What makes the half life games so awsome?

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Man Kerb

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I've thought about this for a long time. What exactly makes this games one of the best games ever created?

I don't want to now in general, just your opinion.

I believe it's the nostalgia, and the way the story is presented. It's truly awesome!

Btw I am new here, but I have been browsing the forums for a long time. So I know what's going on here.
 
I know, of course the story. But what about the story. More details? :D
 
the overall mystery of the story.It just seems to be clear but it isnt.Black mesa opens portal combine invades earth we all die.But what about Aperture Science?And the Gman? How do they fit in?
 
It isn't your average game, it's undefinable.
 
i dont really like him, i dont even associate playing him when i play.more like i'm playing as myself.
 
The fact that the original is the best game ever and the sequal has earned the same title....

Oh and no cliches... like cutscenes, the character you play talking, and its a series thats known for innovation and being original, rather than depending on stuff thats overused in fps games... theres way more to it than that, but those are the big ones...
 
Fast action fights, lots of thinking puzzles and all round kick ass story, the mystery behind the people you see and come into contact with, the times listening to soilders talk when they don't know your there, preparing each attack against a boss or a group of soilders, the disappointment after you die from a group of enemies, the suspense as you launch rockets while running past a tank, "dodging" it's gunfire, the overall intensity of triumph as you nail a group of enemies to ground, the awesome weapons you find that look amazing, and are equally devastating, the game has many factors that make it absolutely freakin awesome, it's the range of situations it puts you in, where you are actually sitting on the edge of your chair or breaking a sweat because it's so intense and you've been stuck here for days. idk about you, but everytime i saw a headcrab jump out of a crawl space, i got startled, games that limit your intensity are lower on the scales of awesomeness
 
Preator said:
Fast action fights, lots of thinking puzzles and all round kick ass story, the mystery behind the people you see and come into contact with, the times listening to soilders talk when they don't know your there, preparing each attack against a boss or a group of soilders, the disappointment after you die from a group of enemies, the suspense as you launch rockets while running past a tank, "dodging" it's gunfire, the overall intensity of triumph as you nail a group of enemies to ground, the awesome weapons you find that look amazing, and are equally devastating, the game has many factors that make it absolutely freakin awesome, it's the range of situations it puts you in, where you are actually sitting on the edge of your chair or breaking a sweat because it's so intense and you've been stuck here for days. idk about you, but everytime i saw a headcrab jump out of a crawl space, i got startled, games that limit your intensity are lower on the scales of awesomeness
Click to expand...

An incredibly long (but incredibly awesome) synonym for "crowbars".
 
Crowbars are the shit. I mean it could be really anything, like a wrench, golf club, light bulb. Anything. But Valve changed the gaming world with the crowbar!
 
Man Kerb said:
Crowbars are the shit.
Click to expand...

Valve's Justice Department has found you. Please don't move and wait 5 hours for police to locate you. Any signs of disturbance in these statements will be dealt with extreme seriousness.
 
Oh and no cliches...
Click to expand...
And that's not true. Not true at all.

And the story is not that creative, and I've seen a bunch of video games with better stories. Not to say that every video game has better, because Half Life is indeed above average, but it's not the greatest. The design however, is absolutely brilliant. And how innovative it has been at some points.
 
xensyndromeyc0.jpg
 
The story is amazing for half life, in depth and mysterious it owns face
 
I will say that no other FPS has gotten me so engrossed into a story arc. So if you say that other games have better stories, limit it to first person shooters. Pretty much every other FPS I have ever played solely focused on the intensity of the action involved, which HL+Sequels contained.

I also enjoyed HL2's action particularly because much of it was not simply run-and-gun. There were several different ways to get out of most battles (not all), which ties into my other point that the physics are great.

Though I will say I'm a little bothered by the infinite ammo crates.
 
The Story & The Dialogue Mainly, although the Map Layout, The Characters & The way that every time the action gets a bit tedious, there's some or other puzzle to figure out.

Half-Life really is the greatest game of all time
 
I think it's the story, the puzzles and the mysterious things about anything.

-Reloader2
 
The story is definitely interesting, but is not particularly extraordinary. Indeed, the only mysterious factor about it is the G-Man, the rest is pretty much obvious. Valve only made the story more interesting recently by linking it with Portal.

Now, the game is great because of:

1. Different enemies: There is a wide variety of enemy to fight. Although this may seem like an obvious thing to do in a video game, some great games failed to incorporate this. Namely, F.E.A.R, which IMO resembles the Half-Life atmosphere extremely well, uses the same enemies everywhere.

2. Progressive Learning: When the game designer wants the player to do something, they don't just rush it onto him/her. Rather, they let the player learn step by step until it becomes obvious what to do in a complex situation. For example, covering the ant lion spawns in Ep1 is introduced progressively (you cover only one at first, then you have to deal with a bunch of them).

