Half-Life Retrospective
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 เม.ย. 2024
- An exhaustive analysis of the Half-Life series, discussing just why it deserves to be revered and remembered today. This video took a very long time to make, and for good reason.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:08 Prologue - Forming Valve
4:28 Chapter One - Half-Life
25:58 Chapter Two - The Legacy of Half-Life
32:37 Chapter Three - Following Up a Masterpiece
39:13 Chapter Four - Half-Life 2
1:05:06 Chapter Five - The Legacy of Half-Life 2
1:09:28 Chapter Six - Half-Life 2: Episode One
1:15:15 Chapter Seven - Half-Life 2: Episode Two
1:23:24 Chapter Eight - A Decade of Silence
1:44:53 Conclusion
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This video features music by Morch Kovalski: morchkovalski.bandcamp.com/al...
Intro music by the Project Borealis team: • Project Borealis OST |...
Half-Life: Decay on PC: www.moddb.com/mods/half-life-...
Big ol' list of sources:
www.forbes.com/sites/oliverch...
www.neowin.net/news/gabe-newe...
web.archive.org/web/201502111...
web.archive.org/web/201111261...
/ valve
www.gamespot.com/articles/hal...
www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/...
• Why we need Half Life 3
• Gabe Newell Gamestar I...
• Half-Life: Decay - Xen...
www.deviantart.com/apansenok/...
www.deviantart.com/andronix/a...
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar - It’s a book, you should read it.
www.marclaidlaw.com/epistle-3/
github.com/Jackathan/MarcLaid...
If I missed anything, please let me know!
#HalfLife #LiamTriforce - เกม
"Most NPC's have their story to tell"
"Sometimes... I dream about cheese"
He wakes up
In a world where all people are the last generation.
His apartment no longer has a door.
He is contemplating life as he walks to the toilet to make sure he has less of a chance of a break during work.
If hes even able to get break today.
He walks out of his apartment, onto the streets and sighs.
Then,
He sees it.
Cheese.
The snack he cant crave anymore.
It leads to cheese heaven.
@@st4rsh1pz kkkkkkkkkkk
Yeah gus doesnt have any story to tell ;(
I could eat a horse, hooves and all.
Ew
Me, after Episode Two: *_Boy I sure hope Episode 3 comes soon!_*
Me, after having my own Family: *_...any second now._*
see, episode 3! oh no wait, that's alyx...
Damn this comment makes clear just how much time has passed
Admiral Anger so we still need to wait
Just wait damn it. The more you wait the better the final product will be
@@akiraeatsguitarpicks491
which means more pressure for the Valve Devs to work on something to match the expectations and hype.
oh boy
am I glad that I'm not working there
"They need a game for their vr"
That aged relatively well
Alyx
@@mad2fan2018 No shit
my idiotic self thought it was the lab vr
@@antlionworkerfan2007 If this isn't sarcasm, I retract my former reply, and also my faith in humanity.
@@denverbeek you saying you had faith in humanity?
*Ammunition depleted*
"I thought this suit was for radiation!"
Hazardous environment can mean many things my friend
Indeed, an environment filled with bad guys who want to kill you is certainly quite hazardous!
I mean it technically describes the world in general nowadays.
He forgets we see bodies people wearing those suits in Xen showing that they were likely designed for combat scenarios as well since it appears the scientists have been making trips to Xen and capturing life forms as specimens for some time.
@@elsiebartlett6808 I was going to say exactly this. Great minds think alike.
I that black mesa scientists were too excited for unlimited budget and packed as much stuff in the suit as they can without thinking if anyone actually needs it.
"Unforeseen consequences", has a whole new meaning after Half Life:Alyx
Damn that son of a bitch and his unforseen consequences
Now here's a crowbar.
Go crazy
Jed Donaldson go stupid
go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid go crazy go stupid
Maybe I over did it
The first 2 minutes in this video has aged terribly bad.
Dam him and his unforeseen consequences.
1:01:25 "There's no correct answer"
Yes there is, you just hide in the turret box holding a turret with the gravity gun and let it do all the work. My MIT education pays for itself.
lmao I just got a suppressed memory of 14 year old me doing that exact thing and thinking I was so fucking clever
@@vanilla8956 damn
@r2zeke2 Thanks for the advice, Cave Johnson.
Lol i did that but you can still get killed
Bring the turrets into one of the cells and hide behind them. The turrets will mow down any combine that approach the opening.
Me a child who just finished ep2: damn episode 3 is gonna be crazy
Me now with grey hair paying taxes and stuff: yep gonna be crazy
I think you will be old and crazy before any of us get to see the crazy! I was 14 when Half-life came out and just started to get my first greys!
@@PaulGirdlestone my hairs going grey due to lack of ep3
Honestly, while it's probably gonna be decades before Half Life 3 actually starts being made and comes out, when it eventually *does* happen it'll be amazing. If it does happen and it's somehow shitty, then I don't even know what to say, I pray we never have to experience that absolute hell of a timeline, that's fucking worse than never getting it
Bro i was 9 when half life 2 came out, now im 25… still waiting
@@theleonpasta7336 That's pretty optimistic to say it'll come out, I would love to see it but I'm not planning on it releasing sadly
"I wont be boycotting you, I just wish that I can look at you the same way I did those years ago." That shit gets to me, thanks for this vid.
"I thought the HEV suit was designed for radiation..."
Dude, you've played hl1, you've seen Xen, you have graduated the Black Mesa training course...
You have seen the lost expeditions to the borderworld and have witnessed the experiments conducted on the 'local wildlife'
I think you and I both really know the real design choices behind the HEV.
fr
@h_grunt What should they have called them? Super Alien Suit?
