I've never played any Half Life games

[DemonKing]

I think that FPS are the hardest games to go back to
To truly aprreciate Half Life you really had to have been there to experience all the Doom clones and true popamole corridor jumpers
Half Life was truly a breath of fresh air, with smart thinking AI with soldiers who didn't just stand arround and shoot but actually tried to take cover and use rudimentary tactics
Believe me it is not that remarcable now but back then it was a revelation
While Doom was not the birth of the genre (that goes to wolfenstein) it was really the Half Life games which defined the very concepts of what a modern FPS is
It still holds up very nicely today as long as you where not weaned on moder cover shooter mechanics and you can appreciatre it
I am a bit surprised on how divided are the opinions on the series and would love to read more opinions on the ones who think they are shit on examples of good FPS

That pretty much sums it up - if you played shooters up to the time the original HL was released it was such a huge step forward it was gobsmacking. If you're playing it now for the first time after a further 15 years of evolution (or devolution, depending on your opinion) it's not going to have the same impact.

HL2, by comparison, was more of the same scripted corridor shooting with the addition of decent physics and facial animation. What the HL series has always done well though is to tell its story purely in game through scripted sequences, conversation etc. Bioshock Infinite still tries to tell its story by having every character in the game leave their innermost thoughts lying around on tape recorders. Say what you like about the HL series but they've at least got the immersion aspect right.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

'FPS genre' started with Hovertank3d, not Wolf3d.

I disagree. I had a look at 3D games from around that era. Hovertank3D uses the engine for Wolfenstein 3D (along with several other titles) but judging by the gameplay elements I see there, I can think of older titles that can be claimed to be the "birth" of the FPS genre. Corporation (1990) is probably the best example. I think everyone can agree that Wolfenstein 3D was the game that came with the "winning formula" of game design elements that has since then been used and abused and overused, but trying to find the beginning is a little trickier. Retro Gamer ran an article about this a few years back, and argued that the origin can be traced as far back as 3D Monster Maze in 1981.

 

[DraQ]

Unreal which was released half a year earlier had much smarter enemies in the Skarj and the bots.

True, though Unreal AI, while very impressive wasn't very cooperative.
HL's created at least decent illusion of cooperation.

What was more revolutionary about Half-Life was the story telling and all the scripted events.

Pretty much this.

HL's storytelling didn't rely as much on arbitrary gamey shit as most contemporary FPS games and it used scripted sequences and unique animations successfully as storytelling devices, while at the same time still keeping those setpieces a spice rather than the main course. It was less 'metal', but more realistic (in simulationist sense) than most of its contemporaries.

To me, however, the most awesome things about HL were:

• Relatively modern approach to FPS weapons as actual in-universe objects rather than arbitrary means to an end. Reloading was common mechanics, weapons had little quirks that were pointless in gameplay, but realistic (for example glock accommodated 17 rounds if reloaded when empty, but 18 if reloaded with round remaining in chamber (I think they broke it in one of the patches), shotgun reloaded shell by shell, etc.), there was no blanket fire/alt fire mechanics - weapon could have altfire, or not, altfire could be used to switch settings instead or fire its own ammo, etc. Also the ammo pools - it was one of the first if not the first game to have modern rocket launcher - not 50-100 relatively weak rockets to spam, but several powerful rockets to use in specific circumstances.
• Materials. Stuff, including enemies were made of different materials with their own DR, DT and hit effects. It made weapon utility a function of more than just DPS, stun and ability to hit the target and it offered meaningful feedback allowing player to learn that without counting the number of hits required to take something out.
  
• Hitboxes. HL had multiple hitboxes per model creating decent approximation of actual model instead of gross aproximation in form of large bounding box or cylinder. The individual hitboxes could also be made of different materials so enemies could have stuff like partial armor.
  
