I guess I'll take you up on that offer then ;)

I already told you about my history of Steam abstention, etc. which is, more or less, the only reason I've not gotten the game yet. That I will have to play it sometime soon, there is no real question. Half-Life, the original, is one of my favourite games. Unlike others in the category, which usually have some quirk that strongly appeals to me but are not considered anything special by players and critics, in general, HL is there purely for its greatness. It's a great game! The pacing, the atmosphere, the story, the design - they all add up to something truly special and magnificent. Recently, when someone made a giveaway (for Thief, I believe), asking what people's favourite level ever is, I spent a lot of time thinking, and thinking, and I couldn't come up with a better answer than "Surface Tension". I tried - it somehow didn't seem right to pick HL, when there were the Jedi Knights, and Age of Kings, and so many unforgettable maps for StarCraft, Quake, etc. But I just couldn't. "Surface Tension" seems to be a damn-near perfect level! And HL is one damn-near perfect game :-)

What's all this to do with the sequel, then? Well, apparently it's a good game. Who'da thunk it?! I've played the demo, read the reviews, seen some further gameplay, still haven't spoiled myself (most surprising). It doesn't seem to be quite as good a game as its predecessor, for all the critical hullabaloo around it, but it still seems like a damn good game - not quite a modern cover shooter, not quite an old maze-and-monsters one. I'm pretty sure the gameplay won't surprise me with anything (then again, my experience with the gravity gun is rather limited), but maybe the story will. I'm not particularly fond of the new setting and apparent atmosphere, but I'm still hopeful that, if I were to play the game through to the end, it might acquire it's own unique feel, something to let it stand on its own, independent of the first game. I've not heard bad things about any of these things - story, atmosphere, pacing - so I'm optimistic, especially considering how the original HL is self-contained and it's nigh impossible to retcon and ruin it. On the other hand, if it's anything like StarCraft 2 or The Old Republic, please keep it and never EVER allow me to play it!

So, in a very brief and truncated nutshell, this is why I'd like to play Half-Life 2. If you feel like it's enough to justify putting a gravity gun in my inept appendages, all the better. If not, I'm sure you'll have all the right reasons.

I don't think anyone's gonna beat this. I'll give it until the end of the day (EST), if no one else does a better job of convincing, its yours. If I somehow get episode 1 and 2 (this might happen, they haven't finished adding games to my account for the steam hardware beta), I'll give the winner those too.

If you liked Half-Life, I'm sure you'd love HL2. They're both equally great games IMO.

Thank you for the kind vote of confidence, I do occasionally try to raise the standard for entries, tough it doesn't usually work and just scares people off :P
But you never know. DON'T DESPAIR, FOLKS! CONVINCE PYTER PORKR!

Hmmm... the weird site bug that doesnt highlight new posts seems to have returned for me!
I actually thought this thread had died a death of deathy death death.

Better than the time some threads showed no activity for two days (even when checking for replies) only to magically have two days worth of posts appear later on...

You win, PMing you now.

And Sachys.. you should update the thread! ;)

Many thanks, friendly neighbourhood spoderman! I guess I really was the last person not to have played it -_^

I have no idea where to begin! O_o?

I like games with great stories, but the series I've followed is the bioshock series. The half life fans I have met all claim its superiority and I'm really curious as to why that is. I have avoided looking at the story too much so that the story could surprise me if I did decide to get it, but I'm not sure that it is quite what I would be into. So I have given it a pass at all the steam sales. I'm wondering if you've played any of the bioshock games, and if so would a bioshock fan enjoy half life in your opinion?

I haven't played Bioshock 1 or 2 so I can't really compare them much, but Half-Life/Half-Life 2 are more focused on gameplay than story IMO. Bioshock is supposedly more focused on story than gameplay.

ok thanks

I consider myself a BioShock fan, but I also immensely enjoyed HL/HL2. Granted the "story" in the HL series isn't quite as immersive as BioShock, in my opinion anyway, but still enjoyable nevertheless.

The two, in my mind, are not directly comparable, as one comes across as more "paranoid action", whilst the other is more of a "spooky thriller" -- OK, so those may be film terms, but it's easiest to describe them that way! :-)

i agree with you, i am also a big fan of bioshock because of it's story. However i could not get into HL/HL2, i feel that the story is not has good i have hoped.

This still going :P I might be able to add a http://www.desura.com/games/chester

I want the game because I'm sure I've been a somewhat good person