HALF-LIFE (Zero Punctuation)

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This week, it's time for that game.
Fast-talking Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews a new game each week in this animated series that combines informed critique with cutting humor. Watch the next episode of Zero Punctuation a week early, only on The Escapist.
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[@thelastcarnival]

At 3:44 Yahtzee describes Gordon Freeman as depicted in "Freeman's Mind" perfectly.

[@DeepDiveDevin]

I thought the very same.

[@DeepDiveDevin]

...yes?

[@InfiniteDarkMass]

He mentioned Freeman's Mind in his AMA. So it was probably intentional. = )

[@bigrigjoe5130]

@@InfiniteDarkMass The sad part is Ross Scott openly doesn't like him. Yahtzee even sent Ross free copies of Consuming Shadow for Ross to review and he just refused XD

[@BLZ231]

@@bigrigjoe5130 wait, really?

[@Lieutenant_Dude]

Got Half Life and played it through for the first time yesterday (a crime for someone born in the late 80s who likes games, but I didn't have a respectably functional PC until college and by then I had put gaming on hiatus). That game deserves all of it's accolades. It took 13 hours to beat...in one sitting. I forgot to eat yesterday, and probably shouldn't play anything on Steam for a week just to recuperate.

[@Greg_Ulmer]

its*

[@johnkaeden]

You have redeemed yourself, good sir.

[@jubbie1122]

3:38 , and thats why we all lovd the "in freemans mind" machinima

[@geoffreyprecht2410]

jubbie1122 Thanks for the reminder that this gem still exists! I'll have to go binge it now, since it's been years.

[@VRichardsn]

Not only that, but it just begun its second season, which means we have Freeman's Mind for another 10 years or so.

[@SavageGreywolf]

someone should pay Ross Scott money to say "Oh boy! I couldn't wait for an excuse to return fire on those science-hating jocklecocks! I bet they voted against stem cell research!" into a microphone

[@DoomguyIsGrinningAtYou.]

In my mind, In Freeman's Mind, is undoubtedly cannon.

[@CyberLink70]

Alfredo Alfredington Did he? What joke?!

[@killer-ws3lf]

4:29 They didn't immediately make him the second leader of the rebellion, they did however know that Gordon was a very proficient fighter having fought his way pretty much single handedly through the battlegrounds of the Black Mesa facility and having defeated the aliens at Xen. So they knew that he would be an incredibly valuable asset to the rebellion. He did however become the symbol of the rebellion after he and Alyx stormed, and pretty much destroyed Nova Prospekt, along with all the other Combine soldiers they encountered.

[@wormwoodbecomedelphinus4131]

Also he went from a crowbar to fucking dark matter guns without outside help. He grabbed said dark matter gun from the corpse of his enemy.

[@danielasilva69457]

I think there's a line in half life 1 where one of the scientist said that Freeman's HEV was full of trackers and everyone, both the military and the Lambda Core scientists , was watching his every move

[@Axl4325]

@@danielasilva69457 yes I do remember, one of the scientists gives you some relevant information about the lamba complex I think and then says this, that's also why the soldiers always managed to ambush you and even prepare machine gun nests

[@ThePigeon5734]

@@danielasilva69457 yes, it's in Apprehension before the freezer room, shortly after the second (optional) ichthyosaur fight.

[@MrOmegatronic]

And not just the two of them single-handedly storming Nova Prospekt and the Combine, but storming it _with a horde of ravenous untameable (if you're not a Vortigaunt) insects obeying his every command_ . To all most people knew, if they weren't aware of the Vortigaunt assistance, he'd probably come off as such a good leader that even ravenous, mindless beasts will pledge their loyalty to him.

[@lordcommissarspartan]

Had to use a crowbar to get that ending pun to fit.

[@paladinboyd1228]

Anthony Maguire, What is happening in your profile picture?

[@lordcommissarspartan]

Paladin Boyd It's a cropped version of Lucario riding a dildo.

[@lordcommissarspartan]

Paladin Boyd It's less funny when I actually describe it.

[@paladinboyd1228]

Anthony Maguire, Well at least I know and going by what I know of the internet I assume the Lucario is male.

[@lordcommissarspartan]

Paladin Boyd Yep. Do you want a link to the original image?

[@krisstasko]

"i bet _they_ voted against stem cell research!" reminds me of, er... freemans mind

[@RegretfulDeadMan]

Yahtzee has admitted that he's a big fan

[@mortarpestle.4267]

+TGX (Game Reviews And Stuff) I thought Yahtzee was WAY to high-strung to remotely consider anything from Ross Scott. Happy I'm proven wrong.

[@TheFormHater]

@@mortarpestle.4267 Ross's work is high art.