• AI. Not in terms of general quality, but in terms of distinct and complex behaviours. It was also one of the first if not the first game where enemies weren't just limited to selfless homicidal rage - marines would retreat when wounded, Vortigaunts would run away, get docile, or pretend to get docile only to zap you in the back. Later in Xen you could even encounter non-hostile Vortigaunts that looked as if they were curious about you. HL did a good job escaping "enemies are bad because they try to kill me <=> enemies try to kill me because they are bad" circular logic through illusion of them being more than just stuff trying to kill you for the purpose of killing you.
  
• Senses. Enemies had different senses affecting the way they could be dealt with.
• Alien shit. Aliens looked truly alien, while also being relatively non-arbitrary, with homologous anatomy and such. You could make sense of their anatomy, which IMO is one of the marks of a great game - that even seemingly superficial elements such as art design tell stories. Xen also was one of the most alien environments to grace video games.
  
  

  1. Followers can be very buggy, and at some points the only way forward is to bring an NPC to a door to open it for you. If all else fails, resorting to noclip won't mess up the game in any way. The worst issue I had was with a security guy hiding in the top floor of a building near the end of "Surface Tension", a mid-game chapter. He was supposed to open the door to the building you were in (you drop inside from the roof) and then open a door around the corner to the next area. Instead he always froze somewhere before chest-high barricades outside the building despite acting like he was still following when I spoke to him, and even reloading from the start of the chapter (several areas earlier) didn't help.

  Never had this sort of problem.
  
  Followers can be a major PITA in that they disengage from following you a lot in particular spots (they do announce that, however) making shepherding them through a major hassle, but I've never had scripting actually break on me to the point of having to use cheat codes to progress.
  
  

  2. Pressing the crouch key while in the air makes you jump a bit higher. The need for this doesn't come up until nearly halfway through the game in some subway tunnels where soldiers have barricaded a staircase with a box and it isn't strictly necessary to advance until the last chapter or two to the best of my knowledge, so it would be easy to go through the game without ever realizing that the move existed until you get stuck. (Apparently the tutorial tells you about it, but I didn't play it.)

  It's not jumping higher, but tucking your legs up in mid jump and yes, tutorial does tell you about it.
  It's worth completing because it explains such elements of interface.
  
  

  People many times talk that Half Life 2 problems is because Valve somehow put priority on the scripted sequences and plot, no, Half Life 2 is pretty much the same thing as Half life 1. You walk in a corridor, get to an arena, some scripted sequence happen, you shoot alot of people/aliens, solve some easy puzzle then proceed. You can count in just one hand the moments where you had characters doing forced exposition in the entire game. Half Life 2 real problem is that the Combine were a fucking joke, they fall fast,aren't lethal enough and are dumb as bricks. HL 1 had marines that could rape you, alien marines that could rape you, vortigaunts that could rape you pretty fast if you don't know what you are doing. You go from: "Fuck those marines are just bombarding me with rifle grenades before I even have some chance" to "I slaughtered 5 combine soldiers by just quickly blasting them away before they could react."

  The main problems with HL2 are:
  • It's a step backwards in terms of immersiveness. HL1 strove to feel as real as possible while maintaining rather traditional FPS gameplay. HL2 reintroduces pattern attacking bosses, discrete boss encounters (count the times you could bypass choppers in Surface Tension in HL1), huge beeping bombs and rockets doing 25% damage. And incompetent combine. And grenades with LEDs. HL2 just feels much more game-y.
    
  • It's a step backwards in terms of arsenal. While some weapons feel on par with HL1, some are noticeably shittier, and truly interesting stuff like tau cannon, hive hand and all that situational or alien stuff is nowhere to be found.
  • It's a step backwards in terms of enemy diversity. HL1 was notable for having shitton of *varied* aliens, BlOps assassins using hit and run tactics and so on. HL2 is pretty much limited to combine, zombies&headcrabs and antlions. Occassional synth encounter is interesting but it's always turned into discrete boss arena with it's rocket chest and doesn't mesh organically with the rest of the game - again, game-y.
  • The game got sometimes carried away with it's scriptcoaster gameplay.
  I still liked HL2, but HL1 was just better.

