DO try it again, it's ridiculously fun. Not to mention immersive to the max. Nearly every time I jump trying to reach for something high up I tend to bob my head towards my monitor. Happens with all games.
Can't wait for episode 3; once it's released Hλlf Life 3 is released.
Halo.
The bad-assery of the master-chief isn't the only good thing about it either, it has super replay value and all that awesome stuff which lets you play a game over and over again by yourself or with your pals against each other or on the campaign.
I haven't played on Xbox Live as I don't have Xbox Live, but they have a very large amount of people still playing online even after three years (which isn't too surprising, because of Forge).
Only bad things to say about Halo:
The Flood
Halo: ODST
I would hate to have to choose between the two. Both are fantastic and engaging franchises.
Before the original Half-Life was released, I met the Valve team at the 1998 E3 in Atlanta. They were showing a preview of the game at the Sierra booth and all of them were really excited about it. One of the things I can remember talking to them about was their "heavilly modified" Quake engine. At the time, I think they were most proud of the NPC that would follow you around and interact with you.
The cool thing about the original Half-Life is that it is almost like two games in one. The sequence at Black Mesa is long enough to be a complete game, but, (*spoiler alert*) when you enter the portal and discover the alien dimension - you realize that your wild ride has just begun. I've played all of the Half-Life games (including Opposing Force and Blue Shift) and can say that it is truely a remarkable game series.
The tone of Halo is completely different from Half-Life. While I am a die-hard Half-Life fan, I've played (and loved) all of the Halo games. In 2002 (a year after the Xbox console was released), the price was dropped to $200. So, I bought the console and Halo (since I was intrigued by the Microsoft ads on TV). As a longtime PC gamer, I was hopeful but skeptical about the game. But, after about 30 minutes of play I was completely sucked into the Halo universe and have been a fan ever since. I even did the geek thing and picked up my copy of Halo 3 at GameSpot's midnight madness release party. I have a few pictures of me with the Master Chief floating around my harddrive somewhere.
So, I hate to sit on the fence with this but it's fairly even for me. Gordon Freeman vs. Master Chief is a hard pick. You know what Gordon looks like but you know what the Master Chief sounds like (since he's voiced by the very cool Steve Downes). Sorry, but it's a tie for me.
P.S. I am looking straight at a bottle of "Rupture Farms SNOT GULP - Sinus Flavor". It's a bottle of water from the 1998 E3. I'll give 10 points to the first guy who can name the game that it comes from. I may post a picture if you're interested.
Half Life has a much more intriguing story that draws you in. Halo's got a story and a universe surrounding it, but I can't sit down and say that at any point, I felt like I was a part of it. I always just played Halo because I enjoy the online. Half Life is more story driven. Game wise, I'd have to say Half Life.
Character wise, Gordan Freeman gets his kicks for being a silent kick ass nerd who never says anything and plays completely faceless throughout the whole game series. Master Chief is a spartan who knows his place and isn't cocky about it. He's got beautiful tank-like armor that doesn't seem too bulky and just looks sweet. So when talking about the main character, I'd have to go with Master Chief.
Half Life, definitely. I put a lot of hours into Halo's multiplayer back in the day, but it was the only recent game that worked on my PC at that time. I remember it being absolutely bland and quite unbalanced, though the cars were a nice touch. I enjoyed the single player campaign as much as I enjoyed Unreal 2 or any other above-average FPS game, I don't understand why people like it quite so much.
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Assault Andy Administrator
I make other people create vaporware
Registered 29/07/2002
Points 5686
30th January, 2010 at 05:47:45 -
Halo is my favourite multiplayer FPS. Half-life 2 has a great engine, but the mods (CSS, DOD:S, TF2) are what make it. +1 to Halo.
halo is a bland shooter that brings almost nothing to the table. yeah its a great online shooter. but thats about it.
half life's story > halos'.
half life's characters > halos'.
half life's visuals > halos'. (albeit now getting a little dated. but even still, absolutely beautiful)
half life's engine technology > halos'.
valve > bungie. halo has become a money milking franchise. id rather wait 5 to 10 years for each half life installment than i would the one+ year(s) between halos.
p.s. Gordan Freeman would kick master chiefs ass... with a f**king crowbar.
I haven't played Halo, so I'm not a good judge. But I've played both Half-Lifes (plural: Half-Lives?) and I'm just not into it. HL2 has a nice feel, but the physics puzzles just bore me when I'm on an adrenaline high. And the bad guy aliens are just boring. Heck, I preferred the aliens in Mark Pay's alien game, or the ones in X-Com to the HL ones. They have a creepier feel.
But yeah, HL wins some serious points for being one of the few FPSes where you get to kill people with a crowbar. And another bonus point for being able to kill people by throwing stuff at it.
My vote is more HL: -0.5, Halo: 0.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Half-Life 2 wins just because lets face it, HL2: Episode Two was just a beautiful, beautiful game. Omg, I want to go back and play it right now. So beautiful.