Monday 31 January 2022

Brief thoughts on Half Life 2 and why I like it

 While the combat isn't super great, the game more than makes up for with it's sheer variety of gameplay. One minute you will be avoiding an overwhelming force chanding you down a canal, then you will be on a vehicle, then you are in a weird horror setting killing monsters with traps, then you are avoid traps and I can go on but a lot of the game just throws an interesting scenario almost every section. 

Another thing great about the game is the narrative foreshadowing, you can walk to a door leading to Ravenholm and you are told not to go there, and then eventually due to unforseen circumstances you are forced to go there. Second example, you are told not to go on Highway 17 and eventully Gordon goes on there, and how the ending chapters slowly has the player slowly make his way to the Citadel. 

This is the final thing that makes the game so great. It's the fact that you never leave Gordon's perspective, it makes it FEEL like you are going on a big epic journey. Any other game, there would be a load screen and a pass in time but in HL2, load screens keep you in Gordon's perspective maintaining that sense of continuity. No game captures that feeling of being on a journey like this game does.

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