Im still trying to see how half life 2 is better... Yeah, the set pieces are maybe a tag bit better, but HL2 gunplay is quite lacking even to lesser shooters than halo. Games like FEAR own Half Life 2 enemy AI and gun fights.
HL2 does have a great story, music is awesome...weapons are great...but as an FPS I come to the table for the shooting part, and the shooting in Hal Life has always been a little on the safe side.
Half Life 2 has a very engaging story/setting, great atmosphere, great gameplay, great AI. Halo is a completely different style of FPS than Half Life though. Halo is the epitome of console style shooters (which means more than just dual analogue versus mouse and keyboard) while Half Life is the epitome of PC style shooters. Yes, other games do some things better, such as FEAR having superior AI, but as a complete package Half Life is deservedly, widely considered the best.
The Combines made me miss the Marines from the original Half-Life.
Halo isn't a just a "console" based shooter, it's a action packed combat shooter that focuses more on a combat than anything else. Halo's combat is far superior than Half-Life 2's or even the first one. Halo even has better A.I.
Yes, Half Life 2 did have the most sophisticated AI at it's time. Though FEAR came out not that long after and blew it away. Of course, when a game has sophisticated AI the enemies are left to their own accord more often and thus there's more potential for embarassment. Just look at STALKER for proof of the point.
I agree that F.E.A.R. blows away the competition when it comes to A.I. but S.T.A.L.K.E.R..... well usually they're very good but they never use grenades and there are some questionable quirks.
