Just a couple arrogant fucks that can't handle it when they are outmatched with basic logic.
Look, I'm not claiming that HL2's storytelling is a literary masterpiece. I'm not claiming that it is the most original story ever. All I am saying is that the process through which the story is told has more in common with a book like The Sun Also Rises than Clear and Present Danger. Clear and Present Danger is a cool story (Ding Chavez Mother fuckers) but that doesn't mean it is particularly well written or possessing any literary merit. Every video game up until now has displayed the heavyhanded storytelling of summer popcorn movies like Van Helsing. HL2 doesn't have the "OMG BEST STORY EVAR!!!" but it is a refreshing change from the amateur writing and storytelling seen in every other game ever made.
Also take a college level english course and then come back and tell me that Michael Crichton is anything more than the EA of the book world.