| M3n2c3 |
2007-12-14 11:32 AM |
I love Half-Life. I have since the very moment of the initial resonance cascade, as I sat in a dark room in December of 1998, watching as everything went to hell on my computer monitor.
But I love Orange Box in particular, right now.
Not since the days of DOOM, Heretic, Jedi Knight and Quake have I been so content to play a single FPS so much. Whereas most shooters feel boring after the first or second (or sometimes during the first) playthrough, HL2 stays exciting though multiple plays. Even when you know what's going to happen in a particular set-piece, it's always a blast to play around with cover, take advantage of the physics system, and try to get through action movie-style while taking as little damage as possible. It doesn't hurt that the presentation rocks and the characters are believable.
I'm slowly working on the xb360 version right now, while dividing my attention amongst a few other titles (finished Assassin's Creed and Beautiful Katamari, working on Mass Effect, Metroid Prime 3, and Mario Galaxy). I'm in the middle of Follow Freeman, with nearly 16 hours on the clock - I've been savoring the gameplay, taking my time with areas and exploring the environments, gawking at the graphics and playing with the physics (if you'll pardon the weak alliteration), tracking down achievements. . . and loving every minute of it.
I've played through Portal multiple times already, listened to all the developer commentary, finished the advanced maps, and gotten at least a bronze score on all of the challenges (with silver on several and gold on one or two), and I still go back to it often. I'm thinking about buying the PC standalone on Steam so I can try to snag gold on all challenges (nearly impossible, at least for me, with an xb360 controller).
I'm also looking forward immensely to finishing ep1 and playing ep2.
All the other big FPS series out there have had their black sheep: Quake 4 was underwhelming, Unreal II and Unreal Championship were both pretty bad, DOOM 3 was fun but too far removed from the first, Hexen II was almost embarrassing, Halo 2's single-player was atrocious, Dark Forces' presentation went way downhill with Jedi Academy, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor have had their sub-par middle-child installments, and Duke Nukem, well. . . has Duke Nukem Forever. :lol:
Half-Life, on the other hand, has been consistently good. The first game set a new standard for FPS scripting and plotlines that other developers have struggled to match. Even the Gearbox-developed expansions were top-quality and added immensely to the HL mythos while cleverly tying in to the original timeline of events - even offering glimpses of familiar locales and situations as they occurred. I still go back to Half-Life often, and am amazed how well the gameplay holds up nearly ten years later.
The robust, Quake-based HL engine was also conducive to both SP and MP mods, spawning timeless official and user-created add-ons such as Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress Classic, They Hunger, and the Xeno Project.
HL2 is no different. The gameplay once again raises the bar for shooters, especially in immersive storytelling and scripted action setpieces, and the expansions continue to offer the same high level of gameplay quality, even while updating the Source engine with improved graphics and features. There have also been a number of user mods released, such as MINERVA and Garry's Mod.
Even Portal can be considered a triple-A title - at least in terms of quality, even in spite of the minimal quantity - and while not a Half-Life title per se, it still ties in with the HL2 storyline and suggests what may be possible with the new technology in future installments.
It is also a testament to Valve's hard work and skill that Orange Box on the XB360, despite its main game being three years old, can stand tall next to recent titles such as Bioshock and Halo 3. And don't get me started on the value of the Orange Box - classic industry geek that I am, it gets me giddy just thinking about how much gameplay they lovingly crammed in to a single $50 or $60 package for us. There are publishers out there who should be ashamed to compare their supposed $60 worth of gameplay to the Orange Box.
So, yeah. . . I love Half-Life. Here's hoping that the series continues strong. Maybe Valve will cook up some nice surprise for the 10 year anniversary. :)
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