 

[DwarvenFood]

I always felt that HL2 was more about showing off the engine and having the player make use of it (pick object up, drop/throw somewhere / piloting the various vehicles) and less about providing a good background story and making the player involved in that. Which was the strong point of HL1, IMO.

 

[tuluse]

Half-Liife 1 had a pretty stock sci-fi story. Where it excelled was environmental story telling. It felt like a much better story than it was because it wasn't all explained to you in long soliloquies by boring NPCs. You sought it out on your own, or events just happened, and you were forced to make sense of them yourself.

Valve seems to have recaptured some of that magic in the Portal series, but those are over-explained compared to HL1 too.

 

[tuluse]

DraQ that post deserves more than just a brofist. Truly an excellent breakdown of Half-Life and what makes it good.

 

[Infinitron]

Too bad he messed up the indentation.

 

[DraQ]

Too bad he messed up the indentation.

XF's rich text editor works in mysterious ways.

 

[DalekFlay]

Probably my favorite thing about both games, especially HL2, is the sound design. Just perfect sounds, music and timing on both.

 

[Euronymous]

I loved Half-Life but never played any of the expansion packs, the second one started out pretty good but as the game progressed it became increasingly boring. I could never finish it, but from what I played I'd say the peak of the whole game is at Ravenholm.

 

[Horus]

I never got beyond mid levels on both game. I install them once in a blue moon to finish it at last but i always get bored to death in middle and uninstall it.

 

[dunno lah]

Play it on Hard and don't worry about ammo conservation.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

Probably my favorite thing about both games, especially HL2, is the sound design. Just perfect sounds, music and timing on both.

No kidding. Footsteps, marine radio talk, weapons, button sounds, walking on the ladders and vents... Itz heaven.

 

[DraQ]

I loved Half-Life but never played any of the expansion packs, the second one started out pretty good but as the game progressed it became increasingly boring. I could never finish it, but from what I played I'd say the peak of the whole game is at Ravenholm.

You may consider playing episodes. While way too short by my standards, they are sort of condensed through removal of padding, so they don't really get boring.

Ep1. is sort of mediocre due to being effectively the middle of a story without strong beginning or end, but it does have definite highlights. Ep2, OTOH. Is pretty great, culminating in a tense, if atypical, 'boss battle'.
Ep2 follows from 1, so in a storyfag FPS like HL you'll need to play both.

I'd definitely recommend both expansions to HL1 - Opposing Force and standalone Blue Shift.
Blue shift, while technically inferior, has interesting enough narrative and environments to pull it through, featuring both old sections of Black Mesa and large-ish Xen segment divorced from platforming mess. On the downside it features *less* weapons and enemies than the original, including no juicy experimental or alien stuff.
It also, bafflingly includes one or two short and completely pointless in-engine cutscenes.

Opposing Force OTOH is somewhat less cohesive than the original HL, culminating in messy and pretty much out-of-context boss battle, but it features a lot of awesome new weapons, enemies and improved followers.

I never got beyond mid levels on both game. I install them once in a blue moon to finish it at last but i always get bored to death in middle and uninstall it.

Actually, if you didn't play the whole HL1, you haven't played HL1.

Whether you love Xen or hate it, it's a quintessential part of what HL *is*.
Shame they didn't make it longer as they planned to (evidenced by plethora of cut aliens and concept art of entire not implemented levels).

 

[Clockwork Knight]

This just popped up in the Newly released tab on steam. Original release date is apparently Nov 2009 but here you go.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/261980/

Half-Life: Before – is a modification for Half-Life with new levels and story. Mod is based on Spirit of Half-Life 1.8 technology, that increases visual and functional component of the mod.

You're playing as a Black Mesa scientist Andrew Winner. Your mission is to enter another world to find an artifact that will allow Black Mesa scientists to open portal in another world.
Features

• Intense action
• Set in Half-Life universe
• High quality soundtrack
• Spirit of Half-Life technology to enhance visuals
• High definition models

 

[Dreaad]

Play this instead. Preferably with mods.

Really there is no reason to play the HL series (aside from it being a big thing back when), there are better FPS games out there.

