Catching up on Half-Life

Bwaaa · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:02

Right guys, I'm ashamed to say that i've never played any of the Half-life games. From what i've been told I really should play them so which games should I buy from Steam to get the core storyline of the series? Is blue shift necessary? Are half-life 2 part 1 & 2 different from just buying half-life 2?

Valve confuses me, help please?

scrlk · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:03

HL -> HL2 -> HL2:EP1 -> HL2:EP2

That is the official Valve story line.

magicoi · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:04

^^ yep

Enjoy, they are all crackers

Bwaaa · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:04

Mucho gracias, shall purchase them now.

Ross1234 · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:04

Story Goes:

Half Life
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 Episode 1
Half Life 2 Episode 2

To be released:
Half Life 2 Episode 3 OR Half Life 3

You really need them all to get the story

Although you can skip Half Life 1 if you want, the story is kind of separate. Great game though.

Portal games are great too and slightly tie in.

Garee · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:04

Don't forget the HL expansions.

scrlk · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:07

Garee said:
Don't forget the HL expansions.

Opposing Force and Blue Shift are not part of the 'official' storyline. However, if you want to you could still play them.

Bwaaa · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:07

Yea I was just going to play the core 4 then decide if I want the expansions afterwards.

scrlk · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:13

Bwaaa said:
Yea I was just going to play the core 4 then decide if I want the expansions afterwards.

You could possibly add Portal and Portal 2 to the list if you haven't played them already.

CaptainRAVE · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:13

Vinni3 @H|H said:
Opposing Force and Blue Shift are not part of the 'official' storyline. However, if you want to you could still play them.

They are still mighty fun though (at least they were back in their day).

the shadow · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:16

May contain spoilers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUOn2EUFhk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ0RjGYLp04&feature=related

Bwaaa · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:20

Yea I have already played both portals and absolutely love them, installing HL now.

arknor · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:29

blue shift i thought was pants but oposing forces was alright, you could just skip straight to HL2 though if you dont want to play a dated game as its sort of a reboot of the series anyway

overclick · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:38

Out of interest how long are ep1 and 2, i am ashamed to say i aint played those two yet!

gronf · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:40

Experiencing such a great series for the very first time, oh how I envy you

I've played them all to death, but I still love 'em!

gronf · 24 Apr 2011 at 18:45

overclick said:
Out of interest how long are ep1 and 2, i am ashamed to say i aint played those two yet!

It's been a while, can't quite recall relative length. However, lower your expectations of Ep1, as it's a bit...well, sub-par, but definitely worth it for a HL fan. Ep2, tho, is great!

mufc802 · 24 Apr 2011 at 19:03

overclick said:
Out of interest how long are ep1 and 2, i am ashamed to say i aint played those two yet!

They're both about half the length of Half-Life 2 (no pun intended).

Qel · 24 Apr 2011 at 19:14

jomiyo said:
Experiencing such a great series for the very first time, oh how I envy you I've played them all to death, but I still love 'em!

Was going to post the same

HL is showing its age a bit I guess but HL2 and the episodes are some of my favourite games and some of the few I've managed to play multiple times without boredom setting in.

mame · 24 Apr 2011 at 19:26

Play them all but hl2 is best then ep2 then ep1 the hl1. Ep 1 is only 3-4 hours but ep2 is about 6-7. Half life 2 is still the best game ever.

I'd probably say play hl2 then ep1 then ep2. Silly playing those 3 out of order. After that, if you still have interest, play hl1.

gropingmantis · 24 Apr 2011 at 19:29

Play all of them, Opposing force is not necessary but fun and Blue Shift will help you relate with Barney a bit more in HL2.

HL1 is still my favourite and the source version is excellent.