Favourite Homages to the first game (Spoilers)

[OCV]

Half-Life was a great game, one I still play every so often and it is great partly because of the brilliant level design setting up some memorable set-pieces and other events.

When playing Half-Life 2 I began to notice more and more how Valve had remixed some scenes from the first game into the context of the sequel. One that really struck me were the similarities when you climb the cliff to get into Nova Prospekt at the end of "Sandtraps" was how much it reminded me of climbing the cliff in "Surface Tension" in Half-Life 1, even to the point where you have to climb into a pipe and a fast Zombie jumps out at you, just like the one in the first game had a headcrab jump out at you from the pipe you have to enter.

So, what are people's favourite homages to the first game in Half-Life 2?

 

[KagePrototype]

Having a helicopter chase you through a chapter, and finally getting the chance to shoot the ****er down.

 

[OCV]

That's a good one, any more?

 

[Jannova]

The Mark 5 Hazard Suit, in the first game there was Mark 4.

 

[Ch1cKeN]

the H.E.V suit charger panel in Eli's lab.

the black mesa picture in Kliener's lab.

HEADCRABS!

crowbar, (I cry every time it goes away in the citadel)
*sniff*
so very sad.

 

[Jenga]

Barney's needling you about your MIT degree. lol

 

[J_Tweedy]

i thought the whole nova prospekt level was the most 'half-lifeish' level- large indoor complex, eerie, exciting and fast paced
my favouritist level it was

 

[Jenga]

mine was ravenholm. the revenge of the headcrab zombies lol

 

[Hercules331]

I like how they reused some sounds from the first game. Like simple ones like use key and recharging stations and such

 

[desdinova]

What about the music when you first get the HEV suit? I got a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. Man, I just needed to kill something!

 

[Mechagodzilla]

The elevator in ravenholm sounds exactly like the ones in HL1, as do the keypad locks in Black Mesa East, and the teleporteer in Kliener's lab. All the reused sounds work very well.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

When Kleiner says some of the almost exact same sounding things while charging up the teleport as they said in HL1 during the crystal's expirement

 

[0mar]

My favorite homage is the fact that the SMG is still fvcking useless.

 

[jonesey2k]

"now about that beer I owe you..."

 

[T-Dogg]

Right in the beginning, where you get to throw the switch again. 'Cause the last time Gordon threw a big red important switch things didn't go quite as they should have... Also Kleiners & Barneys lines in the same scene:

"The conditions could hardly be more ideal."
"That's what you said last time..."

 

[jimmyjam]

"The conditions could hardly be more ideal."
"That's what you said last time..."

pretty sure that's in reference to the cat incident

 

[kupocake]

pretty sure that's in reference to the cat incident

Indeed... In fact, I had to remind myself that bits of that sequence aren't what was said in the Test Chamber, but the words in the "Kleiner's Lab" video of E3, so it's more of a homage to the stuff that didn't make the cut... I'm pretty sure that Alyx's "Scanners!" remark from that same video ended up in Black Mesa East.