Thanks for watching every one! I plan on streaming more Half-Life mods so if you want to hang out in the future, follow my twitch! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon
Water Hazard is a funny one because I did hate it the first time I played the game, just for feeling like it took so long to make any progress in the wider story... but after coming back to the game a few times I really like it, and now I actually think it's really well-paced for the story *it's* telling. It's about getting yourself out from under the eye of the regime and it really makes you feel just how tough they make that for you, or anyone who tries.
I know it’s been said to death, but Half-Life 1 and 2 have aged so incredibly well. To this day there is still nothing that plays like them, which makes them that much better in hindsight. I thought these were the future of FPS games.
@@idkwhattonamethisyoutubeac4737 They have tho. Just played them a few days ago for the first time and they are pretty great and fun. Not perfect, sure, but pretty great.
Ravenholm is a great chapter, not because of the fact that it serves as a tutorial for the gravity gun, but because your primary enemies aren't Combine, they're Xen aliens, headcrabs and their zombie victims to be specific. I was so glad to have a chapter that gave you a break from the gunfights with Combine and shifted to survival horror, making it feel a lot like the early parts of Half-Life 1.
I love "water hazard" and "highway 17". Just like "on a rail" people complain that they are too long. But for me they are meant to be very long. It makes the travel feel like it was a really long distance and you actually needed the vehicle because it was too far to walk. So making it to the end feels like an accomplishment. Like driving to other town in real life.
@DarkFederico surface tension needed you to prepare for upcoming battles a lot. look where enemys are, look where they come from and when, using snarks to lure enemys away or distract them etc. awesome chapter
It's essential to master later against them Striders, because your rockets supply WILL run out before y'can take out ONE Strider solely wit' those. So y'must resort to other ways to mince'em. Machinegun grenades only work when they lean down. The pulsar rifle's Mega Pulse is also very limited. So that 5 grenades is like an early Christmas present.
Yeah, the dislike for Water Hazard was always so weird to me. I've never really found good reason why people dislike it either; the most I see is people calling it a "slog to play" despite imo Route Kanal being worse about this.
@@NicknineTheEagle and people forgot we got introduced to manhacks at route kanal, the worst and most annoying enemy that we face multiple times with trash equipment, at least on water hazard we have only one encounter that can be skipped (yes, you can skip that section)
I would personally fault Water Hazard because Lambda caches are scattered around chase zones instead of at the pause sections. It's petty, but I find it to be a valid design flaw. Why ruin a chase scene with optinal objectives that requires you to pause the action? Note that not all Lambda caches are poorly placed within this chapter, but there are a few that you easily miss, because you are getting chased by a helicopter.
@@tavish1658 Keep in mind that Half-Life 2 didn't have achievements back when it initially came out so Lambda Locator wasn't a thing. Lambda caches were just supplies that you could use at your discretion.
Nova Prospekt will forever be my favourite chapter, starting by storming the beach and the ending holding the line in the teleporter room is just so awesome
My biggest complaint about Nova Prospect and Anti Citizen One is your path is constantly blocked by antlions and your squadmates. Especially in narrow corridors.
10:35 "You didn't have props everywhere in games before this..." or after this for that matter- still kind of wild to me that Valve is one of the few companies to realize how big of a thing it is to have so many props everywhere that interact as they would IRL. I can still think of how cool it looked in that streets of Tarkov tailer when I thought they were going to add props to that game, it looked SO cool, but well... Those props NEVER got added. That game is dead to me and anyone with a brain at this point, just one example though of a moment where I realized how much I miss props in modern games being REAL things as opposed to baked in to the level design.
lmao i relate heavily, so hyped for the future of tarkov when the streets trailer came out. isn't it crazy how almost every major video game company just turns their beauty in a dump.
As a Fallout/Bethesda and Half Life enjoyer, yeah, we just that for granted. At least Valve isn't the only one to rig the environment with numerous props with physics to play with (Bethesda could do their games better, but props placement has been quite the staple on their games since, I believe, Morrowind).
Actually that's not entirely true; Duke Nukem 3D was also pretty known 'bout loving to use lots of props an' decorations for the scenery. Sure they weren't so interactive, but hell, at least they were _there._
Ravenholm is quite possibly the chapter I always replay on. Whether in HL2 or mods that enhance the experience with more weapons and enemies added. The driveable parts of Water Hazard and Highway 17 are close contenders because you get to explore a lot of the areas and as Jarek said, they are linear but in a good way.
I think the reason I never get the urge to replay half life 2 is because of the ant lions. The gimmick is kinda neat I guess but Its not like I've never seen a "make enemies friendly" gimmick before. And ant lions are just not very fun to fight. They are boring. And SOO over used. Like 3 or more chapters where they are there to fight. You really start to feel the lack of enemy variety more soo "alien" variety when all you see are antlions for like 3-4 hours. Like did we really need ant lions in the prison chapter? Could they not use a different enemy to overrun the prison? They are the sole reason I only ever replay the first dew chapters.
Having only played HL2 twice, one thing I felt on my second playthrough is that pretty much every chapter feels like it outstays its welcome. Likely due to its focus on chapter length gimmicks.
