2. The Unbroken Narrative
One of Half Life 2s biggest achievements is the way in which it tells its story entirely through unbroken gameplay. Throughout the entire game there's not a single cut-scene or moment of forced player inactivity. Sometimes the gameplay is occasionally brought to a brief halt by loading screens when moving between expansive environments, but Half Life 2s storyline is never broken by extraneous cut-scenes. You could argue that Half Life simply integrates its own form of cutscenes and exposition into moments of character interaction with Alyx and the other characters. However, the genius of Half Life 2 is that they dont feel intrusive or tacked on like many cut-scenes in other games do. You can even chose to faff around while being spoken to if you like, such as putting a cactus in a teleporter or playing basketball with the gravity gun. From start to finish, you feel completely immersed in the world of Half Life 2, and from the scene-setting opening through to the epic conclusion, Half Life 2 plays like one gigantic adventure rather than a bunch of forgettable standalone missions.