Half-Life VS Half-Life 2

You have to play (in this order) HL1, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, HL 2 +ep1 & 2 if you want the story.

As far as gameplay goes, I'd say HL1 is the better game. More varied enemies, better challenge, "game-ier" set pieces.
HL2 is more about a balance between a shooter and an exploration game. The ebb and flow between fighting and discovering the ruined world is quite cool the first time but doesn't hold up as well.

half life 2 has better gameplay i think, and the graphics help a lot too since hl1 is very outdated now (and i didn't like what they did with black mesa).
but i remember the puzzle-maps in hl1 and they were much more complex and fun (like passing through a corridor and seeing the exit blocked by a door, so you end up spending 2 hours playing and beating 4 areas to reach it).

Half-Life 1? Today??
Nope, Black Mesa only!!

I like half-life 1 better and I've played them just a few years ago, so no nostalgia googles on :3

I love it, but HL2 felt too much like a number of smaller games bolted together.

You have the Futuristic Shooter, Zombie Shooter, Apocalyptic Shooter, Driving and Puzzle Games, etc. and these all switched back and forth quite suddenly. I found that jarring and it broke the immersion.

HL1 didn't feel like that. It was simpler and stayed the same throughout, but tweaked the formula to keep things fresh. This kept me immersed throughout.

I don't like either of them, though I've only tried the first.

i have more feels with hl1 than with hl2 (even though i played hl1 in late 2014/hl2 early 2015) D:

HL2 is great, although that driving sequences are dragging, imo. First was awesome back in the day, and the boss battle still remains stuck in my mind (Nihilanth is way cooler than bunch of Striders). :D

Episode 2 is my personal favourite.

Always preferred the original Half-Life.

I only played HL2 back in 2006ish, it was quite a fun experience, it's not even one of my favorite shooters but everyone went nuts with it... maybe I played it too late, then I tried HL2:Episode 1 and I got ultra bored after half an hour and dropped it.

I bought a Half Life pack with a huge discount so I dream of having the time and desire to play them once again. Who knows? Maybe one day...

Yeah watar hazard is the most boring part in HL2, most people quit there, it's just too long. The game gets a lot better after that.

As Ithoran said, Water Hazard is the most boring part, but I think a lot of that has to do with how it's "supposed" to be played. My impression is that you're supposed to race through Water Hazard as quickly as possible, not stopping every few seconds to kill every enemy on the map like I did. (OCD, anyone?)

Anyhow, you should definitely complete both games. HL1 is a more polishedr game in terms of flow and atmosphere, but HL2 (both episodes) is an experience you don't want to miss. Once you finish HL2, you'll understand what we're talking about.

In my quick opinion, Half life gives birth to Counter Strike, Counter strike gives birth to everything else, Half life 2 is created in its place, a ton of games base there engines off the half life 2 engine, Without Half life the world of gaming might be a lot different, Conclusion (Half Life is God)