Half-Life 2 is nearly fifteen years old now, and despite Valve’s sequel plans seemingly fizzling out, it doesn’t look a day over ten thanks to the efforts of modders. Chances are that Half-Life 2 and its expansions have been gathering dust on your Steam account for years now, so here’s a quick refresher — mostly focused on the past five years — on what’s available, single player-wise. Want to turbo-charge the original game, or send Gordon Freeman on a whole new adventure? We’ve got you covered both ways, plus a trio of Silent Hill-inspired spookfests. Below, a hand-picked basket of goodies, and a crowbar to open it.
Every other Monday, Dominic gives you a reason to dust off one of your old games and dive into its mods with Modder Superior.
Gordon Forgets How To Mod Half-Life 2
While Half-Life 2 modding has been a constant almost since the day the game launched, the game’s code base has not been. Valve have updated, tweaked, tuned and repacked it a half-dozen times, breaking some older releases. Most of the mods below from the past five years require the Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer package, which you can find under the ‘Tools’ header in your Steam library.
Once downloaded, right click on it, select Properties, and pick ‘upcoming’ from the drop-down in the betas tab. This’ll opt you in to the latest build. I believe everyone gets access to this for free, but some mods do require owning the game and (ideally) both expansions.
While some Half-Life 2 mods are hosted on Steam and are just a click away, installing mods from elsewhere is a doddle. Just locate where you’ve installed Steam on your PC (C:Program Files (x86)Steam by default), and in there, navigate to SteamSteamAppsSourceMods. That’s where mods live. Unzip them there, making sure each has their own directory. If you did everything right, your freshly unpacked mod will be listed in your Steam library, same as any freshly bought game. Easy.
Gordon Gets A Tune-Up
If you’ve been away from Half-Life 2 for a while, chances are you’ll want to play a bit of the original game just to warm up. Here are a few ways back to Ravenholm that go a more scenic route, or a little bit off the beaten track.
Half-Life 2: Update by Filip Victor Released: March 2015 Download: Direct via Steam
If all you want is to potter around the old original game as you remember, you can’t go far wrong with this unofficial (but Valve-endorsed) patch. It’s a gentle remastering – slightly better lighting, some environmental effects back-ported from the expansions, and some old bugs and mapping errors smoothed over. It’s Half-Life 2 after a run through the car wash, and with a few dents hammered out and painted over.
Half-Life 2: MMOD by Gunship Mark II Released: December 2018 Download: Mod DB
A recent and popular release, if Update is just a cleaned-up version, MMod is Half-Life 2 taken down to the garage for a full oil change, engine tune, and maybe a decal kit. It’s a mostly-cosmetic suite of enhancements, but they add up to a more modern feeling game. Notoriously weedy-feeling weapons like the SMG have some oomph to them, weapon spread is rebalanced, and bullet weapons are now fast projectiles instead of instant-hit, making long-range gunfights feel fairer.
Most of the combat tweaks are subtle, but if you don’t like any of the changes, almost every feature in MMod is fully optional. Best of all, it’s compatible with all official Half-Life 2 releases, several semi-official ones, and even some major mods — including Half Life 2 Update.
You can find MMod compatibility patches for other level packs and mods here on Mod DB too. Once a compatibility patch is installed, you’ll find it in your Steam library as a separate entry, normally with MMod in the name.
Alternatively, please feel free to use our accounts on social media such as Facebook or Twitter to get in touch.Most members of our service staff are musicians themselves, which puts them in the perfect position to help you with everything from your choice of instruments to maintenance and repair issues.Our expert departments and workshops allow us to offer you professional advice and rapid maintenance and repair services.
SMOD by Creators Unknown Released: 2004 Download: Mod DB Video Credit: “GameSnippetsUK” for the footage
If MMod is Half-Life 2 after a professional tune-up, then SMOD is the game after replacing the engine with an oversized dragster rig that doesn’t fit under the hood and burns pure ethanol. It’s also prone to catching on fire, but you’ll have a great time until then. SMOD was developed by an anonymous individual (or collective) from Japan, with a request that people just do whatever they like with it. They did.
