It was always the little details that made Half-Life 2 work. Take a second to look around Dr. Kleiner's impromptu lab in City 17, or the ramshackle Black Mesa East, and you can find dozens of traces of a world beyond what you're seeing as a player. Valve created some incredible environments, and threaded your journey between them with a smart, understated story, told through a cast of rounded characters. But the developer neglected combat. Although you spend most of your time as Gordon Freeman fighting and shooting, the guns feel a little damp, and there's no real 'system' - you tank damage with the HEV then emotionlessly knock down waves of Combine with the shotgun. The upcoming Half-Life 2 RTX remaster doesn't change the mechanics, but, based on a big new trailer, it might make the combat better. Again, it's the little details.
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If Half-Life 3 is coming, the original games need even more attention
I shouldn't say this out loud because it feels like I'm jinxing things, but I think Half-Life 3 might actually be getting closer. Combined with some of the hints, leaks, and rumors from the past couple of months, Valve, generally, seems a little more interested in Half-Life these days. First there was the big 25th anniversary celebration for the original game and now, investigating the Steam backend, it looks like Half-Life 2 might be getting the similar birthday treatment. Four years since Half-Life: Alyx and two decades since the last mainline outing for Gordon Freeman, G-Man, and co., we're certainly - still - very ready for Half-Life 3. But some kind of relaunch of the second game wouldn't go amiss, either.
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