It's all pretty subjective. I suppose I have always liked it enough overall that I don't really view it that way. I think the length of chapters is a little more like what I would have liked from the enemies: A little more difficulty and a little more effort required. It's so easy to end up with a game that is too easy or that rushes through the progression through the environments too quickly. HL2 gets it about right I think even though some of the gimmicks can sometimes make the progression feel a little artificial. HL2 may have some pacing issues, but it's not anywhere close to how much Bioshock outstays its welcome.
@@burningsheep4473 Funny that, I first played HL2 as a break from Bioshock 1 and it was so much better that I forgot to continue Bioshock until at a much later date.
@@GoodmansGhost I remember really liking Bioshock in the first half and progressively losing the enthusiasm after a while. Everything after the reveal feels a little unnecessary.
Half-Life 2 and episodes are an exception in games where I can say I love every chapter. The chapters all have their own unique themes and styles of gameplay and environments. It is mostly up to your taste. I don’t think there are any bad chapters, there are just stronger chapters than others and the worst you can see is just one small annoying section in many chapters. Water Hazard (4) is my favorite chapter (followed by 3, 6, 7, 8, and 12) and Water Hazard’s last map with the epic dam fight with the hunter-chopper and the sunset lighting the landscape in gold is my favorite map in all Half-Life.
I more or less agree with this ranking. There was never a chapter I dreaded playing but as you stated, some just aren't as good for replayability. I love Ravenholm, I knew it was going to be the top spot. I'd love a game focused around Ravenholm. My question is, would it lose its charm if it had a full game? I feel like it's rather short length is what made it just that bit more special.
Yeah I never understood the dislike for Water Hazard. Some of the stops along the way are long enough too for the chapter to feel nicely broken up between boat riding and combat/exploration.
One thing that I noticed about half life 2's chapter is that the chapters mostly all seem to be in groups of two in terms of environment or the gimmick introduced. Point insertion -> A red letter day, Black Mesa East -> Ravenholm, Highway 17 -> Sandtraps, Nova Prospekt -> Entanglement, Anticitizen one - > Follow Freeman, Our Benefactors -> Dark Energy. Half life 1 kind of had this with chapters like Blast pit and Power up, or Surface tension and forget about freeman.
Sandtraps has to be my favorite chapter personally. The don’t touch the sand section is a bit annoying but aside from that I think it’s pretty consistently excellent. Even if you don’t much care for the antlion commanding mechanic the raid on the outside of Nova Prospekt is still one of the biggest and most bombastic action setpieces in the game, and I also always find the lighthouse fight really fun and engaging. The part before then is admittedly just kinda fine though, although I do really like the atmosphere in the tunnel at the start of the chapter.
That bridge + Lab Practicum is possibly my all time favorite moment in all games, FPS for sure. My top 3 chapters 1. Highway 17 2. We Don't Go To Ravenholm 3. Nova Prospekt (yes the defence sections are tedious, but the atmosphere and visual storytelling is just incredible)
The best takeaway from how Half-Life was developed, is that the developers create a bunch of ideas, then create chapters around them and when everything is put together and made cohesive, they create the beginning of the game. It may seem like a minor thing, but creating the beginning as the last thing in the development process, ensures that the player is shown how the game works from the very start. And the only way to pull that off, is for the developers to get to know their own game first, hence why they develop all that experience before deciding how to show it off in the starting chapter. I think all game developers should follow those instructions.
I find it very amusing that the Overwatch Nexus is a building that is a 1 to 1 representation of the Serbian Parliament and I find it very amusing that I get to raid it in a game lol
Sandtraps achievement is just not possible for first timers. Even when you do remember all the item and floor plans, the game just makes you slip off the pallets and boxes for pure troll-dom! I just gave up at the 8th try and just you the platforms when possible and leg it if not enough items are used as platforms.
im glad to see some love for water hazard! while i honestly understand why people dont like how the airboat controls i think its a lot of fun personally, it feels speedy and not near as stiff as the buggy (which i tend to skip in favor of accelerated hopping)
I pretty much fully agree with your list, I was 10 years old in 2005 when I got my hands on half life 2 and the brigde from highway 17 has been my favorite part of half life 2 since then
Okay we agree on nova prospekt and entanglement. I'm doing a repeat playthrough after not doing one for a few years and those chapters are a serious slog
Ravenholm is the best chapter and the fact I can beat it with only the Gravity gun makes it that much better to the point I HATE using guns when replaying the chapter. Once you learn how to beat it with only the gravity gun using anything else make it more difficult because its not as fun. Right now the only part of Ravenholm I don't just use only gravity gun is the end. I think some of the hate from water hazard comes from the Lambda locator achievement. Water Hazard has so many of them and they are difficult to find at times because many are right near Combine solders. It makes it Difficult.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon Yes, they do: In "We don't go to Ravenholm", the Fast Zombies during Grigori's bogie scene spawn infinitely. As for "Our Benefactors", the Combie soldiers also appear infinitely from the blocked-off side passages at one of the elevators. And ye, the "Follow Freeman" final section also have infinitely coming Combine soldiers, which is just damn crap and annoying, and it plays no role at all rather than pissing off the player. Half-life 1 was no innocent in this aspect: During "We've got hostiles", the Escort Carrier would drop infinite amount of soldiers into the ventilation hatch. During "Gonarch's Lair", the small underground triple cave at the second section has infinitely coming headcrabs (who you can easily mince with the infinite ammo alien hand, so they're just as pointless as annoying).
