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[oni-link]

I'm replaying this and the episodes at the moment (for the first time since 2011) and they're still blowing me away.

I'm a few chapters into Episode Two right now, but everything HL2 is just fantastic

The atmosphere, the world building, the sense of progression, the pacing, It puts most modern games to shame

It's been 13 years since this game came out, and that got me thinking. How many FPS campaigns have surpassed HL2 in the last 13 years?

If you don't think any have, then do you think any have come close?

 

[iMax]

Titanfall 2's campaign blew me away. So much so, that if Valve wanted Respawn to make Half-Life 3, I think they'd smash it.

 

[Pandy]

Titanfall 2

...
EDIT: Bioshock was later? Then that too, and I'll throw Infinite in while I'm at it.

 

[Masterspeed]

Titanfall 2 was so much better than expected for an EA shooter in 2016.

 

[DocSeuss]

Uh... too many to name? Half-Life 2 isn't great from a mechanical or a narrative perspective, which are the two things we play FPSes for.

Halo 3 shits on Half-Life 2. Bulletstorm demolishes it on a narrative front. Titanfall 2 blows it away. Doom outplays it. Call of Duty 4 has dramatically better pacing. Crysis is way more interesting in the combat department. FEAR is the second greatest first person shooter of all time.

Half-Life 2 is a low bar. It would be easier to list worse FPSes. You got Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Darkest of Days, Legendary, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Halo 4, Halo 5, Black Ops 1-3... probably some others?

 

[TheRedSnifit]

FEAR
Crysis
Titanfall 2
Doom 2016
Wolfenstein New Order
Serious Sam 3

Anybody saying Bioshock is wrong though.

 

[Gnome Scat]

Wolfenstein: The New Order
Titanfall 2
DOOM (2016)
Portal 2

Titanfall 2's campaign blew me away. So much so, that if Valve wanted Respawn to make Half-Life 3, I think they'd smash it.

Yeah, Respawn has an amazing track record for FPS campaigns. They did Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Call of Duty 1, 2, 4, and MW2, which were all fantastic for their times.

 

[The End]

Titanfall 2
Doom 2016
Wolfenstein: TNO

That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure I could dig up at least a dozen more.

HL2 was revolutionary at the time but it has not aged well.

Stuff like Ravenholm is still great but there's long stretches of like, terrible vehicle sequences and awkward physics puzzles that are junk.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I think Serious Sam 3 and Doom 2016 are both better. They (especially SS3) don't really have Half-Life 2's great presentation, but as action games they are much richer.

 

[Ouren]

All of them

 

[nbnt]

Bioshock
Call of Duty 4
Doom 2016

And others. HL2 played today isn't that great of a game.

 

[xviper]

Halo games, Bioshock 1, titanfall 2, Portal 2, Modern warfare games

 

[Lord of Ostia]

Titanfall 2, DOOM 2016, Prey, Resistance 3, Metro Last Light...I'm sure there are plenty others. Half life 2 is good but it's not really better than many modern FPS campaigns.

 

[Glass Shark]

Wolfenstein: The New Order
Titanfall 2
DOOM (2016)
Portal 2

Yep, all of these for sure. I'm not sure HL2 has aged super well.

 

[bathsalts]

Imo FEAR, Doom, STALKER, Crysis, TF2 for sure

maybe- Bulletstorm, SS3 and Metro

Definitely not- Wolf TNO, any form of Killzone, Resistance or Halo

 

[DomsPlaying]

I expect lots of Titanfall 2 mentions in this thread.

Personally, if I had to pick one, it would be Wolfenstein TNO.

 

[Strangelove77]

Tons of them. Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Titanfall 2, Wolfenstein TNO, Resistance 3, both Metro games, Doom, Halo, Halo 3, Portal, and Portal 2.

And these are just the ones I've played and remember off the top of my head. Who knows how many other great campaigns I've missed.

 

[SomTervo]

A handful. Wolfenstein TNO, arguably DOOM, from what I've heard Titanfall 2 and possibly CoD Infinite Warfare.

If we include "immersive sims, definitely PREY and Dishonored 1/2. Bioshock.

Arguably FEAR but only in gunplay and AI.

Condemned: Criminal Origins.

Portal.

 

[Neolombax]

Titanfall 2. Also, Infinite Warfare's campaign is kinda dope.

