Recent reviews by HenryJiM

a bit rough around the edges now but it's already the best 66.7 tick surf gameplay on pre-zoned maps, and zoning tools are included. can run any map in your CS:S, CSGO, TF2 (etc) folders.

also runs at any tickrate from 10 to 1000+ lol

vs. 1.6:

+better detail and feedback
+better ergonomics and movement
+better engine that can run at high framerates without affecting tickrate
+useful for gmod
+still good for surf and bhop
-janky semi-collidable physics props
-Surprisingly, can be GPU-limited on many maps, even vs CSGO

CSGO is the better game in virtually every way.
I can only recommend buying via the CS or Valve bundles/when on sale

it's HL

Linear game that gives the player room to play as they want. excellent level design. game mechanics are solid yet open to exploitation and skilled tricks far beyond what was originally intended. always something to come back for.

this is basically Warsow right now, which is basically classic Quake with tweaks and updates and it adds a very usable boost/walljump to the mix. auto bhop by default is nice.

F2P, tiny download, runs super fast, clean and smooth on Windows, Mac and Linux.
being Quake-based, it has the same aim ratios as Half Life, TF2, CS, etc. so it's easy to set up.

one issue with the game in my case is that while it supports stretched res, trying to use it results in my display switching to the selected resolution which doesn't support 144Hz eg 1152x864 75Hz.

ideally, scaling would be done on the GPU and not change the monitor's settings. one workaround is just to set FOV to whatever you're used to, though vert FOV will be different, horizontal flicks are consistent

epic

Other than the folks who hate on "F2Pers" and the whiny, belligerent, low-skill tryhards, this remains an interesting and enjoyable asymmetrical team game even more than a decade after launch.
being another Source engine game, it is easy to configure mouse-aim to match the CS and HL games, so some skills are easily carried over.

and being free-to-play on any OS including Linux, virtually anyone can get give it a go.

(current review = edit 4, scroll down)

Functional, inoffensive graphics that look fine even at all low.

Good game mechanics that are easy to learn yet complex and almost impossible to master

Infinite replay-value and bang-for-your-buck: the game is cheap, even cheaper on sale* and it's good for hundreds or thousands of hours of playtime. a majority of my time as of 450 hours in-game was just in DM mode and/or against bots. I'll likely be playing for years...

Also, Valve made a bunch of changes in the last few months. while some of those changes are getting a, lets say, "mixed" reception, one thing I've noticed is that cheaters are now much less common than a few months ago, and getting rarer all the time.


EDIT 1, December 2018:
now over 1000 hours, all good. they just released a take on the Battle-Royale game mode and it is surprisingly good. the "Blacksite" map is well made and balanced, the gameplay is well paced. there's rarely a dull moment and little time is spent waiting.


EDIT 2, December 2019: 3000 hours. still pretty happy, the game continues to live and grow. I'm still playing mostly Deathmatch and DZ.
cheaters are still a problem. DZ needs overwatch...


EDIT 3, February 2021: almost 5K hours. still the all around best handling FPS IMO, still arguably the best community involvement, still gaining new players, still plagued by cheaters.


EDIT 4, September 2024: 8.6k hours runtime. Valve pulled the plug on CSGO a year ago now and they've steadily been killing off everything I liked about it since. as of now, you get basic CS gameplay on a limited map selection with "CS2" and little else. still more movement bugs than CSGO, though.
movement-focused game modes have been stripped away bit-by-bit, it's now largely a waste of time in "CS2" much like this game is in general its current state I am sorry to say.
for the past year or so I've just played a few hours of FFA DM per month but between the low performance and recent loss of comfortable movement input options on top of everything else it just isn't enjoyable anymore.

This was my first HL experience, and it overshadowed the other games for me.

with EP1 and 2 I got hung up on the little things I didn't like, and the overall more linear feel and a perceived change of tone (is Alyx a bit clingy and annoying now, or is it just me?)

When I played Vanilla HL2 later on, it felt a bit rough and buggy in comparison, despite being basically the same game. Notably, the lighting broke many times, and is it possible to drive in front of that train or what???

the many small improvements throughout the update are often subtle and easily missed, but if you notice the updates, you will probably appreciate them.


One thing I'd like is to be able to assign buttons to individual weapons... cycling through many items is bad, and multiple key presses are often needed otherwise. only the gravity gun and for some reason the "bug-bait" can be mapped.

Overall, this is one of my favourite games. Highly recommended.

Played on Linux - Ubuntu GNOME 17.04

It is what it is. it's been popular for more than a decade and for good reason.


if only it was able to make better use of hardware...