First of all, the first Half-Life was very impressive at the time it was released and the only negative thing I can remember about it is Xen, which was just silly. I must've played the game through at least a couple of times. I also enjoyed playing Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift, although after these two it all started to feel like a bit too much of the same thing. Even so, I was a fan.

Half-Life 2 received very, very good reviews when it was released, but for me it was a disappointment. It just failed to impress on all fronts. I'm not saying there was much wrong as such: the graphics were good, the plot was decent, the NPCs had believable personalities etc. It was just missing the magic the first Half-Life had and as a result, I didn't really care what happened to Gordon or humanity. I only got bored. Some years ago I decided to give Half-Life 2 a second chance and bought the Orange Box for my PS3. So far I think I've played it for about 15 minutes and I doubt I'll be returning to it any time soon. I'm just glad the game was on sale when I bought it...

The reason I still recommend this game is that it seems to be widely considered as One of the Best Games ever (don't believe the hype!); a classic that will be remembered years from now. This means there's a chance you'll like it very much. And if you don't, at least you'll know what people are/have been talking about.

First of all, the first Half-Life was very impressive at the time it was released and the only negative thing I can remember about it is Xen, which was just silly. I must've played the game through at least a couple of times. I also enjoyed playing Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift, although after these two it all started to feel like a bit too much of the same thing. Even so, I was a fan. Half-Life 2 received very, very good reviews when it was released, but for me it was a disappointment. It just failed to impress on all fronts. I'm not saying there was much wrong as such: the graphics were good, the plot was decent, the NPCs had believable personalities etc. It was just missing the magic the first Half-Life had and as a result, I didn't really care what happened to Gordon or humanity. I only got bored. Some years ago I decided to give Half-Life 2 a second chance and bought the Orange Box for my PS3. So far I think I've played it for about 15 minutes and I doubt I'll be returning to it any time soon. I'm just glad the game was on sale when I bought it... The reason I still recommend this game is that it seems to be widely considered as One of the Best Games ever (don't believe the hype!); a classic that will be remembered years from now. This means there's a chance you'll like it very much. And if you don't, at least you'll know what people are/have been talking about.