The king of fan sequel wishing baiting finally finds itself under out spotlight:
Mainline Entry 01 - Half-Life
Formats: PC and Playstation 2
Reworked by fans and expanded by mods and expansions that would create other Valve series, Half Life sits at the heart of the Valve empire and remains a cornerstone in narrative FPS games. The tale of Gordon Freeman and his attempt to escape the remains of Black Mesa became a genre phenomenon on its release and also created a rabid fanbase who remained deeply attached the series for years. Plaudits and success both met the first entry hand in hand and the later PS2 port reworks some elements of the title. The cancelled Dreamcast version would have added some content too but it never saw release, though was later leaked and much of the planned additions were moved to the PS2 version. The Blue Shift expansion from the DC version made its way to PC gamers and Gearbox added expansions which along with Counterstrike kept fans engaged as they waited for more. It was more recently reaired with the still incomplete Black Mesa remake.
Mainline Entry 02 - Half-Life 2
Formats: PC, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC
Six years later and the sequel, despite being undermined by a leak, wowed fans with its much improved visuals and addition of the Gravity Gun that made use of in game physics to manipulate objects and encounters. As Freeman, you learnt more about the surviving characters of the world and stepped out beyond the Black Mesa labs. In essence the game marked a perfect evolution of the first games foundations and fans gobbled it up driving demand for more. An additional level called Lost Coast was later released but instead of the expansions and mods the first game received, Valve had something that would stir fans even more so up its sleeves.
Spin Off Entry 01 - Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Formats: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Spin Off Entry 02 - Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Formats: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Instead of a third game, Valve intended to release a three part continuation of the plot with the Episode games. Despite its name Valve considered the trilogy to be a standalone release and the first Episode broadly continued in the same mould as the sequel but with some lighting and AI improvements. The second episode brought with it more open environments and was seen as an improvement over the first episode which was considered to be too brief. Fans were now at fever pitch level for the closing entry but it never came. Junction Point and Arkane Studios both worked on what would potentially have been considered to be Episodes 4 and 5 but they too were dropped by Valve and the franchise has remained dormant ever since with more and more fans taking the view that Valve is finished with it on Episode 2's cliffhanger. The Portal games could be considered spin-offs as they're in the same universe but equally they're their own series.
Share your thoughts and memories of the Half-Life series
Mainline Entry 01 - Half-Life
Formats: PC and Playstation 2
Reworked by fans and expanded by mods and expansions that would create other Valve series, Half Life sits at the heart of the Valve empire and remains a cornerstone in narrative FPS games. The tale of Gordon Freeman and his attempt to escape the remains of Black Mesa became a genre phenomenon on its release and also created a rabid fanbase who remained deeply attached the series for years. Plaudits and success both met the first entry hand in hand and the later PS2 port reworks some elements of the title. The cancelled Dreamcast version would have added some content too but it never saw release, though was later leaked and much of the planned additions were moved to the PS2 version. The Blue Shift expansion from the DC version made its way to PC gamers and Gearbox added expansions which along with Counterstrike kept fans engaged as they waited for more. It was more recently reaired with the still incomplete Black Mesa remake.
Mainline Entry 02 - Half-Life 2
Formats: PC, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC
Six years later and the sequel, despite being undermined by a leak, wowed fans with its much improved visuals and addition of the Gravity Gun that made use of in game physics to manipulate objects and encounters. As Freeman, you learnt more about the surviving characters of the world and stepped out beyond the Black Mesa labs. In essence the game marked a perfect evolution of the first games foundations and fans gobbled it up driving demand for more. An additional level called Lost Coast was later released but instead of the expansions and mods the first game received, Valve had something that would stir fans even more so up its sleeves.
Spin Off Entry 01 - Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Formats: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Spin Off Entry 02 - Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Formats: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Instead of a third game, Valve intended to release a three part continuation of the plot with the Episode games. Despite its name Valve considered the trilogy to be a standalone release and the first Episode broadly continued in the same mould as the sequel but with some lighting and AI improvements. The second episode brought with it more open environments and was seen as an improvement over the first episode which was considered to be too brief. Fans were now at fever pitch level for the closing entry but it never came. Junction Point and Arkane Studios both worked on what would potentially have been considered to be Episodes 4 and 5 but they too were dropped by Valve and the franchise has remained dormant ever since with more and more fans taking the view that Valve is finished with it on Episode 2's cliffhanger. The Portal games could be considered spin-offs as they're in the same universe but equally they're their own series.
Share your thoughts and memories of the Half-Life series
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Seeing lasers cut through bodies, being able to smash glass on the lift and crawl through it to reach the other side, it was an incredible experience. I spent a good chunk of time wondering if it was justifiable to kill Barney and take his stuff since I only had a crowbar. Safety in numbers or every man for himself? Not to mention I'd have to murder him. I was so enthralled, I only snapped out of it when I realised I couldn't take his armour. 
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