[@abcdefzhij]

I hit the spot so reliably the ladies call me the G-Man Dead

[@metalvitezek7545]

"Rise and shine, Mr. Fremman"

[@MrLangz0r]

i dont know why but seeing Gorden freeman at 3:50 and he said at 3:35 that the reason why he was a beloved Charecter was that we could think that he could be anyone we wanted him to be. made me think he looked like Walter white From Breaking bad

[@collinarter2470]

For me, he is Morgan Freeman.

[@skysnow2495]

I'm sorry about replying to an old comment, but Morgan Freeman is loved for his voice. Gordon Freeman and Morgan Freeman just do not mix. Maybe they are related and Morgan Gordon's vocal chords, improving Morgan's voice.

[@skysnow2495]

Got his vocal chords, can't edit my comment for some reason to fix that.

[@magnusm4]

IDIOT! HE look like Gordon Freeman.

[@jonahwolf3252]

You got it backwards. Walter White looks like Gordon Freeman, not the other way around.

[@Wafflepudding]

I still think this is at least in part a narcissistic thing, since Yahtzee is basically an HEV suit and a crowbar away from looking exactly like Gordon Freeman.

[@wilhelmcooning]

Just finished playing this for the first time: it really was incredible! I'd played half-life 2 a while back, and while I loved that game, this one was so much more gritty. In Half Life 2 (like most shooters) you are a bad ass who does bad ass shit... In Half Life 1, you're just a dude whose day at work got very out of hand. The US government make a far more ominous enemy than the Combine, and the final boss of the alien forces is utterly horrific. And there is a prevailing sense of claustrophobia (you are mostly trapped underground) that adds a level of intensity you won't find in many other games. Half-life 2 now feels a bit tame by comparison, despite the obvious graphical improvements.

[@britishnerd3919]

+Will X and it has the best weapons in any game ive ever played. god i like the hive hand, gluon gun, tao cannon and snarks.

[@schpeak5503]

+Will X same dude, just finished

[@britishnerd3919]

Unique Gamers Its great, isnt it

[@schpeak5503]

British Nerd Yeah, it's definitely in my top 20.

[@mothman7531]

I don't know how well looked into this fact is, but at the beginning locker room area you can look inside Freeman's locker. You find spare clothes, his M.I.T. degree, and also a blurry picture of a child? I always wondered what that whole thing was about.

[@MasterGriefSr]

As I am finally working through HL2 Episode 2, I have come to the conclusion that Freema DOES have a fantastic PR team: the Vortigaunts. I mean just listen to them, "The Freeman Excels in all things!" Guess slaughtering untold numbers of them in he first game left an impression.

[@SauceApple51]

I really can't see why people think this and HL2 are highly overrated. I think it may be because they are focusing on gameplay only, as it is what you are doing the whole time. The gameplay and physics are great, but people expect it to be even better because of the talk about the game as a whole. Gameplay alone, then considering it being overrated is reasonable. But the game as a whole is NOT overrated. I think people are also considering the overrated-ness being over-rated, meaning they say that this game is so overrated that it IS gaming. It really isn't, this is a work of art, with gameplay in it, it is not as hyped as the people are saying it is.

[@T--kq3pj]

Blank ᅚ define over-rated. These people probably goes straight to metacritic, watches the top list of pc games and make conclusions about over-rating.

[@SauceApple51]

T-1000 Over rated being that it is too appreciated for what it really is.

[@T--kq3pj]

Blank ᅚ Half-Life 1 was redone from scratch after unsuccessful first build. Much effort was given into that game, many mods started on the base of it. There are still uncovered things about this game popping out like complex AI behaviour, even for today standards. I think its appreciation is well deserved.

[@SauceApple51]

T-1000 Indeed. I don't think you read my comment correctly, my comment was talking about how HL and HL2 are NOT overrated, not the opposite.

[@T--kq3pj]

Blank ᅚ And I don't disagree with you, I was adding to your point)

[@VendErre]

Oh god I lol'd at Freeman, the army dude and the alien army dude all crouched behind their own, respective cover and just looking at each other.

[@GB-mi5he]

Omg the perfectly square player wearing snow shoes... that had me laughing so good!

[@Draggobuttboi]

so basically yahtzee's version of gordon freeman is the physicist version of Walter white

[@mattmaine9433]

Also, when you first go into the portal to Xen, the long jump is like launching yourself off hydraulic springs, it's fucking awesome

[@Allison-qk1ws]

I played through Half-Life for the first time less than a year ago, and I pretty much felt the same way. Good story, pretty fun, must have been fucking amazing when it first came out, and holy shit were there some parts that were clunky, annoying, and made me repeat them 5 times. But there weren't enough bad mechanics to make me feel anything less than I like this game, do not regret spending time/money on it, and would I recommend it.

[@TheStanishStudios]

Black Mesa is a bit less clunky, I highly recommend playing it- it's free!

[@zoeythebee1779]

"Eat science" killed me.

