Firstly, sorry for the late post, my internet decided to crap itself, so I had no connection the whole Sunday. Secondly, as I’m on vacation, I don’t have access to my screenshots, so I’ll have to update the post later this week.
Half Life 2 is among the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. The (still) beautiful landscape combined with a physics-based playground was a joy to play in. But beneath all that glamour and shine so preciously, it shows how Valve’s obsessive perfectionism and forced need to evolve hampers their development and ability to ship a finished product. I wouldn’t say Half-Life 2 is a tech demo, as that wording suggests it’s unfinished or not meant to last. To me, it’s a well-crafted technological presentation with a game and story attached.
Since I had HL1 fresh in my memory, I could see how much Valve had improved. They skipped the long tech demo-train and replaced it with a short visit from G-man, who sets you up for go time. Like how New Vegas got you out of Doc Mitchell's house in no time, instead of the usual Bethesda slog-slop starts featured in Oblivion and all future titles.
As it was later revealed in the 20th anniversary celebration, Valve got stuck with episode 3 as they couldn’t create a new feature or gameplay iteration. They showed off an ice gun, flamethrower and other gadgets to manipulate the elements. Which would’ve been nice if it worked as intended, but in their hunt for the perfect solution, they got absolutely nothing. Which is a bloody shame, innit? They kicked the can longer and longer down the road, and later abandoned episode 3 as age had made the HL2 experience “too antiquated”. For me, it feels like Valve didn’t realise that people just wanted a conclusion to the story, and the need for a forced evolution wasn’t the #1 priority. Especially since the story is the strongest part of the game.
On a mechanical level, I feel like HL1 is superior to HL2. Despite the advancements in graphics and physics, they get rather passé, shooting zombines with sawblades gets rather stale compared to the tight and varied combat encounters in HL1. HL2 often feels like it's sacrificing its combat rhythm in favour of showing off a new toy. Cool the first time, dull the fifth. The spectacle wears thin. The environments in HL2 are gorgeous, but they also suffer from being segmented. HL1 felt like one huge complex falling apart in real time; you could trace your steps back. HL2 is stitched together through loading screens and forced vehicle segments that make it feel more like disconnected chapters than one cohesive journey.
I also miss the wide arsenal featured in Half Life, same with the enemy variety. It does make sense from a lore perspective, but I would have loved to kill some giant alien freaks like the gargantua, the gonarch and the race X freaks.
What did amaze me the most is that Valve instantly managed to establish how brutal and all-encompassing the combined regime of Earth is, methodical sorting of the train riders, dehumanising apparel of the soldiers and the oppressive architecture. Nothing was spared, and they sucked the life out of the earth. Quite literally, as there are no longer any oceans.
In the end, I understand why people love Half Life 2; the characters are all unique and funny, and you care about them. The groundbreaking physics manipulation changed gaming forever, and for that, I am ever grateful, but in the end, the game itself doesn’t have the same replay value as HL1.
See ya on Wednesday!
