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How many FPS campaigns have surpassed HL2 in the last 13 years?

CDV13

Member
I can't lie...I do not like HL2. It was a slog to play through for me. I'm sure playing it when it first came out was cool, but playing it on the Orange Box did nothing for me.

Edit: To answer the question though, COD4, Halo, Resistance, Killzone 2. Much more fun playing those games.
 

Palmer_v1

Member
I agree with the people that said Titanfall 2. I'd also add Doom and Wolfenstein as well(what fucking planet am I living on!?). I'd also argue for the Bad Company games and Metro 2099.

Prey and Dishonored are good too, but I feel like we're getting very loose with the FPS designator.
 

Lkr

Member
People saying Halo games surpass Half Life 2 make me both sad and also makes me feel very sorry for people having such a lack of taste, or just off-taste.
Lmao
I loved halo 3. Beat it before I played hl2. In 2007, HL2 was more impressive overall.
I'm not surprised it doesn't hold up. We have threads talking about how shit n64 and ps1 games used to look, it's only natural that a game from 2004 doesn't hold up anymore. I'm sure if you gave a kid super Mario 64 today after playing newer Mario games they would also ask wtf is this shit it sucks
 
All of them

I agree with this. Outside of the gravity gun I don't think HL2 is as great as everyone else says it is. HL1 was amazing for its time, 2 was lacking in everything except physics. Levels were too long, storyline was a little weak.
 
Titanfall 2, Resistance 3, Doom, Wolfenstein TNO

Singularity, Bioshock Infinite and Bulltestorm came close.

Please don't say Bioshcok 1 or 2 guys. They aren't that good.
 

Thorn

Member
Only F.E.A.R., Wolfenstein TNO, DOOM, and Titanfall 2 are even in the same ball park.

Not sure I would consider Dishonored or Portal FPS, but those are also really great.
 

Horp

Member
I know I come off like an ass :p
Kind of on purpose.
The thing is I reaaally dont get the love (or even like) for Halo, and I'm a rabid HL2 fan :)
 
The thing that I keep going back to with Half-Life 2 is that I only played through its campaign once, but all these years later, I can remember almost every single moment from that playthrough; for any game, FPS or not, it's rare when that happens for me. Too many memorable moments to count.

(Though I'm not as big on the episodes as most are; I thought Episode 1 was pretty average and Episode 2, while good, I think is a bit overrated).

I know I come off like an ass :p
Kind of on purpose.
The thing is I reaaally dont get the love (or even like) for Halo, and I'm a rabid HL2 fan :)
I've only played Halo 1, so I'm not going to pass judgment on the whole series, but Combat Evolved is just a really dreadful campaign after the first few missions. I've seen that one in particular hailed as a great campaign, and I just can't get on board with that.

I own the rest of them up through Halo 4 and still need to play them, so hopefully they get better!
 
Wow, before this thread I had no idea Titanfall 2 had a good campaign. Should I buy it?

It's an awesome action game. But I'm not understanding all these comparisons to HL2. TF2 spreads it's campaign across levels. HL2 seamlessly transitions from one location to the next. The pacing is similar in that they'll shake the gameplay up from mission to mission. But don't go in expecting the same quite moments or physics based puzzles.
 

Bumhead

Banned
Lots of games have been paced much better.

In terms of overall better, I enjoyed Portal 2, Wolfenstein, Titanfall 2 and DOOM 2016 more.
 

Falchion

Member
In addition to many of the games that have already been mentioned, I think Infinite Warfare's campaign was excellent and I enjoyed it more than HL2.
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I dunno.
None? Some came close, but I can't really think of any that surpassed it.

There are games like Stalker and Doom but they are so fundamentally different from HL2 that it's hard to compare them. Wolfenstein comes close.
Also Halo isn't even close enough to see HL2's tail lights. Nowhere near it.
 

Pooya

Member
The thing I like about HL2 is that for a good chunk of its running time 'nothing' actually happens compared with newer games. You're just going through empty building and stuff and maybe solving some simple physics puzzle. I'm not sure how receptive newer generations are to this kind of FPS where it's not full of explosions every second. The game let you just set in its world and take it in, it leaves a lasting impression because of it. The only other game that made me feel this way was The Last of Us. I guess it's a risky and difficult way to make a game, people could easily dismiss it as boring. Dishonored is similar too but it's not exactly the same experience to me. I enjoy it very much still.
 
Wow, before this thread I had no idea Titanfall 2 had a good campaign. Should I buy it?
It's a surprisingly good campaign, where there's one really great mission but the rest is still done at a high level. It's short, but it doesn't feel "too short" and it might have overstayed its welcome had it gone much longer. Certainly worth checking out.

The only other game that made me feel this way was The Last of Us.
I've made this comparison before, and I'm glad I'm not the only one! There is something there, some commonality with how their respective campaigns were crafted.
 

jtb

Banned
tbh, this just reinforces how garbage FPS campaigns are in general.

Ep 1 and 2 def surpass HL2. I liked Halo 3 and Reach, I guess. But most campaigns are overly scripted corridor zzzzz

All of the Bungie Halos have better campaigns than HL2. But HL2's campaign isn't as good as 1 or the sequels
 
Gatekeeping time:

If you weren't anticipating the original Half-Life release, and played it in 1998, and then eagerly followed the development of Half-Life 2, downloaded the leaked alpha, had your mind blown. Upgraded your computer so you could run it. Then finally got to play the final game in 2004... then I don't care about your opinion.

This post brought to you by sarcasm and is not meant to rustle any jimmies.

But for real, I think it makes a difference when you played it.