The most stable and coherent build I’ve found is a polished-up Version 10 hosted on Mod DB, and if there’s a better version, I’d love to see it. It offers an unpredictable ride through Half-Life 2, with extra (and sometimes new) enemies added to the world, lots of new weapons, over-the-top effects and bullet time. It’s unbalanced, it’s unstable, and it’s all very silly. It is also an important part of Half-Life 2 modding history, and one that I’m glad to see people keeping alive.
Gordon’s Big Adventures
There are an enormous number of single player mods for Half-Life 2, but for now, here’s a handful of fresher releases — proof that there’s life in the old HEV suit yet.
Entropy: Zero by “Breadman” Released: October 2017 Download: Direct via Steam
All cops are bastards, and Combine Metrocops are double bastards. And now you are one, you git. Entropy: Zero puts you in the shoes of a Metrocop who enjoys his job just a little too much, especially the civilian-brutalising part. Being the bad guy, you get to casually waltz through Combine energy shields, use a (prototype and inaccurate) pulse rifle, and even carry around Manhacks to deploy for combat and puzzle-solving purposes. Oh, and you’ve got cool blue hazy night vision mode.
It does have weirdly uneven difficulty. On Normal mode basic rebel troops don’t do much damage, unless they shotgun you, which really, really hurts. Still, some nice setpieces, and a surprising amount of dialogue. Make sure you have subtitles turned on, ‘cos for some reason the mod crashes if you don’t.
There is an MMod compatibility patch available here for Entropy: Zero but at present it disables some of the mod’s neat effects, like the blue visor-vision replacing your flashlight, and bypasses the Manhack stuff.
Cosmonaut by “Dolmo” Released: May 2019 Download: Mod DB
A cosmonaut escapes from his station, right into the middle of the Combine occupation. What plays out from there feels almost like an abridged version of Half-Life 2 and its expansions. There’s an opening scene where you’re being walked through a Combine processing centre, an escape sequence, canals and a sewer level, followed by it opening up a little once you have the SMG. It’s well paced, well scripted stuff, even if it’s hard to shake the feeling that it’s been done before, and it’s an astonishing piece of work for just one mapper.
As Cosmonaut uses vanilla Half-Life 2 weapons and balance, I can’t see any reason not to use the MMod patch for it, too. Adds some nice punch to those gunfights.
Downfall by “marnamal” Released: April 2017 Download: Direct via Steam
Short but sweet, this is the first chapter in a planned series of Episode 2 style levels. If it had voice acting, this could easily pass for an official Valve production, and delivers a good 45 minutes or so of Ep2 style action: a little bit of driving, and lot of exploring pockets of buildings, dense with traps, secrets and optional routes.
The only real complaint I can level against Downfall is its bizarrely huge download, part of its self-contained Steam distribution. There’s also an MMod compatibility patch for it, improving it further. I’d recommend turning off Crepuscular Rays though – they get a bit glitchy.
Half-Life 2: Episode 3 – The Closure by Leon “Spymaps” Brinkmann Released: Version 2 on May 2016 Download: Mod DB
Again, the work of a single mapper, The Closure is on the far opposite end of the scale, i.e. you’d never mistake this for a Valve production. Its adherence to accepted Half-Life lore is questionable, it frequently breaks away from first-person perspective for cutscenes, and its borrowed Hollywood soundtrack is an order of magnitude too bombastic and loud. But…
… This is easily five or six hours of Half-Life 2, with some impressive set piece fights. There are plenty of opportunities to cut loose with bigger, more explosive guns, and it goes above and beyond on features, offering optional increased enemy density (independent of normal difficulty settings). There’s even an integrated hint system, offering a shortcut on puzzles if you get stuck.
While there is an MMod compatibility patch for The Closure, it’s largely a matter of preference whether you use it, as it overwrites The Closure’s own reskinned weapons and enemies.
The Gate 2 by Craig J. Beattie
Released: August 2014 Download: Mod DB
“President Bush, the grey aliens, they watch while we kill each other!” – Real actual voiced dialogue from The Gate 2.
