Have to play Half-Life to play Half-Life 2?

i was thinking about playing Half-Life 2...but i was wondering if i would be completely lost if i skipped the first and went to the secondHave to play Half-Life to play Half-Life 2?
You don't really need to play it first because a lot of references to HL are generally explained well. However, it will certainly help. Half Life sets up the background for the events in HL2. Especially the encounters with the G ManHave to play Half-Life to play Half-Life 2?
Well I admit that I've never played the first HL game or even the first CS, yet I really enjoyed HL2. A quick look at Wikipedia clarified a few things

HL:1 - In a nutshell. You Gorden Freeman is selected to do some experiment I forget what , haven't played in like 2 years. Anyway something goes wrong, headcrabs start break stuff %26 eating brains...fight a tenticle monster...launch a rocket...big aliens...trash compactor...G-Man...Scientists send you to the alien world Xen to kill a aborted fetus who is keeping the portal open then G-Man is impressed %26 gives u a job. That's pretty much it.
alright well my brother has the 2nd one so i don't have to worry about buying it:D
In short, you don't need to play Half Life in order to play Half Life 2. However, it's certainly useful to at least have a general idea of what transpired in the original Half Life.Check out [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life]Half Life's Wiki page[/url] for plot details.
Play Half-life anyway it's an amazing game.
yes. if you have not completed half life within 10 seconds of starting half life 2, a swedish death squad will paratroop onto your location and cut off your penis
No...not really.
I enjoyed the first Half-Life more, so I think it'd be a shame to pass up on Half-Life and jump straight into Half-Life 2. You don't really need Half-Life to understand Half-Life 2, but you really need to play Half-Life just because it's one of the best games made.
u wont be really lost if u dont play it but it will help fill in massive gaps and u should neway its an amazing game that should be enjoyed. So do urself a favor and play hl u wont regret it. besides its like ten bucks at the most.
alright well the reason i was asking was cause i don't have much time in my day to play games anymore. With homework and school it's just crazy. I saw my brother playing Half-Life 2 and I thought it looked interesting but i don't think i'll have time to beat the first one and get to the second one soon:(
There are spots where HL2 is already looking slightly dated, so playing HL might be a little harder than you might think. I absolutely adore the game, as it was a true revolutionary title, but I'm not sure if it will be as magical nowadays. Story-wise, it would be much better if you had played it, as there is stuff in there that's not going to cause the ''proper'' reaction if you haven't played HL1.

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