[Multiplatform] Half Life

I'm not particularly a fan of FPSs, but I've found the Half-Life series oddly compelling. I'm actually in the middle of playing HL2 for the first time, and I'm liking the pacing of the challenges thrown at you. You get introduced to an annoying, unassailable foe, building up a sense of anxiety and frustration as you're continually hunted - and then they hand you a big shiny rocket launcher. It's satisfying on a very primal level.

Turning random faceless NPCs from the first game into main characters was a neat touch, too. It's like "Oh hey, THAT guy was Eli," or "Oh shit, he remembers me blowing up his lunch."

I'm really despising all the vehicle segments, though. The controls are a bit questionable, and they tend to feel more like penalty segments designed solely to sap away your health. As the weakest parts of the game, they go on way too long. It did lead to a pretty funny moment, though. "Radio ahead to base! WE HAVE GORDON FREEMAN'S CAR!"

I'm kind of curious how they're going to tie Portal into all of this. I'm told that Aperture Science stuff is featured quite prominently in Episode 2. A portal gun + firearms could be really interesting. One of the things that made Portal feel too short is that it seemed like all the 'puzzle' parts from a normal FPS with all the actual gunfights edited out.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by The_Griffin

Really? Those were my favorite moments, especially the airboat sequence. They've got some of the most epic moments in the game, IMO. Nothing was as cool as when you dashed your airboat under a collapsing tower, just avoiding the debris in the nick of time.

You can get under the tower in time? The rocks always blocked me, making me do donuts until they settled into a ramp.

God, the airboat part was one of the most miserable parts of the game for me. The thing is hard to steer and they just drop shit in front of you that you can't avoid; unless you quicksave constantly or have the course memorized, you are going to get your ass shot off by all the soldiers on and rapelling down the bridges. There's nothing epic about it, it's just one long "Gordon gets shot over and over segment."

There's nowhere I can't reach.