 

[DocSeuss]

Imo FEAR, Doom, STALKER, Crysis, TF2 for sure

maybe- Bulletstorm, SS3 and Metro

Definitely not- Wolf TNO, any form of Killzone, Resistance or Halo

Resistance 3 is a better game than Half-Life 2. Not sure why you'd say TNO isn't as good--it's got better guns, better enemies, better variety, better pacing, better storytelling... like, I can't think of a single thing that TNO does worse than Half-Life 2 except maybe texture resolution. >_>

Titanfall 2. Also, Infinite Warfare's campaign is kinda dope.

Yo, Infinite Warfare is super dope and everyone should play it. Best 6DOF combat I've ever encountered.

 

[elohel]

Man I need to play titanfall 2 lol

 

[dodo021]

Titanfall 2's campaign blew me away. So much so, that if Valve wanted Respawn to make Half-Life 3, I think they'd smash it.

Titanfall 2 use the Source Engine 2, so the studio are ready ^^

 

[Slayven]

Titanfall 2

Shit had no right being that damn good

 

[AllEchse]

FEAR
Crysis
Titanfall 2

FEAR gets repetetive regarding set piece variety. The AI Scripting is better though.

And Crysis shits the bed after the first half.

Half-Life 2 has far more variety and mixes things up more often.

I think Half-Life 2 just stays far more consistent.
It's by no means as perfext as some people say though.

Don't know about Titanfall 2.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

A handful. Wolfenstein TNO, arguably DOOM, from what I've heard Titanfall 2 and possibly CoD Infinite Warfare.

If we include "immersive sims, definitely PREY and Dishonored 1/2.

Arguably FEAR but only in gunplay and AI.

Condemned: Criminal Origins.

If we're counting FEAR for its AI, then we also have to include its level design, which is intrisically linked to the AI.

And if we're saying its AI, gunplay, and level design are all better, we may as well concede that the game as a whole is better.

 

[SomTervo]

Killzone 2 is legit a great campaign too.

1 and 3 and SF are not good, but 2? Fuck yes.

 

[Rolf NB]

You guys need to play Timeshift.

 

[Maledict]

Tons. Half Life 2 was genre defining, and introduced many incredible concepts that shaped gaming from that point onwards - but it's aged terribly. There isn't a single thing it does that other games haven't done better, except maybe seesaw physics puzzles.

Half life 2 (the original game) has aged terribly.

 

[BossDarkseid]

Fear, DOOM, Stalker, Titanfall 2, Wolfenstein TNO, BioShock, Modern Warfare, Halo 3...probably lots more. HL2 was great, is still good, but it's not a game that is transcendent of the time it was made.

Granted it was incredibly influential and a standard setter and is still one of those games I feel every PC Gamer should play or try at least once, but it doesn't play as well as some games, doesn't look as good and mechanically doesn't flow that well.

Then again even on a Campaign front I feel like MW, TNO, Halo 3 and Fear alone work better now.

 

[Rickenslacker]

I have a bunch in mind so I'm just gonna list 'em. I can elaborate on any of them if need be.

F.E.A.R., Far Cry 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Resistance 3, DOOM, Titanfall 2, Perfect Dark Zero, Bulletstorm, Call of Juarez Gunslinger, Wolfenstein: The New Order.

And if I can stretch things a bit I'd include the likes of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Prey 2017 in the mix as well, but they're not entirely pure FPS.

 

[kadotsu]

I don't like HL2 that much but I love the episodes. Those still feel modern when I play them. I'll add post Far Cry 2 to the list of games that eclipsed it.

 

[onemanasylum]

Don't get the titanfall 2 mentions at all, was OK, but 4 hours long and nothing special imo.... Stalker is one of the best shooters ever, roughness and all.

After saying that I expect another rush of "HL2" is overrated, despite most games people list borrowing directly from it. Very few shooters touch HL2 imo.

Bioshock infinite cannot hold HL2's jock strap, gunplay was mediocre at best.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Bioshock
Call of Duty 4
Doom 2016

And others. HL2 played today isn't that great of a game.

I vehemently disagree. Hl2 is still an amazing single player with great set pieces and aside of some filler mostly great pacing.