It’s the sequel to Half-Life 1 mod The Gate, where you played as an American special forces soldier sent back in time to defeat the Nazis. Somehow, it makes the original seem mundane. There’s even dinosaurs.
The Gate 2 only gets weirder over its 4+ hour run-time. The combat is Half-Life 2 standard for the most part, although there’s perhaps too little health, and some areas hit you with an instant Game Over if your suicidal squadmates die. Still, the most memorable thing here is the story, which feels like a direct feed from the brain of one of those guys who believes that the pyramids were UFO hangars.
Gordon’s Big Jam Session
One of the best places to be for fresh Half-Life 2 these days is fan-site RunThinkShootLive, maintained by Phillip Marlowe. As well as hosting a review database of maps and mods for several games, he organises annual Half-Life 2 map-jam competitions, complete with prizes. Each year features five challenges, with a limited time to produce a single level to that theme. Philip then packs all the maps up into a single themed mod, easy to install and play. Here are the big releases of the past three years.
The Hammer Cup 2016 by Various Mappers Released: 2016 Download: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
Featuring ChasmVille, LiberationVille, BacktrackVille, TrapVille and AnyVilleVille. While had been a few map jams on RTSL besfore, the Hammer Cup 2016 was where it hit the big leagues. Some interesting themes here, starting with chasms (and dropping things into them), liberation, and creative backtracking. This jam wrapped up with AnyVilleVille, which let the contributors pick any theme from any prior contest on the site. Of the last set, Castle Siege may be playing it a little safe, but is an excellent, scenic Episode 2-style uphill battle.
As Hammer Cup maps play it straight, there’s little reason not to use MMod with them, and would you believe that there’s a big compatibility patch bundle right here?
The Hammer Cup 2017 by Various Mappers Half Life 1 SourceReleased: 2017Download: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
DefendVilleTwo, ToxicVille, BridgeVille, TeleportVille and FusionVille this time round – mostly self-explanatory names, except the last. FusionVille asked mappers to combine three of eight past themes into a single coherent level. It resulted in some great setpieces from experienced mappers, with rooftop chases, perilous bridge crossings and even a battle between moving trains.
Once again, there’s a handy MMod compatibility patch bundle available here.
The Lambda Cup 2018 by Various Mappers Released: 2018 to early 2019 Download: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
Consisting of Coastville, GravityGunVilleTwo, BossVille, PhaseVille and ReplayVille, mappers were allowed to use a pair of extra gimmicks on top of Half-Life 2’s usual goodies. There’s the Mechacrab, a tougher, cyborged up headcrab that works alongside Combine troops, and an upgrade for the gravity gun that allows it to freeze objects in mid-air, letting you build floating platforms or hold physics objects in place.
Of this cup, my favourite is probably Chapter 4: PhaseVille, based around the concept of a single map with three segments using a different style of play and conclusion. One of the maps, Off-World Relocation by “XBLAH”, got a standalone and expanded release here.
As with the Hammer cups, there are MMod compatibility patches for all Lambda Cup entries. Grab them here. As the only custom weapon in this series is the gravity gun mod, I don’t think there’ll be any compatibility issues, but mileage may vary.
Gordon Goes To Silent Hill(s)
Apparently there’s a big crossover between Half-Life 2 and Silent Hill fans. I even saw a bit of this in the secret story arc unlockable in the anarchic Garry’s Mod adventure Jazztronauts. If you’ve had enough of being Gordon Freeman: Hero Of The Rebellion for a while and are up for some scares, check our this trio of horror adventures.
Grey by Deppresick Team
Released: August 2012
Download: Mod DB
Grey has some astonishingly detailed environments wrapped in bespoke textures. If I had to level a criticism at this, it’d be that it spends a map or two too long in building up to the start of combat, but what gorgeous maps they are to explore. It’s a relatively short and sweet mod — 2-3 hours, maybe — on your first time round, with puzzles taking up a large chunk of that. Combat is more HL2 than Silent Hill, but that’s just me nitpicking.
Impressively, there’s reason to play this through twice. Completing it unlocks Hard Mode, with some secrets of its own and an extended ending.
