TL;DR: it’s a classic for a reason.
Synopsis: a man runs away from an authoritarian government that tries to kill him.
My two favorite genre of games are first person shooters and single player RPGs; I have already reviewed and played Bioshock and Deus Ex, so I revisited Half Life 2. The first time I played this game as a teenager, I thought it was mediocre and massively overrated, but I no longer think that’s the case.
I’m personally not a fan of the visuals, they are soulless and bland, though they’re still passable. The sound effects are fantastic. On a technical level, the game can run at high FPS even with high graphics settings, and performs well on both linux and windows.
The zeitgeist of the game is dated: wholesome chungus apolitical rebels fighting off against an authoritarian dystopian police state. From a historical perspective it’s excusable, but now it can’t help but feel kitsch. The story of the game itself is fine, not bad, but not particularly entertaining.
While the story and the graphics aren’t particularly attractive, the gameplay is by far the best part of the game, and is what makes it a great game. As an anti-iron sights advocate I like that the weapons are hipfire, which allows you to aim comfortably without constraining your vision. The gameplay takes a drop in quality in the later levels due to the annoying ships and stalkers which take forever to kill, otherwise it was an enjoyable experience.
Design (15/20):
Atmosphere: (4/5) - dystopia/zombies/aliens angle is old
Graphics: (4/5) - dated but well optimized
UI: (2/2)
Bugs: (2/2) - nothing
Sound: (2/2) - great, especially guns/explosions
OST: (1/2) - nothing that catches the eye
Character designs: (0/2) - disappointing, actually.
Script (15/25):
Character Investment: (2/5)
Character Realism: (2/2)
Character Complexity: (1/3)
Writing: (6/10)
Ending: (4/5)
Gameplay (28/30):
Skill expression: (9/10)
RNG: (5/5)
Satisfaction: (9/10)
Optionality: (3/3)
Novelty: (2/2)
Value (10/15):
Skill: (4/5)
Originality: (4/5) - original and revolutionary for its time
Thematic elements: (2/5) - black and white “muh dystopia” tier writing
Enjoyment (8/10):
Did I like it: (8/10) - incredible game
I like ikt because it created skibi toilet and Dr breen was a eugenicist
Lol the parts where you praised the game is what reviewers usually pan it for, all in all though I agree.