And HECU soldier use the derevitive of HEV. Forgot it's name but Adrian Shepard has it so HEV is probably previous version or more lab oriented one. Besides, the thing monitors everything, so why should you be supprised it monitors ammo? The damn thing has onboard morphine injector
@h_grunt yeah that's why it administered morphine and protection other than caustics and radioactive contaminants right?
@h_grunt Isn't it Hazardous Environment Vehicle??
Aperture Staff: *Activates bootstrap device*
Borealis intercom: “Alright, this next test may involve trace amounts of time travel. So, word of advice: If you meet yourself on the testing track, don't make eye contact. Lab boys tell me that'll wipe out time. Entirely. Forward and backward! So do both of yourselves a favor and just let that handsome devil go about his business."
I'm sorry but,
PEANUT WATER
@@jeddonaldson7526 no, scoliosis grape
HOLY SHIT half life 3 had to be at least a little far in development by that point because that is way too close
wait, is that quote from portal2?
@@Kururu265 yeah
"Eli, there's not a next one..."
literally the most disappointing words ever uttered on this planet.
I really enjoyed this video author's overview however I feel he was a bit too harsh with 'the delays' toward the end of it. I mean honestly it's bad saying this in a way but if Valve closed down tomorrow; Gabe is still one of the greatest people to have ever lived for me; sometimes you just gotta be grateful and really consider what we've been given. Yes, as a HL nut you'll always want more and the waiting burns but; they haven't closed have they? And then; we got it all revealed only last year. Let Valve do their thing.
@@netweed09 Just when you're at the end of despair with Valve they allow Black Mesa and then drop Half Life - Alyx on us...
I hope the plaudits and success of Alyx convinces them to give us more. Dare I say Half Life 3.. God I hope so..
@@netweed09 not that I've been able to play either. Console guy. Contemplating getting a computer next year just for Black Mesa and Half Life 2 mmod. Not being able to play Black Mesa is a killer..
@@obi-potobi790 Not going to play Alyx! Simply because I can't us a VR set. I need to able to keep an eye on my kids while playing. With that blindfold on, I can't see, if my 2 year old is eating his toys. And IF there's going to be either a Portal 3 or a Half-Life 3 and it's VR only as well, then, as far as I'm concerned, they might as well not make them.
But hey, 3 is a mythical number for Valve. Like the holy grail. They know, it exists, but they haven't found it yet.
@@brozy5720 You getting a steam deck?
1:10:17 - Ha! You're not _supposed_ to dodge the energy balls. You're supposed to realize it's unreasonably difficult and use the door you pulled off to get in there as a shield.
Those are always interesting moments where you're describing some uniquely-difficult section and someone says "whoa, you did that the _hard_ way."
What i did is pulling the balls back by using the first fire of the Gravity gun
Just finished that part this morning the hard way and now I feel like a fool reading this comment hahaha
Since this game's creation I never used the door for this, and I play it every year. 🤣
Funnily enough, the commentary points out that the solution is open-ended. I just simply spammed the primary fire which you can do while the Gravity Gun's supercharged.
and here i was dodging the balls like a fucking idiot
My grandma accidentally bought me HL in The Orange box when I asked for portal, but GameStop was all out of just Portal copies. I'm so glad she got that for me. It's been my favorite game for a decade
your grandma loves you
She bought you what you wanted, that doesn't sound like an accident
thats a good grandma
Portal was only ever sold in the Orange Box at retail.
@@Lanthanideification you’re correct. Half Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 were only released on 7th generation consoles through the Orange box collection.
The real Episode 3 was the friends we made along the way.
Liam Montgomery HALF-LIFE ALYX DOUGH
The real Episode 3 was Half Life: Alyx
if episode 3 is alyx by that logic opposing force is half life 2
@@lishanglong6762 no it was hunt down the freeman
Well, this comment shut me up. Beautifully said, sir.
Man when I was a kid I was so shook up by Havenholm I painted a rooms interior with the gravity gun and a can of paint just to feel safe.
That’s so incredibly cute and wholesome
Same. I'm 11 as of the moment and I first played through the half life series when I was about 7 or 6 and ravenholm was the spookiest part of the series. I still get chills when I go through it even in gmod. Truly shows how skilled valve is.
@@dallas2697 Glad a kid of your age is still playing half life 2 and appreciating what truly good games are, rather than the crap peddled to you all the time by ea and the like.
When I was 11, I think, I remember I was jumpscared by a headcrab. Normally, that wouldn't be scary and you would just kill it but I had one HP so whenever I died I heard the jumping sounds of headcrab and the death beep. Probably the scariest moment in my life.
Well I'm from 2003 but i love Half Life.
My favourite game from series is Oppoaimg Force
Imagine all the people who died waiting for Episode Three, and those who never got to see HL Alyx....
Who fucking cares... Its a game, a boring as fuck one at that.
@@HistorysMysterys that’s an opinion
@@BenefactorsBlade kind of a bad one but yeah
@@HistorysMysterys All of these flavours, and you chose to be bitter.
@@HistorysMysterys we waited literally decades for another half life game
you see now?
"They will never be the company we want them to be again"
Valve: *Half-life: Alyx*
Honestly, I can't blame him for being so pessimistic, especially given that we only got Alyx after nearly a decade of silence from Valve. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy Valve was still able to capture the spirit of Half-Life with Alyx, especially after a majority of it's story writers left, but it didn't seem likely beforehand.
Morgoth Bauglir Exactly.
@Morgoth Bauglir it technically is a actual game
@Morgoth Bauglir lmao how is it not actual game. Quit crying just because you can't get VR. People had to get a whole graphics card for half life one and there was many doubters like you now. Half life alyx is the same length as HL 2 btw so what's your point?