[@AndyStriker13LP]

oh my,i discovered this channel a while ago and watched several videos...long story short,you have earned yourself another subscriber

[@AndyStriker13LP]

***** Thanks, i'm already used to these types of comments, so it won't be a problem

[@Sumaxi]

Heck, I loved the jumping from what I've played the game with, it's getting to know the engine which you can really use to your advantage

[@GoBoomYay]

3:49 The basis of the entire Half-Life/Portal universe in two words.

[@Sam_596]

"Gesture his way through MIT" I believe they call that sign language

[@PonzooonTheGreat]

"His little bearded fists"

[@dalcon555]

Agreed, I played it for the first time about a month ago and came to the same conclusion: the narrative is fucking perfect and the progression of the gameplay is like a chiseled diamond. Truly great.

[@jonathanmatthews4774]

It's 2019. And my itch to play HL1 is getting strong. Again. Despite being 20 years old, this game STILL holds up so well.

[@Patrock17]

I remember my friend back in my grade school days let me borrow his half life CD. Still in love with it since 1999.

[@NamelessPlayerOfficial]

To be honest and fair Half-Life wasn't my thing back then since i knew there was monsters in it because i had a faint heart but then a few years i took up the courage to play the game and said i am brave enough to play it until i jumped into a vent and a headcrab jumped at me and i kinda lost my shit,but still a good game than most FPS games these days like BF and COD so i give Half-Life 10/10 BEST GAME EVER and the opposing force and blue shift stand alone expansion packs gives Half-Life the boost to be at my top shelf for the rest of my life.

[@InfiniteCS]

Half life scared the shit out if me when I first played it

[@NamelessPlayerOfficial]

Ben Shappell I know, those freaky head creatures, and those mutated sciense team, and those freaky head creatures JUMPING out of the vent with no warning that was scary as shit.

[@InfiniteCS]

the two things were headcrabs and barnacles and that creepy atmosphere that got me

[@NamelessPlayerOfficial]

Ben Shappell It got me too.

[@bobdonald1411]

the first time i played the game i had no idea what barnacles where and when i saw some grey ropes over a "river" i was like "Heck yea il be indiana jones!" but then i realised that i was sort of stuck in the rope and couldnt move, i thought it was some sort of bug until i looked up and barely had the time to kill the thing. other than that i didnt get scared so much as to stop playing, only a few jumpscares.

[@scottski02]

The only thing I hated about this game was all the horrendous 1st person platforming. 3/4s of my deaths in this game came from missing a jump or trying (and failing) to inch my way onto a ladder. Otherwise, it's a damn good game, with great gameplay and narrative alike, something very few games old or new have accomplished.

[@T--kq3pj]

***** I liked jumping, especially in Xen levels, that was amazing. Probably it's only for worthy people.

[@ManiacX1999]

IKR? People who says it aged terribly play too much CoD...

[@tomatoesofdoom]

+nick deloreto you gotta learn how to press S after reaching your destination

[@BloodSpatterGaming]

this makes me think of the freeman's mind vids

[@dannyb300]

Freeman's Mind and Black Mesa are remakes of the original Half-life game.

[@ExtremeGamer9951]

Dan reads Freeamns mind is a machinima based on half life source while Black Mesa is an ACTUAL VIDEOGAME.

[@ghostoframsaybolton7062]

Played this game in 2002, when I was 7 loved it so much that I played it again and again on PC. Now i'm 18 and just started playing again. Just as fun as before.

[@andrewkane3171]

I learned something really valuable from this review, how to pronounce Yahtzee's last name.

[@trentongm]

its funny how yahtzee's defense of freeman as a character is the core concept behind freemans mind.

[@Zeturic]

4:18 For a second, I thought you were about to say that they were about to send in "Mother fucking Teresa".

[@bboythekidstudios]

You just made my day with that last part there! XD

[@Helios1138]

"gesture his way through the MIT" xD

[@GBXS]

I think it makes sense that Gordon was so loved in HL2. Whilst nobody seemed to be able to handle the situation and pretty much died, Gordon managed to kill a whole bunch of them and escape. Once that news spread, he became an icon and inspiration. He was able to beat the enemy and with him at their side, they actually figured they had a shot.

[@jojolafrite90]

Wow, I'm old. I was 13 years old when HL got out. And this video is 9 years old. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

[@tentaclesromance9114]

He has and he loves it. He says its like crawling out of a sewer to see a beautiful mountainside view.

[@BotGeorge]

Hello again

[@Bigbub66]

So how did you get a job at Black mesa?

[@DSTORQUE]

OMG HE TALKED!?

[@legionfighter6789]

He can type. Don't forget that!

[@karmicbacklash3763]

HALF LIFE 3 DAMNIT

[@omega920]

HOW ARE YOU NOT A SKELETON BY THIS POINT!

