Nah, I'm better and I figure my opinion matters more cause I don't just follow hype trains of expected popular opinions nor am I blinded by nostalgia when I critique a game, I usually do it very thoroughly. I follow critical reasoning. I didn't even say I liked it for the multiplayer, I was mostly talking about the single player and presentation. Multiplayer isn't that good of any of those games.
Yeah, I see that you're not blinded by hype or nostalgia, that's very good. I am not either. But I have to say, your opinion on Half-Life 2 is ridicilous, with critical reasoning, but BAD reasoning. I do not objectively agree at all. But I really prefer a wrong opinion with (bad) reasoning and (wrong but) solid arguments then someone who likes it with no solid reasons.
Half-Life 2 is amazing. The graphics hold up today, the gameplay is VERY smooth. The game did showcase the engine a lot, but that was not in the way at all of the gameplay, in fact, it made it more interesting. It relied on SOLID physics puzzles in some levels to make the gameplay more varied and interestings, like for example the part where you have to go through a huge zombie graveyard, and there's sharp objects everywhere to throw, just one of many examples. To quote/reform you, "there was a vast sense of atmosphere and isolation traveling around through the abondoned canals/cities/grassplanes/etc". The level design is also so good, each landscape blends in perfectly with the previous, there's enough vertical gameplay, and oh my god, let's not forget that AMAZING bridge section, I still get goosebumps when I think about it. It is true that the story remains full of questions and mystery throughout the game, you never really know WHAT you want to do, but because the gameplay is so amazing, that transforms into desire to find out, instead of boredom. The guns are not that bland, they're not standard RL guns you get in all other games, they're variations on RL guns, they look unique. If you can look over the black metal textures and normal bullets, you can see that the guns are original and memorable.
Half-Life 1 has a lot of things in common, but still feels different, and I mean different in a good way. Most of the guns are like HL2, but it has some amazing original guns, so the guns in HL1 are better in general. The atmosphere is amazing, but different. I can't say which one I prefer. The story/motivation is clearer, which is again, not better/worse objectively, just different. The graphics are still fun to look at for this time, but I wish it had 1920x1080, I don't remember it having that. HL1 also used all kinds of technological-for-that-time gimmicks to enhance the gameplay.
So yeah, both are extremely good, but different. HL2 is more in depression and desolation, outside, with decaying human structures, HL1 is more terror, horror and isolation, in industrial landscapes. It's really your preference of these two that matters, because both, have good, varied and interesting gameplay. And I personally prefer just the one that fits my mood, it often changes.
Oh yes, I have over 160 hours in Half-Life 1, over 100 in the "Black Mesa" remake, and over 150 hours in Half-Life 2. Having replayed all of them a few times, and Half-Life 1 was my first game on Steam (w/ Gmod), and remained one of my only PC games for quite a while, so don't go telling me to remove my nostalgia glasses, or that I don't know enough!