Half-Life 2 Revisited

After saying a few days ago that Far Cry 2 is the best FPS ever, I thought I would revisit the previous holder of the crown, Half-Life 2, for a quick comparison, and to check I wasn't talking complete bo***cks.

Hmmm, HL2 was damn good.


Graphically, HL2 can't compete with FC2, but it still does a pretty good job of creating realistic environments. After all, when the action is frenetic, who cares whether each blade of grass is rendered or not?

Unlike Far Cry 2, Half-Life 2 was, of course, pretty well completely linear, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing - at least you know where you're going (usually). Having said that, one of the joys of FC2 was planning how you would approach an enemy encampment, and then executing that plan (and, hopefully, a few enemies). Going back to HL2, I missed that freedom.


But in the end, such differences are meaningless. All that matters is: was is a good game? The resounding answer is: no, it wasn't a good game, it was a bloody fantastic game, and still holds a share of the crown. I think my visit to HL2 may turn into a lengthy stay...