One of the greatest FPS games ever?.....Absolutely!
(people, his thread title is asking if it's one of the greatest FPS every, not the greatest FPS ever)
In terms of the genre overall, I still think System Shock 2 and Deus Ex were the height of the genre....however...those are also considered more FPS-hybrid games then straightforward FPS, so for me personally, in terms of a straightforward single player FPS (as in a non-hybrid), I would say HL2 is still the best Single Player FPS out on the market.
Besides the facts that HL2 is a pretty lengthy single player FPS that is longer then most FPS games today, the story and settings being interesting, and the gameplay mechanics feeling right.....here is pretty much some other reasons that make HL2 such a top game in it's genre....
1) It's a Sequel that goes for Complete Change yet clearly remains connected to the Original game both in content and feel- Most sequels to other FPS games usually take place in the same type of locations as the original and pretty much turn into little more then more of the same. HL2 is different. HL2 takes place in a completely different setting with completely different enemies and with a completely different theme....yet it distinctly remains a HL game, that is quite an accomplishment. Valve could have easily made HL2 take place in another secret government facility with another alien outbreak with the same aliens....but instead they choose to break the mold. Instead of the government facility setting of the first HL with a kind of Alien incursion type of story, HL2 takes place in a European city and has a more Orwellian feel to the background of the story....yet it's done in a way that not only works, but also makes sense in connecting to the original HL.
2 ) The Setting of HL2 Breaks Away from typical FPS Cliches yet still provides just as great a backdrop for the Action- There are countless shooters where you play as some marine soldier and weird looking Aliens are coming in their advanced spaceships and Earth armies are battling it out full scale with the Alien invasion........HL2 does away with that cliche. In HL2 the Aliens are already here, they've won, and they've set up an oppressive government...one that presents itself as peaceful and in the human's best interest, when it clearly isn't.
Where so many other FPS games have you as the lone-one-man-army super marine fighting a vast army of aliens/demons/cyborgs etc......HL2 presents you more as the Saboteur of an oppressive state and as a key component in a greater resistance force rather then a one man super army.
So many Sci-Fi FPS games use a Independence Day or War of the Worlds type theme......but how many use Orwellian theme out of something like 1984?
3) The Story and Characters are Interesting and unfold through the perspective of the Player - There are no long cutscenes in HL2....HL2 doesn't need them. Everything unfolds through the perspective of the player in which the player is always playing HL2. Despite not having cutscenes, HL2 still manages to have some of the most interesting NPC characters in an FPS like Alyx, Barney, The G-man, Dr. Kleiner, Dr. Breen, etc. who express more personality and emotion during the gameplay itself then most FPS games do through dedicated cutscenes.
4) The Gravity Gun Changes the Game to give it a both a Uniqueness and Fun Factor beyond other FPS Games without feeling gimicky- The gravity gun is probably the only weapon in an FPS that also acts as a tool that greatly effects the gameplay and is even needed to progress. There are two ways in which the Gravity gun is important. First, it was the first weapon I'm aware of in an FPS game that allows you to manipulate multiple objects in the environment, this greatly effected the gameplay in that it allowed for environmental puzzles that added a new dynamic that went beyond the gameplay being about just shooting bad guys. Second, It's a weapon where the ammo is practically anything you want it to be....this allows the player to get creative with how they want to use the gravity gun as both a weapon and a tool. But most of all, the Gravity Gun is fun to use...the game certainly provides you with a variety of other weapons and tools, but I still kept coming back to the Gravity Gun cause it was enjoyable.
5) It was Overall the Best Looking Game for it's time and even into today, yet was highly scalable for a variety of players - The fact that 3 YEARS later the visuals in HL2 manage to stack up with "next-gen" games says something. HL2 had large environments and probably the best character design and water effects for the time, even today those two things have held up quite well. But even in 2004, plenty of people were able to run HL2 fine on a variety of hardware.
6) The HL2 Package has allowed for Unlimited Expansion through both Usermade and Official Content beyond most titles- Mods like Garry's Mod, Dystopia, and countless others have given the package of HL2 a longevity beyond any other game.....not to mention all the usermade maps, mods, skins, and mods for games like CS:S.
Finally, on top of all that Valve themselves have provided a wealth of FREE content and continuous updates such as numerous free maps, character models, and updates for CS:S, Lost Coast which was a free single player level for HL2, and HL2: Deathmatch......aside from maybe Epic on PC, how many other developers can claim they provided as much free official content and continuous support for their game?
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