I kinda agree with the overall ranking, but I have to say, I find fighting Striders incredibly fun, it's one of the parts i look forwards to the most on replays XD
Water Hazard Got SO Many Load Save game Because Killed By many Suprise Expecially In Hard Mode My FAVorite Follow Freeman Because FInnaly Humanity Fighting Back Full Arsenal
have you played a lot of HL2 deathmatch by any chance? the way you handle grenades reminds me of what quickly became the most popular style back then for competent players.
My favourite is Ravenholm (atmosphere, game-play, etc), of course, but I still love setting the Antlions on the enemies in the prison, and I was disappointed that this game mechanic wasn't included in Episodes 1 and 2. I did think that the boat level went on for too long (though it became more fun when the weapon was added to your boat), and I thought the game lost most of it's atmosphere at the end, when you enter the Citadel.
Half Life 2 for me its a great evolution of setpieces and level design i still remember like yesterday the pacing of the campaign from a red letter day to Route Kanal to water hazard the chapter where you are hunted by the chopper 60% of the chapter and then you become the hunter and the rest of the pacing is amazing the atmosphere the setpieces and everything this game perfectly creates and yeah some chapters have gimmickys that made them boring or loses their touch but otherwise supreme game and sequel to the most important games of all shooters and time Also Happy Birthday HL2 now having 20/21 years existing
It would be incredibly difficult for me to make such a list because I discovered that the heavy emphasis on dialogue and gimmicks that most chapters have makes me not want to play them at all (basically the majority of the game).
I don't think it makes too much sense to rank pure story chapters together with the rest. The intro is well done for what it is in my opinion and ranking it in context of "I have already done a million playthroughs" just doesn't work. Black Mesa East for me is just a nice little reward after the fairly long and not always enjoyable boat section. Specifically the helicopter chase. The way it then kicks you out of the chapter is fine but it feels pretty cliched. Like something I have seen in dozens of movies or games. I don't really have favourite or least liked chapters I think. The vehicle sections have some pacing issues perhaps, but there is still enough good about them. I definitely agree with Jarek's take on the bridge and other interesting bits and pieces. Ravenholm with the physics, good atmosphere, new enemies is also good and just long enough to make the payoff of finally getting to the priest and then getting out work. My memory of Sandtraps and the approach to Nova Prospekt is basically just that it's pretty gimmicky. Getting control of the Antlions was fun the first time through, but it's also one of those bits that just emphasizes further how weak the Comine soldiers are. It doesn't even really work as a power fantasy as HL2 just isn't very difficult. It provides some variety perhaps, but for me it's Nova Prospekt itself that is the best part here. Mostly in terms of environments, atmosphere and storytelling I suppose. Anticitizen One - again - is a nice payoff and I also remember that it was a bit of a curveball the first time through. It's nice having fellow rebels around even if their AI isn't great. The whole situation isn't overly believable, but at least it makes the world feel like it doesn't need Freeman to do every little thing. The follow-up chapter is needed to make this feel like what it is I think: An actual war. It wouldn't work as well if it was just Anticitizen One. Does it start to drag a little? Perhaps, but I remember mostly just enjoying the second half of the game, whereas the first half is more uneven. The payoff of getting to and then into the citadel is definitely very far up if I were to make a more specific ranking. But just ranking chapters by themselves wouldn't work for me.
I think Black Mesa East is less boring than Red Letter Day for repeat playthroughs because I at least have trying to score a basket with D0G's ball to look forward to in the former.
Come to think of it. A similar video would make a lot of sense for Bioshock I think. I mean considering how much trouble it has with its pacing. Especially considering the last few hours that feel almost like a separate thing in terms of story. Black Mesa had a similar issue. Chaser has a similar length, but that's just a pretty uneven game when it comes to environments. The pacing is just generally not much good in that one.
Setting up the turrets in NP is fun but ultimately boring level. For my first play, I recall liking the level where you first have the snipers fire on you from the shadows. I will post the name once I am reminded of it later in this video.
And yet, I can replay Half-Life 1 and doom a million times and not get bored. Games don't suddenly get boring because you played them before. This isn't rocket science.
Honestly Nova Prospect was always my favorite so it surprised me when you put it low. I agree on Entanglement, though. Can’t stand the defense segments. Great list otherwise.
I'd argue Red Letter Day is way more boring on repeat playthrough than Black Mesa East since it's longer, BME is at least short and you can play ball with Dog but Red Letter Day just goes on and on and onnnnnnnn. I'd definitely agree with the rest of it for sure.
Whereas the worst chapter I say in any half life game is the Residue Processing chapter from Half Life 1. Especially the conveyor belt section of the chapter.
Am I the only person whos least favorite chapter is Ravenholm? It’s way too long and drawn out and while the atmosphere is great I never found it particularly scary. H*ll id argue Halo 3 pulled off this idea better with Floodgate as that level has a great atmosphere but it doesn’t drag on too long Tbh. For the record I don’t hate Ravenholm like I hate Residue Processing for example but it’s never been a chapter I was a big fan of🤷♂️.
