Half Life noob, which version to start with?

super_furry

Honestly I'd say skip the first and go straight to the second. While ground breaking at the time, Half-Life is a pretty bog standard shooter by today's standards - everything that came after it took what it did and tried to improve and expand on it. Half-Life 2 on the other hand still stands up today and still looks pretty damn amazing on even an old PC.

Monotype

Blazer wrote: »

Tried playing HL2 during the week but the loading scenes just annoyed the hell outta me so I uninstalled it..

Get an SSD, those load times nearly melt away.

super_furry

super_furry wrote: »

Honestly I'd say skip the first and go straight to the second. While ground breaking at the time, Half-Life is a pretty bog standard shooter by today's standards - everything that came after it took what it did and tried to improve and expand on it. Half-Life 2 on the other hand still stands up today and still looks pretty damn amazing on even an old PC.

Blasphemy!

keane2097

I was never able to play either HL1 or HL2 because they gave me motion sickness - true story.

johnny_ultimate

Honestly, I'd say simply follow the order they've been released in. You could go for the Source version of the first game, but honestly I feel the standard first game and its expansion actually hold up well and have a certain charm about their early 3D graphics. Maybe have some of the texture mods etc... installed if you so wish, but it's a game I have never felt to be in desperate need of redrawn characters or upressed detail.

Amazing looking at Half Life 2 today and seeing how extraordinary it still looks a decade (!!!!!!) after release. Character models are still absolutely exemplary. You have to wonder what those magicians at Valve will come out with when Source 2 arrives, as the original must have been one of the most brilliant, robust engines in gaming history - heck, it's still being adapted by the likes of Titanfall.

TheFullDuck

I forgot to add, HL2 is worth it alone for the level Ravenholm. perfect blend of action, puzzles and tension the whole way through! still one of the best levels in a single player game I've ever played.

Kiith

Download the FakeFactory Cinematic mod for HL2 as well. Makes it look absolutely brilliant, even by today's standards.

Just don't activate the utterly **** custom models. Unless you like pornstar Alex and Baywatch Barney.

Blazer

Monotype wrote: »

Get an SSD, those load times nearly melt away.

I have ...Samsung's latest 512GB one
Still annoys me but I might give it a another shot.

Cravez

All this talk is making me want to go back and play them again....

C14N

super_furry wrote: »

Honestly I'd say skip the first and go straight to the second. While ground breaking at the time, Half-Life is a pretty bog standard shooter by today's standards - everything that came after it took what it did and tried to improve and expand on it. Half-Life 2 on the other hand still stands up today and still looks pretty damn amazing on even an old PC.

I really just want to play it for the story. I've often heard that it's a very good early example of storytelling through gameplay and I want to look at that. I was also very confused about what was going on in HL2 at the start having missed the story from HL1.

TheFullDuck wrote: »

I forgot to add, HL2 is worth it alone for the level Ravenholm. perfect blend of action, puzzles and tension the whole way through! still one of the best levels in a single player game I've ever played.

I've actually played Ravenholm twice. It was included in the demo for HL2 and it was one of the first games I ever played after building my PC. I got that far again on my HL2 playthrough. I completely agree though, that level had me completely on-edge, I literally jumped a few different times playing through.

Kiith wrote: »

Download the FakeFactory Cinematic mod for HL2 as well. Makes it look absolutely brilliant, even by today's standards.

Just don't activate the utterly **** custom models. Unless you like pornstar Alex and Baywatch Barney.

Are mods easy enough to install for HL? I remember fiddling around with Skyrim mods and had to get a friend to help with the extra software and editing .ini files and everything.

Cravez

Nah it should be alot easier, it's mainly texture/mesh file dumps rather than scripting and config file changes like Skyrim can have.

Mr. CooL ICE

TheFullDuck wrote: »

I forgot to add, HL2 is worth it alone for the level Ravenholm

We don't go to Ravenholm any more...

Vicxas

God Ravenholm, the memories

Kiith

C14N wrote: »

Are mods easy enough to install for HL? I remember fiddling around with Skyrim mods and had to get a friend to help with the extra software and editing .ini files and everything.