[@Bugman541]

This is the best Zero Punctuation review IMO

[@BigT.Larrity]

I think "Gordon Freeman: Shaking His Bearded Fists in Rage" is an erotic fanfic

[@VanguardFencer]

Bearded fists :3

[@thefreebooter8816]

I found the controls fine. Yahtzee, You love this game. I love this game. I only found one minor gripe, It's a bit too easy.

[@TheRainbowSquid]

+the Freebooter are you human?

[@thefreebooter8816]

+The Rainbow Squid Yes. Probably. I think so. Now I'm doubting myself...

[@andrewhicks3854]

No it is not 😂 at least to me

[@TooCooFoYou]

+the Freebooter It's all fun and games (and easy) until you get stuck climbing down the fucking ladders.

[@thefreebooter8816]

***** NOT THE LADDERS!!!

[@jaytonhawkins2872]

So Gordon Freeman is loved because he is a silent protagonist whom the player can project their own personalities, but Master Chief is criticized for being the exact same thing.

[@holben27]

Console kiddies logic =/= everyone else. Doesnt he talk though? Hes not completely silent

[@skullkid325]

holben27 Extremely rarely. But to be fair his point still stands, it's not as if Chief would be less criticised if he dropped the few lines he has.

[@holben27]

The Skull Kid I dont know even with the few lines he has he still reflects a personality that players are interested in but hardly get more of it so they're frustrated. Ive never actually seen any critisism on chief's lack of dialog. But then again Ive never played halo on console.

[@skullkid325]

holben27 Maybe so but the strong silent type is a big part of his personality, he's messed up. Criticism on his lack of dialogue is quite common, I've seen it a lot in any case. But then I don't put much stock in that kind of thing, most gamers nowadays seem to think you can only like one game in each genre and you have to hate every other one, which isn't really my view. Personally I don't mind the strong silent thing, but if they're 100% silent it's a bit of a downside for me, unless it's a point of immersion (e.g. Dark Souls) or the game itself just plain makes up for it (e.g. Half-Life).

[@paperbackwriter1111]

The problem with master chief is that we kind of get a lot of hints at his personality and he already has this preset "he is an elite super-trained, genetically engineered spartan" thing going on, so he is kind of pushed into a certain type of personality already. And they show him, like in his armor and all that. If you're going that far, why not show his face, why not show him emote in SOME way, that would make him easier to sympathise with, i mean strong silent type is cool and all, but if you don' t see a reaction, how do you figure out his other personality traits (btw i might be talking out of my ass a little, because i played halo only very very tangentally)

[@Chubbaaa]

Good point, they could showcase it like they showcased stuff in Lost Coast, which was wonderful for its length.

[@jrewb7003]

Hey commenters calling it overrated: Stop comparing the game to HL2 and instead compare it to a game made during its time better than it. Oh wait! You can't! When this game was released, people were all over it. Even Sven Co-op was created for people to mod the game and play it in multiplayer. It was the leading game of its time, even the terrible AI in this was considered an astounding feat to gamers all over the internet.

[@ItsSomeDeadGuy]

Auto Winning The only game from around that time that could even be said to be better is Thief.

[@Danny-gg9gs]

Auto Winning qauke 3 was better

[@SanvelloSerapiega]

yet OoT is overrated and he compares it to later titles

[@notsogrand2837]

Auto Winning Actually the A.I is quite good. least better than most games :P

[@joqqeman]

Auto Winning Close Combat 2 was better.

[@pipeandakrape]

haha he had a good point about freeman being so revered when he popped up in the future when he failed to rescue anybody from the black mesa incident! still one of my favorite games of all time though.

[@CrispyChicken44]

Seeing a lot of hate comments for this game. It's funny because either people who actually have the game are lying outta their ass to try to fit in, or just plain shaped by today's video games to actually appreciate a good game. Has a perfect balance between shooting people in the face, to finishing puzzles to continue progress. Then again, it's all up to personal opinion... but don't say this game is bad because YOU didn't like it. Sorry you can't go 2 minutes without shooting someone in the face like most games today do.

[@AnttilaPK]

CrispyChicken44 Oooh, that obstacle course with laser mines and the nuclear bombs. Probably the most tense sequence in any game I've played (so far), with the exception of that one scene in Heavy Rain with the finger.

[@JesseWhiteman117]

CrispyChicken44 People forget that Zero Punctuation is a comedy/satire and just follows along what he is saying without even forming an actual opinion for themselves. Half the comments I read on here seems like none of these people haven't even played this game.

[@EraVulgarisX]

CrispyChicken44 It's a bad game by modern standards, as is nearly every game that's over 15 years old. Don't be so in denial, it exposes your fanboyism.

[@kamidarko]

EraVulgaris Actually you have that backwards, almost every modern game is a bad game by good standards. Good standards having Half Life as an example.