Hellsound Dreams by Damian Duda
Released: November 2012 Download: Mod DB
What Hellsound Dreams this one lacks in polish it makes up for in pacing. I’m not even sure there’s a story here beyond spooky houses, police stations and, of course, an asylum to explore, but they sure are haunted. Unpredictable traps and ghosts nip at your health pool, and the player is never well armed until the final act. Perhaps more of a funfair haunted house than a ghost story, but it’s consistently paced and dense with puzzles.
Alchemilla by White Noise Team
Released: April 2015
Download: Mod DB
If Grey and Hellsound Dreams are inspired by Silent Hill, then Alchemilla IS Silent Hill, right down to borrowing locations in the town itself. It also pulls of some great tricks, with classic fade out/fade in room transitions allowing them do to sudden jumps to the fleshy, barbed-wire-wrapped nightmare otherworld. It’s a short but sweet piece of ultra-polished horror. Not even survival horror, just spooky. It’s purely narrative and puzzle-focused — walking sim with puzzles, perhaps — but proof that Silent Hill can still be scary without monsters.
And on that traumatising note, we’ve barely dipped a toe into the deep reservoir of Half-Life 2 adventures, but it should be enough to keep you ravenous lot busy for a week or two. While some mods still maintain active multiplayer scenes, I opted to focus solely on the solo here. If there’s anything you regularly play online and want to invite me to, or a favourite map-set you want to share, please do in the comments below.
Do you need half life 2 to get g-mod?Do you have to buy all of half-life 2 or just half-life 2 episode one for garry's mod?
Garry's Mod requires only that you have one Source game. This includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode One, Half-Life 2 Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source, Portal, and a few others. However, if you have Half-Life 2 Episode One, you will only be able to experience Half-Life 2 Episode One (and Garry's Mod) content. You won't be able to fight alongside Griggs and Sheckley with a home-made 'Antlion Dispatcher', or be teased… Read More
Will garry's mod bought off steam work with half life 2 that has been torrented?Is there a mod for half life 2 that you can play as a head crab zombie?Do you need to have half life or half life 2 to download one of its mods?
Yes you do. Counterstrike: Condition Zero, however, is not a mod of Half Life, and therefore, does not need Half Life to acquire.
What are all the games that works with garry's mod?
Counter-strike Half life:source Zeno clash Half life death-match:source Half life 2 Half life 2: episode 1 Half life 2: episode 2 Day of defeat Portal Team Fortress 2
Where can you download half life 2 demo?Can you Get Garrys Mod On the Xbox 360 For Orange Box?
no you cant but if you buy Half-Life 2 for PC you can get Gmod and mod the game ect.
Is there such thing as a working non buggy version of the half life 2 beta and if there is where can i download it?
No. The best thing to do is to buy Garrys mod and get the addons that contain the beta fetures.
How do I get Garry's mod without getting half life 2?
If this is on minecraft then you go to %appdata% and go to minecraft inside minecraft go to worlds folder get garrys mod and paste it in that folder. the best download is www.minecraft.com/garrysMoD/Download114232
How do you get mods on half life 2 for PC?
In Steam, go to Store and search the specific mod you want, or search Half-Life 2. Then at the top of the page where it says All Items, change that to mods and you can browse different Half-Life 2 mods.
Can you get garry's mod for star wars republic commando?
No, Garry's mod only runs through steam and at the current time only supports: Half-Life: Source Half-Life 2 & Episodes 1 & 2. Half-Life 2: Deathmatch & Lost Coast. Day of Defeat: Source. Counter-Strike: Source. Team Fortress 2. Left 4 Dead. Portal.
Do you need hl2 to play garrys mod?
Not specifically. You need a VALVE game to play Garry's Mod, one of which could be Half-Life 2.
Can you get the portal gun in half life 2 on ps3?
No, unless you use a mod, but I'm not sure how that works.
What do you have to get for Garrys Mod?
For Garry's Mod to work, you need to have downloaded at least one Source速 game. This could be Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike:Source, or Team Fortress 2.
On Team Fortress 2 what is garry's mod?
