I just marathoned the first level of Half Life and I honestly don't get why it was so famous back in the day. Does it get better?
I'm going to assume you meant chapter, not level (map)
It stays about the same, give it another chapter.
It had lots of very fun set pieces and was the first a lot of players had to experience them. Running up to an artillery piece or heavy machine gun and actually being able to use it. Seeing a vent and actually being able to crawl inside it.
Mod community was also huge. Several modern full fledged companies got their start modding HL. When you were done playing the game, there was a bunch of extra levels available on PC Gamer CDs or off the internet, and lots of great multiplayer mods.
>>2806192
Depends, what 'first level'?
The reason it was so famous is because it looked great and played unlike what had been typical for FPSes since Doom. I remember the level of graphical realism adding a lot to the fun of the weapons, combat and especially level exploration.
It's insanely overrated, but it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination.
Well, except for the ending levels. Fuck those.
It basically killed the FPS genre with a bunch shitty dialogue and "story".
>>2806192
How old are you, OP?
>>2806192
Wait until you get to Office Complex, or later, the silo.
>>2806223
I honestly think it's worth most of it's praise.
Xen isn't the greatest though.
>>2806227
Yeah, nobody should ever try anything new, shooters should never try to have story, everything should just have text crawls like in Doom.
Just get fucked.
>>2806192
>first level of HL
>marathon
Is an hour a "marathon" for you, lol? Yes, it gets better, but even then, if you don't get why even the intro was highly regarded, you don't know a lot about vidya history. NOTE: this is not the same as saying you should still love it today.
>>2806227
There's barely any story or dialogue in HL outside of the pre-accident section.
>>2806270
I want to play games, if I want a good story I'd read a fucking book.
>>2806282
okay but what does that have to do with HL
HL a long intro and then about as much story as Doom, if you want to complain you should be complaining about linearity and scripted cinematic events
lrn 2 hate
>>2806290
>scripted cinematic events
>not story
I'm actually a huge fan of what half life started, the scripted cinematic events are pretty sweet in modern FPS
>>2806291
I guess you could call it "story" when soldiers rappel down and shoot at you, or when something blows up and a tank crashes through the wall and whatever, but that's pretty silly
might as well call it "story" when you trip a linedef in Doom and cause a bunch of monsters to teleport in
>>2806294
properly used they can be an excellent addition to a solid core game, they allow scenarios that wouldn't be possible solely left to level design + enemy placement
>>2806192
fuck your a faggot a few minutes is hardly A FUCKING MARATHON
>>2806192
It revolutionized FPS with its cinematic storytelling and scripted events. It also spawned Counter strike
>>2806282
Appreciate something for what it is.
A story doesn't have to be mindblowing to be told.
The story to Doom is barebones, but I like that it's there and setting up the premise for the game.
Doom has little plot, yet this helps you immerse yourself into it by filling in the blanks by yourself.
Likewise, the plot to Wolfenstein 3D is about as barebones, but it helps set the tone for the game, the atmosphere, the mood, which helps, because of the rudimentary nature of how levels are constructed in the game and how it's actually rather simple.
Half-Life has more plot, but not so much plot it's overwhelming or drags out. It has enough plot for the kind of game that it is, it doesn't need more, but I think taking away the plot from Half-Life I think would hurt it, the narrative is just right for what it tries to do.
Just because some games don't do it well doesn't mean it shouldn't be done at all.
Now, is there games where there is absolutely too much plot? Yes, there's games that typically suffer from the addition of plot, I agree with Maddox that Tetris shouldn't EVER have a story.
>>2806192
>first level
pfff, just wait until you get to Xen
>>2806227
You're thinking of the god awful second game friend
>>2806294
I think it can be great if done properly.
Far Cry 3 didn't have excellent writing across the board (though it certainly had it's high notes) the main character's arc and his desire for vengeance against Vaas really felt convincing and it pulled me in, like I wanted revenge just as bad as he did, it felt motivating. For the kind of game that it is, I think it has the right amount of story at most parts.
Hell, the story itself doesn't even have to be anything interesting, by just having interesting characters, that's enough. And they don't even have to be deep or stand out with their personality, they just have to be able to get your attention and make you interested.
Or for a more /vr/ example, look at Strife, a lot of the game's charm lies in it's characters, it's presentation, the story, the setting. The gameplay isn't amazing, it's certainly not the reason I remember the game.
>>2806349
I was blown away by HL2 as a kid.
Playing it recently, a lot of it's novelty isn't as powerful.
It's still fun, but it certainly has things that I thought was fantastic then, but now look back on and think somewhat differently about.
>>2806192
>marathoned
>first level
I recognise this meme.
>>2806223
Seconding this.
Very, very overrated.
>>2806192
Friends + WorldCraft + LAN Death Match + mods = fuuuuuuuuuuuun
>>2806275
Half of that "level" it's the subway sequence.
>>2806192
>My 3 year old attention span can't handle riding on a train for 5 minutes
For fucks sake
>>2806735
Cry some more you 12 year old faggot.
>>2806192
>First level
>marathon
kek
>>2806192
Kinda felt the same OP. IMO the beginning was the best and the final area was the worst. It's an alright game but it overstays its welcome by being too long. I originally played it on PS2 and I feel like I should go through the PC version but just the thought of doing so is exhausting.