@Morgoth Bauglir Plus HL had always been about change so try it or get left behind
In highschool computer class, I found the half-life game burried below a bunch of files. I played every time after class. CS-Source was hiding in the files as well. The entire class would play the game on a local server when we finished our class assignments.
does every school have this or you from Finland too? Like wtf because that happened to me too! Even tought we didn't play against each other (or any multiplayer at that matter). Would have been cool tho
@@Duckboyfi Im from the U.S.. I checked other computers in other classroms and the games only showed up in one classroon.
In hungary we had them too
Hahah dude, yeah, smth similar we experienced in middle school. We had to play secretly during class time, though, as we didn't have access to computers after the class. Later the teachers discovered and erased it. LOL
From Australia and the same thing with my school right now. There’s this one classroom my stem class has with a bunch of computers that have half life and CS-source.
Liam: The aggressive nature of Combine Troops makes situations less exploitable
Me: I will hide in a room, by the door, with a charged instakill double shotgun blast untill they are all dead.
Ammo, bulletproofness, Russian tactic (rushing) hunter choppers, gunships, gas, medical supplies, bombs, etc. Yes I'm that guy sue me
Now, the shotgunner combines are a different story
The Half-Life series is part of the reason why I decided to teach myself level design.
Half life is part of the reason I get a PhD in physics (no joke)
@@bbsonjohn legend
@@bbsonjohn Fucking legend
@@bbsonjohn do you work at black mesa with that PhD?
He doesn't need to hear all this. He's a highly trained professional.
"initiate an accelerated backhop away from a cp into the cafeteria behind you"
never could do that..
41:55
Me in sync with The G-Man: Wake up and... smell the ASHES
Liam: Most of us know this intro by heart
The Ashes of Gorden Freemans Contract
smell the asses
@@susa.k.a.pinkguy2036 Big Mitch and his shit
Regarding the headcrabs. Given that the Combine use Headcrab missiles to suppress rebels I always assumed the Fast and Poison variants were modified by the Combine.
Half life 2 was the first game I ever played, start to finish, with no help. It changed me and made me passionate about games and set the bar VERY high in regards to game design and storytelling. Learning that they'd given up on finishing the story broke my heart. It felt like a betrayal.
Jeff: Hey, it would be good idea to show a super high res G-man as a teaser for the awards!
Valve: G who?
Valve:you mean Game Cards? Oh sure
Annnd half life trailer released
*GAMERS RISE*
This comment aged like milk :p
Jeff is a scary bastard
"And... ammunition depletion?" Yeah looks like some scientists forgot to turn off that setting when they gave it to Gordon. Technically speaking the HEV suit was designed for use in their previous undisclosed explorations in Xen, and protection against almost everything, so an ammo warning isn't all too unexpected actually once you figure that out.
Yeah I didn't think about that, It makes sense now XD
yeah that's what i had been thinking recently for why it's a thing
but how does it know
@LOAN NGUYEN Yeah, Gordon doesn't have conventional pouches and pockets, he has to use the suit's storage compartments. It's apparent that the HEV's compartments have internal sensors that maintain a manifest of what he's carrying, including type and amount of ammunition.
The Hazard Course in Half-Life 1 makes it clear that the HEV suit has integrated systems designed to employ weaponry (likely due to the expeditions into Xen, as was mentioned).
Black Mesa was staffed to the brim with scientists and engineers, not to mention cutting edge facilities.. it's conceivable that the entire suit, and all its systems, were designed and fabricated on-site, as and when the need arose.
They also work on equipment for the military
The HEV suit is built to eventually be rolled out to the military
Thats why it provides armor
Its meant to be an all purpose all terrain suit
Think about it
One man with this suit was able to do more than all the world's armies
Ofcourse the military would have interest in surviving hazerdous environments
oh man, that dig at Max Payne's "ugly-ass graphics" made me feel old, I remember when MP's graphics were considered bleeding-edge. They even used the MAX-FX engine for the 3DMark2000 and 3DMark2001 graphics benchmarks and we all boggled at how insanely good it looked (and how bad our PCs ran it)
"If you shoot them they game end you?!" He says as he kills somebody pre-experiment which would get his character arrested and probably have him die from aliens when they do appear.
Thanks for the suggestion, Vinny!
The part at the end of Ep. 2 where Eli tells Alyx "I love you sweetheart, dont look!" makes me tear up every damn time i hear it.
I left one comment about this before but it was a half-formed thought so I’m writing it again. Holy shit, Eli’s last words are gut-wrenching. The gravity of “don’t look” didn’t really hit me the first time I played EP2, but when I hear it now it almost brings me to tears. For my college fiction writing class a semester or two ago, I wrote an alien-invasion story that tried to genuinely interrogate how people would feel if something like that ever happened. The way all sense of normalcy, in every facet of life, would be ripped away if aliens showed up at our doorstep. Writing that really crystalized for me how earth-shattering that would be, what it would do to someone to have everything truly change like that. With that new perspective, Eli’s “don’t look,” for me, really captures the utter helplessness and resignedness of not only himself, but all of Earth in the face of the Combine. He’s been picked up by the Advisor, and both he and Alyx know he’s not going to survive - they both make sure to say “I love you.” What’s worse is that he knows that, whatever is about to happen, it’s going to be horrific, and he has no chance of making it out. All he can do is implore her not to look as the thing eats his spine. It’s all anyone can do anymore in the Half-Life world - try to look away as everything they love and hold dear is utterly, gruesomely destroyed.
The graphics of Half Life 2 is still amazing till this day, you’ve gotta admit that, like it’s not realistic but it’s close
Even moreso is the fact that it was also ported to the original Xbox..WITH the vehicle levels intact.
Badass graphics for a 2004 game tho.