Gary's Mod is a program that lets you mess around in an engine similar to Half Life 2. If you've seen the Half Life Full Life Consequences videos or any videos made by the same guy, he uses that program to do them. I'm not entirely sure on how to get it, but it should be pretty simple.
What do you need for garrys mod to work?
In order for Garry's Mod to work you need a minimum of one Source Engine game eg. Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 or Portal.
Do you need half life 2 to play garrys mod?
No you do not. You just download Garry's mod and it comes with the Half life 2 models. Your Welcome. Add me on steam. Killermuffinofdoom Incorrect - As stated on the page of Garry's mod on steam, you require a source engine game. a full list of valid games are available here: http://store.steampowered.com/search/?category2=16
Why does Team Fortress 2 go black screen when the game starts?
Because you need Half life 2 Source Because its a half life 2 mod Or you have the following Problems The game is not Good installed something is required for the game
Is counter strike better than half life 2?
No. Counter-Strike is a multiplayer game that used to be a Half-Life mod. It's good and people still play it but Half-Life 2 is better. Although, you're question is kind of dumb because Half-Life 2 is a single player game and Counter-Strike is not. So there's no better or worse.
Is left for dead 2 a half life 2 mod?
No, L4D2 was it's own game. It was just made by Valve on the Source engine.
Is it possible to spawn a Jallopy in Garry's Mod?
Yes, purchase half-life 2 episode 2 and you will have the Jalopy under the vehicle section.
What game on steam do you need to get to get garrys mod?
Any Source game. This includes: Half-Life 2 (You pretty much get stuff from this in any Source game) Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Half-Life 2: Episode 2 Team Fortress 2 Portal Counter-Strike: Source Day of Defeat: Source Get any 2 or more of these and you should be set to go, but I really honestly suggest getting all of them, its only about $50 (if you get the $30 Orange Box, which contains all Half-Life 2… Read More
Is half life 2 good?
uh sorta it's not near as funny as garry's mod though. -|U.S.A|RockLord
What do you need to play Garry's mod?
A computer that was bought at least after 2006 to run Half-Life 2 aka HL2
Can you use garrys mod with the orange box or just half life 2?
It is compatible with every game in the Orange Box.
Will the half life 2 demo work with garrys mod?
No you need the full game or any other source engine
How do you play multiplayer in Half life?
There is something called Decay on the first half-life where you play as two women during the incident. There is also a half-life 2: deathmatch, and that's more or less it. There is Half-Life Deathmatch and Half-Life Deathmatch: Source. You can also download a mod, 'Sven Co-op', which allows you to play the Half-Life story with other players.
Do you need half life 2 to use any version of garry's mod?
Not necessarily. You need a game using Source SDK.
What is the best xbox game?Can you use garrysmod with counter-strike 1.6?
No you cannot because Counter Strike 1.6 runs on the original counter strike engine. Every game on garrysmod must run from the Source Engine or any game ran off of HL2. From my memory, These are the requirments. You must have ONE for gmod to work. Garrys Mod*Required Half Life 2 *You need this for basically everything in Garrys mod Half Life 2 Episode One Half Life 2 Episode Two Counter Strike Source Team Fortress… Read More
What are some unused half life 2 product codes?
The best way to find one is to buy Half Life 2. There should be an unused product code in there. :)
What is the difference between half life and half life source?
Half Life is the original game released in the late 90's. This also include the popular multi-player mod Counter Strike. 'Source' is the name of the new game engine that was designed to run it's sequel Half-Life 2. The updated version of Counter Strike that uses this engine is called CS:Source. 'Half Life: Source' is a remake of the original Half Life using the updated engine. [stormroad says] [basicley its the a little better quallity… Read More
Is there any game close to Gary's mod?
No, there is not any games like gary's mod, but there is JBmod..a different version of garys mod, find it here. (see related link) It requires HL2 (Half life 2) so if you want another game like it, you have to buy HL2.
What is the difference with HL and HL source?
Half life is the original game that was created by Valve that made them so rich and big. Half life: Source is the exact same game, but in the Source Engine. The Source Engine is the game engine that games like Team Fortress 2, Half life 2, and Portal use. Half life: Source is also said to have slightly upgraded graphics. It can also be used as content in mods or in Garry's mod.
