Is it a good idea to play Half Life 2 using Synergy for co-op before playing the actual game?

I'm thinking of playing Half Life 2 with a friend, neither of us have played the game by ourselves, so I was wondering whether it's a good idea to play a co-op version using Synergy. Or should I experience this "masterpiece" the way it's meant to be experienced; in single-player first? I'm usually a guy who's big on story in games and appreciates immersing story/ environments, so I guess playing single-player first is a no-brainer but seeing as I probably couldn't be bothered playing it a second time right after a first play-through, I thought I'd hear what you guys have to say first.