[@kamidarko]

EraVulgaris You seem to be getting butthurt over the fact that these older games were simply made better than the majority of new games produced in the last 10 years. Games like Half-life, Deus Ex and Anachronox were made back when innovation and graphics was actually hard to do, so instead games needed to have thoughtful stories, engaging characters, and at the very least have an interesting world they create. Very few games now a days even bothers with having one of those three. Though you do have a point that I don't play many modern games, because unlike some I refuse to play games that do not appear to have any depth or quality to them. So go ahead and stick to your cardboard cutout shooters and your modern war whatever because I will always choose the likes of Black Mesa or Mass Effect.

[@100bruinsrule]

This is why I love Zero Punctuation Yahtzee's videos. He knows how to give credit where credit is due and still admit when a game has flaws, no matter how few and far between they are. You go Yahtzee, you're awesome!

[@math6844]

Favorite game of all time! :D

[@Claymann71]

0:52 "Do... do we really need the Horse joke, Yhatz?" "YES. Do not question my methods in describing Half-Life!" "ok.'

[@BeauBullockJustCallMeBrock]

if this video were 2 minutes and 36 seconds shorter it would be 3 minutes long. the video is about half life half life 3 confirmed

[@googleforcedhandle]

you said "half lfie 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed

[@BeauBullockJustCallMeBrock]

you said "you said "half lfie 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed

[@dydlus]

you said "you said ""you said "half lfie 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed" half life 3 confirmed

[@E1craZ4life]

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

[@spartan2ar949]

Damn it Valve, Make Half Life 3 Already! Or at least give up Half Life 2 episode 3.

[@posterium_6774]

The ninja part fckn scared me, like when you hear them but don't see them and one second your moving down a hall thing and you start taking damage and freaking out, then you end up camping in a room with claymores attached to the only entrances

[@merrittanimation7721]

I just started wildly shooting in random directions until I stopped seeing things move. Even then I was paranoid of them poping out right up until Gordon gets kidnapped

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

Oh, hello 2012 audio mixing.

[@thod8820]

I always felt a kinda personality from the Black mesa complex. I guess being the size of most European countries can do that. I didn't get the same vib from Half-Life 2 and I think that might be why I liked it more.

[@thod8820]

Also the vorts think hes Mute Jesus because they freed themand the only Humans that think hes a Hero are the ones the Managed to live Black Mesa and they told others. There's a interesting seance in One of the Half-Life 2s were a few rebels don't think your all that. Then something happened and I don't recall seeing them after that. *The sounds of something being squashed and a Gravity Gun being powered down*

[@uncleyakov5422]

The knife was from fallout...just thought I'd say that

[@randomnuke4005]

you make me realize how close to Austin my gordon freeman is

[@tj12711]

-Constantly complains that Link is a blank slate -Says that Gordon Freeman is so likable because he's a blank slate

[@l0stndamned]

+tj12711 Not sure if I'm understanding him right on this one, but the context is different on those two characters. The various Links often have a bit of a personality defined by actions and mannerisms, and a "talk to folks" function, so not saying anything stands out a bit, particularly in the newer games. With Freeman being in first person and not having a talk button, and some characters actively acknowledging that he isn't much of a talker, it a) doesn't seem like quite so much of an issue and b) can allow for the various different ways of looking at the character mentioned in the review.

[@tj12711]

l0stndamned That's fair, although I don't need every single game with a silent protagonist to have NPCs point out that (s)he isn't talking much for me to relate to that protagonist. To me, it's a neat joke the first time you hear it (I first heard that joke in Mario RPG), but it would get annoying quickly if every game did it.

[@jeanettetutt9761]

[@l0stndamned]

***** I fully agree it would get annoying if every game did it :) . I haven't played a Zelda game in a while, but I always got the impression on the ones I played that Link was talking, only we weren't seeing what he said. That kinda bugged me.

[@professornebula6545]

+tj12711 Well, Gordon was intentionally designed this way and it contributes to the story as such, but Link wasn't designed that way, he does things that mimic having an actual personality, but he's pretty one-dimensional, and it hurts the story because it's much harder to put your own personality in the place of Link's that it is with Gordon's.

[@Ribbons0121R121]

the compression strapped on this thing in comparison to the new ones is like hearing someone talking without a mask and then hearing them after they put on a gas mask

[@SillyPillow]

The 5 min tram ride was actually 30 min.

[@SillyPillow]

***** It is. I remember starting it at 3PM I think and then after the tram it was like 3:30PM. And that is a really long time to look at a lab.

[@legionfighter6789]

For some reason, I always find something to laugh at even it's one of the best games ever...

[@wtfgamer89]

EVERYONE should know that half-life and portal is in the same universe and they where all trying to make a portal device but apiture did it and what ever the place is called in half-life failed and opened a portal to a dimension with all these weird animal things.

[@AngryLoo]

Black Mesa Research Facility accidentally caused the resonance cascade, which opened a portal to Xen, allowing aliens to come through. Not really sure how the Combine came to be in Half Life 2, though. The G-Man's role in everything is still a mystery, as he delivered the crystal that allowed the resonance cascade to occur.

