When comparing Half-Life 2 (and episodes) vs Time Rifters, the Slant community recommends Half-Life 2 (and episodes) for most people. In the question“What are the best Oculus Rift games?” Half-Life 2 (and episodes) is ranked 1st while Time Rifters is ranked 9th. The most important reason people chose Half-Life 2 (and episodes) is:
When Half Life 2 came out it set the bar super high for character animation that still rivals some games today.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Amazing character animation
When Half Life 2 came out it set the bar super high for character animation that still rivals some games today.
Pro Guns are varied and interesting
Almost every gun is fun to shoot and is distinct. The crossbow is super awesome for it’s power and the gravity gun offers variety in puzzles and what you can shoot with. Want to hit someone with an explosive barrel? Pick it up and throw it with the gravity gun!
Pro Great Sci-Fi story
Aliens, portals to other dimensions, oppressive regimes, oh my! This game brings a great flavor of dystopian sci-fi as you fight part of the rebel cause to deliver justice with your Gravity Gun to the many species afflicted by the evil Combine. Also Half Life ties in somehow with the Portal series which makes it even more awesome.
Pro Commentaries
Hear from the creators about the making of Half Life 2 Ep1 and 2. Everything from level design to technical details are discussed. More developers need to use this.
Pro Very moddable
Entire games have been made from Half Life (such as Counter Strike) and the tradition continues with it’s sequel! In fact there’s a game essentially about making your own things made from a modded Half Life 2 and that game is called Garry’s Mod.
Pro Rarely seen gameplay mechanic that combines multiple playthroughs
Each level is played through multiple times with every new playthrough adding previous playthroughs alongside current one. This is done 4 times trying to complete as much of the level as possible. It essentially creates a solo co-op experience and allows for lots of strategical planning forward.
Pro Vibrant aesthetic
The game has simple, clear, blocky levels and uses bright colors. There's an Iron Man inspired hud, but that can mostly be ignored unless you want to check out the score. Important information such as enemy count is displayed on the walls of levels and there's no need to keep track of health or ammo.
Pro Good weapon variety
The game has 6 different weapons that each has a progression system associated with 5 upgrade categories - Spread, Focus, Rapid, Punch and Acid. It adds another level of strategical depth as weapon upgrades have to be planned for.
Pro Level editor and Steam Workshop support
You can create your own levels to challenge yourself and your creativity. It feels really cool playing through levels you made, although you know what to expect.
Cons
Con Abandoned support
Currently the game does not work with the retail version of the Rift, a DK2 (beta Rift model) and older drivers will be necessary to play the game. There has been no word from the developer if this will be fixed.
Con Short
While there's definitely potential for multiple playthroughs to try and get a better score, the base game has just about 2 hours of gameplay.