What exactly did Half Life do that was so ground breaking?

[Zixinus]

Now I'm saying this from memory, it's been a long time since I played either game, and I haven't played Sin Episodes, the modern remake.

It's not a remake but a continuation of the series. To be short, it's OK, but still essentially a HL2 mod with a rather gratuitous bikini scene that couldn't ponder more to the immature teenage demographic if it tried.

I've actually decided to push it up again, just to see how it feels to play it now. I recall that the action itself was fine (it had like three weapons, but still), but the beginning scene was tiring even for a 16-year old.

There was no more episodes to it and frankly, that's hardly surprising. One annoying thing, is that they made the protagonist silent for absolutely no fucking reason at all, while the previous game at least tried to deliver something witty from time to time to you.

[frogcurry]

Sin was innovative in some respects at the time. I only played the demo level (first level) but it introduced the first destructable terrain I saw in a game (windows that shot out, and a big billboard you could knock over to kill someone) and a vehicle combat scene (the chopper) that was segued-into without any interruption from the in-game engine rendered introduction. Also there were innocents on the level (ehhmmm, big breasted curiously identical female innocents admittedly), a few decent set scenes for the combat, reloading guns, and enemies which you fought in a relatively realistic looking building. However the absolutely abyssmal loading times for the game were enough to kill it off as a contender, plus it just lacked something in the atmosphere compared to Half-life.

I played Half-Life at a friends shortly after trying out Sin. And it was truly awesome in comparison. Things that haven't been mentioned yet, but which add to the already long list of "why it was great":
- The giant bug thing in the rocket silo. One of the most innovative enemies in a game ever.
- The fact that sound played a part in the game. Your enemies responded to noise, and could be surprised if you were quieter. (this maybe wasn't the first time this was in a game, but I never particularly noticed it in an FPS before this)
- "Internal bleeding detected. Administering morphine" - the HEV was a pretty good way of explaining why you were so goddamn tough, without being some sort of uber-trooper born and bred for war.
- loneliness. Maybe this was just me, but the atmosphere works well in the earlier part of the game, with the feeling that you are on your own and no-one is coming to save you.

I suspect that in 5 years time, some newbie is going to be asking what the fuss about Gears of War was, since every other game now has the same cover/dodge and regenerating health mechanisms.

[Stark]

Sin was an ambitious idea but just sucked on nearly every technical level. But hey, minigun level!

HL used music and sound to really enforce the idea of loneliness in the early/mid part of the game. It all goes to shit later, and of course HL2 is a poorly concieved political statement instead of a game.

The Gears example is amusing, because the genre HAS largely split between cover systems and classic twitch gameplay like CoD. It's funny how some ideas spread fast, and some are ignored for ten years.

[Jade Falcon]

There were also some damned cunning trap areas. Remember for instance that warehouse that was laced with laser trip mines?

The Xen part seems to however have been the part that was almost universally disliked, at least in comparison to the Black Mesa levels.

[Oskuro]

I liked Xen, you get to fight a giant testicle.



Ok, I agree it was the weakest part of the game, the idea was nice, but the execution lacking. Half-Life was always lacking in the artistic department, specially when it came to maps, they had quite a B-movie feel to it, all looking like empty corridors with a few boxes posing as computers. Xen strained the map-makers creativity, and it shows. The problem is that Xen's gameplay was extremely dependant on level architecture, so it suffers a lot from weak design.

I mean, compare it, for example, with Quake's architecture. Yes, it was brown, but it directed the gameflow so well that all single player levels were effective as deathmatch arenas. Not that such a dual-role is necessary, but good mapmaking is not to be understimated.

And for me, the most awesome moment was when they throw you into the trash compactor, particularly because I deduced what was going on from the soldiers' dialog, and thus began frantically climbing the boxes as soon as I regained control, instead of wasting precious seconds trying to figure it out. It was sad that on replaying the game I found out that you must move at glacial speeds for the compactor to ever get you.

And Snarks are adorable.

[Stark]

HL map design might have been bad (but I think it was better than most current maps, really) but it became the standard. Every office building is five s-bend corridors and two rooms. Every warehouse is actually concrete tunnels with two rooms. Meat-packing plants are like funnels.

[Uraniun235]

HL used music and sound to really enforce the idea of loneliness in the early/mid part of the game. It all goes to shit later, and of course HL2 is a poorly concieved political statement instead of a game.

What was the political statement they were going for? Is it supposed to be a clumsy anti-war/occupation message?

[Nephtys]

HL used music and sound to really enforce the idea of loneliness in the early/mid part of the game. It all goes to shit later, and of course HL2 is a poorly concieved political statement instead of a game.

What was the political statement they were going for? Is it supposed to be a clumsy anti-war/occupation message?

HL2 is a political statement? Against what? The Alien-Industrial Complex?

HL used music to go 'oh look, shit's hitting the fan because the techno just turned on'.

[VF5SS]

Really, the best description I can give is the ye olde review of the game, which states all these "revolutionary" things that we consider normal today. That's why HL is a big deal, it's basically rewrote the average FPS game.

On a related note following through that review to the one of Blue Shift, I have to wonder why do many reviewers regard Blue Shift as being inferior to Opposing Force? I'd say pound for pound, Blue Shift is a much better expansion than soldier-monster grindbox. Yeah it's more of the same, but at least it does it well. Opposing Force throws in a bunch of weird gimmick weapons and switches the flashlight to GREEN VISION mode. To this day I'll never understand why Shepard was so eager to stick his hand up the butt of random aliens just to pull their triggers.

[Vendetta]

I have to wonder why do many reviewers regard Blue Shift as being inferior to Opposing Force?

Mostly because it's only about five minutes long.

To this day I'll never understand why Shepard was so eager to stick his hand up the butt of random aliens just to pull their triggers.

He's doing his bit for interplanetary relations.

[VF5SS]

Mostly because it's only about five minutes long.

It's still a better game than Opposing Force. Which is ironically more like someone's attempt to do Quake 2 with the Half Life engine complete with a super Marine with (literally) powered armor. Even the interaction with Shepard is less interesting than "Calhooouuuun." It is kind of strange in retrospect since Half Life 2 has you fighting more Marine type enemies and zombies than monsters, which is a lot like Opposing Force. Although to be fair, Half Life 2 makes shooting dudes in the face a lot more visceral than regular Half Life so its not a bullet hose grind.

He's doing his bit for interplanetary relations.

He really liked that fish gun.

[Zixinus]

It all goes to shit later, and of course HL2 is a poorly concieved political statement instead of a game.

Could you explain this please?

I've recently replayed HL2 and aside the idea that obeying alien invaders that totalled your planet in six hours is a bad idea, I cannot see any political statements. The story is too thin for that, or at least, not enough of it is revealed for any such thing.

The Combine's policies, aside their hilariously inefficient idea of slavery and why humans should join (really, don't tell me its easier and cheaper to process and feed stalkers than to just create suitable drones), is never given clearly enough to make any sort of political statement applicable to current political.

You could argue that it opposes collectivisation and the forsaking of individuality for the sake of society as a whole, as well as returning to 19th century ideals and values of revolutionary progress but I think that's just reading into things.

[Shadowtraveler]

HL used music to go 'oh look, shit's hitting the fan because the techno just turned on'.

Wait, Half-Life had music? I've never actually heard any until I replayed the game on Steam.

[DPDarkPrimus]

HL used music to go 'oh look, shit's hitting the fan because the techno just turned on'.

Wait, Half-Life had music? I've never actually heard any until I replayed the game on Steam.

Only if you had the disc in.