[@Stratto5]

Kevin Anthony The aliens in HL1 were fleeing from combine. Portals appeared on Xen so they used them to flee to Earth. After Nihilanth died the combine discovered these portals and got to the Earth. We can see in HL1 that the Xen aliens were using the crystals. My theory is that G-Man caused the resonance cascade just to get the crystals while aliens are busy figting humans.

[@ZeeCobra]

Vaver CZ The G-Man sort of worked for Black Mesa and he supplied them with the Xen crystal so G-Man kind of caused the cascade. You see, the Xen crystal opened up to there world and so the G-Man knowing this would let them all flee and takeover the facility because everybody in the facility are actually quite fucking stupid if you think about it. Nihilanth is aware of G-Man's presence and after the defeat of Nihilanth the G-Man sends Gordon into status only to awake 20 years later to lead a resitance group and defeat the Combine which has now been into this world. They then decide that Breen, Former adminstrator of Black Mesa who was also obviously aware of G-Man refering him as the highest bidder, is now adminstrator of the Combine and Earth until the fall of the citadel. The citadel is destroyed and then the remaining Combine portal is killed by Kleiner the scientiest who appeared everywhere like the Luteces in Bisohock Infinite, Unspeakably your first boner Alyx and your other original Half Life character who was also everywhere, drunken Demoman like character Barney the Resistance Mascot Dinosaur. And then Alyx's father dies, unimportant side character who betrayed him and then helped Alyx's Father find the Borealis finds the Borealis as we await Half Life 3. Come on Valve, we have an incredibly hard penis here waiting to see Alyx in another Source Engine. We need this series to end and I hope it doesn't leave another cliffhanger for another episode we will have to wait another 3 billion year because Gaben wasn't taught how to count right possibly but Count Dracula. And that's it right now.

[@Noobshire]

EVERYONE does know.

[@Lt_Voss]

Black Mesa made a portal gun, I believe it's called the "disruptor cannon" from Opposing Force. Both Aperture's and Black Mesa's portal devices worked but had their drawbacks: you need a special surface for Aperture's, and Black Mesa's teleports you to random locations.

[@Evandir500]

I always get happy when I hear that intro

[@mulza]

Bahaha Counterstrike, game of choice for the first generation of realistic, military shooter gutter c*%#ts. God I love CS.

[@CaptainFoxer]

Let's also mentioned that NPCs such as Houndeyes would investigate loud machines while the player remains undetected, they would also sleep. Bullsquids are presented as territorial predators who usually attack Headcrabs, and one can think that they are it's main food. Valve has also added tiny details like in the fridge sections you can break the meat thats on the hooks, and use that to distract a bullsquid after it's been chasing you. Later the aliens are shown to have a social order.

[@HPSmugscraft]

I have to be the dissenting voice here. Granted, 1998 was a long time ago, when I was only 6. I can forgive the dated graphics and physics engine. But I really didn't catch any of the supposedly epic storytelling that Half Life is supposed to have. It's all chaos. Also, Gordon strikes me as a Mary Sue, going from silent, geeky genius to a one-man army in a matter of minutes.

[@bipedleek241]

Jack Van Kirk if you were terrible at the game would you say he is underpowered

[@Binerexis]

The One Free Man is also referencing the point that he was the only person to escape from the Combine invasion and their clutches along with it being his name.

[@gittonsxv126]

half life 1 and 2 are ok, decent all around... 8/10

[@philpyung4831]

If Half Life 2 is decent, I'd really like to know what you consider an EXCELLENT game. Minecraft?

[@gittonsxv126]

Philp Yung i find a lot of games ok or decent, you see a thing called personal taste exists. so many people go nuts over half life 2, they call it the best game ever, the best fps, one of the top 5 games in history and i just do not see it, it is good, very good but not that good.

[@philpyung4831]

Gittons Xv Ok so what is good then???? If Half Life 2 isn't good, what is? Honestly.

[@gittonsxv126]

Philp Yung i just said half life 2 is very good, just not best game in existence good that many people call it.

[@terencesmith7231]

Gittons Xv Fair enough mate, but compared to some of the modern shooters today? HL2 is quite fantastic, at least for it's time. It was revolutionary for 2004, but the same would be said for half life 1 i guess

[@Dracomandriuthus]

By uninterrupted flow, we're talking about a flow in which the moments in which you aren't shooting, stabbing, or fighting off the crazy ninja's and running away, whatever you're doing actually goes with the GAME PLAY. Not a stupid cut-scene that's an hour long. Not a shit ton of dialogue that you can't just walk away from, not checking every single body to see if they have better trousers, but something that FITS.