Never liked the cutscenes-during-gameplay model HL2 helped popularize. They could have implemented a button or item that once interacted with just skips the whole thing to save you the hassle.
ngl the other older games managed to make it more fun - shadow tower abyss for example. its not story driven really, but you get the uhhh i forgot what i wanted to say
Lmao.. That is exactly why I prefer HL2 over HL1, being alone most of the time in HL1 and you have no companion and it makes HL1 full on gameplay and no story, I felt lonely and empty and let's not forget how largely big Black Mesa is and you have to fight both the Xen creatures and the Military, but at least there's scientists and security guards
i agree with you so much with black mesa east, its such a slog to go through in repeat playthroughs, sooooo booooriiiingg atleast ravenholm is after black mesa east
Wow, being the creator of the term 'Half-Like' I wasn't expecting Jarek to absolutely despise most of HL2 except for the vehicles and Ravenholm. Controversial for sure. Still a great video.
Ok lets see if this is another bitter salty youtuber "oh water hazard chapter is the worst thing in history after Austrian painter" Oh wow, he is not. Respect increased.
I've also never understood the hate for Water Hazard. That chapter's cool! Gotta wonder what those people complaining about the boat controls are smoking... The thing handles great. It's got just the right amount of weight and momentum to its movement to give the impression that it's a vehicle with some heft to it, while still being snappy, manouverable and fun to drive around. With a more sluggish and heavier handling boat the chapter would have been slog and a chore. But nope, there's speed and action, with numerous fun stunt driving and jumping setpieces to go through. A more varied and rollercoastery chapter than Highway 17, IMO. And hey, here's another one of those guys who don't care that much for Ravenholm! I've no problems with the horror emphasis, but rather the pacing. While it's definitely commendable how the devs boldly chose to make a chapter that so drastically changes the gameplay style, and managed to pull it off quite well too, I can't help but feel it little bit too long and slow for its own good. It's stingy-ish on ammo (but thankfully not cutting out supplies altogether), heavily incentivizes the player to prioritize using the gravity gun (another hot take: most of the time in HL2, if given the choice, I'll stick with the regular guns...), cuts down the enemy variety to just zombies and headcrab, and relies a bit too heavily on one trap/physics puzzle setpiece after another. I'd be lying if I said that seeing the light at the end of the mineshaft getting bigger and brighter when approaching the end of the chapter doesn't feel like a relief that the zombie and crab fest is finally coming to an end. Now the atmosphere and tone are both quite excellent, getting back to regular Half-Life 2 feels like a breath of fresh air. It's by no means a _bad_ chapter, but it's never been among my absolute favorites, either.
Thanks for watching every one! I plan on streaming more Half-Life mods so if you want to hang out in the future, follow my twitch! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon
Water Hazard is a funny one because I did hate it the first time I played the game, just for feeling like it took so long to make any progress in the wider story... but after coming back to the game a few times I really like it, and now I actually think it's really well-paced for the story *it's* telling.
It's about getting yourself out from under the eye of the regime and it really makes you feel just how tough they make that for you, or anyone who tries.
Whats the song at 8:00?
I know it’s been said to death, but Half-Life 1 and 2 have aged so incredibly well.
To this day there is still nothing that plays like them, which makes them that much better in hindsight. I thought these were the future of FPS games.
It's a shame it never was the future.
Play more games bro, literally Prey 2017, System Shock 2, Deus Ex is the evolution of Half Life.
@@Moji55a Exactly. Anyone who says that these games have aged "amazingly" does not play many games.
@@idkwhattonamethisyoutubeac4737get over yourself
@@idkwhattonamethisyoutubeac4737
They have tho. Just played them a few days ago for the first time and they are pretty great and fun. Not perfect, sure, but pretty great.
Ravenholm is a great chapter, not because of the fact that it serves as a tutorial for the gravity gun, but because your primary enemies aren't Combine, they're Xen aliens, headcrabs and their zombie victims to be specific. I was so glad to have a chapter that gave you a break from the gunfights with Combine and shifted to survival horror, making it feel a lot like the early parts of Half-Life 1.
I love "water hazard" and "highway 17". Just like "on a rail" people complain that they are too long. But for me they are meant to be very long. It makes the travel feel like it was a really long distance and you actually needed the vehicle because it was too far to walk. So making it to the end feels like an accomplishment. Like driving to other town in real life.
For me, Half-Life 1 is surface tension, and Half-Life 2 is Highway 17.
Mine too
I hated surface tension, too hard
Same.
@DarkFederico surface tension needed you to prepare for upcoming battles a lot. look where enemys are, look where they come from and when, using snarks to lure enemys away or distract them etc. awesome chapter
Bro really likes that grenade trick
It's essential to master later against them Striders, because your rockets supply WILL run out before y'can take out ONE Strider solely wit' those. So y'must resort to other ways to mince'em. Machinegun grenades only work when they lean down. The pulsar rifle's Mega Pulse is also very limited. So that 5 grenades is like an early Christmas present.
4:48 I thought you'd love a chapter that would tend to dragon
Im jealous I didnt think of that one
Well played 👍
Yeah, the dislike for Water Hazard was always so weird to me. I've never really found good reason why people dislike it either; the most I see is people calling it a "slog to play" despite imo Route Kanal being worse about this.