@@beefar0ni Really? I almost exclusively get uncanny valley vibes from HL2 & other early Source games
@@rs6000_ that's a common thing though, isn't it? like empty gmod maps and the like
@@cat_lord6415 Yeah, Gmod especially since it almost exclusively uses HL2 assets.
I dunno, every Source game except the very late one like CSGO & Portal 2 gives me the spooks.
Man you will not believe this new VR game that’s coming out.
I wish i could afford VR
Cries in Intel HD 520 and i5-6200U, which means I can’t have VR.
I found more affordable way to immerse in game. I've just purchased 32" 1440p monitor, good sound card, pro wide-stage headphones. VR is too much efforts, preparations..imho
@@journey4109 seeing the prices of windows mixed reality headsets and the price of a good 32" 1440p monitor + good sound card + good headphones, I think VR is as expensive or even cheaper.
@@journey4109 have you ever actually experienced VR?
I'm a new PC user and I can confirm hl2 is timeless it was a great starting game to get used to mouse and keyboard.
I remember playing Half-Life 1 on a Windows 98 PC as a kid, and 98 was already obsolete by then, though I can't remember exactly when. It scared me shitless, though to this day I have images in my mind of being in an area that looked a lot like the Office Complex chapter, so even though I was so terrified by the game, getting that far, though it's still early, isn't half bad. It took years for my fear of the game to wear off. My first purchase on Steam was Half-Life 2: Deathmatch of all things, because it didn't have any zombies and other creatures. I eventually, slowly but surely, conquered my fear of the games, though Half-Life 2 was never as scary to me, maybe it was something to do with HL1's style/graphics that I was so scared of it. I ended up developing not only a love of the Half-Life series, but the GoldSRC and Source engines and what people, from modders to dev teams, crafted on these engines. There's something about these engines that make just about any game that runs on them appeal so much to me. I've never managed to make something on these engines myself. I remember trying to create Source maps when I was 15, but failed miserably. While I haven't been able to make something great myself, I will always treasure Half-Life, their engines and what they spawned as things that bring joy and entertainment to me and many others. I'm not good at writing things like this, I just wrote what came to mind after watching this video and it might not make too much sense. Anyway, Half-Life is amazing, as well as what came from it. I am grateful for its existence, regardless of lack of future titles for a very long time and one eventual title that released many years later that turned out to be far too expensive for many people to access.
My dead wife would have loved this small thesis! Great work!
Same here. Scared me shitless at a young age and Deathmatch was my first ever game on steam (step brother exposed me to CS in between that).
But you know how Gorden could get Rescued of the Island? Barney shows up in a Boat.
Barney: GORDEN! I GOT YOU THAT BEER I OWED YA!
Um, dont mean to burst your bubble but it takes place in Eastern Europe, a very not Island place.
Lol, instead of Barney its the main character from hunt down the freeman
barney on a row boat with an ice cooler full of beer "about that beer i owed ya"
@@nyl0n733 The towns are inspired by eastern Europe, but the game itself is not actually based in eastern Europe. It isn't meant to be anywhere technically in our world, but the characters speak as if they are American.
The weather and landscapes are like something from western France, the towns and buildings are eastern European styled, the characters are Americans etc.
Clearly this game is inspired by a lot of different areas.
@@mmomakemoneyonline486 its after aliens have taken over earth so its very possible that they took over and moved Americans to Eastern Europe.
I'm a simple guy, I see Half Life content I watch it. Thanks for this.
Amen!
You obviously are simple if you are imitating a lame joke. Keep on lemming!
@@666chapelofblood Sure will
We all watch it cuz it's part of our life bro,its Half-our lives (no pun)
Arctic is going to be a tropic landscape by the time HL 3 gets released
Listening to you talking about the SMG and Glock of HL1 while using the HD pack that replaces them with a M4 and a Beretta might or might not be the most infuriating thing i experienced all week lmao
XM177, not an M4
@@stuglife5514okay nerd
TH-cam recommended this to me... I'm thankful, this is one of the best videos I've watched recently!
Albert Ślusarek I agree completely
I agree 100%.
At first i thought rhis video was gonna be like 20 minutes long.
Then i heard it took a year to make.
Then i saw the length was almost 2 hours.
Then i sat through the whole thing and i STILL wanted more. This video is a work of art, and a great one to say the least.
My favorite tiny detail in the entire series is that each of the individual buttons on the hl1 vending machines work
and that the sodas give you a little bit of health! somehow..
@@PurpleMoon799 gordon *THORSTY*
Ha. My favorite detail was the little animations when you’re holding the weapons. Amazing how a small thing can give a character personality like that.
I still find it funny how a 7 hour war sounds ridiculous
And at the same time in our real world we had a 34 minute long war in our history
Wtf you mean? We've had a war that's lasted the same amount of time 😂😂 dumbf
Thanking my brother for showing me all these awesome games. Rest in peace bro. 💛 You made my childhood awesome.
Holy shit dude, you predicted Half Life: Alyx
at which part of the video
@@weiinn9944 1:38:00 or so. Or just watch it yourself...
@@rucker69 you ever hear of a guy named Tyler McVicker?
He made this video before the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx
is making a kid play through all half lifes only to tell them at the end that there's no half life 3 a form of child cruelty
No, that’s the moment your kid becomes an adult.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 "It seperates the boys from the men"
It's a rite of passage.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 or the kid doesn't even touch the game because "lol these graphics suck"
and just plays fortnite for 5 hours
@@jockeyfield1954 This is why abortions should be allowed until they turn 18
41:53 this literally gives me goosebumps every time, this game was so well made
"Today it's my turn to pick the movie"
The zombies when lit on fire are literally yelling crying to god just in reverse
“PLEASE FUCKING HELP ME”
Wait, they aren't just screaming about their icing?
