Half Life 2: What's the appeal?

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OK throwing saw blades to cut zombies in half with the gravity gun was pretty fun alright.

 

Just thought I'd add an update. I did actually enjoy the game quite a bit. I'm not sure if it just took getting used to (I hadn't played a shooter in years prior to this). As Barmy says, there really is a lot to the game that keeps it fresh from chapter to chapter, even though it's mostly the same thing.

I finished HL2 and episode 1, and I think I'm just about to finish episode 2 (I just got my car equipped with the Magnusson device to go out and hunt Striders; I'm pretty sure that'll be the end once I'm done with however many there are out there).

One of my favorite parts to HL2 was the electromagnet crane. You could pick up shipping containers and drop them on the Combines to kill them, you had to use the crane to knock down a raised bridge so you could cross, and then you had to pick up your dune buggy with it to continue. Good stuff It was also a lot of fun when you had the antlions as allies, and that bridge level was spectacular.

The end fight with the Strider in episode 1 was good fun too. Hiding and navigating behind containers and metal sheeting until you could reach some rockets, then quick pop-up to hit it with a rocket and ducking back behind the cover. Good fun once again.

In episode 2, running through the antlion hive with the guardian on your tail as you duck into small tunnels to avoid it. Also the auto-gun and the field of junk cars. It was so satisfying after crawling along the car husks to avoid the auto-gun fire to have that unlimited carton of grenades to toss into the building to take out all the Combines in there. Really great.

The super gravity gun at the end of HL2 and the beginning of episode 1 was really fun too; just suck up Combines from afar and punt them into the others

I also like the levels where you have to take out snipers. Toss in a grenade, or a rolling mine, or shoot the window with a rocket while avoiding getting shot.

Dislikes:
Zombines and their grenades. That one part in episode one in the dark waiting for the lift to arrive while endless zombie-creatures attack was such a PITA. I don't know how many times an unseen Zombine grenade killed me. In general, through all the HL2 games the zombie levels were the most tedious although Ravenholme was fun due to all the saw blades lying around.

The Hunters in episode 2. I must be missing some weakness or something because I use tons of ammo from the pulse rifle and/or the shotgun to take them down, and they send several at a time at you. Argh!

The endless streams of antlions when they're not your allies. Gah! In HL2 you had to pick up and drop crap to avoid stepping directly on the sand; tedious! In episode 1 (IIRC) you had to knock cars into their holes to stuff them up; man that garage level was a pain! What was it three or four holes, and you had to find that many cars to stuff them with? Ugh!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I don't get why the Combine bombard the cities with headcrab rockets. The zombies are always fighting the Combine, and there are even zombie Combines! So, what's the point of infesting the place with headcrabs? Seems like a bad idea.

 

Ooh! There are going to be Hunters along with the Striders? Ack! I think I'll just try to run them down with my car then... Hopefully that'll work.

 

Done! Yeah running the Hunters down worked pretty well though they didn't make it easy. There were lots of logs around tp throw at them too, but I don't like that much because you can't see around what you're throwing to aim very well.

 

You mean the energy grenade from the pulse rifle will kill them in one shot?! Oh man, I almost never use that thing since you don't find all that many of them. But I'm pretty sure I found at least a couple before that trap gets sprung along the road. That would have come in pretty handy then had I known; there's like three or four of them to kill.

How about the crossbow? I hardly ever use that either. Does it take many shots to kill them with it?