3. Scarce but efficient use of surprises: Unlike games like Doom where every dark corner = monster, Half Life scarcely employs surprises, but when it does, it produces them very effectively. This makes the player always feel on the edge, and whenever they relax for one bit, baam! a stinking monster. (Just when you felt safe to go through that air duct ...!)

4. AI: Definitely a strong point, especially for human-like adversaries, since HL1. But it is not the most advanced today, I think CoD4 surpasses it in this regard.

5. Weapons Package: Gravity gun, Gas gun, Crossbow, the beam gun from HL1, the Ant lion bugbait, which besides calling the best commando units, ant lions, serves later as a way to confuse combine soldiers :D

The super gravity gun in Dark Energy is coolest weapon I have ever seen in a video game.

6. Physics engine: The use of the physics engine to actually solve game puzzles. Other games, like Max Payne II also have physics engines but they do not contribute to the game play.

Who can forget moving cars on that giant bridge in EP2? :D

There are probably more reasons, but to summarize: the game makes uses of a variety of tactics and game strategies to achieve the best game play possible.
 
Sledgehammer said:
And that's not true. Not true at all.
Click to expand...

Well, first, half life may have a FEW cliches, but the way they are executed is generally what makes them special. Lets take alyx vance for example, she is a female heroin, but i personally have never felt so connected to a character before nor have i seen one so real... Shes not your typical skirt-wearing, sexy-talking skank that can run on walls, do EXTREME kongfu, and kill 500 people in 5 mins... Sure she can defend herself, but its realistic and highly believable...

Most of the things on that list are so stupid its not even worth mentioning... Like "the brains and brawn" line from HL1 just completley makes it a typical, cliche game...

in terms of story... you just need to think outside the box and realize why its well-crafted... I know your name is 'sledgehammer' but you dont have to be a typical 'basher'. this thread is what we think makes half life special, not for trolls to explain why it isnt....
 
Physics. I could play years of Half Life games just using the gravity gun.
 
Nice gameplay
A Protagonist everyone can look up/relate to
Great story line, which doesn't reveal to much - keeping the element of mystery (if i have to read another ****ing g-man theory thread i will go mental)
The story is believable
Having the fate of humanity resting in your hands is epic
Everyone wants to play till the end to see if Gordon bangs Alyx
 
Somthing I always notice about the games, is that you always get the feeling that there are hundreds of smaller stories that are untold about each area, finding people who have died in strange ways, or oddball graffiti in an unexpected location, it gives the universe a lived in feel. An example in Episode 2, is the skeleton behind the giant fan with no feet, wtf was that guy doing in there!

Also half-life is still the only game I know, that delivers well animated dialogue without locking the players camera.
 
The story and the scenery really tugs at your emotions...when you are going down the coastal highway and you see that pileup of cars and blood stains all over the ground nearby, I just get really enraged with the Combine...

The immersion is excellent...the sound effects that play in the background that reflect the scenery is just amazing and really draws you in to the story....first time I played through Ravenholm, it was the middle of the night and all the lights were out...had a hard time getting to sleep that night...
 
Yeah everything in the game was put there for a reason, and such ingeniously placed in some cases that it
does enrage the sense and makes you want to slaughter the combine more so
 
First of all, the graphics are awesome! and secondly, I love the way that you spend ages navigating through a vent, just to have a headcrab jump out and frighten you so much you fall out of your chair! : ) : )
 
How much shit we humans have gone threw. And how it's presented. Also the resistance. And Eli.

This things make half life awesome!
 
Pacing, attention to detail, level design, the story, the graphics and the actual gun play.

Plus Half Life 2 and the episodes remind me ofmy favorite novel, 1984.
 
The story. Never played any other FPS with such a great story and all those little details which intrigues the community. I mean, how many theories haven't been made up just because some things are so vague? I just like this kind of things that keep the community active.
 
Lobster said:
Somthing I always notice about the games, is that you always get the feeling that there are hundreds of smaller stories that are untold about each area, finding people who have died in strange ways, or oddball graffiti in an unexpected location, it gives the universe a lived in feel. An example in Episode 2, is the skeleton behind the giant fan with no feet, wtf was that guy doing in there!
Click to expand...

I know precisely that feeling. I felt it strong in Half Life 1 back in 2000... Too bad it felt that nearly half of that feeling was gone in Hl2 due to problems with the gameplay itself(that was 70% fixed with a certain mod). But at least HL2 had the awesome physics and most important of all, an excellent platform to make mods for. Dicking around with physics and ragdolls is what made Hl2 for me.
 
Everyone wants to play till the end to see if Gordon bangs Alyx
Click to expand...
This.
+
Gravity Gun
+
Crowbar!

No other game lets you hit someone in the face with a friggin' TIRE.
 
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