I disagree. HL2 had far more interesting world building imo. Plus HL1 tended to have obtuse puzzles imo and it felt unnatural to fight the ninja or stealth agents. The final boss arguably in HL1 was more mysterious and epic than HL2s, but....things like the NPCs helped a lot more in HL2.
Needed: New Pokemon Puzzle League, Shining Force and Left 4 Dead....