For real, Route Kanal is so freaking boring.
@@NicknineTheEagle and people forgot we got introduced to manhacks at route kanal, the worst and most annoying enemy that we face multiple times with trash equipment, at least on water hazard we have only one encounter that can be skipped (yes, you can skip that section)
I would personally fault Water Hazard because Lambda caches are scattered around chase zones instead of at the pause sections. It's petty, but I find it to be a valid design flaw. Why ruin a chase scene with optinal objectives that requires you to pause the action? Note that not all Lambda caches are poorly placed within this chapter, but there are a few that you easily miss, because you are getting chased by a helicopter.
@@tavish1658 Keep in mind that Half-Life 2 didn't have achievements back when it initially came out so Lambda Locator wasn't a thing. Lambda caches were just supplies that you could use at your discretion.
i like the first parts of water hazard where i can jump around but that gets boring in a bit, and stopping every 2 minutes is annoying
1:47
bind kp_rightarrow “sv_cheats 1; host_timescale 10”
bind kp_leftarrow “host_timescale 1; sv_cheats 0”
I'm still upset that Arkane's Ravenholm game will never see the light of day.
Yes.
Nova Prospekt will forever be my favourite chapter, starting by storming the beach and the ending holding the line in the teleporter room is just so awesome
exactly!!
It’s so underrated.
🤓🤓☝️☝️Umm technically storming the beach part is sandtraps
Best character: Lazlo, the greatest mind of his generation
Winston would like to have a 'been hit' with you ☝️
My biggest complaint about Nova Prospect and Anti Citizen One is your path is constantly blocked by antlions and your squadmates. Especially in narrow corridors.
At least you can kill the antlions. Citizens on the other hand...
absolutely fuck these fucking fat rebels they piss the shit out of me
10:35 "You didn't have props everywhere in games before this..." or after this for that matter- still kind of wild to me that Valve is one of the few companies to realize how big of a thing it is to have so many props everywhere that interact as they would IRL. I can still think of how cool it looked in that streets of Tarkov tailer when I thought they were going to add props to that game, it looked SO cool, but well... Those props NEVER got added. That game is dead to me and anyone with a brain at this point, just one example though of a moment where I realized how much I miss props in modern games being REAL things as opposed to baked in to the level design.
lmao i relate heavily, so hyped for the future of tarkov when the streets trailer came out. isn't it crazy how almost every major video game company just turns their beauty in a dump.
As a Fallout/Bethesda and Half Life enjoyer, yeah, we just that for granted. At least Valve isn't the only one to rig the environment with numerous props with physics to play with (Bethesda could do their games better, but props placement has been quite the staple on their games since, I believe, Morrowind).
Actually that's not entirely true; Duke Nukem 3D was also pretty known 'bout loving to use lots of props an' decorations for the scenery. Sure they weren't so interactive, but hell, at least they were _there._
100% agree with Ravenholm. That nervous save just after the zombie reveal too was also very relatable.
Those grenade kills tho
you dont do that? i do it all the time
If y'wanna get some easier Strider kills, y'absolutely have to learn this trick, as your rockets will run out sooner than the Strider's health.
Beat Half-Life 1 and 2 for the first time a week ago so the timing couldn't be any better. Thanks Jarek.
5:49 you know what Else Is Massive
LOW
Ravenholm is quite possibly the chapter I always replay on. Whether in HL2 or mods that enhance the experience with more weapons and enemies added.
The driveable parts of Water Hazard and Highway 17 are close contenders because you get to explore a lot of the areas and as Jarek said, they are linear but in a good way.
I think the reason I never get the urge to replay half life 2 is because of the ant lions. The gimmick is kinda neat I guess but Its not like I've never seen a "make enemies friendly" gimmick before. And ant lions are just not very fun to fight. They are boring. And SOO over used. Like 3 or more chapters where they are there to fight. You really start to feel the lack of enemy variety more soo "alien" variety when all you see are antlions for like 3-4 hours. Like did we really need ant lions in the prison chapter? Could they not use a different enemy to overrun the prison? They are the sole reason I only ever replay the first dew chapters.
Having only played HL2 twice, one thing I felt on my second playthrough is that pretty much every chapter feels like it outstays its welcome. Likely due to its focus on chapter length gimmicks.
It's all pretty subjective. I suppose I have always liked it enough overall that I don't really view it that way. I think the length of chapters is a little more like what I would have liked from the enemies: A little more difficulty and a little more effort required. It's so easy to end up with a game that is too easy or that rushes through the progression through the environments too quickly. HL2 gets it about right I think even though some of the gimmicks can sometimes make the progression feel a little artificial. HL2 may have some pacing issues, but it's not anywhere close to how much Bioshock outstays its welcome.
@@burningsheep4473 Funny that, I first played HL2 as a break from Bioshock 1 and it was so much better that I forgot to continue Bioshock until at a much later date.
@@GoodmansGhost I remember really liking Bioshock in the first half and progressively losing the enthusiasm after a while. Everything after the reveal feels a little unnecessary.
@@burningsheep4473 The game was a masterpiece when it came to mood and presentation.
