while i think half life is probably valve's best game, i think half life 2 is their finest achievement
can you imagine how difficult it must be to sit at a roundtable discussion at valve, after half life
they'd basically be like, okay, we want to follow up half life by creating a game which is as good - preferably better, but is not merely a repeat of our previous work, as this invariably leads to mediocrity
great, okay... so... how do we do that?
following up one masterpiece with another masterpiece may seem natural for such a talented developer, but really, i think it has to be just the most difficult thing in the world... making a game so amazing that it fills the boots of its predecessor while also being a game that people acknowledge as its own game, and not just as a sequel
half life 2 could so easily have been more of the same, and yet it is an utterly unique title - not just unique when compared with its predecessor, but with the entire genre as a whole - and i think that is one of the most difficult things for a developer, not only that they were able to do that but that they chose to do that... so many other developers would have said, half life worked, let's just make another game like it
but valve didn't, and that's why i think half life 2 is the finest achievement valve has had to date
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