[@aren6915]

Play Black Mesa (Half Life 1 HD remake) IT'S FUCKING FREE

[@mechajackie7284]

One example of story on the scenary is on Xen where you find a bunch of Vortiguants that doesn't attack you and will try run from you while they're clearly working on something like they were slaves.

[@InnerDness]

Does my beard intimidate you?

[@Cephalopod51]

Gordon Freeman being seen as a messianic hero in HL2 reminds me of that line from Woody Allen's SLEEPER."I'm a clarinet player in 1973, I go into the hospital for a lousy operation, I wake up 200 years later and I'm Flash Gordon!" Ain't it the truth?

[@Krebons1200]

Well, this is slightly confusing. Aren't a lot of these points he makes about freeman applica ble to Link and Ocarina of Time?

[@DeMomcalypseLive]

Krebons1200 It helps that the game is in first person, so any emotional response from Gordon Freeman is left up to the imagination

[@rozasupreme]

Reminder that HL1 ends with the Science team sending Gordon to Xen to stop the Alien Invasion and then he isn't seen for another 20 years. By then he's basically a folk tale, his story passed on by the survivors of Black Mesa, telling of how he singlehandedly stopped the invasion. It's honestly pretty cool.

[@VisualOrchestra]

Funny how he complains about linearity in design in 2012 and here in 2019 he's saying how be misses it more than a little.

[@MrFloyd-jf6fh]

To be fair, it's possible to go too far in either direction. Around 2012 a lot of the AAA games were cutscenes that let you press a few buttons every once in a while, now here in 2019 you have to have a minimum of 8,050 sidequests and 1000 hours of gameplay. Like he said in this review, it's a lot of companies aping something good without knowing what made it work

[@manaulhoque6507]

@@MrFloyd-jf6fh u spitting straight facts

[@kilroy987]

When I had a local network of 4 PCs that we enjoyed having Quake deathmatch on, I was handed a CD of Half-life to install so we could try that. I installed it on my main PC and started the single player game to make sure it worked. 3 hours later, I shut it off. It was that good good damn damn good damn good. Damn. Good. It is very very interesting how we play Freeman, nothing is done to contribute to his personality, and yet I feel like we all think of him the exact same way - a simple no nonsense well intending intelligent student of science forced to be a man of action insomuch as critical situations force upon him. And he's very very good at it when he needs to be, all because of his hazard suit.

[@evilplaguedoctor5158]

half life 3 will be: Fully voiced acted (even the free man) super realistic graphics that use QTE for everything. everything will be in slow motion. anything that's not QTE will be cover based shooting. more headcrabs then are sensible (either that, or just one as a throw in gimmick)

[@valkaerie8715]

Thats called Smod

[@spartan2ar949]

I recently played Half Life 1 for the First time. The thing I didn't like about it was that some stuff wasn't explained very well. The points where you have to fight tanks were hard because there were 3 different kinds of tanks with different weak points, but one one kind of tank showed up more than once, and even that one only showed up twice. There were times I had to blast open doors with mounted cannons that I first thought were just decorations until I looked up a walkthrough. I almost gave up at one point we're I had to jump and catch a ladder but Dr. Freeman just couldn't grab it until I realized I had to stop push W when I touched it. I guess this comes back to an era where you have to experiment with the environment to move forward or beat a boss.

[@treetoon-tf]

luckily the ladders are the way they are instead of "press e to climb/exit" kind of linear thing. Otherwise speedruns would have been shittier, now ladders actually have a skilled learning curve :3

[@GalaxyNewsTelevision]

Ladders in source games make me want to kill myself.

[@sirpatrick549]

Saccharin3D Yes, I have died so many times because of falling off the fucking ladders of half life

[@holben27]

Saccharin3D There are literally source communities similar to surfing a bhoping that just try to manipulate ladders. They can do the craziest shit with them

[@qiff6667]

Saccharin3D try beating half-life 1...ON THE PS2.

[@RarefoilB]

igor franklin Oh, I'm in the process of doing that right now! Of course, I'm using a USB keyboard and mouse because while I was able to mostly function with the DualShock 2, I then discovered that my combat skills drastically decrease with it. Could have save scummed and eventually adapted, but eh.

[@Carium1]

I'm pretty sure that on the second game Gordon is the messiah because eli hired him and publicized his name to the resistance

[@TheRogueEmpire]

i played the first hour of half life, got massively bored, then returned it to gamestop. i didnt like it at all.

[@zyad48]

you missed out

[@Sahuagin]

Minecast Zyad48 no he didn't

[@zyad48]

***** yes he did, the game is absolutely awesome, you probably missed out too judging by your comment

[@Sahuagin]

Minecast Zyad48 sorry I despise both Half-Life 1 and 2. utter garbage.

