Does Half Life ever stop being scary?

[DuFresne]

I still play HL quite a bit, but I have for years, so I know where all the scary shit is scripted to be. After you get about halfway through the game, the scares do pretty much stop and the game becomes more about "OMG how the hell are you gonna get past something THIS damn huge," or "WTF SO MANY ENEMIES!!!111."

I think you'll agree with me that the first half of the game is a bit better crafted than the second after you've played the whole thing. Half-Life to me should be more about that "what's around the next corner" tension (ala old DOOM) rather than simple combat highs.