the purpose of the source engine isnt poly count. Its the scalability of the engine.

....Which is pretty wank by todays standards. I'm referring to the OP praising HL2s graphics saying it looks great nowadays, and while it does look fine, it's nothing on modern games e.g. STALKER, FEAR, Crysis.

For scale, Operation FLashpoint 2 has a draw distance of 30km, and a better poly count. All I'm trying to say is that the OP's original comment just isn't true when you look at the graphical quality of modern games.

Killzone 2 has moments where you fully lose control of your character (being pulled up a wall) or your point of view is moved away (to look at a passing tank.) Half Life 2 never does this. Much like real life, if you're not looking in a certain direction, you can miss something amazing happening for a split second. While trapped in the teleportation device near the start of the game for example, you can simply stare at the floor if you want and miss the entire spectacle.

The same 'up to the player' game design exists when the player encounters puzzles. Unlike other FPS games where a particular weapon is presented to the player to achieve a specific task and the NPC's continue to shout and rant until you do, HL2 offers very little in the way of obvious clues or suggestions from NPC's how to pass by the next puzzle/barrier. This forces the player to carefully study his surroundings and apply logic to the situation, further engrossing him in the scene.

HL2 is also played, for the most part, at the speed at which you decide to progress. There's no on-the-rails moments or grenade spamming if you decide to hang back and not push forward. While it might not offer full freedom to the player, it's less restricting then most FPS in this regard. Especially taking into consideration the large sections of exploration and lulls in the fighting.

As for making a connection with the character, if he's mute it's hard to either hate or love him. You simply accept that he exists and that because he doesn't speak, he must be judged, therefore, by his actions alone. Which are yours to control.

The scripted reactions to your behaviour like "come along gordon" if you're lagging behind or "gordon stop that!" if you break something or hit them, further lend credit to the overall idea that your personality is shining through Gordon. You are Gordon.

....Which is pretty wank by todays standards. I'm referring to the OP praising HL2s graphics saying it looks great nowadays, and while it does look fine, it's nothing on modern games e.g. STALKER, FEAR, Crysis.

For scale, Operation FLashpoint 2 has a draw distance of 30km, and a better poly count. All I'm trying to say is that the OP's original comment just isn't true when you look at the graphical quality of modern games.

Why does every post I make end up the last on a page!  I think pretty much every post I've made last 8 or 9 days has ended up lost at the bottom of the page... it's a cons[iracy, and I'm going to break it by quoting my own post!

Well HL2 looks much better than bioshock, cod4, and r2 in my opinion

So let me get this right:

The reason why HL2 is seen as the best FPS ever is because you don't have cutscenes whether pre-rendered or in game? The fact that this mixed with a mute protaginist prevents all character development for the protaginist doesn't matter? Or that it's cleary a thin-veil as you can't actually by yourself in the game, hence the invincible characters etc?

It just seems a waste of time. You may shoot for gordon, look around and walk for him, but ultimatly he makes the big decisions, not you, as you have a completely linear path to go down. Just creates for me a very annoying gaming experience as the game tries as hard to pretend you are in control, when you are anything but in control.

Well HL2 looks much better than bioshock, cod4, and r2 in my opinion