Reviews - Fry_Kickstart

I must confess that I am not a big fan of this mod. It's just too overloaded. They just stuffed everything in (weapons, enemies, features, maps, etc.) with the hope that it would improve the experience of playing through HL2. The result is a bloated gameplay experience that lacks the pacing and elegance of the original. If this were an application software, it would be called bloatware or an disimprovement. - From that point of view, the mod's name fits perfectly.
It's kind of like the developers threw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall hoping something would stick.
Apart from that: Such an extensive overhaul mod for HL2 without HD textures or other, clearly visible, graphical improvements? And this almost 20 years after the game was released? Seriously?
5/10

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A very weird gaming experience.
You start somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The first NPC you meet looks like he has put his face into a running mixer. Then you start your adventure in the zone with the objective to find someone (name forgotten) and that without a firearm.
Instead of a PDA you have a map that looks like it was drawn by a child. The starting area in which you travel undercuts everything that the STALKER series has offered so far. It is a flat and barren land with no topographical or architectural highlights.
After wandering around for a while and fighting a few wolves with my knife, which was as fun as it sounds, I closed the game and kicked it off the disc.

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It looks like the era of great source mods is over.

Like many other mods in recent years, this one is bobbing along in mediocrity. - Quite nice, but you haven't missed anything if you haven't played it.
On top of that, this mod worsens the gunplay. This was already a weakness in the original Half Life 2 and only became a real pleasure with the MMod. But this mod on the one hand doesn't support the MMod and on the other hand turns the enemies into unpleasant annoying bullet sponges, like in a loot shooter.
The pacing and quality of the voice acting is equally underwhelming.
And to top it all off, there's the name: "Thunder's Leaves". What exactly is that supposed to allude to? To the sounds after eating a bean soup?

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Have you always wanted to relive HL2? But this time as a soul-draining and terribly dull walking simulator with bad pacing and unbelievable levels? Have you ever wanted to know what it feels like to walk around in a City 17 that is an endless labyrinth of nothingness? Yes? Well, then this mod is just the thing for you!

No version for Dark Crusade! No support for the campaign!

The mod adds the one feature to WarCraft III that is missing in comparison to the Reforged version. - Better graphics. Specifically, high-resolution and modified figures, environmental graphics, buildings and 3D portraits.

Basically, it's nice that someone takes the trouble to polish up the dusty graphics. But the problem starts with the term "changed". Instead of trying to stay as close as possible to the original graphic style, the style has been drastically changed. I guess the style is more WoW oriented than WC III oriented.
So ground textures, 3D portraits, trees and some buildings look very different and just not familiar anymore and even less like WC III. And partly these changes are in a technically half-baked state. Like for example the 3D portrait of Arthas.
Just like Reforged, Rebirth has hits and misses in graphic style. Except that there are clearly more misses with Rebirth. If you would have simply exchanged the unit graphics (they are mostly ok) and maybe the buildings (there are already more misses) this would be a more suitable mod. But unfortunately the improvements outweigh the bad ones. How does it say it nevertheless so beautifully: "Sometimes less is more."
But at least the mod lives up to its name "Rebirth".

On the one hand I appreciate the effort, on the other hand I would rather have a HD mod that is closer to the original.
So I give the mod a generous 7 of 10 points.

PS: If you know a mod that is closer to the original and compatible with version 1.31 (or higher) feel free to write me a message.

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Supplemental:

In addition, the folder and file structure of the mod is difficult to understand. This makes it difficult to understand how the mod works and to adapt it to your own needs.
Furthermore the mod has a strange release policy. Instead of providing a new version or culminative updates / patches from time to time. the updates are released as patchwork and bites. Also, not all updates / patches are made available directly through ModDB.
And as if that wasn't enough, the mod also leads to disappearing units, graphic bugs and even crashes.

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My favorite way to play the Cinematic Mod:
Turn off the cinematic weapons and music.
Turn off all other gameplay tweaks.
Turn off 90% of post-processing effects.
Turn off all the HD porn-actor / ****** / pimper / body builder character models.
Ask myself why I'm playing this mod if I'm turning off almost all the features.
Uninstall it and play Half-Life 2 with the MMoD instead.

Even though HL2 is an outstanding milestone, the gunplay and movement has not aged well. This problem is taken care of by this mod. The whole gameplay is just more fluid and feels better. It is not easy to describe. - Just watch some YT videos or try it yourself.
So if there is a mod that makes it worthwhile to play through HL2 (mods) again, then it is this one.