I wish I could go back in time and regain my Half Life "virginity". There is nothing like a 1st play through. I have never played such an awesome FPS game with such a hidden immersive story and game design. I grew up in the 90's and played the 1st release of Half-LIfe (1996) and have finished the the game several times beyond nausea. I enjoyed Blue-Shift and fell in love with Opposing-Force (Both being HL1's expansions). When Half Life 2 was released I was smacked between the eyes once again with sheer amazement at how the developers could build on top of a game which was already great to begin with. Black Mesa is IMHO BRILLIANT, and is what the 1st Half-Life (because of tech restraints) could never be. If you have never enjoyed the Half Life experience I would highly recommend setting time aside during a lengthy vacation (like Christmas) and delve into this games saga. Half Life does not rush you like many MOH or COD style games, so you can sit back and really absorb the experience with copious amounts of coffee and amusement. Don't just "run and gun", keep your eyes open to how the devs tell you the greater story behind the action while you adventure through the "hell hole" of Black Mesa.

Epic

Amazing game, combat is fun, level design is good, lots of puzzles (some pretty hard), great music. Better than HL2 imo.