Brerlappin wrote:Played a bit of Half Life 2 this last week. I always get an itch to play it this time of year, pretty much just because i got it on launch in November 2004. Playing it with the officially sanctioned by Valve HL2 Update mod, which does a very nice, very subtle update to some of the original graphics (better lighting, fog, etc). At 4K and 60fps it really still looks quite nice. Its aged very well. It has its issues with the length of certain sections but i still love it. Every time i play it i cant help but remember how revolutionary this all was when i first palyed it. I dont think ive actually ever experienced a game that was as absolutely revolutionary as HL2 was on release. At the time the other 2 big shooters Were Doom 3 and Halo 2, and i remember both games (especially Halo) being tainted by just how much better HL2 was by comparison. Doom 3 at least had its incredible lighting, but i remember playing Halo 2 and it just seemed like i was stepping back in time whenever i fired that game up.
For me HL2 was the game which made me realise I really don't like First Person Shooters all that much, I can appreciate it from a technical and artistic perspective as it did attempt to redefine the genre but as a gaming experience I just couldn't get into it at all
Ravenholme was the final straw, I'm not ashamed to admit it was too scary for me, I can handle most 'scary' films and non FPS games but there's something about the first person perspective that renders me a nervous gibbering wreck and I genuinely don't like the feeling.