Half-Life 2 and episodes are an exception in games where I can say I love every chapter. The chapters all have their own unique themes and styles of gameplay and environments. It is mostly up to your taste. I don’t think there are any bad chapters, there are just stronger chapters than others and the worst you can see is just one small annoying section in many chapters. Water Hazard (4) is my favorite chapter (followed by 3, 6, 7, 8, and 12) and Water Hazard’s last map with the epic dam fight with the hunter-chopper and the sunset lighting the landscape in gold is my favorite map in all Half-Life.
I more or less agree with this ranking. There was never a chapter I dreaded playing but as you stated, some just aren't as good for replayability. I love Ravenholm, I knew it was going to be the top spot. I'd love a game focused around Ravenholm.
My question is, would it lose its charm if it had a full game? I feel like it's rather short length is what made it just that bit more special.
Half life alyx felt like a horror like/lite game kinda felt like multiple chapters where Ravenholm like
Yeah I never understood the dislike for Water Hazard. Some of the stops along the way are long enough too for the chapter to feel nicely broken up between boat riding and combat/exploration.
One thing that I noticed about half life 2's chapter is that the chapters mostly all seem to be in groups of two in terms of environment or the gimmick introduced. Point insertion -> A red letter day, Black Mesa East -> Ravenholm, Highway 17 -> Sandtraps, Nova Prospekt -> Entanglement, Anticitizen one - > Follow Freeman, Our Benefactors -> Dark Energy.
Half life 1 kind of had this with chapters like Blast pit and Power up, or Surface tension and forget about freeman.
Sandtraps has to be my favorite chapter personally. The don’t touch the sand section is a bit annoying but aside from that I think it’s pretty consistently excellent. Even if you don’t much care for the antlion commanding mechanic the raid on the outside of Nova Prospekt is still one of the biggest and most bombastic action setpieces in the game, and I also always find the lighthouse fight really fun and engaging. The part before then is admittedly just kinda fine though, although I do really like the atmosphere in the tunnel at the start of the chapter.
That bridge + Lab Practicum is possibly my all time favorite moment in all games, FPS for sure.
My top 3 chapters
1. Highway 17
2. We Don't Go To Ravenholm
3. Nova Prospekt (yes the defence sections are tedious, but the atmosphere and visual storytelling is just incredible)
The bridge when Lab Practicum plays is just even more amazing in VR.
The best takeaway from how Half-Life was developed, is that the developers create a bunch of ideas, then create chapters around them and when everything is put together and made cohesive, they create the beginning of the game. It may seem like a minor thing, but creating the beginning as the last thing in the development process, ensures that the player is shown how the game works from the very start. And the only way to pull that off, is for the developers to get to know their own game first, hence why they develop all that experience before deciding how to show it off in the starting chapter.
I think all game developers should follow those instructions.
I find it very amusing that the Overwatch Nexus is a building that is a 1 to 1 representation of the Serbian Parliament and I find it very amusing that I get to raid it in a game lol
Sandtraps achievement is just not possible for first timers. Even when you do remember all the item and floor plans, the game just makes you slip off the pallets and boxes for pure troll-dom! I just gave up at the 8th try and just you the platforms when possible and leg it if not enough items are used as platforms.
im glad to see some love for water hazard! while i honestly understand why people dont like how the airboat controls i think its a lot of fun personally, it feels speedy and not near as stiff as the buggy (which i tend to skip in favor of accelerated hopping)
I pretty much fully agree with your list, I was 10 years old in 2005 when I got my hands on half life 2 and the brigde from highway 17 has been my favorite part of half life 2 since then
Okay we agree on nova prospekt and entanglement. I'm doing a repeat playthrough after not doing one for a few years and those chapters are a serious slog
even though I rarely agree with you, you present your points in such a detailed and sensible way that's hard not to respect. great vid as always!
Nice video! I'm also a long time and repetitive Half Life player and my favorite chapters is Sandtraps, Follow Freeman and Ravenholm!
Follow Freeman that low is crazy, it's my favourite chapter in the game by far
The first time I played Ravenholm, I had to listen to cheerful music. now I can just play it normally
7:00 This is True
Sometimes i load up Half Life 2, give myself Gravity Gun and activate super Gravity Gun and just feel like God
Ravenholm is the best chapter and the fact I can beat it with only the Gravity gun makes it that much better to the point I HATE using guns when replaying the chapter. Once you learn how to beat it with only the gravity gun using anything else make it more difficult because its not as fun. Right now the only part of Ravenholm I don't just use only gravity gun is the end.
I think some of the hate from water hazard comes from the Lambda locator achievement. Water Hazard has so many of them and they are difficult to find at times because many are right near Combine solders. It makes it Difficult.
I agree with the list. Usually I may have one or two that I don't agree it when it comes to video like this, but I agree wholeheartedly.
I personally despise all chapters wit' infinitely spawning enemies...that includes Our Benefactors, and Ravenholm too. It's just cheap sht.
Ravenholm doesn't have infinitely spawning enemies...neither does our benefactors. Unless you just mean defense sections?
