Portal is the one closest to my heart. I played the original Portal (Still Alive) for the first time when it released on the XBLA in 2007, and then again later that year when I purchased The Orange Box for both Xbox 360 and PC. At that point I had the opportunity to play Half-Life, but it just didn't have the same appeal to me as as Portal would prove to. I continued to carry this opinion as I went on to purchase Portal 2 for both Xbox 360 and PC as well, and played through the co-op consistently with my younger brother and multiple friends on both platforms. So, the puzzles and concepts in Portal have always been fascinating to me. With that said it's not really a fair comparison, considering they're two radically different Valve masterpieces.
I agree with Bayrock saying that these two games differ between each other, they require player`s different approach to themselves. Portal is more about puzzles than shooting of HL series. As for me, I prefer Half-life. I found out about this wonderful game in far 2007, I remember playing it on my older brother`s PC while he was studying, aaah good ol` childhood . Later when I got my own PC, I instantly downloaded it for myself. I replayed each level with different tactics and was amazed by how I can approach the game. And then I continued this epic story of Gordon F. in Half-life 2 and EP1&2. Time passed and I discovered tons of mods/maps which made me understand one simple thing: "Finishing Half-life is only the beginning" (Actually that`s the reference to one of HL2 mod sites). Overall, Half-life is fantastic game which I suggest everyone to play/replay, just stop dreaming about those sweet new games of 2017/2018. Sit down and chill with old nostalgic (gold)source masterpieces..
With that said it's not really a fair comparison, considering they're two radically different Valve masterpieces.[/QUOTE] They are both different in totally different ways but they both are good at one thing the story
Half Life, since I finished it for the first time when I was 6 and kept on replaying it, just of because how much I liked it.
Half-Life is a great game on various different levels—refined story, great visuals amongst triple A games, mechanics and also supports community-made mods which really sparks my interest. Portal also has the same characteristics as half-life but I believe is more compelling to play. Yeah the story is rather short (about 2-3 hours) but it brings something new to the table rather than some your-average-shooter-based-game & a kind of feeling I cannot really describe with just words.
Half Life. When you consider Half Life 1 was released in 1998 (originally set for 1997), it's absurd how far ahead of it's time it was. As much as I've grown tired of HL2, I still love the game. Portal 1/2 are great but they don't come close for me.
The original Half-Life and Half-Life: Blue Shift were absolutely amazing. Half-Life 2 was pretty boring imo. Portal 1 & 2 were great games too, but I thought hl1 was better.
Half Life for me. I remember when I first played it, my dad actually showed it to me on his computer back in 2000. I was instantly interested but never got to play the full game til around 2006. Half-Life 2 Deathmatch got me into my first gaming community for which I was a part of for about 2 years. I do enjoy Portal a lot, but HL has my heart.