 

[d00d3n]

The Darkness, Left 4 Dead, Crysis, Crysis 2, Far Cry 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Singularity, Wolfenstein: New Order, Metro: Last Light and Titanfall 2 all surpassed it in different ways. Bloodlines, Human Revolution, Mankind Divided, Dishonored 1 and Dishonored 2 also surpassed it if you venture into the immersive sim space. Escape from Butcher Bay and Far Cry surpassed it before it was even released.

 

[momshotdad]

Bioshock 1 & Infinite
Doom 2016
Wolfenstein TNO
Titanfall 2
Halo 3
Black Ops 2
Darkness 1 & 2

 

[iMax]

Titanfall 2 use the Source Engine 2, so the studio are ready ^^

It's a heavily modified version of Source in the same way Call of Duty's engine is a heavily modified version of id Tech—but yeah, as a result of that, they'd definitely be ready to hit the ground running (pun intended)!

 

[TheRedSnifit]

FEAR gets repetetive regarding set piece variety. The AI Scripting is better though.

And Crysis shits the bed after the first half.

Half-Life 2 has far more variety and mixes things up more often.

I think Half-Life 2 just stays far more consistent.
It's by no means as perfext as some people say though.

Don't know about Titanfall 2.

FEAR has vastly superior encounter design and actual gameplay.

Crsyis's first half (2/3rds, really) are wildly superior to anything in HL2 (and most games).

 

[immortald3ath]

Halo 3
Cod 4
Doom

 

[Whompa02]

Honestly when you compare HL2 to the games before it and the games that released up until today to HL2, there's not much that's nearly as revolutionary as HL2 was.

Marginally better games today? Maybe. As revolutionary? Not even fucking close.

HL2 took games to the next level. I haven't seen a game since that advanced the tech and gameplay variety and versatility as much as HL2 did.

 

[10k]

Bioshock
Wolfenstein The New Order
Doom
Titanfall 2

All blew me away and immersed me for different reasons. Loved them all more than. HL2.

Edit: Portal 2 and Halo 3 as well. How could I forget lol?

 

[OBias]

Dishonored and the new Prey are the only games that surpassed Half-Life 2, in my opinion.

 

[Gestault]

I feel like if I say "too many to count," it'll sound like a shitty quip, but if I actually list off a block of names, that also comes across as a shitty quip.

So whatever. A lot. A lot of campaigns have surpassed HL2 for some of the same reasons we loved HL2 in the first place. But absolute standounts for me would include Bioshock, Titanfall 2, and Halo 3 ODST. I'm specifically naming these because they work storytelling into the environments/gameplay in a similar enough way that it's not just "these cutscenes are awesome!"

 

[killatopak]

there's a lot.

 

[Ryan_MSF]

Honestly when you compare HL2 to the games before it and the games that released up until today to HL2, there's not much that's nearly as revolutionary as HL2 was.

Marginally better games today? Maybe. As revolutionary? Not even fucking close.

HL2 took games to the next level. I haven't seen a game since that advanced the tech and gameplay variety and versatility as much as HL2 did.

Completely spot on. Whilst looking back on it today it's easy to see it's flaws, at release it was mind blowing.

 

[KDC720]

Quite a lot of them, 2007 and 2016 were outstanding years for shooters in particular.

I still think HL2 holds up fairly well, but it's not the benchmark it once was.

 

[Cranster]

Halo 2.

 

[EGM1966]

hmm. Not convinced by the mentioned games. HL2 through to EP2 overall I don't feel has been surpassed in terms as of balancing an actual narrative, characters, gameplay variety and ntroducing new mechanics to the genre.

Sure individual games might have better shooting or graphics (especially the latter) but as a whole package? I'd need receipts to believe that not lists.

 

[backflip10019]

Titanfall 2
DOOM
Wolfenstein The New Order
Halo 3

Half-Life 2 kind of doesn't hold up that well when I think about it today.

 

[Plasma]

For me too many to name off of the top of my head. I like HL2 but thinking about it now the only level I look back at fondly is we don't go to ravenholm.

 

[Fancy Clown]

In terms of gunplay and story there have been quite a few that have been listed here. But I think in terms of pacing and atmosphere very few, if any, have matched it. It feels like a real adventure in a real world, there's such a strong sense of place, and it rarely feels like a connection of levels strung together. The vehicle levels people complain about make the world seem huge and real, especially since they are peppered with spots that feel organic for you to get out and explore.