@@parrot998 YABBA MY ICING
so.. They're just screaming "DOG! DOOOOG! DOG!!"
@@sundalosketch4769 Say dog in reverse...
Though not focused on the development cycle as much and more about the games themselves and the impact they've had on all of us, this is by far the best video covering the entirety of the half life franchise and Im definitely rearing up for another play through after watching
Zalinki true stuff.
GadgetWalkmen nah
There’s a really good documentary on TH-cam about the development process behind Half-Life and its expansions, as well as touching on Half-Life 2 iirc, called “Unforeseen Consequences: A Half-Life Documentary”.
What effect? Extreme boredom?
You should check out Noah Caldwell Gervais' Half-Life retrospective. It's really good
"It means they have to be careful with the inclusion of things such as time travel."
*HL: Alyx releases a year after this video comes live, after a decade of silence*
damn dude, they hit you hard after working on this video for a year.
The combine combat AI in half life 2 is a masterpiece. They don't fall into the usual tropes of having obvious weaknesses and easily counterable strategies, they will use teamwork effectively to make your life incredibly difficult and often the only thing keeping you alive is your enhanced ability to absorb damage. If you were on an equal footing to them in terms of health they'd beat you almost constantly unless they'd got hung up on the scenery or something dumb like that
"I won't boycott you, I just wish I could look at you the same way I did years ago."
Well said
- when it`s time for a divorce, but one side keeps clinging on
@@afrog2666 Weol said
Couldn't have said it better just lost all respect
We aren't angry at you, Valve, we're just disappointed...
shit hurted
Just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone that's been watching this video and giving it a chance. The amount of support it has received has been overwhelming and I greatly appreciate all of it. I read all the comments and I love reading the stories some of you have to tell about your experience with Half-Life. It's been great, and I'm glad my hard work has paid off in that regard. Thanks again!
Really awesome content, man! This series is really important to me and I found myself agreeing with every single point you made. Absolutely fantastic video!
I can honestly say its the best HalfLife retrospective ive seen. I even had to share the video with my friends. Thank you
in hindsight halflife 2 sucks and the dlc sucks even more. half life 1 is always amazing. thanx for this video, i wish gabe would stop eating and release a new game
what is this intro remix? i NEED TO HAVE IT!!!!!!!!
@Smunstu Stinkymonster yeah i was going to write episode 1 and 2 but i was on my phone so i rounded it down to dlc , sorry
Hl2 as a whole, "it's simple shooter combat done really, really fucking well." regarding combine soldier shotgun implementation, "in claustrophobic levels like nova prospekt, this can be a bitch to deal with." truer words have never been spoken. "just wreck shit, it's a nice reward for everything you've been through. And the final frontier has you blowing up Breen's portal reactor, only for one of the best ending sequences in the history of anything ever to ensue." Dude, I swear to christ I've thought all of these things you've said in this video. Just started play through again with Mmod for the first time (minus cinematic mod). Just the most fun ever.
I just played HL1, HL2, EP1 and EP2 for the first time ever, just a week or so ago. Now I'm playing HL2 VR Mod (which is phenomenal btw).
I don't know why I put this franchise off for so long. I don't know what kept me from it. I even played Gmod for almost 6000 hours years ago, and got used to the source engine's wonders. All I know is HL2+EP1&2 is now one of my favorite games of all time, and always will be. It has inspired me even further in my own game and story design, and I truly wish they had finished the story properly.
I want to play Half-Life Alyx but my PC is a pre-built that just barely won't run it. Someday...
Until then, I'll be revisiting HL2 both in flatscreen and in VR.... honestly, regularly.
Amazing video, Liam. Absolutely loved it. I'll watch the HLA retrospective once I get the opportunity to build a better PC and play HLA.
Right there at the end, your views about Valve's abominable radio silence, that hit the nail on the head. I've told myself over and over that I don't hate Valve. Valve created some of my best memories as a kid. They helped me through a difficult childhood. But the fact that I'm almost in my thirties now, and I've been waiting since I was in high school for more hurts my heart.
Y'know, there's nothing I love more in this world than a good story. Half-Life gave me that in my formative years. I don't hate Valve, but boy do I ever resent them. Shame on you, Valve. You left the gaming industry behind for the money industry. I get it, why make games when you can sit on your ass and let Steam print money?
Aside from the love and devotion of millions of people, I mean. Well, we'll just see how it pays off in another twelve years, won't we?
By the time I started getting involved in video games, particularly Valve and their games, Half-Life 3, or Episode 3, was already a lost cause. Something people would mention, but never actually consider happening. I’ve played both Portal games, Team Fortress 2, and plenty of Garry’s Mod, but never any Half-life. So while I have little actual connection to it, I’m familiar with the series. The state of the series has never really bothered me. It’s a shame, yes, but I held no stock in the matter.
This video made me feel genuine sadness about the state of Half-Life, and of Valve. It made me realize the true tragedy of seeing such a revolutionary and compelling series being stopped in its tracks and left to gather dust, leaving the fanbase in just the same situation. Thank you so much for this video. It gave me a new appreciation for the Half-Life series.
Agreed wholeheartedly. Same here exactly same
Seems like it was only Marc laidlaw who had any genuine love for the franchise. I genuinely had hope every single year for some type of release from half life or the half life universe since 2011 after portal 2. But after that goodbye letter from Marc laidlaw explaining the plot of HL3, that was where my closure was found. Unsatisfying, annoying and yes it made me mad with the franchise, but I no longer have hope for that series. Not now, not ever. And I hope they don’t attempt to release it one day for money because none f the original writers are there anymore and none of them love the franchise.