[@zyad48]

***** u just suck at them thats it

[@MrPostRetro]

He's somebody that you can project yourself, the kind of thing that you would fantasize about in grade school. It's no fun if we play as somebody else doing badass things, so we imagine ourselves in their place.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Never played Half Life and after watching the entire series on KZbin, I never will. The closest I ever came to it was looting Gordon Freeman's dead body in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, a superior game that immerses me more than Half Life ever could hope to. *waits for butthurt fanboys to unleash their entire arsenal of standard hatred*

[@agreatmanlookingtotheright]

Fanboys wont even call you out since your comment is an obvious troll

[@molybdenumrose]

***** That's not very cheeki breeki of you :^)

[@robertburbank3202]

***** But.. But.. that game is from 2007... Half Life is from 1998...

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

likeajon Nope, not trying to troll anyone. Robert Burbank Yes? So?

[@robertburbank3202]

***** You can't compare a game ten years younger and say one is more immersive because of course the newer one is more immersive.

[@Akushimai]

Let's say these 20 minutes are all the endless cutscenes, aimless banter, forced exposition and torturous padding of other games all put in one neat sequence that shows everything you need to know and also has you go "Holy crowbar, the place did get fucked up. O__o" later.

[@DirtyCurti]

I understand the game is good in it's own respect but it's overrated as HELL! It is a linear "normal" game with decent writing. But wait... Overrated has two words combined which if you take 2 + 2 (Getting that 2 from Half-Life 2) = 4! Half-Life 3 & 4 confirmed!

[@fiafiaaaa]

But wait! Half life 2 Episode 2 would add another 2! Which means... HALF LIFE 3, 4, 5, AND 6 CONFIRMED!

[@aldxbaran]

Half-Life is a very well made game in my opinion. It's aged, yes, but good.

[@DuckieMcduck]

Except a "normal" fps game wasn't a thing back then because it fucking invented the concept.

[@aldxbaran]

VulpineTaco What's wrong with exploring?

[@aldxbaran]

VulpineTaco It was implied that exploring was a bad thing in the context of your comment. saying you "HAVE" to do something implies it's bad..

[@whoever12341]

I felt it described the prime series just now.. "There's a story... that you go throught.. but there's a whole other, deeper story in the background; you decide how much you immerse yourself in the game.."

[@ScienceGuy781]

this game is overrated more than call of duty or halo

[@Sahuagin]

yes, thank you

[@Ross97512]

at least this game is good

[@UncleJaken]

Thank you for sharing your baseless opinion.

[@SirAdrian87]

Source please

[@Xartimus]

Sir Adrian No pun intended

[@admtm24]

This is one of my favorite reviewers

[@FfancyCcrash]

I know Yahtzee loves this game. How I know? Well, if you play his brilliant game 1213, an amazing cinematic platformer, you see a load of inspiration taken from it. The narrative gameplay, the sci-fi horror setup...it's like a really good tribute. I totally recommend it! Only issue is that it is a bit wordy, and unlike Half Life, it does feel a little intrusive, as it does have cutscenes and in order to read your forward motion is stopped. It's a good thing the writing in it is absolutely flawless and delightful.

[@Apemopo]

oh my god why is the video so funny in 0.5 speed. makes the theme song better as well.

[@Eirikasacredstones]

Oh man, these always make me laugh like crazy. Thank you, Yahtzee. xD

[@RealEnerjak]

"Eat science" Best quote ever.

[@jordanowens3748]

I just discovered this channel yesterday and heard the system shock and Deus ex ones. I just finished HL: 2 EP2: please don't ruin my favorite games for me 😰 Edit: not like anyone cares but I think this is 100% a-ok. You're doing the lords work.

[@otter4370]

Basically, the thing that's so great about these games is the liveliness of their atmospheres.

[@Ceser1999]

man after watching 10 of your videos i went from being depressed a bought my average marks compered to my absolutely OP brother to being Literally Rowling on the Flore with laughter

[@pslush1]

omg how did i not see it before he controls time and space.G-man is the doctor!!!

[@pslush1]

and he has to do with aliens!!!

[@pslush1]

half life 3 timelord edition

[@pslush1]

Mark Carchidi another half life game at all would be really cool

[@BoostedMonkey05]

His PR team were the Vorts... They reguard him as their version of Mosses

[@halo6534]

Theater mode, user friendly forge mode, user friendly map sharing and picture sharing. Innovative gamemodes. Fantastic map scale, and map design. Innovative community gamemodes that no other game in history has. And Halo 3 expanded upon Halo 2's groundbreaking ranking system.

[@VanguardFencer]

I didn't mention any puzzles in Bioshock. Its just that in Bioshock you always had someone tell you what to do. There were some people who do that in HL but they never followed you around in a radio.

[@hinglemccringleberry9572]

I didn't mind the platforming in half life honestly, what I did mind was the sections near the middle where 4+ vortigaunts would spawn and zap your shit because the 12 alien soldiers 2 minutes before ate up all your energy. some of the enemies in this game do absurd amounts of damage when you have no suit energy.