@@Jarekthegamingdragon Yes, they do: In "We don't go to Ravenholm", the Fast Zombies during Grigori's bogie scene spawn infinitely. As for "Our Benefactors", the Combie soldiers also appear infinitely from the blocked-off side passages at one of the elevators. And ye, the "Follow Freeman" final section also have infinitely coming Combine soldiers, which is just damn crap and annoying, and it plays no role at all rather than pissing off the player.
Half-life 1 was no innocent in this aspect: During "We've got hostiles", the Escort Carrier would drop infinite amount of soldiers into the ventilation hatch. During "Gonarch's Lair", the small underground triple cave at the second section has infinitely coming headcrabs (who you can easily mince with the infinite ammo alien hand, so they're just as pointless as annoying).
@@TheLambdaTeam Yes, those are defense sections. They alone don't make an entire chapter bad.
I kinda agree with the overall ranking, but I have to say, I find fighting Striders incredibly fun, it's one of the parts i look forwards to the most on replays XD
Yeah same actually!
Yeahh that part is one of the few times that I feel challenged
It WOULD be fun, if I wouldn't run out of rockets halfway thru the battle. I hate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Water Hazard Got SO Many Load Save game Because Killed By many Suprise Expecially In Hard Mode My FAVorite Follow Freeman Because FInnaly Humanity Fighting Back Full Arsenal
I can’t believe this video was released as soon as I searched for it
Ravenholm is perfect to play at Halloween.
Spooky he he
have you played a lot of HL2 deathmatch by any chance? the way you handle grenades reminds me of what quickly became the most popular style back then for competent players.
My favourite is Ravenholm (atmosphere, game-play, etc), of course, but I still love setting the Antlions on the enemies in the prison, and I was disappointed that this game mechanic wasn't included in Episodes 1 and 2. I did think that the boat level went on for too long (though it became more fun when the weapon was added to your boat), and I thought the game lost most of it's atmosphere at the end, when you enter the Citadel.
Half Life 2 for me its a great evolution of setpieces and level design i still remember like yesterday the pacing of the campaign from a red letter day to Route Kanal to water hazard the chapter where you are hunted by the chopper 60% of the chapter and then you become the hunter and the rest of the pacing is amazing the atmosphere the setpieces and everything this game perfectly creates and yeah some chapters have gimmickys that made them boring or loses their touch but otherwise supreme game and sequel to the most important games of all shooters and time
Also Happy Birthday HL2 now having 20/21 years existing
It would be incredibly difficult for me to make such a list because I discovered that the heavy emphasis on dialogue and gimmicks that most chapters have makes me not want to play them at all (basically the majority of the game).
just finished HL2 for the first time and this came in the right time
I actually agree entirely with this ranking.
I don't think it makes too much sense to rank pure story chapters together with the rest. The intro is well done for what it is in my opinion and ranking it in context of "I have already done a million playthroughs" just doesn't work. Black Mesa East for me is just a nice little reward after the fairly long and not always enjoyable boat section. Specifically the helicopter chase. The way it then kicks you out of the chapter is fine but it feels pretty cliched. Like something I have seen in dozens of movies or games.
I don't really have favourite or least liked chapters I think. The vehicle sections have some pacing issues perhaps, but there is still enough good about them. I definitely agree with Jarek's take on the bridge and other interesting bits and pieces. Ravenholm with the physics, good atmosphere, new enemies is also good and just long enough to make the payoff of finally getting to the priest and then getting out work.
My memory of Sandtraps and the approach to Nova Prospekt is basically just that it's pretty gimmicky. Getting control of the Antlions was fun the first time through, but it's also one of those bits that just emphasizes further how weak the Comine soldiers are. It doesn't even really work as a power fantasy as HL2 just isn't very difficult. It provides some variety perhaps, but for me it's Nova Prospekt itself that is the best part here. Mostly in terms of environments, atmosphere and storytelling I suppose.
Anticitizen One - again - is a nice payoff and I also remember that it was a bit of a curveball the first time through. It's nice having fellow rebels around even if their AI isn't great. The whole situation isn't overly believable, but at least it makes the world feel like it doesn't need Freeman to do every little thing. The follow-up chapter is needed to make this feel like what it is I think: An actual war. It wouldn't work as well if it was just Anticitizen One. Does it start to drag a little? Perhaps, but I remember mostly just enjoying the second half of the game, whereas the first half is more uneven. The payoff of getting to and then into the citadel is definitely very far up if I were to make a more specific ranking. But just ranking chapters by themselves wouldn't work for me.
I remember the times when Entanglement was chapter 10, not 9a.
I'll see you in an hour from now when I go on lunch.
I think Black Mesa East is less boring than Red Letter Day for repeat playthroughs because I at least have trying to score a basket with D0G's ball to look forward to in the former.
my only problem with Ravenholm is that I'm stupid and have bad orientation, so get lost a lot lol
but yeah that's an issue with ME, not the chapter.
Come to think of it. A similar video would make a lot of sense for Bioshock I think. I mean considering how much trouble it has with its pacing. Especially considering the last few hours that feel almost like a separate thing in terms of story. Black Mesa had a similar issue. Chaser has a similar length, but that's just a pretty uneven game when it comes to environments. The pacing is just generally not much good in that one.