 

[dunno lah]

Shut up Dreaad.

Play both games.

 

[praetor]

any bros tried Black Mesa with all the levels up to Xen (from what i understand, everything but the retarded "trulyalienlol" world was recreated)? is it worth it to play it over the original for someone who already played the original a couple of times many many moons ago?

EDIT: after reading the thread (http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/black-mesa-thread-now-released.57900), the consensus is: worth it? btw, anybody played it with Surface Tension and On A Rail Uncut from their moddb page? they supposedly re-add many of the uncut parts and fix some bugs

 

[DemonKing]

Black Mesa was ok although I ended up getting hints online a few times as sometimes the way forward is pretty hard to find (which I don't remember being a problem with the original). It certainly captures the spirit of the original though - it it even has some nice new dialogue and accompanying voice acting that fits in well with that lifted from the original.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

All I'm going to say is that this thread is exhibit A in the case that although the Codex knows RPGs better than any other site on the internet, that is the extent of its gaming expertise.

 

[gromit]

This:

HL1 is mandatory. That doesn't mean that you have to like it, just that you have to play it before you can call yourself a civilized person.

It is a -- not the -- "Citizen Kane" of gaming, and before you tune me out: I mean that in the way that only people who actually fucking know anything about Citizen Kane can mean it.

It took a lot of outlying techniques, used them to great effect, added a sprinkle of its own flavor and ideas, and then accomplished the very impressive task of packaging and delivering it in a way that almost the entire market would care and notice.

It's an "important" game. One of the few. We're talking SMB3 and Doom levels of establishing vocabulary. That doesn't happen often. Of course, it's now stuck in the unfortunate weirdness between "old school" and popamole. It's not fast enough, or focused enough, to be a great "pure shooter" and it's not pretentiously overdone enough to be a good "cinematic shooter."

But it was a pretty fucking good "Half Life" at a time most people didn't even know we wanted one. Even if, yes, it more or less killed a flavor of the FPS genre -- which was never very coherent outside of the frequent clonings -- by succeeding a little too conspicuously.

I'm sure there are measures by which, say, "Kingpin" is a better FPS. I'm even sure there are people out there who will have more fun with it. But not as sure as I am that within a year of its release, Kingpin wasn't even worth the asterisk to make it a footnote, whereas people are going to -- always were going to -- talk about HL1 for decades. This, despite other people doing the same thing better / worse / too often since / before-but-few-noticed.

It's important, and being unable to talk about it with any direct experience -- especially in a place essentially dedicated to thinking too hard about videogames -- should be an embarrassment (in a very low-key way.)

 

[Cassidy]

Half-Life 1 is worth trying for both itself and some good single-player mods and map packs, like Heart of Evil*, it is almost as fun as Unreal. However, Half-Life 2 isn't worth wasting time even with the demo.

*Guilty pleasure maybe, but I thought the Zombie+Apocalypse Now vibe was cool and that it had good gameplay, which on the hardest game difficulty it was seriously frightening and tense.

Spoiler

Although the ALIENS! explanation for the zombies wasn't very cool

 

[Infinitron]

This just popped up in the Newly released tab on steam. Original release date is apparently Nov 2009 but here you go.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/261980/

Look at the reviews.

 

[iqzulk]

[rage_mode]

It's an "important" game. One of the few. We're talking SMB3 and Doom levels of establishing vocabulary.

What's so "establishing" about basically copying Another World concept in 3D and blowing a 10hr game (which drags like mad for half of the time) out of it, especially considering, that it (along with pseudo-realistic set-pieces) has already been done two years before Half-Life (look up Assassin2015 from Vectorman devs on YouTube - you can also notice that this game managed to predict actual contemporary popamole-FPS trends much more accurately than Half-Life - up to the point when it looks like a mockery of the contemporary shooter genre gaming [made 17 years ago, no less])?

Of course, it's now stuck in the unfortunate weirdness between "old school" and popamole. It's not fast enough, or focused enough, to be a great "pure shooter" and it's not pretentiously overdone enough to be a good "cinematic shooter."

