Half Life 2... hmm

I'm about a third or half the way through Half Life 2 and so far so good but I'm a little disappointed. When this game came out it was big big news. I think it actually came out about the same time as Halo 2 so there were a lot of fanboys arguing which was the superior game. I don't think they're really comparable, as it happens. Halo is a full-on first person shooter. Half Life isn't. Half Life is more like Metal Gear Solid where the action happens at a slower pace, with more attention to gritty, realistic environments and varied gameplay. So Half-Life 2 vs. Metal Gear Solid 3 (or 2)? Well so far the plot's been a bit thin on Half-Life 2 after an interesting start. The driving levels have been rather repetitive and dull. Although each new area is beautifully designed to feel like a real location and some effects like the water and real physics are very impressive at times, the only one that really made an impression on me was creeping along the girders under the railway bridge - otherwise it's just seems like standard game fare of old warehouses and sewers. The fun-with-physics aspect hasn't been used a great deal up to now, but I'm hoping there's more of it since it's one of the strongest points. Early in the game you had to dive underwater to break out some barrels so they would float to the surface, which you could then jump on to reach a ledge. More of that cleve stuff needed! In summary, HL2 has so far been quite fun, but just not on the same level as MGS or Halo.