PS. Half-Life was better than HL2.
 
For me personally:
Titanfall 2
Doom (2016)
Wolfenstein: The New Order
The Bioshock series
Halo 3
The Darkness
Left 4 Dead 1/2

And if it counts: Portal 2

But I was LTTP when it comes to HL2, having first played it on 360 as part of The Orange Box. So while very solid and enjoyable it didn't wow me like I expect it did people when it first came out on PC.
 

zombieshavebrains

I have not used cocaine
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?

What am I even reading? This has to be a shitpost right?

HL2 is not the end-all-be-all it used to be but your examples are way off the mark.
 

jtb

Banned
ooo I forgot Crysis 1. Haven't played it in a while, but I remember those levels being pretty open with some damn solid gunplay. Sequels are trash. Maybe Crysis 1?

The thing I like about HL2 is that for a good chunk of its running time 'nothing' actually happens compared with newer games. You're just going through empty building and stuff and maybe solving some simple physics puzzle. I'm not sure how receptive newer generations are to this kind of FPS where it's not full of explosions every second. The game let you just set in its world and take it in, it leaves a lasting impression because of it. The only other game that made me feel this way was The Last of Us. I guess it's a risky and difficult way to make a game, people could easily dismiss it as boring.

I don't really think this is an accurate representation of HL2 or TLOU. Just because nukes aren't going off every other second or you're not "PRESS X TO PAY RESPECTS" doesn't mean that either game isn't built around your typical action game beats and encounters.
 

jtb

Banned
Damn, I hate how RIDDICK came out before HL2, because Butcher Bay shits all over HL2.

Was very unimpressed with The Darkness, though.
 
Killzone 2 is legit a great campaign too.

giphy.gif


Pretty amazing visuals and setting but completely wasted with terribly cliche game mechanics and shit voice acting imho.

It's a shame the direction they went after KZ2. Another go in that setting could have been amazing.
 
Imagine a COD campaign but you control titans sometimes and there is one excellent level that everyone remembers, everything else is forgettable for me.
Possibly because you apparently played it like a COD game? Crank up the difficulty and start playing it like an unholy hybrid of Tribes and Crysis.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Imagine a COD campaign but you control titans sometimes and there is one excellent level that everyone remembers, everything else is forgettable for me.

I bought it after a similar thread like this. It's good, but not as great as people in here make it out to be.




It's an awesome action game. But I'm not understanding all these comparisons to HL2. TF2 spreads it's campaign across levels. HL2 seamlessly transitions from one location to the next. The pacing is similar in that they'll shake the gameplay up from mission to mission. But don't go in expecting the same quite moments or physics based puzzles.


It's a surprisingly good campaign, where there's one really great mission but the rest is still done at a high level. It's short, but it doesn't feel "too short" and it might have overstayed its welcome had it gone much longer. Certainly worth checking out.

I've made this comparison before, and I'm glad I'm not the only one! There is something there, some commonality with how their respective campaigns were crafted.

Thanks! So, basically, Steam Sale or similar
 

DrD

Member
DOOM
Titanfall 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SoC and CoP
F.E.A.R.
Wolfenstein TNO

Hard to compare some of them since they’re so different but I definitely prefer these to HL2. That’s not counting other first person games like Dishonored and Prey which I wouldn’t really classify as FPS.
 

Hermii

Member
Am I the only one who didn't love titanfall 2? The foot portions were great, but when I was in a titan I couldn't wait to get back on foot.
 
Am I the only one who didn't love titanfall 2? The foot portions were great, but when I was in a titan I couldn't wait to get back on foot.
Trial by Fire is one of my favorite missions in any game in a long time. I don't think the Titan combat is properly appreciated until you are playing on Master.
 

see5harp

Member
Go back and play through it now. The pacing sucks. The constant loading sucks. The vehicles suck. Even the simple stuff like bullet firing feedback is dated and lame. Literally the only stuff I really love is the opening, and the horror section in the middle.
 
Go back and play through it now. The pacing sucks. The constant loading sucks. The vehicles suck. Even the simple stuff like bullet firing feedback is dated and lame. Literally the only stuff I really love is the opening, and the horror section in the middle.
While I agree in many ways, Nova Prospekt remains awesome.
 

Dalauz

Member
Singularity (Raven software - 2010)

also Tron 2.0 and Star Trek: Elite Force II (both 2003 iirc) have amazing SP
 
Am I the only one who didn't love titanfall 2? The foot portions were great, but when I was in a titan I couldn't wait to get back on foot.

I was not a huge fan of the direction they moved from 1 to 2, and while I enjoyed the campaign, it didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me.

For FPSes that IMO have reached "HL2" level:

STALKER: SoC - The real question is, when will get another FPS that will surpass THIS game. The answer is probably never, no one is even crazy enough to try anymore :(

Wolfenstein: TNO
Doom 2016*
Dishonored
Deus Ex: HR
Portal 2
Metro 2033/Last Light
Halo 3/ODST
 

rtcn63

Member
Quite a few. I didn't grow up with HL2, but did pick it up awhile back. Made it 2/3rds of the way through and stopped. I can see how it helped influence its betters, but it just isn't that incredible without the nostalgia goggles and went on for a bit too long.
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
All the ones I enjoyed enough to finish. Doom, Wolfenstein, Singularity, Metro, Prey, Shadow Warrior 2 and The Darkness II off the top of my head.
 
While Half Life 2 was a great game back in the day, I don't think it's aged as gracefully as some other games. It's still good, but in 2017 it's no longer an untouchable game or anything.
 
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