So, what you are saying, is that's it's mandatory to play this game just because it became oh-so-popular?

whereas people are going to -- always were going to -- talk about HL1 for decades

They are going to talk about, say, "ludonarrative dissonance", "videogaming sexism" or "OMG THIS NOW IS TOTALLY TRUE CITIZEN KANE OF GAMING" for decades as well. So what?

The problem with HL is that it aged HORRIBLY (though not quite as horribly as, say, vanilla Marathon 1). It has shitty level-design. Too streamlined to induce any sort of interesting exploration; with way-way-way-way-WAY too much of absolutely useless extra space, not filled with ANYTHING at all in terms of interactable geometry - with just not nearly enough character speed - so that to turn the level progression into an absolute slog (say what you will about HL2, but its level-designers got quite a bit better since HL1 - and having GravityGun means that you don't need to do copious amount of legwork for Every Fucking Ammo Crate Just Up There). It looks like absolute crap by default, with all the blocky concrete-and-metal-and-rocks grey and brown vomit everywhere (so that I STILL cannot bring myself to replaying that game in the software-minimum-gamma mode, on which it kinda does look quite a bit better), with not nearly enough visual landmarks sticking out, so that to communicate to the player the idea, that he seriously - like, totally, no joke, actually progressing somewhere through the ingame world. It has this shittiest excuse for a script (OMG, a catastrophe! OMG, Gordon, you totally need to get to Lambda labs ASAP! Oh, there is an army! OMG, you got your ass busted! OMG, now you need to, like, make a run for it through all the minefields and choppers and the remains of army and shit! Whew, now the army is retreating! Hello, Lambda Labs! Oh, it seems like I'm a Chosen One - and that only I can take out the Big Bad! And now welcome to Xen. And now the Big Bad's dead. And now the Mysterious "Government" person tells us that we work for a sort of intergalactic superhero agency, with the alternative being an instadeath, true HL- and AW-style) in a time when, you know, Marathon 2 and Realms of the Haunting (talking about shitty level-design with way too much of useless extra space) already existed. And yes, "ZOMG environmental storytelling, mysteries-without-answers yadda-yadda-yadda", it still doesn't make the _script_ any less non-existent and boring. It sucks Heart-of-Darkness' and Messiah's ass in terms of density of perceivable situational variety. It has this wide variety of hitscanners, oneshotting-grenade-throwing-assholes, bullet sponges, blood cousins of Daikatana's jumping frogs and mosquitoes, and the "enemies" that could hurt you only if you played with your eyes closed - all of them slow and static (could even one of HL's enemies fire on the run? I honestly don't remember) - which are "oh so a fucking blast" to fight with ("b-b-b-b-but different AIs!"), especially with a HP-and-armor classical shooter mechanic (regen was introduced into genre specifically to circumvent the gamedesigning problems that get introduced with "realistic" hitscan and near-hitscan weapons). It has the fucking first-person platforming, the fucking escort missions and the fucking On the Rails and Residue Processing chapters. It has this particular AW's gamedesign where you either do it EXACTLY as the gamedesigners decided you will - or you get you ass handed to you almost immediately, or get instadeathed by another trap...

Yeah, you know, instead of "Citizen Kane"s of gaming, I think, I'll do perfectly fine with the games which aren't a boring ugly piece of shit to play, and the games that, you know, have non-crap level design, made by the people who understood what could and could not induce varied and interesting level exploration, instead of "pushing the genre forward" with "revolutionary intuitive empty corridor to press an X there repeatedly" (not to mention that there are much more interesting examples of such corridors even in C-grade games already). You know, games like DOOM1-2 (yes, Petersen's levels were not all that nice to look at - they also were a BLAST to play), Cybermage, Shadow Warrior and Unreal (yes, it has quite a bit of extra space, it's also a MUCH quicker game than Half-Life ever was, not to mention wonderful vistas with all the vibrant colors, that make it worth the time). The sad thing is that I'll still need to play the damn thing one more time in any case.
[/rage_mode]

 

[Infinitron]