shit story, shitty characters, shit action, shit gimmicky weapons.
Why? I'm just asking because it is easy to write off every part of the game as shit. Like Torment is a shit RPG, with shit locations and shit characters. See, it is easy! And dumb.
Shit story and characters - They add absolutely nothing to the game and waste my time, which is the first cardinal sin of gaming. At least cutscenes I can skip, HL2 bullshit monologues are unskippable. Rather than there being any personal stake in the story like HL1 (you were part of a fuckup, you need to save your friends in the lab), HL2 is a generic you vs. evil guy who reminds you he's evil. The one good thing about HL2's story is the dystopian setting (when it's being subtle and not rammed down your throat during NPC monologuing), but it's effectively window dressing compared to HL1's science lab setting, where you actually interact with the science equipment to solve puzzles and shit.
Shit action - Half of the game is retarded gimmicks or non-FPS combat. Combat is ridiculously easy. 90% of you enemies are palette swapped generic humans with no voice or personality who are very slow and easy to defeat. The weapons they carry are effectively palette swaps too. There are no cool alien species, no diverse human enemies with different abilities. Far too linear, effectively a corridor game compared to HL1 levels.
Shit gimmicky weapons - The Gravity Gun is a horribly gimmicky weapon that is fun to use for about 5 mins, but you are forced to use for about 5 hours. When you aren't forced to use the gravity gun, you are stuck with generic shotgun, generic assault rifle, or generic sci-fi assault rifle, until you run into a section where you fight an enemy vehicle and you suddenly have infinite rockets to spam. HL1 has gluon guns, hornet guns, snarks, holy fuck these things are so much more fun.
The only good level in HL2 is Ravenholm, where you suddenly have good enemies (lots of different types at once, can surprise you, can move fast, are half-deadly), atmosphere that works with the gameplay (dark, creepy, enemies pop out at you), and a bit of exploration instead of corridor maps.