@@user-qs9ps3hw6u Laidlaw is so kickass. His writing was awesome and when Valve stopped making games to rest on their stacks of Steam money he left. And he finally gave us the ending we wanted, well, as much as was developed. He basically admitted Half Life 3 was never happening, something the higher ups in Valve apparently don't have the guts to do.
Jason Fenton I still believe the whole situation is shady. Why go from (and I’m referring to gabe newell,) yes HL3 is in development and sounding excited to suddenly not even wanting to speak of it. It just doesn’t seem normal to me. Something happened during development that thoroughly put them off making the game. Either way yes laidlaw is an absolute legend and I’m so glad he took it upon himself give us the closure that we all deserved. Nobody at that company today is worthy of even drafting a structure for half life. They let it die and those who loved it have gone. They’re a selfish money grabbing company and gabe is a liar
Since we have a ton of new arrivals flooding in from Vinny's streams, allow me to plug the remixes I used in this video. Morch Kovalski created some incredible remixes, and they're all compiled into an album called "Unforseen Consequences." Have a quick listen here: th-cam.com/video/JYPg3pzCRKM/w-d-xo.html
I'm brazilian and understand a bit of the entirely vídeo
But would be nice subtitles in portuguese and some others languages.
I was wondering why this just popped into recommended, then I hear Vinny mention it in VOD. Awesome production.
The facial animations in HL2 are *still* better than most games in 2023. I do not know how many people they had to sacrifice to the dark lord to pull this off.
Lmfao that's a delusional opinion 🤣
“Most NPC have their own story to tell”
“I lost my wife in the divorce”
Hello Gordon!
We’ll have to confiscate your wife for an indefinite amount of time.
look Gordon ropes-
i couldn't even watch the scene with Eli again. That shit still gets me
Dog that was some Actual Alein Facesucker (The Alien Films) but it's a Floating Worm that is A.K.A Brainsuckers ewwwww
the voice acting sells it so well. truly heartbreaking
Who's watching this after seeing the HL: Alyx trailer?
:)
yeah, i am... lets hope Half-life 3 comes. but for now, we all have to triage at dawn. :)
Ethan White if HL3 comes it wont be a conclusion to the HL2 story :P
Ayyy
hahah i did that
I just found your channel through this video, I watched it in its entirety, watched your Portal retrospective, then you Half Life Music retrospective, and now I’m back again to watch this one all over again. EXCELLENT work. Love to see love for my 2 favourite series’ of games
One of the very few more-than-an-hour-long videos I've ever watched and enjoyed.
I learned a lot from your game mechanics analysis and I've gotta say that I now have a different look on Half-Life 2 levels I used to absolutely hate (ravenholm) and I now understand why it holds such an important place within the video game community. You seem to love these games and it shows.
The reason the HEV suit has the 'Ammunition depleted' line and such is because not only is it a hazardous environment suit, but it's also the suit the survey team used going to Xen, where they DEFINITELY would've needed a gun.
Being a valve fan is so bittersweet. Valve has made so many truly amazing games and the industry would be worse without them. But at the same time, Valve fans have been thrown to the side. Half Life fans, puzzle game fans, TF2 fans, all of these groups have been left to dwindle. I have felt betrayed by this company in so many ways. Tf2 updates have come to a stop even though there is still a ton of people talking about and playing this game. Half Life has been left on a cliffhanger for 12 years! But Valve doesn’t care, at least they don’t care enough to actually do anything about it. All I know is that these games were definitional to my identity. HL is my favorite single player FPS series, but it has been tinged with sadness. I cannot think about HL anymore without feeling at least a little sad. And well, TF2 just makes me depressed.
Not even Steam is safe anymore. Valve has just let Epic come in and trample on the consumer, and as a result many games of my anticipated games are now locked away on an inferior launcher. But Valve doesn’t care, at least they don’t care enough to do anything about it.
I guess I am trying to say, it is time for Valve to wake up and smell the ashes, the ashes of their legacy which has smoldered away into disappointing nothingness. Your speech at the end really got to me because I have felt the same way, and it makes me sad, knowing the behemoth we have lost.
An important thing to remember about HL3 is that it's not for the lack of trying on the staff's end.
There have been multiple fully-fledged iterations of the game, with far more work than has been put into any half-life project. It's been started over multiple times, yet nothing has been finished. and it seems largely a fault of the company structure.
They have virtually unlimited resources, and people constantly working on things, with long work hours, however, nothing came out.
That's okay they're working on VR though which will solve all the worlds problems /s
Valve and Half Life fill me with happiness and with bittersweet sadness, as if remembering a long ago friend who has passed on, or a lover who has grown apart from you. Sad but happy. Wanting to forget the memories you cherish still. It is with a heavy heart and a weary love that I say, with a hint of mirth behind desperate pleading:
Gaben plz
HL3 confirmed?
@@bloodmachine6049 Everyone who comes in, nothing goes out.
There`s a billion games with either mostly puzzles or a LOT of puzzles, there is NO shortage of puzzle games..
I have seen A LOT of half life video and.. you make a very great work man. Not only for the half life/ Valve theme, but in general. What a video !
I didn't know people disliked ep1. I was so hungry for more half life, it was bliss.
"And the world still hasn't forgotten."
...but Valve did.
Project borealis a group of people, who are putting effort to make ep.3, check them out. They have a yt and discord channel
i bet you feel dumb right now!
...not
Valve: SIKE
OR DID THEY
Half-life changed everything. It formed my childhood back in 98' and my early teenage years in 04'.
It helped give us amazing Mods, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Steam and so much more.
Even if people doesn't like Gabe Newell today as before because of reasons (i still adore him) we all should agree that video games wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for him and Valve.
I want the time back when you would sit in a basement and play some CS and or HL-DM on a LAN with JOLT cola and chips while you listen to TOOL and SOAD. Those where the times man, before everything went downhill in society.
