The Half-Life games, particularly HL1, had pretty good mechanics and were quite similar to those movement shooters/boomer shooters of yore... In fact I'd say one of the chief draws of the first game is that it does have a satisfying feel to it mechanics wise. You have lots of mobility, your movement carries weight, as do the effects of the weapons you wield. You dodge a variety of projectiles. You dart in and out with your shotgun. It's not as mobile as something like Quake, but for a solo campaign based game it ranks among the best in my experience.
Compare with Halo or CoD, where things are much more sluggish, weightless, etc., all in order to play better with a controller. Those games have their own merits, of course, but as far as the feel of movement shooters goes, which I'd say is their chief virtue, HL does a much better job.
Even Half-Life 2 does pretty well. The vehicles are clunky but, again, they carry momentum, they dispense and absorb shocks, get yoinked down by gravity. There's an enjoyable physics to everything.
Beyond that, and this goes beyond mechanics and simplicity, but their other key asset is their personality. Their mix of capital w Weird elements, hodge podges of relatively exotic sci-fi ideas, their departure from rote action genre fare (burritos getting blown up in microwaves; involved characterizations; crowbars), sets them apart narratively from most other offerings. There's maybe a Twin Peaks vibe to it if I'm not mistaken, a bit offbeat. Games like Halo do the full-on action game approach very well, and that's what most shooters aspire to, but Half-Life's got it's own little niche storywise, and so gives us something of variety.
p
The Half-Life games, particularly HL1, had pretty good mechanics and were quite similar to those movement shooters/boomer shooters of yore... In fact I'd say one of the chief draws of the first game is that it does have a satisfying feel to it mechanics wise. You have lots of mobility, your movement carries weight, as do the effects of the weapons you wield. You dodge a variety of projectiles. You dart in and out with your shotgun. It's not as mobile as something like Quake, but for a solo campaign based game it ranks among the best in my experience.
Compare with Halo or CoD, where things are much more sluggish, weightless, etc., all in order to play better with a controller. Those games have their own merits, of course, but as far as the feel of movement shooters goes, which I'd say is their chief virtue, HL does a much better job.
Even Half-Life 2 does pretty well. The vehicles are clunky but, again, they carry momentum, they dispense and absorb shocks, get yoinked down by gravity. There's an enjoyable physics to everything.
Beyond that, and this goes beyond mechanics and simplicity, but their other key asset is their personality. Their mix of capital w Weird elements, hodge podges of relatively exotic sci-fi ideas, their departure from rote action genre fare (burritos getting blown up in microwaves; involved characterizations; crowbars), sets them apart narratively from most other offerings. There's maybe a Twin Peaks vibe to it if I'm not mistaken, a bit offbeat. Games like Halo do the full-on action game approach very well, and that's what most shooters aspire to, but Half-Life's got it's own little niche storywise, and so gives us something of variety.
More options
Context Copy link