I've had a weird history with Half-Life 2 before I finally finished it and its two episodes. The first time I played it (maybe like eight years ago), I enjoyed all of the introductory levels but got bored and stopped around either the early sewer level or the airboat level. Didn't really get all of the hype. The second time I tried playing it (probably about five years ago), I was actually enjoying it a good bit but got stuck in the middle of Ravenholm (not a good place to be stuck for sure) and it fell back into the backlog. Thought it was a good game and started to understand why so many people raved about it.

Now, I can finally say, that Half-Life 2 is one of my favorite shooters I've ever played. It's remarkable how every level is thoughtfully designed and manages to throw out something different every time to keep you on your toes. I previously talked about Half-Life 1's surprising amount of immersion, and 2's world is even more lived-in and interesting. Probably some of the best, most influential physics in video games to this day. Also, both episodes are pretty good (2 more than 1)!