timppu: I finished HL2 originally back when it was still a relatively new game... and replayed it all through a couple of years ago, also to finally play the Episodes.

I don't remember being annoyed by the physics puzzles, but there was one section though that made me realize the physics in HL2 are actually pretty cool. There is one level where you are driving the car/buggy through the roads, and there is a closed gate blocking your way.

The first time I played it, I recall I used my physics gun to pile up trash on top of each other against the gate, so that I could create a "ledge". Then I pushed my car with my physics gun via that ledge over the gate to the other side, and went to the other side by foot (I don't recall if I had to climb that same ledge, or if it was possible to just walk to the other side without the car), and continued driving. Problem solved.

The second time I played that game... Oh! Oh! There is actually a switch in a nearby hut that opens the gate! How come I missed that the first time I played the game?

How cool is that, being able to find your own solution to the problem via the game physics? I am pretty sure the game designers didn't really intend me to be able to get past the gate without opening it, but I did anyway, in a way that made sense to me. :)

And yeah, I also liked throwing those saw blades with my physics gun to the zombies, cutting them in two. Another great use for the game physics.

Overall, when I played HL2 the first time, I had this "meh, but ok..." feeling, but for some reason I liked the game much better when I played it again (a couple of years ago). It was better than I had remembered, and I was also surprised how good it still looked, given its age (albeit I am pretty sure it has received lots of graphical updates since when I first played it, making it look even more modern; like the ones that came with the Lost Coast).

Barefoot_Monkey: Breath of Fire - the sheer frequency of random encounters.

227: Oh yeah, encounter rates. I've never had a problem with it in BoF games, personally, but Lufia & The Fortress of Doom is nigh unplayable because of its absurd encounter rate.

Klumpen0815: Emulators to the rescue!
Fast forward button + autofire button.

viperfdl: HalfLife - German cut version

ExiL0n: This isn't probably perceived as an issue by the majority of the users, but I'm an anxious completionist!
I'm really, really bugged by games with "now or never" sections that prevent you to get something consistent - a skill, a secret level or such.
Just to make an example, I stopped playing Final Fantasies (I'm talking about the older ones, I have no idea about the latter) due to this: I found myself losing hours trying to steal from every monster, checking every bush to be sure not to miss any item/spell/secret (well, I also hate using walkthroughs XD). I lose touch with the story, even though it's great.

Not to mention games that allow you to replay older scenes, but forget to tell you the "non-return" point to the final part. GAH!

Barefoot_Monkey: Breath of Fire - the sheer frequency of random encounters.

dtgreene: That game has a cheap readily available item that eliminates random encounters entirely for a while. Why not use that item instead of complaining about there being too many random encounters? (I actually don't like to use that item except while hunting, as I feel it cheapens the (already too easy) difficulty.)

Barefoot_Monkey: What on earth prompted such an angry response? I played Breath of Fire and know very well what Mrbl3 is. I wouldn't have finished the game without it.