away, roaring through the levels as fast as you'd like. It's more like doom 2016 in that respect, even though everything is the same more or less each time you play through them, the fights themselves and the areas are both fun enough to carry the experience several playthroughs later. HL2 has some great setpieces but the pace is definitely slower and more measured. However, HL2 wins out on atmosphere and plot without question.
Half-Life 1 and 2 to me are almost completely different experiences that i enjoy for different reasons so its hard to say which is better personally.
The AI in HL2 has always seemed pretty sub-par to me. In HL1 if you got damaged and took cover behind a corner the enemy would seek you out or throw a grenade, I don't recall many situations where the HL2 AI did the same, they just seemed too dumbfounded when you charged at them whereas in HL1 they would go on a manhunt if you so much as disengaged.
Both games are great for different reasons. If HL3 was [I][U]hypothetically[/U][/I] a thing I would've loved for it to be the best of both worlds, but that's never going to happen.
[QUOTE=Zergeant;52520368]The AI in HL2 has always seemed pretty sub-par to me. In HL1 if you got damaged and took cover behind a corner the enemy would seek you out or throw a grenade, I don't recall many situations where the HL2 AI did the same, they just seemed too dumbfounded when you charged at them whereas in HL1 they would go on a manhunt if you so much as disengaged.[/QUOTE]
It's less that they're dumbfounded, and more like they have momentum and reaction time compared to the HL1 Marines basically being able to start running and then stop to fire on a dime. They only had delays on grenade throwing. Not to mention the Combine outside of Hard basically drop like flies, so while they can flush you out and flank and so forth, HL2 encourages you get all aggressive and rush 'em down with the shotgun or a tossed gravity object, both of which can kill them outright if not nearly so.
His FEAR comparison made me think about how much I fetishize high-tech radio-chattering enemy forces.
When faces are obscured by armour, and voices are indistinguishable due to heavy distortion, it becomes attractive to see past individuality and instead see one big scary interconnected system.
[QUOTE=Silikone;52520492]His FEAR comparison made me think about how much I fetishize high-tech radio-chattering enemy forces.
When faces are obscured by armour, and voices are indistinguishable due to heavy distortion, it becomes attractive to see past individuality and instead see one big scary interconnected system.[/QUOTE]
This is why I adore the Overwatch AI voice that calls out the location of every Metrocop death and calls out reinforcements. It's so [I]scary[/I], reminds you that there are so many more dudes out there backed up by a system that wants you dead
Not exactly insightful commentary but I find HL2 a lot more fun to go back and play than HL1 personally.
There's some things I hate about HL1 and love about HL2, as well as things I love in HL1 and hate in HL2. I'd say they're equal.
God i forgot about Beta Alyx.
Why was she dressed like a fucking superhero.
On A Rail and Xen permanently put HL1 in second place for me. But I love both games to death and still play them annually.
[QUOTE=AaronM202;52520550]God i forgot about Beta Alyx.
Why was she dressed like a fucking superhero.[/QUOTE]
[t]http://orig12.deviantart.net/506d/f/2012/362/d/6/alyx_vance_from_half_life_2_leaked_beta_by_maxifx-d5pfb2k.jpg[/t]
for fuck sake
Half life wins for having weapons that don't feel like airsoft guns.
That was a big part of HL2 not being as fun for me. The sound design and bare minimum animation of HL2's weapons make them seem kinda boring.
The starting pistol kickback animation for shooting also kind of makes it feel like rubber
[QUOTE=J!NX;52520582][t]http://orig12.deviantart.net/506d/f/2012/362/d/6/alyx_vance_from_half_life_2_leaked_beta_by_maxifx-d5pfb2k.jpg[/t]
for fuck sake[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://www.futurama-madhouse.com/fashion/greenjacketjon.gif[/IMG]
HL1's ever fresh gameplay is what kept me hooked on Sven Coop for hundreds of hours.
Vanilla HL2 was never much fun to me, but it is a great setting and truly shines when enjoyed through a mod like Gmod or Smod
For me, personally, Half-Life 1 is the better game. I still love Half-Life 2, but something about Half-Life 1 is just better for me. Surface Tension is my favorite level or chapter or whatever in a game I think.
It might be nostalgia for all the hours I spent in Sven Coop all those years ago. Then again I have just as many, if not more, in GMod. So who knows.
[editline]29th July 2017[/editline]
[QUOTE=RichyZ;52520680]gunplay in hl1 always felt meatier to me
the guns were loud, the impacts were very clear, the blood effects were more exaggerated, and there was gibbing[/QUOTE]
Honestly, the guns in HL2 feel rubbish. I can still play the shit out of HL2 and love it but the guns really aren't good. Practically nothing shoots straight.
[QUOTE=Talishmar;52520678]HL1's ever fresh gameplay is what kept me hooked on Sven Coop for hundreds of hours.
Vanilla HL2 was never much fun to me, but it is a great setting and truly shines when enjoyed through a mod like Gmod or Smod[/QUOTE]
i want to play sven coop real bad but at the same time i also don't want to hear shitty russian mlg dubcrap blasted through mic chat
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