Society is the same group of wretched, selfish, panicked sheep it always has been (COVID 19 being a perfect example at the moment). It's the people affecting positive change that make it bearable and fun to live. Be one of those people. By the way, I fucking loved playing HL and CS listening to Tool and SOAD.
That was a beautiful era. Being born in 1986 your description of the past really resonates with me
@@merces47letifer4 You sound like a sheep to me.
@@merces47letifer4 4nite isnt 4 shep
@@merces47letifer4 Even without Covid, society was already being ossified by mega corps buying everything up and using it to control the media, the internet, and the narrative, it was already starting after the dotcom crash, but was accelerated by the advent of smart phones a social media, which allow mainstream access to the internet. Covid&Trump only made this clearly visible, with alternative narratives being labled misinformation, whilst supplying only misinformation themselves.
I mean back in the 90s and early 00s, when playing online you'd get name called, bullied, ridiculed, in _at least_ 10 different languages EVERY OTHER GAME, you'd just shrug it off, shouted back or ignored it. These days a single swear word could get you kicked or banned, cyberbullying is has many foundations to combat it and what not...instead of growing a thicker skin or fast rebukes, the seeds for snowflakes were already being sown. If you got banned from a server back then, you'd simply join another, but everything is so centralized these days, you're basically locked out of the game after having a few reports filed against you.
The internet was more of a wild west back then, in regards to people being absolutely free in to do whatever they wanted, with privately owned dedicated servers, forums, (voice) chat channels all with their own mods, add-ons and rules and a small community around it, almost like some freehold out in the desert where people relied on each other for funding, technical support and what not. Being an asshole was only fun for a short time, joining a gaming clan or forming your own community was much more fun and meaningful, and it automatically made you less of an asshole as you'd have a stake in the community.
It's this shift that basically drove me from gaming, for me signified by the advent of CoD:MW2, where the loss of private servers obliterated the communities and sense of ownership. No longer just joining your favorite server and encountering the same online friends with a few strangers in the mix, unless setup or agreed in advance. It wasn't long for more and more games forced this central lobby paradigm, often combined with microtransactions or pay to win...which basically turned them into an online casino.
Of course this was done to 'combat piracy' and 'allow consoles to join the fray', but consoles are no match for pc gamers(I've never had a console, when a mate with a ps4 challenged me to a game of MW2 on a console, I absolutely struggled with the controls. Yet, playing dual screen allowed me to see where the fuck he was spawning and knowing all those maps by heart, I still managed to completely obliterate him), so i don't get why these two ecosystems had to be combined anyway, this apart from many games requiring always online connections, even if you were just playing locally on LAN.
this might be the video that will surely make me say 'yeah i can't go without liking this video'. Absolutely stellar job with the review. I'm precisely 1 hour into this and haven't skipped a second. Fantastic video mate.
revisiting this video and also the half life universe for the 2034th time, this game's atmosphere does something to me that not many other games do
And then HL: Alyx came around the corner.
Being right has never felt so good.
Aqua Marine YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
its so good, just finished it
people still say that half life alyx is nothing but a way to promote the valve index and a tech demo for source 2
even though the lab (a vr source 2 portal game) was made to test the source 2 engine along with promote the valve index
@@jdmnissan if you have like $1000 :l
You've outdone yourself with this one. This is so thorough and well thought out. Really made me think of the games in ways I never even considered while playing through them, and your timeline approach to covering the whole thing brought back faint memories of the series throughout its history. Damn fine job.
Bro I thought the Little Rocket man Trophy Was getting Lamarr in the Rocket and launching it not the friggn Gnome.
But I still got my 360 Disc and play it on the Xbox One X
Dude this is insane such a blast from the past
29:33 "No, Liam! Those are ropes! You can use them to get across big pits!"
If you're wondering how my outlook has changed on the future of the series, here are my initial thoughts on Half-Life: Alyx. th-cam.com/video/0-dPhKo0Zzk/w-d-xo.html
High-res model of G-man you say?
I think there was a space in the car's engine from episode 2 where you could wedge the gnome into place so it wouldn't fall out
Secondly, Yes you could have dodged the energy orbs. Or... use the door you pry off the vent as a shield that absorbs the shots.[Sorry for the split comments, I'm one of those beta cucks who types as the video goes on]
Who the fuck are you and why am I being recommended your videos?
Very well done on the advert placement, works like checkpoints throughout the video.
"and the gluo gun which is just..just watch"
*freeman activates full auto in the buildings*
Thank you, that was superb, right the way through. I still can't believe the series hasn't been finished, but I fell in love with it all over again watching your retrospective.
I'm so, so very glad that your intro was proven wrong - no more than one year after the release of this video.
Valve hasn't forgotten their legacy. They are back and they're pushing the available technology to its absolute limits and beyond, making a gameplay experience never seen before, and refining it with an unreal amount of polish. I'm so excited to see how the entire landscape of gaming will respond to Half Life: Alyx
Dude, trust me, when HL came out, it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. The graphics weren’t as impressive as Quake 2’s, BUT instead Valve paid a lot of attention to little details that Id sacrificed for their speedy play throughs. Half Life was meant to be experienced slowly. It encouraged you to spend time exploring areas and take in as much of the environmental story telling as possible. I was floored when I saw the little sparks flying off the connecting rails, rotating platforms, light rays cast by Barney’s flashlight in the opening tram ride... The only game that came close to the level of detail was Duke Nukem 3D, but that’s a different story.