How do you run Garrys Mod with Windows XP?
The Source engine, which runs Garry's Mod, Half Life 2 and most other Valve games, runs on XP, so you can run the game normally without having to do anything special.
Is there a source mod for half-life 2 that acts like gta in any way like gta city 17 or something?Can you play Halo 3 on PC?
Well.. No, but.. I run a team called Moddifend Game Studios. We work heaps with Source (Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, etc.) We are making a mod for Half Life 2 and maybe Half Life which is just a Halo 3 PC conversion basically. We will make sure Valve put it on Steam. Sean moddifend-game.blogspot.com
What are some computer games that demonstrate and use ragdoll physics?
half life 2 counter strike source left 4 dead left 4 dead 2 garrys mod
On Gary's mod for Half Life 2 will the gameplay and physics be the same as seen in videos if your computer meets the minimum requirements but not the reccommended?
yes but the computer will have to have a lot of space or it will crash
Where do i save the alyx nude mod for half life 2 and can you give me the website for one that works with vista?
Answer 1 : Do not know for Half life 2 but know for Gmod .. !http://nosexsesnsored.blogspot.com/ follow simplified instruction and ENJOY ! Also someone else posted a reply down bellow my comment .. read that also .. Answer 2: If it's a legal version through Steam (I hope so!) then the path is: c:program filessteamsteamapps<<steam login>>half-life 2hl2models Put the files from the mod in there. you will probably need to make the models folder; steam… Read More
How to get garrys mod to work?
First you buy the game of course But it's not complete yet. You need a source for it. Now sources include Half-Life, Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat. Buying anyone of those will do the trick. Once bought you don't need ot do anything else. They will integrate themselves with Garrys Mod. So then you'll be able to play Garrys mod. ITT: Buy TF2, Half Life, or Day of Defeat and there you go. i… Read More
Will there be a Half life 3?
Half-life 2 Episode Three will be the next Half-Life game created by Valve. It is not known if there will be an official Half-Life 3. Originally, Gabe Newell planned the Half-Life 2 episodes to actually be Half-Life 3.
On the orange box which half life 2 do you start with?
you start with half life 2, then you play half life 2 episode 1, then you play half life 2 episode 2, so you are basically playing them in the order they are in at the game select screen (where you choose any of the half life games, portal or tf2)
Where can you download the latest version of Garry's Mod for Half Life 2 and Counter Strike Source?
The latest version of Garry's Mod can only be found on Valve's 'Steam' distribution channel. It costs $10, and you need to have Half-Life2 or Counter-Strike: Source already installed. You can also get it with Team Fortress 2 but I do not recomend it, if you want Team Fortress 2 (TF2) I would buy it seperately. Garry's mod or 'Gmod' as people call it is worth the money. You can buy it from the Steam… Read More
Is half life opposing force on Playstation 2?What age rating is Half-Life 2?How do you import half life 1 weapons into half life 2?
Buy Half Life: Source Or Buy Garrysmod a Half-Life 2 Modification and get the addon 'Half-Life Rennaisance' Link to Half Life Rennaisance: http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=57033 Enjoy!
How many gigabytes is Garry's Mod?
Garry's Mod 11 is about 150mb in size, but it imports the models, textures, etc. into the mod from other games installed on your computer that run on the Source Engine, like Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2. After it adds a large amount of that content it could end up being 1GB - 4GB, or even more, depending on how many Source games you have.
What games does the orange box for ps3 have on it?
Half Life 2 Half Life 2: Episode 1 Half Life 2: Episode 2 Portal Team Fortress Hope this helps ;)
For one reason or another I managed to totally miss playing any of the Half-life series. I have the time and money now to play these games that I have heard such great things about. So what are all the Half-life games that I should play? and what order should I play them in?
I am confused of where the episodes and expansions all fit in. And what they mean by 'Source' versions. Are these even part of the same series? And what about Blue Shift, Lost Coast, or Opposing Force? So many games, and I don't know where or if they fit.
