ssj12 said: Even without the box set all 3 games are top 10 worthy, together it being #1 is truly worth it. Yes everyone top 3 games of all time 1. HL2 2. Zelda: OoT 3. Mario 64 (4. Mario Galaxy - just to let you know)

 wow that's really meaningful coming from ssj

I don't get the Half-Life 2 love. The game was damn boring. Half-life shits all over it.

Why is half-life 2 so highly rated?

omgwtfbbq said: I don't get the Half-Life 2 love. The game was damn boring. Half-life shits all over it. Why is half-life 2 so highly rated?

The story might be a little weaker but it's infinite beauty knows no ends.The original Half Life couldnt stand up to any other games of it's time visually thats why HL2 is rated as it is. HL2 still tops every game with it's insane physics and beauty. And it has the gravity gun. 

HL2 is incredible for many reasons. It managed to create an incredible physics engine and gorgeous visuals and artwork without mind-blowing system requirements. Along with those physics game the Gravity Gun and some brilliant Physics puzzles. It isn't as fast paced as Half-Life was, but it's a much more intelligent shooter so to speak.

Well the thing is. Each game within the box deserves it's own score. They all are brilliant. Just because for the first time ever we are not made to pay 20£ for every one individually doesnt mean they arent reviewed seperately. Hell Portal is longer than Call of Duty 4!!!!!!!!!!

I played the original Half-Life again after finishing HL2, Episode 1, and Episode 2. It made me realize just how OLD the original Half-Life is. Half-Life was groundbreaking when it came out, but it doesn't hold a candle to HL2. It's immediately obvious how much Valve has learned about gaming in the intervening period.

Well you could technically pay $20+ for each game if you wanted to get them all individually (which you can on steam). Not that I'd recommend it because the three main games of the Orange Box (Ep2, Portal, TF2) come at about or a little over the same price as the Orange Box itself yet you get HL2 and Ep1 as well.

Anyway, you can also get EVERY valve game available on steam for $100 too and that looks like a pretty good deal if you've lived under a rock or have never played a lot of games on your PC over the last 8 years.

You could make your own top ten list.

Lists don't really mean anything. Just play what you enjoy.

Also, I don't know how much more I could really add to the other posts. Half-Life had more fast paced action, but Half-Life 2 is pretty awesome none the less.

Also, I loved the scientists from Half-Life and it was even better with Dr Kliener in Half-Life 2 because that voice was behind a unique character who could be built upon as opposed to all the scientists in the first game. The same thing goes with Barney.

"Hey Mr. Freeman" 

<Walks into the next room>

"Hey Mr. Freeman"

<"Wait, didn't I just see you in the last room???">

It's even better to get like 4 Barneys following you and fighting enemies at the same time. Playing through the begining of Blue Shift is the same way, lol.  

naznatips said: HL2 is incredible for many reasons. It managed to create an incredible physics engine and gorgeous visuals and artwork without mind-blowing system requirements. Along with those physics game the Gravity Gun and some brilliant Physics puzzles. It isn't as fast paced as Half-Life was, but it's a much more intelligent shooter so to speak.

That's just it. It had groundbreaking physics and gorgeous visuals. The engine was top notch and ran well on low end pc's. But that's it. The physics puzzles were boring and seemed forced just to show off the coolness of it (oh look, another group of bad guys standing on a rickety wooden ledge teetering over a cliff. I wonder why they keep doing that?). The actual game was hours and hours of riding around in a damn hoverboat. The gravity gun was ok but really got old after a little while, and the last sequence where you only have the gravity gun was frankly boring (pick up, throw, repeat ad infinitum).

Sure the game was ground breaking in its way but I had to force myself to finish it, and I loved the first one. I finished the first one about 7 or 8 times, including op4 and blue shift. It says something that I barely managed to finish HL2 and have absolutely no interest in playing Episodes 1 and 2. HL2 had too much of the Doom feel about it, ie, "We just made this really cool engine, let's show it off", rather than making a game that was fun to play.