Playing Portal, and reflecting on the Half-Life franchise has inspired me to replay Half-Life 2. I've owned the game since it first came out, but I never played through it from start to finish more than once. Yeah, I did like how you can restart from chapters in HL2. I've played through Ravenholm many times, but not the whole game from start to finish until now.
In some ways, HL2 is better than the first, but in some ways, it's worse than HL1. HL2 doesn't have as many weapons as the first. Also, you can't kill civilians. This makes the game easier, but also makes the player unable to commit acts of schadenfreude. Admit it, you liked it when you crowbarred a scientist just to hear him scream, didn't you? Also, HL2 is not as long as HL1. I don't know about Episode 1 and 2 and 3, but HL2 doesn't last as long as HL1. This is rather nitpicky, because HL2 is longer than, say, Max Payne 2. You still get plenty of bang for your buck. Lastly, you can't gib enemies in HL2, barring Antlions.
But in some ways, HL2 is better than HL1. Aside from improved production values, the shotgun and crossbow are way more powerful in HL2 than in HL1, making them more useful. And, although many weapons from HL1 and Opposing Force don't appear in HL2, it doesn't matter because you have vehicles. And the Gravity Gun. All hail the Gravity Gun. The enemy AI is improved, and it's not as challenging as HL1. It's more, useful friendly than the first, if you will. And let's not forget, Citadel makes for a much better endgame than Xen, am I right? (Be thankful I don't spell it "amirite?" like a fuckin' llama.) And Dr. Breen is a rather memorable villain, I think.
So, either way, Half-Life is the epitome of action games that play from a first-person perspective. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise. I've played through HL1 and OF at least three times each; I think it's only fair I play through HL2 more than once. It deserves it.
P.S. You wanna see somethin' absolutely fuckin' hilarious for all those who've played the singleplayer mode of HL1? Watch this series on Machinima.com. Now you know why Gordon Freeman doesn't ever talk in the actual games.