Are there any in the series that I should skip, or just read the plot summary for? Can someone please give me a run-down of what I should play, in order.
Frank♦
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Adam HarteAdam Harte
7 Answers
The must-play Half-Life games are Half-Life 1, then Half-Life 2. The expansions and spin-offs for Half-Life 1 which were not developed by Valve are quite skippable; Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Decay return to the setting and events of Half-Life 1, but portray the story through the eyes of a U.S. Marine, a security guard and two scientists (since Decay is a cooperative multiplayer game), respectively.
The Source version of Half-Life 1 is, and I quote:
a digitally remastered version of the critically acclaimed and best selling PC game
Needless to say it's smoke and mirrors, there's absolutely no significant difference between the two.
My advice is to play the original Half-Life 1, then Half-Life 2, and if you'd like to extend the pleasure, sequels Episode 1 and Episode 2 for Half-Life 2 are quite good, but not as good as the two main games.
Nicolas BazireNicolas Bazire
The HL2 episodes are not an accessory part of the story, but actual sequels. They do contain plot changing events. The same is not true for the Half Life 'One' series, as far as I know.
Thus:
As for Portal -- it does contain some side references to corporate entities in the Half Life universe, but as it is that's more flavor than actual plot.
badpbadp
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The Source versions are a remake of the original games on the engine used by HL2. Half Life: Source is pretty much identical to Half Life.
The recommended playing order is pretty much the release order:
Half Life 2: Lost Coast is just a tech demo for graphics options that went into later Source games. If you want to be quick, you can skip everything but Half Life and Half Life 2.
Portal is also tangentially related to the Half Life plot, but isn't too important as it doesn't have much story of its own. Portal 2 may change this however.
MachaMacha
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As already pointed out, the most logical order is to play the games by their initial release dates. This is assuming you want to follow the Half Life story from start to finish.
Someone has already mentioned 'Half-Life Decay'. This is a coop game mode available on the Half-Life PS2 release. It takes place during the events of the first game. It is possible to play this on the PC (as someone has managed to port it onto the PC).
Lost Coast is a very short demo. It takes part in the realms of Half Life 2, but from memory the location doesn't appear in the full game.
Half-Life also has a rich mod community. One of the stand out mods would be the Black Mesa project - whereby Half Life 1 is being remade into the Source engine, used to make Half Life 2. The difference between this mod and the Half-Life: Source release is that the graphics are being completely polished.
Depending on your tolerance, or appreciation, for older games, it is feasible to completely skip Half Life 1, or at least the expansions. They were great games but are still old games. Not to say Half Life 2 isn't an old game.
Will you miss anything not playing Half-Life 1? Not really. The story in Half-Life 2 is so different. A different time, a different location, different enemies.. If Half-Life 1 never existed, Half-Life 2 would still be a great game and story.
If you play Half-Life 2 then the episodes are worth going through as they immediately follow events from the main game. There is also a cliff-hanger at the end of Episode 2. Episode 3 never appeared and people have been waiting a generation for the next installment.
Portal has been mentioned but the game is not like Half-Life. Don't assume that you MUST play Portal 1 and/or 2 because you played Half-Life.
user101016
There appears to be a lot of opinion and speculation generated from this question, so I am going to use the Wikipedia listing of the chronological Half-Life games, in order to give a rough overview of each game in the series. See below on my thoughts for deciding if you should play certain titles.
Which Games Should I Play?
I can't really tell you. The Half-Life series is so broad and diverse that it spans many releases, some official, some not. I have provided meta-reviews, where applicable, to help provide a general consensus of quality; However, due to different opinion, you might very well enjoy titles that were effectively shunned by the general community.
For this reason, I would mostly advise you to do your own research. Watch somebody play on YouTube. Read your own reviews on the game. In some cases, you can purchase packs of older titles at a good price, so you might consider buying a set of games and making your decision within the first hour or so of game-play.
There are some absolutes I can provide, that is, what games you should play for the purpose of story. Please keep in mind that some games are re-makes, in one way or another. In such cases, I will only list the original version. It is again up to you, personally, to decide whether you would have a greater experience replacing said title for the newer version, or if you in fact wish to play the very first release.
