A game whose main protagonist is the companion cube...it's brilliant!
Strifehart comes from the strange parralel universe where JRPGS rule all...
Play games, not platforms
Nah, like I said. Ep1 and Ep2 were stellar. HL1 and HL2 were like ... "meh" for me. Perhaps it's the fact that the protagonist is pretty much absent and that there is absolutely no focus on character interaction/development that made me bored with the games.
Ep1 and Ep2 started being a lot more focused on the characters, rather than actual events. You actually notice the bond between the characters, even though Freeman is possibly the most absent protagonist of any game.
Perhaps "hate" is a strong word, but I just didn't "get" what everyone was raving about.
have to agree on Freeman, atleast the Master Chief speaks every now and again. so he's not a empty suit.
Play games, not platforms
HL1 was awesome, also enjoyed the expansions. HL2 WAS UTTER BS, Episode 1 was a bit better, Eppy 2 was fantastic.
I see your Freeman and raise you a Link.
I actually think Gordan Freeman is the silent protagonist done correctly. This is largely due to the setting of the game and the characters he interacts with. Barney, Alex, hell even DOG. When you play Gordan you feel like someone whose caught up in something bigger than himself, he's trying to survive and help people along the way if he can. The emotion of the supporting cast drive the players feelings towards the story. When you play Link you feel like the villagers are just using you kinda like a pitchfork with legs and they don't interact very well with you either, with the exception of your "partner" for that game...Midna etc.
Half Life for me was a huge deal at the time, it was big leap forward for the FPS genre and showed you that a decent story could be told without sacrificing the intense action of an FPS. It was driven and your goals were clear, it also had some great set pieces. The cage with crossbow dangling over the water comes to mind as well as the helicopter you fight while scaling a cliff. So it is kind of hard to believe that HL didn't resonate with you Strife.
Half Life 2 I can maybe accept since times changed quite quickly and there were some decent competitors out at the time.
freeman is silent so that the player better envelope the character.