Detective Clarence Beauregard
Dehumanized
The (still unfinished) sequel is the greatest FPS ever and deserves no blame for anything. To me it makes a lot more sense to point the finger at the ones who did it wrong instead of the ones who got it right.
I have to disagree about it being the greatest FPS ever, but it is a great game. However, in some way I feel that it lacks the charm of the original. I can't quite put my finger on why, though.
I really liked Episode 2 (more so than HL2), and I wish Valve would have focused on Episode 3 as opposed to stuff like Portal and Left 4 Dead. Exploring that frozen ship should eventually be really neat.
Also, I wasn't pointing the finger at Valve for "doing it right," but rather the copycats who saw HL2's success and used its formula. So on that we agree.