I'm so conflicted over this one I've been avoiding it for weeks. :argh:

My vote goes to Halo as far as experiences go, but only by a hair. For me, Halo: CE campaign is quite simply a work of art that is worthy of the highest praise a game can get. Multiplayer absolutely soared, especially with the second installment. We still occasionally hook up some LAN action with the original and always have a blast. Sometimes reminiscing on games can be disappointing, couldn't be further from the truth with Halo.

Multiplayer really settled the decision in the end, specifically LAN parties with a bunch of close mates.

Half Life for me, I've never been a huge fan of Halo, I find the story/characters/universe of Half Life a lot more interesting, Halo would probably have a better multiplayer but when it comes to single player (of which I play more of) Half Life wins for its wider variety in gameplay and environments, the physics based puzzles of Half Life 2 and Episode One are great :thumbsup: .

Also I never get tired of having fire fights with Combine soliders :D

Mute Hero? Check. Glasses? Check. Crowbar? Check.

Half Life all the way :D

Looking back at Half Life, what was it? It was a game that had a very good AI system, and that was it. HL2 was pretty good as far as set pieces go, but AI was lacking and...well, it was pretty, wasn't it? Why didn't F.E.A.R get the same amount of hype as the HL series, I wonder, especially when they contain exactly the same things; F.E.A.R had excellent AI and graphics, but was lacking an actual GAME.

HL got my vote in the end as there were definatly memorable moments, and Garrys Mod. Technically though, Halo is definatly superior.

Sorry, but Master Chief spanks Gordon's bottom anyday.

Single player goes to Half Life. Halo's boring environments and somewhat repetative gameplay lets it down.
On the flipside Halo wins in multiplayer.

In the end I would choose HL2 over Halo 2.

Halo for me although that's a bit unfair because I am still yet to enjoy the wonders of the Half Life franchise. Multiplayer Halo really is something when you can get some decent players in, although if you ask me Gears of War has now trumped it in terms of fun.

Single player wise, Halo is pretty sweet as well although a tad on the repetitive side.

I've actually never played through either Half Life game. So, Halo for me.

So many people who haven't played Half Life... tsk tsk...

Playing through HL2 isn't a repetitive chore, and the physics based interaction is very nice. And well Half Life and Half Life 2 have infinitely more replayability due to mods like Counterstrike, CTF, Team Fortress etc.

Halo is fun and all but Half Life is just so much fun. I remember the first time I got flanked by a soilder in the first half life it was so awsome. What I remember of halo is always being third behind the clanners(PC version). Halo 2 again fun but massively dissapointing ending. Half life 2 I wished would never end and it didn't bring on episode 2 I say.

If you've played HL2, and you vote for halo, you're a moron. :P

Just an interesting tidbit on Half-Life 2: Episode 2 for the 360....it's now gonna be called Half-Life 2: Orange. :\
Strange name...sorta like calling Halo 3, Halo 3: Green. :S

Why, exactly? Halo brought a whole heap of new stuff to the table, HL has decent AI (in number 1) and decent physics (in number 2). The only reason people like it so much is that it gave birth to CS, DoD and TFC.

I can't dissagree more, especially since I hardly play CS(not my style) and I've never played any of the DoD or Team Fortress games.

Half-Life 2 was simply just a far better sinplge player experience than either Halo, or Halo 2...and I can't really think of anything signifcant that the Halo series "brought to the table".

That said, I did enjoy the Halo games, it's just that I beleive that HL2 was the better title.

Hell no, I love Half Life but I cant stand CS :P

Half Life is a case study "how to make a single player FPS game" :D

Half Life single player. Halo multi. I gave it to halo because its just more fun for me.

I voted for Halo, this is mainly because of the fantastic multiplayer mode that has given me bragging rights over my friends for so many years, but also because I have never played on Half Life.

HL is so nauseatingly hyped, it's not funny. Arguably, so is Halo, but HL more so. In my opinion, HL2 was a shooter like any other, and the reason it excelled was primarily the physics and the action sequences. The story...? For God's sake, every one talks about it like it's the Bible II: the plot is so recycled, it's about as convincing as Saddam Hussein's alibi.

Half-Life 2 is a good game, don't get me wrong. The physics do make it. Think about it though; if the game didn't have any, it'd just be another sub-standard FPS.

Agreed that Physics do make the game, however, it's the physics in combination with the level design and atmosphere, along with pacing that is what makes Half Life 2 that step up above everything else for me.

Halo / Halo 2 were both repetitive in nature, having corridors that look exactly the same, and the story... well Halo 2 had one of the most annoying stories I can remember, because of one character, Arbiter.

Back to the physics argument, I am sure that a few of you remember the game Red Fraction, which a fair bit of destructible environments, and whilst this is cool in the same respect as physics is, the game however is not universally applauded, and I wonder why that is...

