I recently got the Orange Box and am currently working through HL2. I never played the original, so while I'm enjoying the game, I really know nothing of the back story beyond the obvious "earth has been invaded." Does anyone know of a synopsis of the first game I could look at or would be willing to fill me in?
Try this Wikipedia page, the plot of the game is nicely laid out there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_(video_game) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_(video_game))
I liked the original Half Life game, it was really good, but it doesn't compare to Half Life 2 (and episodes) as far as plot, characters development and gameplay go (and obviously the graphics and stuff), it was still one of the best FPS of its generation though and did push the genre a bit.
Just what I was looking for - thanks Marm!