On Half-Life: Gordon Freeman's character is basically the equivalent of the mute hero in a JRPG, only I think it's better suited in the FPS genre because of the shared perspective. The fact that we know little to nothing about him and the fact that there is a perpetual first-person perspective means that we can embody the character how we like. The facts that exist about him exist solely to justify and setup the game's scenario: how do we get to wind our way through a spooky research lab? By being an astrophysics researcher (one who ironically has great physical abilities - that's the joke you see). So, all in all, I have a lot of respect for the HL series for what it has contributed.
On Halo's Marines: Halo 1 marines were pretty weak. Halo 2... now that's a different story. Maybe a bit stronger, but the awesome thing about it is the ability to equip them with weapons you find lying around. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I actually could go through huge chunks of levels and have those guys help me out a lot by my drawing most of the fire and equipping them with situationally-appropriate weapons. The elite buddies were even better.
Besides, it's necessary to make them weak. They serve as that contrast between weak and strong--between them and you (Master Chief).
On Halo's Marines: Halo 1 marines were pretty weak. Halo 2... now that's a different story. Maybe a bit stronger, but the awesome thing about it is the ability to equip them with weapons you find lying around. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I actually could go through huge chunks of levels and have those guys help me out a lot by my drawing most of the fire and equipping them with situationally-appropriate weapons. The elite buddies were even better.
Besides, it's necessary to make them weak. They serve as that contrast between weak and strong--between them and you (Master Chief).