Strange, I had a lot of fun with "On a Rail" and the plattforming in HL. I actually liked the stop and go and the time "On a Rail" took
Me too. It felt like it grounded the events into being more realistic, immersive, a scene that would DEFINITELY happened irl, because we all know how incredibly convoluted and sometimes absurd things are done by beaurocrats, especially from those running science labs :D
Same, i've always considered half life an fps-platformer and always will
On a Rail is honestly my second favorite bit in HL1, after Surface Tension. I loved the sense of progression and fighting against entrenched enemies.
On a Rail the first time? Hated it. But I learned from it. The next time you play On a Rail, and you know exactly how to absolutely annihilate every enemy without so much as a scratch, it feels so nice. Squeezing those .44 rounds into bullsquids without a single shot wasted. Supreme satisfaction.
I found "On A Rail" to be very creepy, especially when I played it for the first time when I was much younger.... I loved it! 😁
there was this chamber at the bottom of the rocket where there was a Bullsquid and a bunch of dismembered corpses and the "hell.wav" started to play and I got cold chills and was like "WTF was that?!"
I hated thr Xen levels the most and my favourite was "Unforeseen Consequences" towards "Surface Tension"
all i needed to truly love EP2 was a cupholder in the buggy. fantastic video dude!
'You've been watching for a hour now, thanks'
Thanks for reminding me that I got nothing else to do
I feel like the perfect ending for Half Life should include a scene of, if he survives, Gordon going back to Black Mesa, or at least what’s left of it, and paying his final respects to all those that died. To all the friends he lost during the incident, to all the helpless, confused and scared aliens, to the abandoned, betrayed Marines. One final goodbye, to the series that changed the world.
he'll be visiting a nuclear crater because of what happened in opposing force
1:39:45 "valve needs a game for the headset"
What are your thoughts on HL:A
levi ackerman he made a video called “my thoughts on half-life alyx.”
ThePcGamer oh yeah, I just watched it
@@jiraffe9600 that's nice, but what are your thoughts on half-life alyx?
@@jockeyfield1954 Stop asking the same question dude, but what are your thoughts on half life: alyx?
@@anhkietduongdo stop asking the same question but what are your thoughts on half life : alyx
I’d never heard the story from Mark before about how the story with the Borealis ends, thank you
Great video and outstanding analysis.So many fond memories, from so long ago.. THat scientist scream at the end..... allmost shead a tear.
I've taken every single reprogramable turret to the teleport out of Nova Prospekt. There's absolutely no challenge and it's awesome. You end up having like 8 or 9 turrets at the end.
Yeah on my last playthrough of the game when I got to the first area where you get the first friendly turrets I thought “what if I could just take these with me?” and I tried it and to my surprise it worked, and I took all of the turrets to the end room and it is some of the most fun I’ve had with this game ever. I even tried taking at least one through the teleporter but I couldn’t figure it out
@@dylon4906 That was my thought process too. It's quite a test of patience to take all 5 of them to the final room. It is so worth it though. Also you can't take one with you. You go to a completely different level and not just another load area of the same map
Great idea! I'll try that next time.
Don't they try to shoot the characters
@@Journey_Awaits They're the reprogrammed ones. They shoot only the combine.
All my phones' tones and alarms are scientist noises.
SHTAHP!!!
OH DEAR!
Greetings
That's amazing
FREEMAN YOU FOOL!
I watched your Retrospective Videos about Half Life so many times, they are smooth and nice to chill.
And I love watching Videos about my fav Games of all Time :D
Thank you for your work!
Your channel deserves more attention for the work you put into these retrospectives. Love it
HL1: Revolutionary 1st person shooter that tells a linear history, without cuts, cutscenes or even text, just worldbuilding
HL2: Continuation of an amazing story, character development and new mechanics and technologies like physics puzzles and the Source engine
HL3 (Alyx lol): A big leap for VR technology finally releasing a complete original game and not just ports of older games
alyx isnt 3
@@dontsubscribetome3262 go watch 3kliksphilip video, he made some good arguments why we should consider alyx as half life 3
Short history: With every new half life game valve pushes technology forward, storytelling and level desing, physics and graphics, and now VR and world interaction
@ Neither of the episodes pushed the technology forward. They were expansions of HL2.
Valve has always been one to play the long game (no pun intended) in order to revolutionize the industry and be the first to profit, granted they do it well.
I wish i could afford VR :(
This is one of the best video essays I've ever watched, thank you for all your hard work.
Half-life was one of the best games I ever played when it came out. I remember getting my tax return from my first job, buying a 200 dollar voodoo 3 card and a creative 4.1 surround sound speaker setup. The game was the first game I ever played with 3d sound. My friend and I sat within the speaker setup and enjoyed the "shit, it's coming from behind me" that people just don't realize how amazing it was when it was first implemented. That card was able to play the game in "opengl" which we thought was the best graphics we'd ever seen. So smooth. Lol
He talks like me when the teacher tells you to write an essay about anything
Half-Life: Alyx Retrospective is out! I know at least one of you is curious to see how I feel that game fits into this story, so here it is! th-cam.com/video/0eQQhvL9ts8/w-d-xo.html
Woah this comment is buried
Might wanna pin this one liam lol
Yoooo wut xD
You should pin that
I came across this video by accident and I didn't expect to much of it at first other than the sheer length of the video. I'm just here grinding on Warframe listening to this and I had to stop playing for a while and just appreciate the care and energy you have put into this. It might be "haresy" but I've never played anything half-life, but I do see the draw that those games have with them. After listening to the whole video I have decided two things. 1 to play this masterpiece of a videogame series and 2 I created my own TH-cam playlist simply titled "Amazing Video's" and so far only this video resides with in it.
Absolutely incredible video, thanks for the content to watch during my covid boredom!!
im gonna watch it again now i think
One of the best videos on youtube, unironically.
"Brings to question the ethics"
Good one.
Really subtle underrated comment lmao