Anti citizen one, it was just really crazy
Setting up the turrets in NP is fun but ultimately boring level. For my first play, I recall liking the level where you first have the snipers fire on you from the shadows. I will post the name once I am reminded of it later in this video.
"It's boring" AND you've played it a million times? I wonder why.
And yet, I can replay Half-Life 1 and doom a million times and not get bored. Games don't suddenly get boring because you played them before. This isn't rocket science.
Wow I this is exactly how I would have ranked it
Follow Freeman is my favorite!
Honestly Nova Prospect was always my favorite so it surprised me when you put it low. I agree on Entanglement, though. Can’t stand the defense segments. Great list otherwise.
I'd argue Red Letter Day is way more boring on repeat playthrough than Black Mesa East since it's longer, BME is at least short and you can play ball with Dog but Red Letter Day just goes on and on and onnnnnnnn. I'd definitely agree with the rest of it for sure.
Hey, have you tried Commandos Strike Force? Is a Commandos FPS spin off (tje original es a stealth rts game)
Whereas the worst chapter I say in any half life game is the Residue Processing chapter from Half Life 1. Especially the conveyor belt section of the chapter.
Ahh man I love nova prospekt, probably my favourite. Feel like I constantly playing in the Rock (the film).
i realyl didnt like half life 2 compared to half life 1 and i won't be explaining. if someone asked if i'd rather play hl1 or hl2 again i'd say hl1
Based ranking. Water Hazard is way overhated
Half Life 1 had great levels.
...and then there was Xen.
Am I the only person whos least favorite chapter is Ravenholm? It’s way too long and drawn out and while the atmosphere is great I never found it particularly scary. H*ll id argue Halo 3 pulled off this idea better with Floodgate as that level has a great atmosphere but it doesn’t drag on too long Tbh. For the record I don’t hate Ravenholm like I hate Residue Processing for example but it’s never been a chapter I was a big fan of🤷♂️.
Never liked the cutscenes-during-gameplay model HL2 helped popularize. They could have implemented a button or item that once interacted with just skips the whole thing to save you the hassle.
ngl the other older games managed to make it more fun - shadow tower abyss for example. its not story driven really, but you get the uhhh i forgot what i wanted to say
Awful take. This is why games have gotten so dumb over the years.
@@vadiks20032Fromsoft mentioned! Atleast indirectly
Same but people seem to love em so much.
Lmao.. That is exactly why I prefer HL2 over HL1, being alone most of the time in HL1 and you have no companion and it makes HL1 full on gameplay and no story, I felt lonely and empty and let's not forget how largely big Black Mesa is and you have to fight both the Xen creatures and the Military, but at least there's scientists and security guards
i agree with you so much with black mesa east, its such a slog to go through in repeat playthroughs, sooooo booooriiiingg
atleast ravenholm is after black mesa east
Totally agree with you about Water Hazard, i really like it and was confused when I found out most people don't.
cool. Now do Portal 2.
I love Water Hazard. I’ve played it the most since I’ve been working on a Water Hazard style map for way too long.
I love water hazard especially when Lambda Core kicked in
I agree with water hazard. In my opinion, it is ky favourite chapter in the game. Its pacing is one of the best ive seen in any section of any game.
I absolutely agree with having water hazard high on the list.
Wow, being the creator of the term 'Half-Like' I wasn't expecting Jarek to absolutely despise most of HL2 except for the vehicles and Ravenholm.
Controversial for sure. Still a great video.
There's no part of Half-Life 2 I despise, despite any criticism I have.
Ok lets see if this is another bitter salty youtuber "oh water hazard chapter is the worst thing in history after Austrian painter"
Oh wow, he is not. Respect increased.
I've also never understood the hate for Water Hazard. That chapter's cool! Gotta wonder what those people complaining about the boat controls are smoking... The thing handles great. It's got just the right amount of weight and momentum to its movement to give the impression that it's a vehicle with some heft to it, while still being snappy, manouverable and fun to drive around. With a more sluggish and heavier handling boat the chapter would have been slog and a chore. But nope, there's speed and action, with numerous fun stunt driving and jumping setpieces to go through. A more varied and rollercoastery chapter than Highway 17, IMO.
And hey, here's another one of those guys who don't care that much for Ravenholm! I've no problems with the horror emphasis, but rather the pacing. While it's definitely commendable how the devs boldly chose to make a chapter that so drastically changes the gameplay style, and managed to pull it off quite well too, I can't help but feel it little bit too long and slow for its own good. It's stingy-ish on ammo (but thankfully not cutting out supplies altogether), heavily incentivizes the player to prioritize using the gravity gun (another hot take: most of the time in HL2, if given the choice, I'll stick with the regular guns...), cuts down the enemy variety to just zombies and headcrab, and relies a bit too heavily on one trap/physics puzzle setpiece after another. I'd be lying if I said that seeing the light at the end of the mineshaft getting bigger and brighter when approaching the end of the chapter doesn't feel like a relief that the zombie and crab fest is finally coming to an end. Now the atmosphere and tone are both quite excellent, getting back to regular Half-Life 2 feels like a breath of fresh air. It's by no means a _bad_ chapter, but it's never been among my absolute favorites, either.
Watter Hazard from HL2 my favorite. From HL1 its Power Up.