Half Life

Second one is one of the best games I've ever played a across any platform

Half-Life was amazing for its time. It took a lot of great ideas from that period of gaming and combined them into one package. At this point though, it probably hasn't aged well enough to be enjoyed by a new comer. However, a couple of years ago a mod was released that essentially recreated Hl1 with HL2 level graphics and it's great. You should definitely check it out.

Black Mesa Source

Half-Life 2 and its 2 episodes are still some of the best games ever made to this day. There is a slight over-reliance on physics-based puzzles in the main game in my opinion, but you have to keep in mind that this was one of the first games to incorporate semi-realistic physics. The tech was pretty new and you can tell the designers were experimenting with it.

And while I love the Half-Life series, I would never say they have a "great story." I think it's more the execution of the story than anything that's great. The games never shift out of the player's point of view and there are no cut scenes. It creates a very immersive experience where you always feel like *you* are the protagonist.

The reason HL3's existence has become a running joke is because of how great these games were / are but also because the story ends in a cliff-hanger.

The Last of Us is a must-play game but it takes a little while to get going after a powerful introductory sequence. Once the stealth and combat clicks, though, it makes for a very engaging gameplay / story combination.

Good summary.

Half life was an amazing game but you had to have played it in the 1998-2002 range to appreciate how revolutionary it was. It's still quite an amazing experience, it's like you're playing in one giant cutscene.

When Halo came out, I was not at all enamored with it like so many people were and I credit half life for giving me that experience first.

Half life 2 was amazing because it was better than the first in almost every way. Great games are still produced on the source engine.

And I haven't even touched on how half life spawned the greatest modding community in the history of gaming.

Valve is the last truly great pc game developer.

I do disagree with you on the story. Almost 2 decades later and the gman is still maybe the most mysterious villain in a game ever. The story appears simple and in a lot of ways it is, but I always found it quite intriguing. A good sci fi story that has yet to be butchered like blizzard has done with their games.

hl2 is considered the father of the modern fps genre by some.

quote:

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Almost 2 decades later and the gman is still maybe the most mysterious villain in a game ever.

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he's such a good villain, you aren't even sure if he is a villain. not sarcasm.

HL2 is easily one of the best games I've ever played.