Yeah, they are easy to install. It's a file you run, and then select what you want to install (character models, textures etc...). Takes a few mins to install, and then you just run it through the shortcut that gets created on install.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you have to run each game, hl2, ep1 and ep 2 once before you install the mod though

just start a new game and exit out of it once it loads

Maximus Alexander

I would hate to have missed out on Half-Life, to date the experience of playing it for the first time back in 98/99 remains the best gaming experience of my life. The following 5 years of mods and multiplayer aren't far behind either.

To be honest, I think that it's still good enough to hold up today if you can get over the graphics - there are shooters which have come out in the last couple of years that don't have a patch on it. If you stick on some headphones and immerse yourself in the world you'll have a blast.

Thargor

Im constantly tempted to replay HL2 but Im saving it for the Oculus Rift!

Cravez

For me personally, the year 1998 onwards when I started playing Half Life and then subsequently the mods afterwards like Counter Strike (very early version), Action Half Life, Team Fortress etc were probably some of my favourite gaming years to date.

Maximus Alexander

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I would hate to have missed out on Half-Life, to date the experience of playing it for the first time back in 98/99 remains the best gaming experience of my life. The following 5 years of mods and multiplayer aren't far behind either.

To be honest, I think that it's still good enough to hold up today if you can get over the graphics - there are shooters which have come out in the last couple of years that don't have a patch on it. If you stick on some headphones and immerse yourself in the world you'll have a blast.

Yes, from alot of posts here people are suggesting he should ignore it and move straight to HL2 which is wrong.

Three great games to play before he ever needs to touch the full blown sequel.

allybhoy

HL1 & 2 got me basically into PC's and gaming. I bought a graphics card donkeys ago and got a demo of the first 2 r 3 levels of HL1 with it, never heard of it before, and was utterly hooked. Went straight out and bought it, and then blue shift and opposing force.

When HL2 ws released i went out and built a custom rig especially for it complete with 28 inch monitor, i can remember the first time it loaded up, my jaw as on the floor with the texture and modelling on G-MAN's face, then as i went out the door into City 17, i was speechless. I must have played that opening 10 minutes 200 hundred times and demo'd it to 50 people, friends, parents, relations, all amazed at what was in front of them.

I dont think a series has ever been so complete and ahead of its time and i dont think we'll ever see the likes of it again. Every minute detail was perfect, the sound in particular of the weapons was so crisp... Dat Magnum in HL1, or when you gave the shotgun both barrels at the same time.

TheFullDuck

LordChessington wrote: »

We don't go to Ravenholm any more...

Starting a replay of the series this weekend, plan to play Half Life with Black Mesa and then find a save from just after Mesa ends do I can pick it up from there. Figure it's the easiest way to do it. Looking forward to seeing how the series holds up and hoping that some of the visual mods are worth the install

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

if you install the cinematic mod be prepared for prolonged "loading" every 30 seconds

Skerries

still the only games to use the crouch jump method of getting into things

anyone ever play Gunman Chronicles at the time, it was a mod made from the Half Life engine and then made into a full commercial game?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Skerries wrote: »

still the only games to use the crouch jump method of getting into things

really?

i try that in every game I play and I'm always pissed off that it doesn't work.

is it really just half life that does this?

Lemming

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

What this guy said.
I played them on PC, PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast and 360, and love them all.

Sorry to go off topic here; but I thought the Dreamcast version got canned? If you know where to pick up a Dreamcast copy of HL, I am prepared to do very bad things that are not for the consumption of mere mortal eyeballs :pac:

Retr0gamer

It never got released but it was leaked online.

TerrorFirmer

Half Life 2 on the original Xbox was an impressive feat.

I'm in the same boat, want to start the series from the beginning (have played HL1, Opposing Force and HL2 before, but have to say I enjoyed them, but didn't consider them mind blowing) and looking forward to installing the cinematic mod.

Soby

So eh :P. When's the next one out :P

CiDeRmAn

Feck Half Life 3, I'm waiting for Portal 3!
Aperture Science FTW!
Black Mesa can go suck a combustible lemon!