I am very interested in the story, including minor plot.
The following titles provide story, and are ordered in approximate order. There are several games the occur around each other, from alternate points of view, which can easily be played in any order. Furthermore, there are several titles that do not provide any form of story, which will be omitted.
Half-Life -> Half-Life: Opposing Force -> Half-Life: Blue Shift -> Half-Life 2 -> Half-Life 2: Episode One -> Half-Life 2: Episode Two
I am only interested in major story, and do not wish to involve minor plot.
The following title order will provide you with the main Half-Life plot. They are the main releases, with the episode releases intended to replace the expected long waiting time for Valve to develop an entirely new game.
Warband blood in the west. Half-Life -> Half-Life 2 -> Half-Life 2: Episode One -> Half-Life 2: Episode Two.
The GamesHalf-Life (also see Black Mesa)
Half-Life: Source
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Another feature this game brought was the inclusion of high-definition models and textures, which would also upgrade Half-Life and Half-Life: Opposing Force.
Half Life: Decay
Black Mesa
Half-Life 2 (see Lost Coast, included with HL2)
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2: Episode Three
The internet is filled with rumors concerning Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Is it really coming? Have Valve ditched the 'episodic structure', and instead, working on Half-Life 3? You will see 'episode three' listed within the game series, but be aware that most of it, at present, is speculation. When the game is released, this answer can be edited to include the appropriate information. I would speculate that, given the amount of time since Episode 2 compared to the time it took to develop Episode One and Episode Twp, and the expectation that an entire Half Life game would take a lot more time, we should be expecting Half Life 3 rather than another episode.
Further Information
Furthermore, it is possible to 'replace' the Gravity Gun in Half-Life 2 with the Portal Gun from Portal, with some easy manipulation on the user-end.
user106385
ok.. i read all the answers above, and i must agree in some parts and disagree in others. If anyone really wants to have more than just a simple answer like my fello slacker answers above, read this. If you become a true fan and wants to know about the game (more than just playing, but to treat the storyline as a master piece like if it was a book), then this is the order and reason why to play them:
Note that Gearbox games are not yet decided to be cannon or not.. if they decide they are ( which Half-Life: Blue Shift is most likely to the presence of Barney Calhoun on Half-Life 2), then you would not want to play some new storyline without a clue what they are talking about because you skipped the previous games, besides.. they are all fun :P
Portal games are in the same universe and you never know when they are going to combine the characters from within.
And guys.. That is how you answer someone's question :)
AND FOR THE COMMENT OF THE GUY ABOUT BLACK MESA: Fl studio reg file download.
If you learn to read.. i said it is developed by Valve to be SOLD, not to be finished. AND it is being worked by their development team to finish the chapters in Xen. I mentioned the mods to give a little bit of credit.. even though they are not done, they still put effort on them (except Hazard Team, lets keep hoping they finish working on it. That is as far as i know aboht that mod, that is dead. if is not or you have some kind of information about it that i have not mentioned or you might want to add.. please write it so i can be informed).
AND as i must add and restate: playing this expantions and Portal games are just to know and/or be prepared for any other storyline it could come ahead, if u got the time and money as you said.. go ahead and play them all.. if not then just play what you feel like it... this was just my recomendation. It would not surprise me, in fact, i am expecting for Valve to recommend players in some kind of announcement to play Black Mesa as they call it cannon for the storyline (when they finish Xen ofcourse). If the other mods are as good as Black Mesa.. my opinion goes the same for them.
user62181user62181
(add-ons include, opposing force, blue shift, decay, and the mod remake of half life 1, Black Mesa).
Then play, Portal 1 (if you have it). Half life 2, HL2 episode 1, HL2 episode 2, Portal 2, and then maybe play TF2 just for fun.
That's my recommendation. =D (Also, even though Black Mesa is still incomplete, it still does a good job of re-creating HL1 and making it look even better then before, you should play it even more since now it has multiplayer, but still, just a recommendation). That said, please play it after HL1 to compare, and play HL2 after. Thanks! Just wanting to state my opinion!
Ramdom_Man11Ramdom_Man11
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