If Half Life is just another shooter, other than Deus Ex, what can you really consider a better (shooting) game than it?

The original Half-Life had practically none-existant physics compared to HL2, and look how widely applauded that was...hell, it revolutionised first person shooters.

Again, I can't seriously think that any sane person would pick Halo 2 as having a better sinple player campaign than Half-Life 2.

I also think that if anything, the Halo titles were signifcantly more hyped than Half-Life or Half-Life 2, and aguably with the expection of Halo 2, all titles lived up to said hype.

To be fully honest, I prefer Halo 2's more sprawling environments. Yes, Halo's single-player campaign was crap from 343 Guilty Spark onwards (as I've stated elsewhere), I will admit that.

As for better shooters, I think Call Of Duty is a far better FPS than Halo or Half Life. For me, it all comes down to atmosphere. The same goes for Far Cry and Battlefield.

But then again, this topic is about Halo vs. Half-Life. :P I think this if the first match-up that's actually been pretty good. :D

I agree with mr dislexic here. HL2's single player campaign has so much more than Halo 2's its not funny. Levels, puzzles, enemies, weapons, you name it, its all better in HL2.
I got really into these 'mods' for HL2 as well - CS: Source and Day of Defeat Source - imo simply awesome multiplayer modes. They're not for everyone but once you get hooked, look out.

Question: Will I be able to play Half Life 2 when it releases for the 360 and understand the events that are happening easily? Or will I have to have played the original Half Life in order to enjoy HL 2 properly?

I unfortunately can't have access to the original Half Life as I don't have a gaming PC, so I am lucky that HL 2 is coming to the 360 and I hope that I will be able to play it and enjoy it like the rest of you did. But even if I can't, it has Portal so that's enough for me...

The story isn't particularly overt in HL 2 so I wouldn't worry about being lost. All you need to know is...


*SPOLERS*



...that an expirement in portals goes wrong and invites an alien army into the middle of a Black Ops laboratory called Black Mesa.

As physicist Gordon Freeman you are caught in the middle and eventually defeat the invading force by travelling to a world previously conquered by the alien army and destroying one of the generals stationed there.

At the end you are approached by a man in a suit who offers you a choice: 'employment' or death. Motives for this character are, to date, unexplained.

HL2 picks up after you choose employment. You've been in limbo for a number of years only to wake up in an Earth vastly changed to the one you knew and now controlled by the alien Combine.



**END SPOILERS**

Anyway if it was a choice between the original Halo and Half-Life it would go to Halo. Before its release Half-Life was the best shooter going around but Halo managed to surpass it.

However on their most recent efforts it is Half-Life 2 by a mile, especially after the brilliant Episode 1.

I can't believe there is any argument here. Half-Life 2 is the most polished, sublime and brilliant shooter to be made. Sure, it isn't faultless but neither is it anything less than the greatest experience a single player first shooter could have.

I'm actually playing through Half Life Source now (because of this thread), still a great game (even though its dated now, and it doesnt really use the source engine :P ), might play through Half Life 2 and then Episode One as well :D And speaking of mods, there's that Black Mesa Source, which will be the orignal HL using the source engine, but this time not a port with better water effects :P

Nismo; what Elpres has said is really all you need to know to enjoy Half Life 2, you'd most likely enjoy it without that knowledge anyway, :thumbsup:

Good to hear because I fully intend on buying it when it releases later this year. ;)

I'm ashamed to say ive played neither PLEASE DONT BAN ME! I simply cannot stand first person shooters, never has and never will do it for me.

Yeah but HL2 Orange is going to have Half Life 2 Episode 1 & 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. So as far as im concerned they can call it whatever they want.

My personal favorite FPS for storyline is System Shock 2 the frist game to make the true FPS/RPG hybrid. Scary as hell too.


I love both of these games. I have plugged countless hours into Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Half-Life Deathmatch, The Specialists, Team Fortress Classic and many many other Mods... Dont get me started on HL2. Before this forum i was on the failed Holdout modifcation for Half-Life 2.

Halo on the other hand has been the source of many, many hours of Halo 2 System link. I personally loved the singleplayer, it was truly a amazing feat for the Xbox and deserves as much praise as it has. No other game have i really had so much fun with my friends.

I love both titles so much that i cannot tear myself to one side without feeling ashamed... :no:

Based on the enormity of mods and other games that spawned from Half-Life, it wins.

Had Halo 2 not gone in a downward spiral into nothingness with Arbiter storyline/gameplay and had multiplayer on Xbox Live been feasible in a country like Australia (see: crappy broadband value) then Halo might have done it for me.

But until then cs has taken and continues to take far more of my time than halo ever did. Despite that, I'll always remember Halo CE coop with Metallix on Legendary, that was something that no other game had.

Agreed, never has a game had so much replay value and kept me immersed for so long.